tubbybear

Hi all

Thought I'd grab my wife's login name and start a thread to see if anyone out there is going to Oz soon, or has just arrived, especially to the Illawarra/ Woolongong area.

Well thankfully we are almost on our way. After being on the housing market for one week shy of a year, we are completing on Friday and the container is arriving on Wed. to collect our belongings.

We have decided to stay for christmas with my in laws for a final hoorah!! and are flying out to Sydney on the 8th Jan.

Really getting excited now and can't wait to get back there, especially as I sit here posting this thread I look out of the window and freezing fog is rapidly decending over Wiltshire. The temperature has not gone over zero today, but I have a lovely feeling that I won't be suffering this weather for long. For those of you over in Oz, it is going to be the coldest winter for many many years.

We are very excited about returning to Oz, but this will be the first time for my two children - Luke 3 & Lydia 18 months.
Because of my job we will probably live south of woolongong ie ShellHarbour area. It looks like a nice area full of young families. Have been looking at lots of real estate sites and there seems to be quite a lot of rental properties available, so if anyone can give any info on good areas I would be grateful.

Well good luck to all those moving soon and especially to all those who are waiting for their house sale to go through - keep your chin up and be patient, it will eventually happen, like I said it has taken us a year and for a while I was thinking that my house would never sell or if it did a housing crash would happen first.

Also best wishes to those that have just arrived and if any of you are in our intended area then I would love to hear from you.
Bye for now

Tubby Bear's husband

hilary6

Hi there,
Just want to wish you well and hope everything works out for you and your family.
Hilaryx

Welshie

Hey there

We are too flying to Sydney on Jan 8th and will be going to Wollongong. Are you flying Malaysian? Our belongings are also being packed up on Wednesday!!! Spooky!!

I'm starting a nursing degree at Wollongong Uni in Feb....We can't work out which part of the Illawarra to settle in. Have done some research and am still not sure. Shellharbour looks great and is very family orientated apparently.

Rachel

Juliecabs

To Tubby Bear's hubby and Rachel,
I've got friends living in Woollongong (we visited them last year) and one of their kids lives in Shellharbour. They love it there.
If you need any info, just ask and I'll try and find out for you.
Julie.

Welshie

Thanks Julie...I'm just compiling a list of questions to PM ya!

No seriously...I am....!!

Thanks

Hutch

Hey guys - welcome to the forum. We're settling in the same area in mid-2006 (me, the wife and son Josh aged 4). I have lots of family around that neck of the woods (parents in Berry, big sis in Robertson, cousins in Kiama etc). We spend a couple of months out there every year and are looking forward to making it our home once we've sold up here. We're flying out for our regular Aussie xmas on the 1st of Dec and return at the very end of Jan to put the house on the market. The southern coasts are a great part of the world - can't wait to move there - we know the area pretty well - if you have any questions just ask.

Welshie

before I go searching back to a previous thread...does your sis work at the Uni of Wollongong??

Hutch

lol - yep - head of marketing or something ...

Welshie

Ah yes, so it was you...my memory is not as bad as I thought it to be!

Don't suppose you'd know areas around Wollongong/Illawarra to avoid? I.e, which areas are as rough as ninety bears and which parts are more affluent, good for families etc etc.



Rachel

Juliecabs

[QUOTE
Don't suppose you'd know areas around Wollongong/Illawarra to avoid? I.e, which areas are as rough as ninety bears and which parts are more affluent, good for families etc etc.



Rachel[/QUOTE]

Hi Rachel,
I checked with my friends a few months ago for someone else on here who was looking at going to the same area as you. Apparently the areas to avoid are Bellambi, Port Kembla, Cringila, Warrawong and Berkeley. (Apologies to anyone living in these areas - I don't know any of these towns myself. I only know Woollongong).
Julie.

Welshie

Thanks Julie. This helps a lot.

Rachel

tubbybear

[QUOTE=Welshie]Hey there

We are too flying to Sydney on Jan 8th and will be going to Wollongong. Are you flying Malaysian? Our belongings are also being packed up on Wednesday!!! Spooky!!

I'm starting a nursing degree at Wollongong Uni in Feb....We can't work out which part of the Illawarra to settle in. Have done some research and am still not sure. Shell harbour looks great and is very family orientated apparently.

Rachel

Hi Rachel

Thanks for your reply, your right it is spooky that things are happening on the same day. We are flying with Cathay to Sydney, as we have two small children we wanted to break the trip up and stay overnight in Hong Kong.
We have flown with Malaysian on several occasions and they are excellent, the airport at KL is amazing - great for shopping.

My wife Julia has seen your entries in previous forums so she instantly recognised your name. Unfortunately she did not get the chance to send you a message.

I start work at the end of Jan. (shipping industry)Julia is a teacher but she will not yet be working as we are expecting our third child in May.

We know the Woolongong area quite well, as we almost moved there from Sydney before we came back to the UK almost four years ago.

It's a great place to live, the beaches are superb and the life style is quite laid back, and your not too far from Sydney.The facilities are also good, quite a large shopping mall close by, lots of sport centres in the area and the schools are supposedly very good, plus the climate is just right.

We went to Shell harbour a couple of times and liked it very much. The area is quite new, with lots of new developments springing up all over. So I would imagine after four years the area is quite well established. Property is relatively cheap and modern. Not much I can say about it really but the reports are that it is full of young families and that it is a lovely place to live.

We will be renting in and around that area, not exactly sure yet, so we will be busy the first few days looking for accommodation - as you will be I'm sure. So not much time for a break.

Anyway, must get on as there are boxes everywhere so it takes me a while to fight through them so that I can get to bed. Good luck to you and your family with the move and hopefully we can all keep in touch.

Regards

Tony & Julia

tubbybear

Thanks Julie, very kind. I will let you know re info.

Anastasia Beaverhausen

Hi tubbybear. Welcome. We are headed to Sydney in Feb 06. I'm still set on Sydney, but hubby is trying to convince me to go further south.

Good luck with the packing.

Welshie

Thanks Tony, its great to catch up with others who are going to the same place. I'll PM ya.

Thanks

Rachel