suburbs in darwin

[peregrine]

Hi, I am new to the forum. We may be moving to Darwin in August 2014. I would value people's opinions on the suburbs of karama, malak, leanyer. Are they improving? Would they be a good investment? Are they safe for a family? Our children would be going to O'Loughlin Catholic College, so Karama very convenient, and the houses seem good value for money (given Darwin prices). Suggestions of other family-friendly suburbs would be welcome. Thanks.

[calNgary]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

Darwin is somewhere i have yet to explore so i can't help with suburbs, sorry. I did find this link that you may find useful http://www.homely.com.au/search/suburbs-in-darwin-northern-territory

 

Lots of luck with your move and keep us updated on how you get on?

Cal x

[Dandelion]

Hello, We have lived in Karama for the past 12 months after moving from Edinburgh. We find it fine but a bit isolated. Our children are at Leanyer School. We have found it a perfectly safe suburb to live in and it's very leafy (like everywhere else in Darwin!). I think rent is extortionate - $750 per week for our house. We're looking to move to Leanyer to be closer to the school. I think Malak is also fine. Happy searching!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

Darwin is somewhere i have yet to explore so i can't help with suburbs, sorry. I did find this link that you may find useful http://www.homely.com.au/search/suburbs-in-darwin-northern-territory

 

Lots of luck with your move and keep us updated on how you get on?

Cal x

[LeeWilliams]

Hi Peregrine

 

was just wondering how your research on suburbs were going? Me and my partner are hoping to move out to Darwin later this year with our 2 year old son and were also looking into family friendly suburbs. So far the information we've found on suburbs seem to be a bit outdated. So far been told to avoid the areas in darwin beginning with 'M' and palmerston. And best places seem to be nightcliff, wulagi and leanyer. But again there have been a few that say palmerston is quite good due to the new developments.

if anyone else might have an input I'd love to hear it.

[garyjames]

Hi,

 

I have been working in the housing/property sector for almost 4 years in Darwin so have quite a good knowledge of each of the suburbs in Darwin so my advice may be of some use.

 

I would recommend the following 2 areas:

 

1. Darwin CBD (the closer to the Parliament end of the city the better).

2. Cullen Bay (which has a very nice marina, but avoid the restaurant area as it can get noisy in the evenings)

 

Bay View is also nice but I wouldn't recommend it as there are lots of mosquitos there due to the mangroves and people there can get badly bitten.

 

I wouldn't recommend houses at all in any suburb in Darwin - because of the flies, mosquitos and insects.

 

I would recommend apartments only (preferably from level 6 and upwards) as mosquitos and flies and insects often don't enjoy being at such heights.

 

Being close to the sea is also good as it can give you natural breezes from the sea. The above two areas recommended are close to the sea.

 

Hope the above helps.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Gary

[peregrine]

Hi Lee

 

My husband (from Melbourne orginally but has worked in UK for 17 years) has been working in Darwin since January 2013. We have stayed in the UK so my daughter can finish her gcses. Hub comes back Christmas and summer holidays. We are due to go in July 2014. Hub lives in Gray (rent cheap), but he would not recommend this area. Palmerston is a newish area, and he knows colleagues who live in Gunn and Rosebery and these are good areas. Palmerston is family friendly, new houses, smaller plots. I think Gray and Moulden are a bit crappy. Woodroffe OK. If you like nature and big plots (like 5 acres), then you need to look at Howard Springs, Virginia, Bees Creek, Humpty Doo. These are 30 mins drive to city. Hub had a look at some houses there - wonderful nature, but felt isolated. Nearer into Darwin itself, people like Leanyer, Anula, Wulagi, Woolner, Tiwi, Moil. Fannie Bay, Cullen Bay, Nightcliff are v expensive. Frankly, I am staggered by the prices in Darwin. I have heard that Malak and Karama are up and coming - older houses on bigger plots, and shedding their bad reputations. We will rent while we wait for stuff to arrive, and then pick an area. I fancy the places in the bush (howard springs, etc), but I may go for practicality and move as near as poss to the secondary school - I am driving a 30-mile round trip 2 or 3 times a week for after-school activities at my children's school in England. It is something you don't think about when the children are young, but when they are teens it drives you mad.

 

What job are you going to do in Darwin, if you don't mind me asking?

