Hello to you all

Is anyone in or going to Port Macquarie me my wife & daughter are moving their in Oct 08.

Cheer

The oldgit66

Hi, I'm not going there. Just wanted to wish you good luck with your move. Kate

Hi oldgit cant help but WELCOME to BE

Where is that?
Claire.x

hiya!

Just wanted to say Hi and Welcome! There's a great view of Port McQuarie beach on

http://www.coastalwatch.com/camera/c...rt%20Macquarie

i go on here when I'm having a bad day and enjoy watching the sea for a bit. Mental? ME??!

Therese

Hi Claire

It is about 2hrs south of Coffs Harbour

Cheers

The oldgit66

Hi there - we live in Port Macquarie. Moved here last November ’08.
Port has loads of restaurants - in the winter they seem to close early (now is Winter of course) - weekends things stay open a bit more. Their is East Port Bowling club and Westport Club - they're Aussie style sports clubs where you get reduced price good food and booze - they are typically RSL styles clubs and they are everywhere in Aussie. There is also Panthers which is similar but more sports based. Pubs - there is the Beach House, Town Green Inn, Macquarie Hotel (not recommended), Finnians Irish Tavern, Settlers Inn, Tacking Point Tavern, Fernhill Tavern - they are the ones I know of but I'm sure there are more. Then there are the food joints and to be honest there are TOO many to list. There is a cinema - the screen is big enough but the place is dated and could do with a revamp. But, the movies show fine on the screen and the sound system is OK. There are TWO shopping zones Settlement City and Port Central - for shopping areas they are small. There is new town being built just off the Pacific Highway which will also have lots of facilities as they need to attract people to move out of Port (3miles from CBD). South of Port is Lake Cathie and Bonny Hills - apart from a Woollies and a few small shops there is nothing to do there at night. Lighthouse Beach area does have food outlets but I've not spotted a pub as such. Port has an airport with flights to Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane so its got people who commute by flying to both major cities and come home at weekends. The nearest regular train service starts at Newcastle to Sydney. Port is 4.5 hours drive from North Sydney and 5.5 hours from Brisbane.

Personally - we researched and researched where to live and would not even THINK of going anywhere else now we've moved to Port. The beaches are awesome - there is loads to do during the day as its principally a tourist area (this is where Aussies come on holiday) - easy access to Brissie and Sydney - temperature is stable all year round - daytime temps in Port are still 21-22 degrees but it was down to 9 last night!!!! We are not shopping nuts so are not bothered that we don't have a Dan Murphys or several dozen clothes shops - but we don't have a GOOD book shop either which is a pain - you won't find a Borders or Waterstones here but we do have two smaller ones including an Angus and Robertson. There is a huge Bunnings, we've got Art shops, RTA, 3 post offices, Harvey “Normal”, Oz Design, Plus in fact everything for the house inside and out. All of the car dealerships are here. We have Honda / BMW / Yamaha and Triumph motorcycle dealers - we have boat dealers too. On the other side of the Pacific highway is the Oxley highway and one of the best biking (motorbike) roads in NSW. Every year there is the Ironman Triathlon (if you're into fitness). There are pedal bike shops, health centres, a BASE and Private hospital plus all of the clinics that go with them. NBN TV are here. We have a huge public library and lots of gym and fitness centres. There is Panthers stadium which is where the local team play rugby league and its where the other events take place such as concerts. There are also soccer fields and hockey fields. Bowling is a big thing but then it is anywhere in NSW. There is a swimming club and a 50m olympic size outdoor heated pool. Port is still developing and there are lots of plans for growth and upgrading existing facilities. The Glass House cultural centre and theatre will open early next year too - thats in the CBD. There are dozens of real estate agents, all of the banks have a presence here too. Sitting on the Hastings River there are frequent boat trips and whale watching trips. Dolphins are seen daily on the river and at the moment it’s the end of migrating humpback whale season too! For scuba the nearest is South West Rocks or Coffs Harbour - both of which boast huge populations of resident grey nurse sharks - not uncommon for 20-30 to be seen on a single dive.

Hope fully that has given you an overview of Port.
If there is any specific questions. Don't hesitate to ask.

Hi there,

My name is Clare, me and my husband are moving there tomorrow. We arrived from the UK a week ago. Got somewhere to live, but kind of getting jobs in our line of work as a carpenter and teacher is going to take a while
Clare

Woooooooooooo...Good luck with your new life Clare and Welcome to BE