dorsetemma 16 Posted August 23, 2014 Hi Everyone After 4 years of talking about it, I think we are about ready to make the move from the lovely (but expensive, crowded and busy) Northern Beaches to somewhere with some space and countryside and affordable housing. Both my husband and I can work from home and we have 2 boys at primary school and an energetic dog. We are thinking of Berry - good shopping and coffee for my husband and I, a small local school for the boys and a nearby dog friendly beach. It is not the cheapest area down south but it looks a bargain compared to the Northern Beaches and so beautiful. We are looking for a slower pace of life where the boys are not racing around doing after school activities and sports every night of the week (with me sat in traffic driving them everywhere), where we can go out for walks with the dog as a family (rather than standing in an off leash fenced area) and where we can have a large garden so the boys can be out pottering and making stuff rather than being in front of the tv. Other than a few weekends away though, I know nothing about Berry and this could all be a pipe dream! It might be that it is a town full of unwelcoming high achievers whose children are also in multiple after school classes, where dogs are not welcome and where there are far too many snakes around (as seen on Village Vets!). Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Freckleface 3,066 Posted August 24, 2014 (edited) Berry is lovely and has a wonderful sense of community. There are pretentious overachievers everywhere but if I had to generalise about Berry I would say it has become more arty farty than anything else in the last 20 years. How many activities your children undertake after school is really up to you. If you live on an acreage or on the outskirts of town you will be living next to snakes - although you may not see them. Edited August 24, 2014 by Freckleface Forgot to comment on snakes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARYROSE02 2,311 Posted August 24, 2014 It always has a 'cool' / 'trendy' look about it when I've been through Berry. The sort of things I might be thinking about before a move, would be how far to a hospital and what are the general doctor/dentist facilities like. Small places in the country can be great places to live, until you are sick? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Freckleface 3,066 Posted August 24, 2014 The Shoalhaven District Hospital in Nowra is only 17 mins from Berry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LKC 2,986 Posted August 24, 2014 It isn't so far from Nowra. We go to Kangaroo Valley and Jervis Bay quite often for weekends away, and usually stop at Berry on the way down. It is a really lovely town! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quoll 6,241 Posted August 24, 2014 Berry is nice, you could do worse (but see above about the pretentious arty farty mob) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wellers and Whitehead 572 Posted August 24, 2014 It's lovely and I love all that arty farty stuff. . It's hours away from Sydney and it does feel far away from civilisation. .aged 35 it would be too isolated but really lovely..I don't drive so maybe that's why it feels so far away? ? Aymie :wub: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARYROSE02 2,311 Posted August 24, 2014 It's lovely and I love all that arty farty stuff. . It's hours away from Sydney and it does feel far away from civilisation. .aged 35 it would be too isolated but really lovely..I don't drive so maybe that's why it feels so far away? ? It sounds like 'Surry Hills (my 'burb) in the bush?'! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wellers and Whitehead 572 Posted August 24, 2014 Ha..no is not like Surry hills. .I'm not a fan of SH. It doesn't have all the council flats and ppl off their faces. Aymie :wub: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dorsetemma 16 Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks everyone. I love arty farty as long as its not taken too seriously but the snakes might need some thinking about! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quoll 6,241 Posted August 25, 2014 Thanks everyone. I love arty farty as long as its not taken too seriously but the snakes might need some thinking about! If you're not bothered with snakes where you are you are unlikely to be bothered by them in Berry! Unless you're planning on living way out in the bush they aren't going to be an issue - and, even then, if you don't harass them they aren't going to bite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasepom 87 Posted August 25, 2014 Nice place to settle down Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARYROSE02 2,311 Posted August 25, 2014 Ha..no is not like Surry hills. .I'm not a fan of SH. It doesn't have all the council flats and ppl off their faces. I'm NOT moving to Berry, in that case! Perhaps it is more like Balmain in the Bush? Or Mosman? Seriously, I like a place with a bit of life and culture, and Berry seemed to offer that. Stunning scenery too, with the Princes Highway undulating through the countryside? Are all the flame trees out around there? It's just a pity that they never extended the railway line past Nowra/Bomaderry? The 'Ice Tower' is as much a part of Surry Hills as all the yuppie/dinkie poseurs parading along Crown Street! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARYROSE02 2,311 Posted August 25, 2014 If you're not bothered with snakes where you are you are unlikely to be bothered by them in Berry! Unless you're planning on living way out in the bush they aren't going to be an issue - and, even then, if you don't harass them they aren't going to bite. I always put my hand on the banister as I (gingerly) descend the stairs outside my unit, and I still shudder, remembering the time I felt something kind of soft and squishy. No, not poo, but a HUGE (Huntsman?) spider. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quoll 6,241 Posted August 25, 2014 I always put my hand on the banister as I (gingerly) descend the stairs outside my unit, and I still shudder, remembering the time I felt something kind of soft and squishy. No, not poo, but a HUGE (Huntsman?) spider. Huntsmen are harmless! As long it wasn't a funnelweb! Now they are really ferocious little buggers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARYROSE02 2,311 Posted August 25, 2014 Huntsmen are harmless! As long it wasn't a funnelweb! Now they are really ferocious little buggers! Yes, I know that Quoll, and I've even learnt to tolerate them in my flat. I sometimes see one on the wall, and if I ignore it, it disappears, though I know not where! I was more scared of wasps in England! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
