Nsw Mid North Coast Recommendations - To Live

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Bribie G

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SWMBO is getting on, most of her support family have, or are moving, back to Sydney or surrounds and I'm considering bailing out of the horror gulag that QLD is about to become under the government of the Tunnel Rat.

Found a nice little region between Forster Tuncurry and Port Mac, handy to Taree for a commercial centre with places I've never heard of such as Old Bar (how could you not love that name), Diamond Beach, Halliday's Point etc. SWMBO's eldest has moved to Old Bar and I'll be heading down that way in a few weeks to check out.

Due to wives getting their hands on the 2 houses I have owned, similar thing happened to SWMBO, we are renting but note that some nice rates apply in the area.

Rob (Warra48) has good reports of Old Bar but are there any nearby members on the forum who can recommend any hidden gems? - I know we have guys at Wauchope and Hunter etc.

:beer:
 
Bribie............DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have so much more wisdom to pass to us Qld noobs :(
 
My Uncle lives at Old Bar. Nice spot.

Taree & Whingham are nice, as is Wauchope.... Port Maq is not a place I like, got most things there, but just a wierd place...NO PUBS that are any good.

Stay well clear of Kempsey......words cant describe that place...but shit is a good start.

Forster/Tuncurry are nice, but geared for tourists, but head inland around wallis lakes etc there are some nice quiet places
 
Yes I was thinking of Taree, it's got all the stuff like Aldi, Big W etc but I get the impression that many Mexicans NSW folks consider it to be Bogan Mullet Flannelette central? I've only been there a couple of times but it was overcast winter weather and maybe didn't show itself off too well :p


Edit: Rowy, don't you doctors get awarded annual leave at all?? :party:
 
Dont know about that...Taree is a nice spot, and it does have everything in terms of services..

Look at places like Tinonnee and Whingham as well..Wallaby Point
 
Newcastle or Nelson's bay are both nice. And close to Murray's brewery at bobs farm.I may well be biased as I live in newy.But seriously anywhere 1-2 hours north of Newcastle is lovely except from kempsy. B)
 
taree, the home of the three fingered banjo players. tamworth has the 4 fingered hence why it has the country music festival.
but seriously i grew up there. its changed over time. at least ill have someone to catch up with for a beer when im up there. croz is also from up there and living in port atm i think.
its a reasonably nice place so long as you dont run in to the so called local tribe who are whiter than me. its close to sydney and newcastle but seriously its a bit bogan in places.
 
Newcastle or Nelson's bay are both nice. And close to Murray's brewery at bobs farm.I may well be biased as I live in newy.But seriously anywhere 1-2 hours north of Newcastle is lovely except from kempsy. B)

Yup having lived in SEQ for over 30 years since I arrived in OZ I am always gobsmacked by Northern NSW when we go up and down the Pacific Hwy. SEQ is a bit bland and boring really - and in February we diverted through Taree down the Buckett Way for a trip and couldn't believe what I was seeing. For example Gloucester just before the thunderstorm descending over the Barrington Tops.



gloucester.jpg

Problem with Hunter, as a renter, is that they are on the Cityrail network and thus commuter territory, thus expensive. Taree and area on the other hand is just out of that area and thus affordable.

Taree is starting to tick all the boxes, thanks for the local feedback guys. Also MHB not too far down the track for supplies :D
 
its a bit colder than what your use to as well.
 
I have called Wauchope home for the last 5 years and love it. My wife and I moved from Sydney to raise a family here after living in the UK/USA for a few years. Its got that country town feel but still with good services etc and the advantage of having Port Mac/beach etc 20min drive away. Its a bit cheaper to buy and rent than in Port but the build quality is generally good. There is a great golf course (as Warra who is a member would attest) smack in the middle of town, some decent pub/bistro food and a couple of cafes that serve good coffee. We live on a 2300sqm block in the burbs (veges/chooks/hops etc) literally 2min walk from a full size IGA supermarket, bottle shop, pub with great bistro, Thai, chemist, and 2 x cafe's (one of which does a great fry up). We have better access to stuff than when we lived in Lane Cove in Sydney.

