Fitter migrant Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 hi everyone. Weve been invited by NSW and have lodged our visa application. We ( my wife 2 kids and I) are thinking of trying newcastle to settle in. Any people done this that can offer some advice on schools, areas and anything else that may be relevant to life in newcastle. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 57 minutes ago, Fitter migrant said: hi everyone. Weve been invited by NSW and have lodged our visa application. We ( my wife 2 kids and I) are thinking of trying newcastle to settle in. Any people done this that can offer some advice on schools, areas and anything else that may be relevant to life in newcastle. TIA One of only two places I’d live in Australia, and has changed massively in recent years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitter migrant Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Changed for the better or good? Thanks for replying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 For the better. Used to be a grimy old town. Bits of the centre still look tired, but otherwise it’s transformed. Great beach right in the city, on the doorstep of the wine country, family friendly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitter migrant Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Are the schools there good? Is it a safe city to be in? Which areas are best and are there any areas to avoid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 9 hours ago, Fitter migrant said: Changed for the better or good? Thanks for replying Better. Govt spent $1b on the RAAF base infrastructure, new airport, etc. still the best beaches in NSW and Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley as a bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 (edited) It’s a large city now so there are good and bad schools and good and bad areas. You won’t be able to secure a rental before you arrive anyway, so the best bet is to book a holiday let for three or four weeks when you first arrive and have a drive around the suburbs. I know two managers at my old workplace who lived in Newcastle. They got promoted to the Sydney office but they refused to move their families from Newcastle, because they felt it was such a great place to bring up kids. Says it all really Edited May 18, 2020 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitter migrant Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Hi thanks for replying! Could you give me an idea of what's classed as a good area over there and a couple to avoid? Sorry if I'm being a pain. Its a scary prospect moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, Fitter migrant said: Hi thanks for replying! Could you give me an idea of what's classed as a good area over there and a couple to avoid? Sorry if I'm being a pain. Its a scary prospect moving. There’s a site called homely.com.au, look for Suburb Reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 My eldest is living in Newcastle at the moment. He likes it. They have an apartment in the middle of town, close to the river which has bars restaurants, he's enjoyed the surfing. Sounds like it's safe as City's go. He never mentions any problems and they go out a fair bit, when they aren't in lockdown of course. He met his girlfriend when they were working in Whistler, Canada. She wanted to live near her family when they came back for a while and they all live around Newcastle. Port Stephens, a couple of hours drive North is a beautiful place. I've worked there a few times,a few years back and thought it was nice. It's improved heaps since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 7 hours ago, Paul1Perth said: My eldest is living in Newcastle at the moment. He likes it. They have an apartment in the middle of town, close to the river which has bars restaurants, he's enjoyed the surfing. Sounds like it's safe as City's go. He never mentions any problems and they go out a fair bit, when they aren't in lockdown of course. He met his girlfriend when they were working in Whistler, Canada. She wanted to live near her family when they came back for a while and they all live around Newcastle. Port Stephens, a couple of hours drive North is a beautiful place. I've worked there a few times,a few years back and thought it was nice. It's improved heaps since. I have not been up there for a couple of years but I always thought it was nice and Newcastle East (I just looked it up on the map) always reminded me a little of my home suburb in Sydney - Surry Hills. The photo of that area looks very nice too, close to beaches, river and CBD. Your son is living a long way from you now though and until your premier opens the border he may not be able to come home? I guess he would be OK as he is a direct family member? The QLD premier is talking about not opening "her" border till September. My brother is in Surfers and I can't visit him and I have a friend in South Perth who invited me to stay with her and I can't go there either! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 17 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said: I have not been up there for a couple of years but I always thought it was nice and Newcastle East (I just looked it up on the map) always reminded me a little of my home suburb in Sydney - Surry Hills. The photo of that area looks very nice too, close to beaches, river and CBD. Your son is living a long way from you now though and until your premier opens the border he may not be able to come home? I guess he would be OK as he is a direct family member? The QLD premier is talking about not opening "her" border till September. My brother is in Surfers and I can't visit him and I have a friend in South Perth who invited me to stay with her and I can't go there either! My son is still FIFO out of Perth on the rigs maryrose. He is out there at the moment. He had to get loads of paperwork done to fly into Perth, stay with us overnight, isolate for 2 weeks in Karratha, then fly out to the rig for his 4 week stint. Spoke to him a couple of days ago and he sounded good. This is one of the first FIFO jobs he has enjoyed. Better money, better conditions on the rigs too. I think they are planning on moving to Perth now his girlfriend has been close to her family for a while. Would be a good financial move for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 We live by the Lake and work in Newcastle, absolutely loving it. We've only been here a few years (we lived in Sydney previously), but would be happy to answer any questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 On 20/05/2020 at 12:24, Paul1Perth said: My son is still FIFO out of Perth on the rigs maryrose. He is out there at the moment. He had to get loads of paperwork done to fly into Perth, stay with us overnight, isolate for 2 weeks in Karratha, then