[LeeWilliams]

Hi Peregrine

Thanks for the information; it's exactly what i was looking for. Originally we had looked into renting close to the CBD but the prices are sky high.

I'm an aircraft engineer, so ideally looking for something close to Brisbane International but, from reading many of the posts on here, it doesn't seem to be much of a commute from Palmerston.

[davidpenny]

Hi Lee,

 

I am an aircraft engineer also, looking to move to Darwin at the end of the UK summer. Just waiting for 489 visa to be approved, apparently there are currently restrictions on visa finalisations according to my case officer. Am I going to be in competition with you for a job? I'm a B2! Thanks to everyone else for the suburb information, I will bear all points in mind for moving my family over (including 6 yr old daughter). Does anyone have any advice on vehicle rental and temporary accommodation rental until we get our feet firmly on the ground?

 

Regards

 

Dave

:biggrin:

[LeeWilliams]

Hahaha no competition I'm B1. Don't know if it's a wise decision but I've been holding off submitting my state nomination application as I've been approached by a recruitment agency with the possibility of a 457 employer sponsorship visa in the NT. Or should I go ahead and submit my application anyway as it's technically not a visa application so shouldn't be conflict with gaining a 457 visa but if the 457 visa falls through for whatever reason as least I can still go for the state sponsorship visa. Does anyone know how long, if the NT accepts my application, I have to apply for the visa through skillselect before it expires?

[NT Born]

Hi I live in Darwin. Karama is NOT a suburb you want to live in, it is called "the Ghetto" for very good reason.

Malak and Leanyer have pockets that are good as do most of the northern suburbs. The pick of the northern suburbs would be

Nakara, Brinkin, Tiwi, Wanguri and depending on your budget the new suburbs of Lyons and Muirhead (very pricey)

My preference would be the newer suburbs of Palmerston - Durack, Gunn, Bakewell, Rosebery, Farrar, Johnston and Bellamack.

Suburbs to AVOID in Palmerston - Moulden, Gray, Woodrooffe, Driver. The new shopping centre at Coolalinga (couple of kms south

of Palmerston) is due for completion by the end of the year. It will have Coles and Kmart plus many other speciality shops and alot of Palmerston residents are looking forward to this opening as it will have them the trip into Casuarina. When this centre opens the only major player that won't be available at Palmerston will be Big W, but I'm sure that will come before long.

[Paul1Perth]

Personally don't like Palmerston one bit. If you can afford it I would pay a lot extra just to be near the City. Have you checked out newer development near the City? There are a lot of new housing estates popping up near Tiger Brennan Drive. Bayview looks nice but I suppose expensive.

 

On the other side of Darwin Cullen Bay and Fanny Bay are nice. Don't know what your budget is but I would pay a fair bit extra to live in a nice house in a nice suburb, within easy reach of things to do. Rather than try to budget and be worried about the kids going out.

[NT Born]

If you have upwards of 1 million dollars plus to spend then Fannie Bay, Cullen Bay and Bayview (aka Sandfly City) are

for affordable. Bayview has alot of defence housing rentals there (mainly Army).

Alternatively there are alot of apartments in the city but again they are very expensive.

[sazm2k12]

We have lived in Darwin for 2 years now and for this stint have lived in Leanyer and Wulagi. We have also lived in Darwin previously and lived in Stuart Park. Overall Stuart Park was probably the best due to its proximity to the city but have had no problems at all in any of these areas. We live in Leanyer now and love it, the only reason we will probably move will be to be closer to the city as we are a youngish couple and taxi prices home can add up if we both want to have a drink.

 

I think Leanyer would be really good for a family - there is a water park that looks really good and I think its free to use (admittedly we haven't actually been), a little shopping centre with a supermarket, bottleo, takeaways etc and lots of nice walkways. It seems like a pretty safe area too as we have never had any trouble at all. Its also really close to Casuarina (the main shopping centre) and only a 20 minute drive to the city. In terms of prices we pay $530 per week for a 2 bedroom unit with private tropical garden and small pool.

 

Palmerston seems cheaper but its further out from the city and I have heard a few of the areas can be a bit rough. I've heard that Karama is the suburb to avoid (and have heard a few bad stories) but I used to go jogging around there and it seemed fine to me!