Moving to Central Coast from Perth

[MARYROSE02]

On 21/06/2019 at 10:57, Lynnie said:

Yeah it’s very slow here. We would rent out and rent in CC until it picks up

Playing Devil's Advocate (if that is the right term), it might be a good idea to rent your place in Perth anyway to see what happens with your new life in NSW. You might be homesick for Perth or perhaps your boys might move on again. I rented my flat in Surry Hills out for 12 years whilst I went back to England.

I'm not a fan of long drives and / or commutes and If you want to be close to your boys then, as others have said, the Central Coast is not convenient for Cronulla. Maybe, if possible, make some compromises, rent a flat instead of a house, and live In Cronulla itself. There's plenty to do there. I was trying to think  of it in Perth terms, Scarborough perhaps (where I had my first swim in OZ in November, 1978) or Mandurah?

I went over to Perth twice recently, staying a total of 12 weeks including a couple of country trips. I got quite attached to the South Perth to Applecross area. There's a wonderful 24 hour IGA at Applecross but all the pubs close by midnight? It's the opposite in Sydney! I frequented Raffles in Applecross and the Windsor Hotel in South Perth, especially the latter.

I don't know what real estate prices are like but Wollongong would make better sense than the Central Coast. At least it's on the same side of Sydney. If you do move to the Central Coast then maybe live close to a railway station.

[Lynnie]

Hi we have looked at Wollongong and been down there but after reading so many negative posts that said about the drug problems there and very high unemployment we decided against it.  My boys are not sure as yet as to where they will move to now. Welike the look of the cc more than south of the bridge much prettier to us. Although Wollongong was very beautiful in its scenery.  It’s just so hard knowing where is right and only going on what the posts say. We live in a very quiet and safe part of Perth and as you said most things close very early even cafes at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon!! Very beautiful place but no soul. 

[MARYROSE02]

On 30/07/2019 at 18:21, Lynnie said:

Hi we have looked at Wollongong and been down there but after reading so many negative posts that said about the drug problems there and very high unemployment we decided against it.  My boys are not sure as yet as to where they will move to now. Welike the look of the cc more than south of the bridge much prettier to us. Although Wollongong was very beautiful in its scenery.  It’s just so hard knowing where is right and only going on what the posts say. We live in a very quiet and safe part of Perth and as you said most things close very early even cafes at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon!! Very beautiful place but no soul. 

 

Perhaps it's best to wait and see what your boys do before making a permanent move? I empathise with you, though not as a parent but as one of three sons who all came to Australia one by one at 24, 22 and 20, back in 1978 and 1979, leaving my parents alone in an empty house. They made frequent trips out to see us but I always felt guilty for splitting the family up.

I started off in Perth and loved it there but couldn't get a job so I came to Sydney to see the Opera House and the Bridge, intending to go back to England after my money ran out.

I didn't know that Wollongong had a serious drug problem. I've got a feeling that just about every town and suburb has a drug problem. My own suburb, Surry Hills could quite possibly be the drug capital of Australia.

I'm not doing a very good job of selling Surry Hills to you but in terms of convenience to everywhere else in Sydney it's perfect, like being at the hub of a wheel with a ten minute walk to Central station and trains to everywhere else in Sydney and beyond. I don't think you should pay too much credence to negative reviews unless they seem objective. Every time I have been on a cruise I've seen horrible reviews of each ship and none of those reviews reflected my experiences.

I just found a site which reviews Surry Hills and it reminds me of those cruise ship reviews, mostly 5 star but with a few horrifying two star ones:

https://www.homely.com.au/surry-hills-sydney-sydney-greater-new-south-wales

I stayed for a week in Northbridge on one of my trips to Perth and that reminded me a little of Surry Hills?

I liked that in Perth I was able to drive for pleasure. Perth has or seemed to me to have a morning and evening peak and the rest of the time it was easy to get about. In Sydney there is a 7am to 10pm gridlock, seven days a week.

[ramot]

On 15/05/2019 at 20:29, Lynnie said:

Hiya, Bowral sounds beautiful, can I ask where I lived in Sydney? 

The houses are very expensive in Bowral. 

[Marisawright]

 

On 30/07/2019 at 18:21, Lynnie said:

Hi we have looked at Wollongong and been down there but after reading so many negative posts that said about the drug problems there and very high unemployment we decided against it.  

The unemployment rate might be an issue, though I wouldn't have thought it was a lot better on the Central Coast.