fly out to the rig for his 4 week stint. Spoke to him a couple of days ago and he sounded good. This is one of the first FIFO jobs he has enjoyed. Better money, better conditions on the rigs too. I think they are planning on moving to Perth now his girlfriend has been close to her family for a while. Would be a good financial move for them. It must be hard working FIFO especially when you have a family. I suppose if you aim to save a heap of money in a short time and if you are single, it might be good? I guess that even now researchers are studying the long term effects of working FIFO? Mind you, they have probably accumulated much material on the effects of Covad 19 on the entire population? I wonder too what the long term effects on both mental and physical health losing jobs and businesses the extended border closures will have? The premier of Queensland is talking about September at the earliest and I guess WA is much the same, perhaps much longer than September too. I shall just have to holiday in NSW, which is hardly a chore but I would have liked to have spent the lock down in Queensland with my brother, and I would not mind spending some time with my friend in South Perth. I got to like South Perth (and Applecross) on my two visits to Perth. I live my life, wherever it is, as if I'm in a village, and I try to walk everywhere. Today, the furthest I've been is to cafe 100 metres away where I spent an hour or so in the arvo. This evening, I was even closer in two restaurants next to each other and 50 metres away from my home. The last time I was in a car was the middle of April when I drove to Bondi Jn to see a friend. I could have got the train too - five stops. I don't own a car and just hire them short term by the hour from Go Get (which may not operate in Perth?) It's not so practical out in the burbs but where I live the cars are ever 50 to 100 metres with the closest nearer than my own garage. I hired a car in Perth from "No Birds" (whom we also have in Sydney) but that was mostly for afternoon drives, and driving is pleasant in Perth compared to Sydney. The place I stayed in South Perth - cannot think of the name - Peninsular maybe, on South Perth Esplanade - was a short walk to Mends St and the Windsor hotel and cafes. In Applecross I was over the road from the IGA and 100 metres from Raffles hotel with cafes nearby. My friend lives on the Canning Highway side of Angelo Road (Street?) which has its own cafes and a bar. I've been to the bar but I think it's changed its name - opposite the school? I don't know if I could move to Perth though. I like it there. It's nothing to do with the isolation that some people go on about ad nauseam. It' s just that I've moved from England to Australia twice and I don't know if I want to do it again, having built up a social life in Sydney. I just looked on the map. My friend lives on Elizabeth St which looks close enough to Angelo St - Tipsy Monk is the name of the bar opposite Wesley College. The Como Hotel does not look too far away either. I've been to the bottle shop but not the pub. I shall just have to see if your Premier ever opens the border! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitter migrant Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 On 22/05/2020 at 12:30, CaptainR said: We live by the Lake and work in Newcastle, absolutely loving it. We've only been here a few years (we lived in Sydney previously), but would be happy to answer any questions. Hi there thanks for responding. And sorry for the delay. My wife is having a crisis as she has a good job here and the company that we work for trains us up but doesn't give us any certificates so is worried about job opportunities. She is currebtly working in emergency management but was in the HR department prior to this. Are there job opportunities over there that would suit her or should she be doing some further learning. Also any info on good areas bad areas is always useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 I live in hunter valley and work in Newcastle takes me around 50 min to get into city it’s a very safe city , good family vibe definitely on the up it’s NSW biggest growth area lots of beaches close by you could do a lot worse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 NRL team the Newcastle Knights are on the up too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobHatton Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 And if you want somewhere a bit quieter with great beaches AND wineries, try Port Stephens. It's only an hour commute to work in Newcastle but is a million miles away in relaxation. Good facilities including shopping centres etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 10 hours ago, BobHatton said: And if you want somewhere a bit quieter with great beaches AND wineries, try Port Stephens. It's only an hour commute to work in Newcastle but is a million miles away in relaxation. Good facilities including shopping centres etc. I spent several years at RAAF Williamtown, roughly half way between Newcastle and Port Stephens. Scuba diving at Broughton Island, best beaches in NSW such as Zenith Beach etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobHatton Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 My brother was also based for years at RAAF Williamtown before retiring, that's how I know the area so well. Stockton sand dunes are a 4WD paradise... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 12 minutes ago, BobHatton said: My brother was also based for years at RAAF Williamtown before retiring, that's how I know the area so well. Stockton sand dunes are a 4WD paradise... Just across the road from the base. We used to run to the beached Sygna as part of our football training Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 On 07/06/2020 at 19:13, Fitter migrant said: Hi there thanks for responding. And sorry for the delay. My wife is having a crisis as she has a good job here and the company that we work for trains us up but doesn't give us any certificates so is worried about job opportunities. She is currebtly working in emergency management but was in the HR department prior to this. Are there job opportunities over there that would suit her or should she be doing some further learning. Also any info on good areas bad areas is always useful. Times are tough like anywhere, but I think Newcastle is fairing better than most. The micro economy here is driven by the insatiable demand for our coal in various Asian countries who are continuing to build coal fired power stations whilst the rest of the world is looking at renewable energy. Almost every job by a large company is advertised on seek.com.au , this will give you a really good idea what's available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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