Nsw Mid North Coast Recommendations - To Live

[barls]

the problem is the other similar groups in town in different areas.
ill let you know. ill chat to the old man tomorrow.

 

[crozdog]

sorry bribe - only just saw the thread. As barls said, I too grew up in Taree. Whilst it was a great place to grow up in 25+ years ago, it has changed a lot since. It is now a low socio-economic demographic - a real poverty town IMHO. I say that as there are no major industries (fishing, timber, dairy factories etc have all shut shop). There is high unemployment and a lot of strife with drink & drugs (a mate who is a maths teacher in one of the high schools tells horror stories of the lack of interest or respect from most of the kids). My olds were broken into twice whilst they were sitting in their lounge room. Their place is now like fort knox - not how I'd like to see em living! Unemployment is one of the highest in the country - Centrelink supports a high % of residents - there are many areas of town that I used to freely walk through with no concern at night that i won't go to now. VB vs toohees; Longbeach vs winfield; ford vs holden; jim beam vs jack daniels are the cultural divide for a lot of residents. Sure there are many that aren't like that but they are usually older parents whose kids have left home - like Barls's & mine who are too old to or are not interested in moving house at their age. Just about anyone with a brain & some get up and go get out of there as soon as they can.

Yeah there is an aldi, coles, bigw, woolies etc, but the pubs all sell megaswill, there is no decent bottlo & even Kmart left town! The council cannot afford to repair roads, let alone replace ageing bridges etc.

As far as health services, taree has a pretty good base hospital & a private one too, but be aware that menu people travel to Port Macquarie or Newcastle for treatment as services and specialists in taree are few and far between. Oh & there is no regular transport between Taree & port if you can't or don't want to drive. Just raising that as health services are a big concern for the older population in Taree & surrounds.

There are some great places around the taree area -I love Tinonee & Harrington. Wingham is a much nicer place than taree. But as others have said, places around Port Macquarie like Wauchope, Laurieton, Bonny Hills are fantastic. Unlike Taree, there is something happening in Port. There are 3 universities, 2 hospitals & medical services up the wazoo and a thriving industrial area. There is an annual month long food festival in October too. There is a great cultural centre that has shows that play at the Opera house as well as community and sporting events happening almost every weekend. There is a huge cycling community here too if that's your thing. went to a 6 course beer degustation dinner the other night - that'd never happen in taree.

The beaches around taree are some of the best around (ok excluding the massive erosion problems at Old bar) however as far as services, pride in the town etc etc goes, Port has it all over Taree - & I say that from living here for 8 months. years ago I seriously considered moving back to taree to raise a family, but glad I decided not to.

Don't wanna put the dampers on you, but reckon there are better places than taree especially around Port which is about 2.5 hrs drive to Newcastle.

If you've already decided on taree, i'd recommend you look for somewhere out of town, but then you need transport.

feel free to ask any questions as I'm back there regularly to check up on the old man.

croz
PS Oh i forgot to say - it's not halidays point, it's blackhead. halidays point is what some developer called it to push up real estate prices & it stuck. Talking of beaches, if you live in taree your local beach is old bar, crowdy if you're from chatham & blackhead if you hail from wingham. pretty parochial bunch around there.

 

[Brewman_]

Bribie,
You are moving to a fantastic region. It has everything anyone could want. But like Crozdag says be careful where you go. I don't want to bad mouth any area, they all have something going for them and it depends what you want. Some of the areas you mentioned I would personally no go to, but that is me.

I have lived in Sydney, Brisbane, NSW southern highlands and now the Hunter, and I love the Hunter / Newcastle area, it is great, but it is not for everyone either. Bye the way I also love the NSW southern Highlands, just fantastic there, geez I do miss that place.

PM me if you want some detailed advice.
Fear_n_loath

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Sorry to see you go Bribie......... Before you go, I think Winkle should throw a big goodbye pissup for you.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks guys. Already have some good information to avoid Taree except for Cundletown, West Taree or out to Wingham. We went through in Feb when I had a drive down the Buckett Way.
T. strikes me as a bit like Caboolture / Morayfield here, about same population and boganification index. However as everywhere there are nice and ugly pockets.

That Purfleet suburb looks great, they tell me there's some cheap rentals there and neighbours who visit regularly to check that things are ok when you aren't home.

B) B)

Stepdaughter is renting at Old Bar so we'll be heading down in about 3 weeks for a shoofty around the area. Tending back to beach idea now rather than town idea.
Good late model Mazda so no problems with transport, and Port just an hour up the track to annoy Warra and down to Islington once a month to have a jar with MHB

How's this for a shot at Wingham , well even the Google Car needs petrol

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Wake up you too. The gong and surrounds is for wannabe sydney siders. h34r: When BHP packs up the pits & steelworks down there it will be a ghost town!

