Jesse82

Hello everyone.
My wife and I have just been granted our permanent resident visa 190. As you can imagine, we have punched the air in celebration with such vigour and frequency. That we are in serious danger of becoming professional shadow boxers.

We are still in the UK (Plymouth) at the moment. However, we have lived in Australia (Toowoomba, QLD) before. So the usual issues of tax file numbers, medicare and what supermarket to shop at, Coles or Woolworths. Are fully understood on our behalf.

We would appreciate any advise, tips, experiences both good and bad on where we should look to relocate in NSW. We do have a some criteria which we hope will narrow down the search. These include,

Living within 1hr drive of the coast.

Relatively medium to large population as I'm a driving instructor and will need a good client base.

My wife is an occupational therapist who specialises in mental health in both adults and children/adolescents. So a nearby large hospital would be ideal.

good quality housing ( if you live there then you'll know what I mean) for around $400-450/wk.

We look forward to hearing your advise.

​​​​​​​ps. Just incase you were wondering, it's Woolworths all the way. 😀




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Beoz

​​​​​​​There's only 3 that fit the medium to large population criteria. Sydney Wollongong and Newcastle.

verystormy

Jesse82

Thanks for the replies. In terms of what we consider a large population. Anywhere between 150,000-200,000 should be fine.
​​​​​​Regarding Newcastle and Wollongong, these are places we have thought about (Penrith also) so anyone with additional information on these locations would be fantastic. That's not to say we would completely rule out Sydney but the expense of living there is a concern.

Beoz

I would slit my wrists before living in Penrith.

Newcastle and Wollongong are nice. Both on the way up. Pressure is mounting for a medium speed rail between both of them and Sydney. Still a long way off.

Where did you come up with that budget? Do you know what you are likely to earn?

Jesse82

Haha, thanks for the glowing reference for Penrith. The rental budget is based on what we were paying previously in Queensland. However this was several years ago and we are expecting a bit of flexibility on our side. In terms of our expected income we should be able to comfortably afford $400-450/wk on my wife's expected income alone. This not to say I won't be working as I need to do a conversion course to continue as a driving instructor. This means I may need to get a job in the meantime until that's sorted. Once I'm up and running and based on the average driving instructors wage minus 20%. Our rental budget will increase accordingly.
​​​​​​Do you have any experience or knowledge of living in Newcastle or wollongong which we would find useful?

carcajou

I would second Beoz's comments about Wollongong. If we ever moved to NSW, it and the surrounding area would get a very close look from us.

I don't know anything about Newcastle other than that the Bondi Vet is originally from there.

Jesse82

If I'm being honest I've been thinking Wollongong is my preferred option, but I'm only basing this on a friend's experience of living there and trivial things like photos.
What is it about the place you're particularly fond of?
I'd really like to hear from someone who currently lives there or have recently lived there.

Beoz

No problem. I call it as I see it.

There is no need to be 1 hour from the coast. If you are 1 hour from the coast, you will never use it.

I have never lived in either Newcastle or Wollongong but I have been there numerous times so my thoughts are merely that ..... thoughts.

I believe the northern suburbs of Wollongong are regarded as the better ..... they are certainly more beautiful.

I do not know the better suburbs in Newcastle, however I do find Port Stephens, 45 mins to the north, one of the most scenic and beautiful places around, and commutable to Newcastle.

Both have hospitals, Newcastle has an airport, Wollongong does not.

Before deciding on a rent try and figure out what you can earn. There's no point skimping on rent if you have to live in a shithole, both house and area. Life will be better if you can maximize your rent spend.

Jesse82

Given me something to think about regarding port Stephens. I do think however, 45 mins would be the absolute maximum for travel time to get to work.
​​​​
When we lived in Toowoomba QLD we were 2.5 hrs from the coast but we would regularly make the trip even just for the day, but I definitely want to be closer this time around and think 1hr drive would be more manageable without being an issue.

The point you make about rent is valid but we don't want to throw money at a rental as we would be looking to buy a property after a couple of years.

I also forgot to mention that we will be bringing our dog with us and wanted to know what companies people have used to ship over their pets? And would they recommend them?

scrubbedexpat098

Hi Jesse

Just seen this as a close friend of mine gave me the heads up that someone was looking to move to the Gong. We've been here for over 10 years now so if you have any questions, please feel free. We're happy here, in a suburb called Figtree, sort of south west of the city. There are some lovely leafy suburbs here, and the nature of the place means you're never more than 5 - 10 minutes drive from a beach. There is an airport but after years of not alot happening it has only just started flights to Melbourne again.

I'm not going to say stear clear of certain places as I think most of those reputations are a little unfair, sure the Northern beaches are lovely but so are the prices so it's swings and roundabouts really.

One thing is for sure, whenever I'm driving down Mount Ousley on my way home, and I catch the view of the Illawarra coast it makes me incredibly happy.

Happy hunting, and like I say, any questions, feel free

bourbon-biscuit

You don't need to go as far as Port Stephens to enjoy the beach lifestyle in Newcastle. Pretty much all burbs are within 30-45 mins of the coast and most of us live within 15 mins. The beaches here are outstanding. Personal favourites include Redhead, Merewether, Caves, Nobby's, Dudley .... I could go on and on. What is especially lovely is that within 20 mins you have city beaches like Newcastle with a cafe scene and all that jazz and then remote unpatrolled bush-backed beaches like Dudley.
There's the John Hunter hospital and also the Mater in Waratah where most MH services are based. The population here is larger than official Newcastle stats because Newcastle just merges into Lake Macquarie (Charlestown etc).

scrubbedexpat098

Hi Jesse

We popped up to the Mt Kiera Lookout today so I thought I'd take some pics for ya, happy to call this place home

Jesse82

​​​​​​
Sorry for the delay. Had some pretty bad news this week. The mother-in-law has just been diagnosed with cancer and it looks like it could be terminal so our plans are definitely changing. We are still going to make the move as we know it's the best thing for our long term future, but it's all about the family in the short term.
On a cheerier note, those pics are stunning and gives a far better understanding of scale than google ever could so thank you very much for sharing.
In your experience what is the rental scene like?

J___Mcewan

Many points did you apply with?