The thing is, Wollongong is a city, and like any city, it has nice suburbs and bad suburbs.   There are parts of the Central Coast that have bad drug problems too.  Read some of the reviews of the suburbs around the Illawarra region here:

https://www.homely.com.au/search/suburbs-in-illawarra-new-south-wales

[MARYROSE02]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

 

The unemployment rate might be an issue, though I wouldn't have thought it was a lot better on the Central Coast.

The thing is, Wollongong is a city, and like any city, it has nice suburbs and bad suburbs.   There are parts of the Central Coast that have bad drug problems too.  Read some of the

https://www.homely.com.au/search/suburbs-in-illawarra-new-south-wales

reviews of the suburbs around the Illawarra region here:

https://www.homely.com.au/search/suburbs-in-illawarra-new-south-wales

The couple of times that I got the train down to Wollongong I thought it was OK. I think I walked from the station down the street - or is it a mall - and on to the beach. It seemed to have everything that you would need. I've no idea what commuting to Sydney is like? Detestable like just about everywhere else I imagine, but then again I hate commuting. I'm settled in my suburb now but there was a time when I'd move to whichever suburb I was working in to avoid commuting, which is how I came to Surry Hills in the first place. My nephew commutes from near Camden to Sydney which means a ten/fifteen minute drive to Campbelltown, or maybe Lurmeah, then an hour or so on the train to Town Hall or Wynyard, then however long it takes to get to his office.

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

The couple of times that I got the train down to Wollongong I thought it was OK.

Me too.  There was a period where I was fitting out the offices for our Wollongong branch and had to travel down there several times a week.  At the height of the project, I stayed in a hotel there Monday to Friday.  

All the people who worked in the office there were nice - much friendlier than the average Sydneysider I have to say - and so were the construction workers, who were all local.   I never felt unsafe walking around the town in the evening, and had some lovely meals in the restaurants there.   There's a few apartment blocks on the beach which have become a real magnet for retirees wanting to make a seachange but still have city amenities close by. 

[Toots]

1 minute ago, Marisawright said:

Me too.  There was a period where I was fitting out the offices for our Wollongong branch and had to travel down there several times a week.  At the height of the project, I stayed in a hotel there Monday to Friday.  

All the people who worked in the office there were nice - much friendlier than the average Sydneysider I have to say - and so were the construction workers, who were all local.   I never felt unsafe walking around the town in the evening, and had some lovely meals in the restaurants there.   There's a few apartment blocks on the beach which have become a real magnet for retirees wanting to make a seachange but still have city amenities close by. 

We have friends in Wollongong and they have had no trouble at all and are very much enjoying life there.  As you say Marisa the CC has problems with unemployment and drugs too.  You have to be careful where you live on the CC as some of the towns/area are what I term as rough.

[MARYROSE02]

"Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong" - "NSW" someone told me long ago or I may have read it somewhere. One of my brothers likes Newcastle but detests Sydney. The other lives at Spring Farm, a new build estate near Camden, 60 kilometres from me in Surry Hills. If I left now at 1735 driving, it could take me anywhere from an hour to double that. South Dowling Street from the Eastern Distributor is probably jammed and the M5 tunnel almost certainly blocked. Public transport would mean ten minute walk to Central, an hour or so on the train to Campbelltown or MacArthur then a bus to Spring Farm.

I thought about moving out there as old age and infirmity beckons and my brother and his wife and their two adult children all living in the same 'burb, the two "kids" next door to each other. It's a nice area with lovely homes but I might be lonely on my own in a house and everything is on my doorstep here in Surry Hills.

Whilst I'm talking travel times I thought I'd check Gosford to Cronulla - 1 hour and 53 minutes - 104.4 km, probably be less outside the peak of course.  By public transport, 1802 train to Central, arrive 1929 and then 1949 to Cronulla, arriving 2040.

I rather like Terrigal but that means 10 more minutes to the drive and with no station means a bus to Gosford and extra hour of travel. That's why I like to live walking distance to a station but in some suburbs that can mean your street is a commuter car park..

[Lynnie]

Yeah ideally whether we decide north or south we would both prefer if we are lucky enough to work near where we live rather than commute into Sydney. 

Went into Bowral today how cute is it there

[Bulya]

On 31/07/2019 at 19:28, ramot said:

The houses are very expensive in Bowral. 