Too=two

Who mentioned Wollongong ?? (great place that it is) . I'm over 3 hours drive away from Wollongong. On the real south coast of NSW.

 

[warra48]

Port just an hour up the track to annoy Warra and down to Islington once a month to have a jar with MHB

Mate, that won't be an annoyance, and we might even share our cars to annoy MHB from time to time. Mrs warra will be pleased to have a day by herself, particularly as I haven't been able to indulge in my regular twice weekly golf for close to a year.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Bega and the eurobodalla are absolutely gorgeous for 6 months of the year, and bloody freezing for the other 6 months of the year

Not necessarily so! Ignoring this week, which is a tad cool, the temperatures down here in winter is actually very mild. It gets cool at night, but day times are sunny. Most outside days are t shirt days. Of course once the sun starts setting, time for a fleecy. The summers are also cooler and far less humid than the northern climes.

The best thing about the north coast is the ocean temperatures - only the brave and stupid swim in the ocean here in winter.

Eurobodalla - land of many waters. The real Shire!


Actually Bribie, buy a pice of land where we can establish a commune.

 

[Bribie G]

mmmmm commmunes

 

[mckenry]

I have lived in Sydney, Brisbane, NSW southern highlands and now the Hunter, and I love the Hunter / Newcastle area, it is great, but it is not for everyone either. Bye the way I also love the NSW southern Highlands, just fantastic there, geez I do miss that place.

Fear_n_loath

Hey Fear_n_loath
Thats why I never left, even though I work in Sydney. The best part about the people here, is you can go to any pub and the patrons are from 18 to 80 and we all get along. There's nowhere I feel out of place.

Too cold for Bribie just yet though.

Where in the Highlands were you?

 

[Bribie G]

SWMBO's son lives in Berrima, we were there in Feb as it happens. A few years ago we were there on the day before New Years Eve and it was colder than it ever gets in Brisbane - I had to borrow a ski coat and beanie. The next day we were swimming at Freshwater beach at 32

bbrrrrr.

 

[mckenry]

SWMBO's son lives in Berrima, we were there in Feb as it happens. A few years ago we were there on the day before New Years Eve and it was colder than it ever gets in Brisbane - I had to borrow a ski coat and beanie. The next day we were swimming at Freshwater beach at 32

bbrrrrr.

Haha. It was 4 degrees here on Saturday night at midnight. Lots of people still out in the beer garden (really just a smoking area). Probably only half wearing jackets. Most guys just jeans and shirt. Most girls in hardly anything. Even saw one guy in shorts & T-shirt. You get used to it.

 

[warra48]

You get used to it.

We don't want to get used to it.

I detest winter.

I grew up in The Netherlands. Too darned cold, flat, and crowded.
Moved to New Zealand. Too darned cold, and too many sheep.
Moved to Sydney. Barely tolerable, but work made it a necessity.
Moved to Port Macquarie. A little more tolerable.

I'm seriously thinking of overwintering in Cairns and the summers somewhere around here.

 

[mckenry]

We don't want to get used to it.

I detest winter.

I grew up in The Netherlands. Too darned cold, flat, and crowded.
Moved to New Zealand. Too darned cold, and too many sheep.
Moved to Sydney. Barely tolerable, but work made it a necessity.
Moved to Port Macquarie. A little more tolerable.

I'm seriously thinking of overwintering in Cairns and the summers somewhere around here.

Ah the joy of being retired warra. Pretty much my plan, when I retire. Summer in Bowral, winter FNQ somewhere. Still, thats a long way off...

 

[Bribie G]

Ah the joy of being retired warra. Pretty much my plan, when I retire. Summer in Bowral, winter FNQ somewhere. Still, thats a long way off...

Well make it soon before CamJoh seals the borders.

We are already finding it hard to get a removalist quote as the exodus is beginning. Serious.

Even our cleaning lady is bailing out when her lease ends and SWMBOs other daughter who is in a Commission townhouse has had her letter and I picked up a heap of cartons for her from Kennards yesterday. She will stay with Sis at Old Bar for a while.

Cleaning Lady.... reminds me. ..

I'll need to stock up on Brut :blink:

 

[mckenry]

We are already finding it hard to get a removalist quote as the exodus is beginning. Serious.

Is it that bad? Where is everyone going?

 

[Weizguy]

Well make it soon before CamJoh seals the borders.

We are already finding it hard to get a removalist quote as the exodus is beginning. Serious.

Even our cleaning lady is bailing out when her lease ends and SWMBOs other daughter who is in a Commission townhouse has had her letter and I picked up a heap of cartons for her from Kennards yesterday. She will stay with Sis at Old Bar for a while.

Cleaning Lady.... reminds me. ..

I'll need to stock up on Brut :blink:

Hey Bribie,
If you move closer to Newcastle, I can recommend a great cleaner (my fiancee).
Maybe Nelson Bay (closer to Murray's Brewery/pub/restaurant). I'm at Medowie, and it's 15 min to Murray's; 40 min to Potters in the valley, nr wine country. FWIW.

