The Cox's Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Thought I would just quickly write something to get this thread going again for the newbies thinking of going to this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelS Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Good one cockney - we're all busy enjoying our new lives here that we forget to keep singing it's praises! We've been here more than four years now - time has flown & we work harder than we did in the uk - but we get paid more, have more house & more fun - and more wine! We started out in Kiama, then up to Shellharbour & currently Figtree. Shellharbour is definitely our fave - but we want to try the northern 'burbs before we choose where to buy. We totally love it here & haven't looked back since getting here - love, love, love the Illawarra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMG Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Hi, we are still waiting for a Visa so not getting hopes up until its final,but, if we are sucessful we may have the option of renting a house on Mt keira road. We have young children so need to know about primary schools, also we are fairly active (mountain/road cyclists, climbing, really most things outdoorish) and wondered what the area is like. We live in a small village at present and kids go to a school with less than 100 pupils. Really have no idea re Mt Keira area, so if anyone knows the good and bad points i'd be grateful. Any info will be appreciated. Our jobs are healthcare and construction (road/water). Thankyou in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EukiBear Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hi, we are still waiting for a Visa so not getting hopes up until its final,but, if we are sucessful we may have the option of renting a house on Mt keira road. We have young children so need to know about primary schools, also we are fairly active (mountain/road cyclists, climbing, really most things outdoorish) and wondered what the area is like. We live in a small village at present and kids go to a school with less than 100 pupils. Really have no idea re Mt Keira area, so if anyone knows the good and bad points i'd be grateful. Any info will be appreciated. Our jobs are healthcare and construction (road/water). Thankyou in advance. A few things that might interest you: http://www.wmbc.asn.au/ http://www.illawarracycleclub.org.au/ http://www.hangdog.com.au/ Euki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMG Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hi thanks for that, I will pass the info on to my husband if/when we get the visa. That answers the hobbies question at least, (which actually is probably the most important one!). Does anybody know what Mt Keira road is like to live on tho' with young children? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illawaralad Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Good one cockney - we're all busy enjoying our new lives here that we forget to keep singing it's praises! We've been here more than four years now - time has flown & we work harder than we did in the uk - but we get paid more, have more house & more fun - and more wine! We started out in Kiama, then up to Shellharbour & currently Figtree. Shellharbour is definitely our fave - but we want to try the northern 'burbs before we choose where to buy. We totally love it here & haven't looked back since getting here - love, love, love the Illawarra! All the best people live in Figtree lol, we're a stones throw from the figgy pub if ya ever fancied a beer or 2. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illawaralad Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi thanks for that, I will pass the info on to my husband if/when we get the visa. That answers the hobbies question at least, (which actually is probably the most important one!). Does anybody know what Mt Keira road is like to live on tho' with young children? Thanks It's quite a big road, but the speed limit is 40 most of the day on school days, and it's walking distance to the botanical gardens which are pretty nice. The view of mount kiera is spectacular too. Good place to start I'd say good luck with it all Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I grew up in the Gong (Thirroul to be exact) and still think of it as my real 'home'. It is lovely - nestled between the mountains and some of the best surf beaches in the world. I get homesick every time this thread pops up :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMG Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Thanks for that, The house we have an option of renting is, I think, near the top of the Mt Keira Road. I appreciate we are luckier than most as we have the option of a house to go to. My main concern is the Kids, whether the area is suitable and the schools are nice/good. We are hopefully ariving in May so trying to do as much research as possible. We live in a small village at present and the kids go to a small ,<90 pupils school. I know that wherever we go it is going to be a culture shock for them , but thats part of the adventure. From what I have read on here the Illawara region sounds great in general, (I have read I think, this entire thread!), but if anyone has any more ideas re primary schools (or any other titbits of info), it is all appreciated. Obviously the most important aspect of this......are employment prospects for my husband and I, no point in having the option of a house if there is no work to be found (Civil Engineer and Nurse). Thanks to all the posters for their contributions, info on this site is invaluable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest austibeach Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Well it's been quite sometime since I was on here but at long last we have sold our house and can finally make the move to Wollongong. We will be starting out living in Thirroul with my sister until we get around to buying our own house. For us this has been a very long process, having started our road to Oz over ten years ago, but it will be worth the wait. It would be nice to meet up with any of the PIO veterans now living in the Illawarra, but as we will be possibly offline for quite sometime it will have to be a next year arrangement. It's been great hearing how some of you have been getting on and also I must give a big thank you to Skippy, who has kept my spirits up many times over the years with his great photos. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheArmChairDetective Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Well it's been quite sometime since I was on here but at long last we have sold our house and can finally make the move to Wollongong. We will be starting out living in Thirroul with my sister until we get around to buying our own house. For us this has been a very long process, having started our road to Oz over ten years ago, but it will be worth the wait. It would be nice to meet up with any of the PIO veterans now living in the Illawarra, but as we will be possibly offline for quite sometime it will have to be a next year arrangement. It's been great hearing how some of you have been getting on and also I must give a big thank you to Skippy, who has kept my spirits up many times over the years with his great photos. Eric. Good Luck and Best Wishes to you asnd yours Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest austibeach Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Thanks Tony, it's good to see you're still around PIO and hopefully once I get settled out there in Oz I can contribute a bit more on here. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I found the illawarra ok in parts, ( i suppose like anywhere good and bad ), but i personally found wollongong 'rough' round the edges and in some ways worse than where i came from,( the north east of england...a place often slagged off by the ,mostly, southern press/media), so i would be apprehensive if i was coming from one of the more quaint/beautiful/not middlesbrough areas of the uk...you could be in for a shock!. i am now happily living back in the uk and i am not trying to upset or put any one off, but if i had my time over again i dont think it would of been in wollongong, after all aus is a big place. for me the work, (blue collar worker ), situation was pretty bad and defo the wrong place for me in that respect, ( should of done more research) but if you can fetch yourself up in the more pretty areas of the illawarra you should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I found the illawarra ok in parts, ( i suppose like anywhere good and bad ), but i personally found wollongong 'rough' round the edges and in some ways worse than where i came from,( the north east of england...a place often slagged off by the ,mostly, southern press/media), so i would be apprehensive if i was coming from one of the more quaint/beautiful/not middlesbrough areas of the uk...you could be in for a shock!. i am now happily living back in the uk and i am not trying to upset or put any one off, but if i had my time over again i dont think it would of been in wollongong, after all aus is a big place. for me the work, (blue collar worker ), situation was pretty bad and defo the wrong place for me in that respect, ( should of done more research) but if you can fetch yourself up in the more pretty areas of the illawarra you should be ok. I would have to agree about wollongong ..very depressing place..no atmosphere..i'm also from north yorks (Scarborough). I live in 'the shire' and some beautiful places around it, but work is a but of a prob in my line of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Gday Eric, I've only got back on here after a long break, we went through Austinmer just last week, which made me wonder how you were going thesedays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 I was looking at this thread today, and never before realised that it was so long, it would be nice to hear from some of the people who participated on this thread over the years, just to see whether they finally made it to these sunny shores, or where and what is happening to the ones that did, I know 2 families returned to the UK, one of which came back again after just a few months, but where is everyone else ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illawaralad Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 We're still here geeze, a bit tubbier but life's grand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cox's Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 We are still here too but now in Newcastle NSW have moved around a bit but finally found a place where we are really very happy. Can't believe how many views this thread has created it's great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 We are still here too but now in Newcastle NSW have moved around a bit but finally found a place where we are really very happy. Can't believe how many views this thread has created it's great!!! Newcastle is better than Illawarra IMHO. Port Stephens, Hunter Valley, Stockton Beach, Lake Macquarie, etc. It made Lonely Planets top 10 cities to visit in the world 2010. I had 2.5 great years there in the 70's (RAAF Williamtown) and been back a few times recently. It's what Perth should be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illawaralad Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Newcastle is better than Illawarra IMHO. Port Stephens, Hunter Valley, Stockton Beach, Lake Macquarie, etc. It made Lonely Planets top 10 cities to visit in the world 2010. I had 2.5 great years there in the 70's (RAAF Williamtown) and been back a few times recently. It's what Perth should be i'm an illawarra man to the core, but if i had to live somewhere else it'd be newie, spent 2 years of my working life there and loved it, i think my favourite inland city is mudgee without a doubt, beautiful.. gongs still best though lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Take away Lake Maquarie and Port Stephens, and Newcastle hasn't as much to offer as the Illawarra and it's surrounding areas in my opinion, the area mentioned on the other post covers an area of 11 council areas, and has nearly double the population of the Illawarra, whereas we have 3 council areas, so we can't really compare the two areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hello , we moved back to uk in 2010 after living in albion park, have to say havnt looked back......work here fine, no probs, I was prob guilty of knocking the uk too much. Had several illawarra relatives over since we came home and they have all enjoyed the north of england.......change of scene I suppose. Dont know if we have finished with oz...we both became citizens.....but for now we are happy in little old england....bye for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Jilly Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 hi all' date='we're new to this site.Just happen to see the pics posted by skippy about Illawara and other areas.We got our PR visa and hoping to be in Oz by end of August.We don't really know where we are going.Our first choice 2years ago before we apply the visa is Adelaide but house prices seems to have doubled since ,then we thought about Melbourne,and was put off with the stamp duty you have to pay when you buy first house;sydney's very little and so as perth.When we looked at the sydney thread last night,illawara just sounds a very nice place to raise a family;the lakes,the beach,and lots more looks gorgeous.We got a 4 year old boy.What is Illawara like?Is there opportunities for us?Me ICU nurse,hubby mental health nurse.Is it multi-cultural too,I'm originally from Philippines,hubby is english.I will contact agencies tomorrow about jobs;I would like to hear your views about the place please,thanks..[/quote'] I worked in the Illawara for 6 months. Lot of crime there. I was terrorised one night by a Lebanese boy who switched my lights off and then tried to remove a window to break in. I lived alone and it was scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapri Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Take away Lake Maquarie and Port Stephens, and Newcastle hasn't as much to offer as the Illawarra and it's surrounding areas in my opinion, the area mentioned on the other post covers an area of 11 council areas, and has nearly double the population of the Illawarra, whereas we have 3 council areas, so we can't really compare the two areas. You can't take away the lake and port Stephens though! They are there and part of what makes it great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I worked in the Illawara for 6 months. Lot of crime there. I was terrorised one night by a Lebanese boy who switched my lights off and then tried to remove a window to break in. I lived alone and it was scary. I worked in a Juvenile detention centre in the Illawarra for 13 years Miss Jilly, and there were very few locals locked up there, so after many years, the powers that be closed the centre and built new centres in the greater Sydney area where most of the offenders came from. It is very scary for people when these things happen, but it's not an epidemic in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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