Understatement 

[Bulya]

On 01/08/2019 at 17:54, MARYROSE02 said:

"Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong" - "NSW" someone told me long ago or I may have read it somewhere. One of my brothers likes Newcastle but detests Sydney. The other lives at Spring Farm, a new build estate near Camden, 60 kilometres from me in Surry Hills. If I left now at 1735 driving, it could take me anywhere from an hour to double that. South Dowling Street from the Eastern Distributor is probably jammed and the M5 tunnel almost certainly blocked. Public transport would mean ten minute walk to Central, an hour or so on the train to Campbelltown or MacArthur then a bus to Spring Farm.

I thought about moving out there as old age and infirmity beckons and my brother and his wife and their two adult children all living in the same 'burb, the two "kids" next door to each other. It's a nice area with lovely homes but I might be lonely on my own in a house and everything is on my doorstep here in Surry Hills.

Whilst I'm talking travel times I thought I'd check Gosford to Cronulla - 1 hour and 53 minutes - 104.4 km, probably be less outside the peak of course.  By public transport, 1802 train to Central, arrive 1929 and then 1949 to Cronulla, arriving 2040.

I rather like Terrigal but that means 10 more minutes to the drive and with no station means a bus to Gosford and extra hour of travel. That's why I like to live walking distance to a station but in some suburbs that can mean your street is a commuter car park..

I’d live in Newcastle, but under no circumstances would I live in Sydney.  Sydney’s good for short visits

[MARYROSE02]

15 hours ago, Bulya said:

I’d live in Newcastle, but under no circumstances would I live in Sydney.  Sydney’s good for short visits

I usually "like" everybody else's posts but, as I live in Sydney, how can I agree with you?!!!

[Bulya]

4 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I usually "like" everybody else's posts but, as I live in Sydney, how can I agree with you?!!!

My apologies sir!

[Tootsie]

On 28/04/2019 at 18:28, Lynnie said:

within driving distance to train line.

Hello

Avoca Beach and Macmasters Beach are both lovely, and about 20 minutes to Gosford train station by car.

In my opinion, Gosford and Woy Woy are OK to visit or transit through, but I would not like to live there.

Down from the coast, Somersby and Berowra are good places to live too.

Best you book into short term (three months) accommodation when you get here and check areas out for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

[nyorksgrannie]

I guess you have found somewhere to live now but we like Saratoga and Davistown. We are retired but travel to see family in Berowra and Sydney area. Driving is fine until you get to Hornsby and south then it is busy and full of trucks.

The great thing about a Davistown is that there is plenty of space to walk by the water, it doesn’t get the weekend tourists that clog up Terrigal and Avoca and there is a ferry across to Woy Woy where you can catch a train into Sydney some of which are fast (ish) not stopping everywhere. We can walk to cafes, restaurants and takeaways.

There are hospitals in Gosford, shopping mall st Erina, 15 mins drive to Avoca when you want beach. etc etc. You might struggle with budget but there are still some bargains to be had if you don’t mind a bit of renovating.

Good luck with wherever you choose.

 

[Lynnie]

Hi thank you for your advice. We are still here in Perth and probably won’t be going now u til mid 2020. We will check these places out at Xmas and definitely don’t mind a do up house. Thanks again

[Dusty Plains]

On 28/11/2019 at 15:37, Lynnie said:

Hi thank you for your advice. We are still here in Perth and probably won’t be going now u til mid 2020. We will check these places out at Xmas and definitely don’t mind a do up house. Thanks again

 

On 04/08/2019 at 10:41, Bulya said:

I’d live in Newcastle, but under no circumstances would I live in Sydney.  Sydney’s good for short visits

Born and Raised, but its not the wonderland that used to be. I live on the rim and rarely go down into the jungle that is Sydney. Still its the only world city in Australia.

[Tootsie]

On 19/06/2019 at 22:29, Lynnie said:

Hi our budget is about $550,000 we like the beach coastal living  Hubbie is a painter and decorator and would like to work around the cc area n not commute into Sydney. Any feedback would be appreciated

Hello

You can still pick up a decent place on the Central Coast for $550,000 or less.

It is a great relaxed lifestyle up there and very close to several beaches

It is near enough to Cronulla in my opinion. You don't want to be living in your childrens pockets 24/7 do you? Couple of hours on the train or in the car is nothing in the scheme of things.

You don't necessarily have to commute into the CBD for work. There is loads of new units going up in Hornsby, where your hubby could possible get some painting and decorating work, and Hornsby is only 40 minutes from Gosford either driving or on the train.