Will be good to catch up. I would also recommend the local brew club (HUB - Hunter United Brewers). Come down and help out with the NSW State Comp on 17 and 18/8, for a taste. You won't regret it. There may be cheap accom at Potters too.

 

[Bribie G]

Local guy says they are tied up on their Interstate truck till Xmas to WA and its not all miners. Nurses docs and teachers with families. Interesting to say the least. Soon to be followed by Camjohs 20000 = probably 50000 people thrown on scrapheap if you take into account wives and kids. Courier Mail calculates that one sacking from the PS affects 2.5 people in the private sector so nearly a quarter of a million headed for poverty row in one fell swoop. Its slaughter up here. Car parks and restaurants emptying out in the CBD already. :wacko: :wacko:

 

[mckenry]

Local guy says they are tied up on their Interstate truck till Xmas to WA and its not all miners. Nurses docs and teachers with families. Interesting to say the least. Soon to be followed by Camjohs 20000 = probably 50000 people thrown on scrapheap if you take into account wives and kids. Courier Mail calculates that one sacking from the PS affects 2.5 people in the private sector so nearly a quarter of a million headed for poverty row in one fell swoop. Its slaughter up here. Car parks and restaurants emptying out in the CBD already. :wacko: :wacko:

wow. Have you tried getting a quote from a removalist that is from your destination?

 

[Bribie G]

That's plan B - however we don't have a date as yet. As plan C I do have, from a former life, a Heavy Rigid licence for something bigger than the Europcar / Budget wannabee removals trucks so I may end up having to round up a couple of hefty blokes and do it myself. I'm sure Tidal Pete will be in it for giggles. :icon_cheers: Problem is I hate country music but I'll probably have to listen to it all the way down and back to keep "on theme" and get myself a suitable hat of course.

 

[Paul H]

Local guy says they are tied up on their Interstate truck till Xmas to WA and its not all miners. Nurses docs and teachers with families. Interesting to say the least. Soon to be followed by Camjohs 20000 = probably 50000 people thrown on scrapheap if you take into account wives and kids. Courier Mail calculates that one sacking from the PS affects 2.5 people in the private sector so nearly a quarter of a million headed for poverty row in one fell swoop. Its slaughter up here. Car parks and restaurants emptying out in the CBD already. :wacko: :wacko:

Do you seriously think there is an easier way to fix the problem, if so you should have ran. Let's not forget how we got into this mess to start with & really Bribie why would you lend any weight to anything the courier mail offers.

:icon_cheers:

Paul

 

[Bribie G]

Paul, as I'm outta here I'm not really interested in whether they fix the problem or not, I'll leave it to you Queenslanders to ponder that :lol:

 

[extra-cheese]

Bellingen buddy. A great place to live.

 

[Paul H]

Paul, as I'm outta here I'm not really interested in whether they fix the problem or not, I'll leave it to you Queenslanders to ponder that :lol:

The weather in Greece & Spain seems nice this time of the year.

:icon_cheers:

Paul

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Bellingen buddy. A great place to live.

Bellingen is AWSOME. Fantastic pub that serves a local brewed beer " Darkwood Ale" sort of like an APA. I would move there in a heartbeat if I could. its only just down the road. I like going there just for the hell of it. :icon_chickcheers:

 

[mje1980]

The weather in Greece & Spain seems nice this time of the year.

:icon_cheers:

Paul

Cheap property too

 

[Bribie G]

Cheap property too

Now there's a thought Fifty A$grand. hmmmmmmmm

 

[staggalee]

With all this "don`t go to this town" and "do go to that town", it`s strange nothing`s been mentioned about something a bit more critical than how many pubs a place has, whether the people wear flannel shirts {oh the horror} etc.
EMPLOYMENT!!.......what do you plan about that?

 

[Bribie G]

I was going to work till I was 70 but as I'm now in my 64th year I decided to chuck in the towel :icon_drunk:

Edit: every single male in our family in the 20th century died whilst on the job. The job, not the other job. - except for Uncle John who reputedly was a lad.

Amazingly I will be the first of the Clan to actually retire since about 1890. Mind you "on the job" often meant storming the German Trenches or wielding a pick at level 5, gallery 6, seam 5 down t'pit.

Who knows I might get a part time gig at Liquorland, all the guys in our stores round here are ancient and this is also a Centrelink area. However best not to let on that I know a bit about grog

 

[sp0rk]

Bellingen buddy. A great place to live.

Agreed, Bello is a really nice place
I'd love to get a couple of acres out there in the next couple of years
though if you DO look at moving there, stick to the high ground, it can flood there sometimes

Not really sold on the Bello brewery's beer, i had their chilli beer at the sawtell chilli fest and it was god awful (tipped the majority of it in a garden) and their pale ale wasn't much better when i had it