Port itself is really going ahead with lots of younger people diluting the God's Waiting Room reputation. It has two hospitals, all the big stores (Aldi/BIGW etc), plus an Uncle Dans and a few pubs with some of the better big brands on tap (Erdinger, White Rabbit, LCPA, Coopers Vintage etc). The local HB shop has some basic beer stuff but most local brewers buy in from CB or drop into MHB on the way down to Sydney.

If I was you I would have a good drive along the coast. There are some nice laid back spots like Laurieton and Harrington that would be worth a look. One thing to bear in mind is that alot of people move to little coastal hamlets on retirement and find that living a long way from hospitals/doctors/shops etc gets to be a bit of a drag. I say look for something like Wauchope/Laurieton/Wingham/Foster that is a bit more of a compromise.

Will be great to have such a well regarded member of AHB down our way. Might even get a long talked about Mid-North Coast brewers club up and running. We have a few good up and coming micro's in the area (Wicked Elf/Black Duck) which is a good sign for brewing. We also have the presitgous Wauchope Show brewing section that includes the catagories Ale, Lager, Draught and Bitter which as a far as I can tell are judged on the same criteria................

Stew
 
Problem with Hunter, as a renter, is that they are on the Cityrail network and thus commuter territory, thus expensive. Taree and area on the other hand is just out of that area and thus affordable.


Come to the beautiful south coast Bribie - no traffic jams (well almost none) no railway so no commuters. Just lots of retirees - God's waiting Room calls!
 
Come to the beautiful south coast Bribie - no traffic jams (well almost none) no railway so no commuters. Just lots of retirees - God's waiting Room calls!

+1 for that. The south coast is so much nicer than the north.
 
I have called Wauchope home for the last 5 years and love it. My wife and I moved from Sydney to raise a family here after living in the UK/USA for a few years. Its got that country town feel but still with good services etc and the advantage of having Port Mac/beach etc 20min drive away. Its a bit cheaper to buy and rent than in Port but the build quality is generally good. There is a great golf course (as Warra who is a member would attest) smack in the middle of town, some decent pub/bistro food and a couple of cafes that serve good coffee. We live on a 2300sqm block in the burbs (veges/chooks/hops etc) literally 2min walk from a full size IGA supermarket, bottle shop, pub with great bistro, Thai, chemist, and 2 x cafe's (one of which does a great fry up). We have better access to stuff than when we lived in Lane Cove in Sydney.

Port itself is really going ahead with lots of younger people diluting the God's Waiting Room reputation. It has two hospitals, all the big stores (Aldi/BIGW etc), plus an Uncle Dans and a few pubs with some of the better big brands on tap (Erdinger, White Rabbit, LCPA, Coopers Vintage etc). The local HB shop has some basic beer stuff but most local brewers buy in from CB or drop into MHB on the way down to Sydney.

If I was you I would have a good drive along the coast. There are some nice laid back spots like Laurieton and Harrington that would be worth a look. One thing to bear in mind is that alot of people move to little coastal hamlets on retirement and find that living a long way from hospitals/doctors/shops etc gets to be a bit of a drag. I say look for something like Wauchope/Laurieton/Wingham/Foster that is a bit more of a compromise.

Will be great to have such a well regarded member of AHB down our way. Might even get a long talked about Mid-North Coast brewers club up and running. We have a few good up and coming micro's in the area (Wicked Elf/Black Duck) which is a good sign for brewing. We also have the presitgous Wauchope Show brewing section that includes the catagories Ale, Lager, Draught and Bitter which as a far as I can tell are judged on the same criteria................

Stew

And timbertown..... How good is that place? I love it.
 
+1 for that. The south coast is so much nicer than the north.

Wake up you too. The gong and surrounds is for wannabe sydney siders. :ph34r: When BHP packs up the pits & steelworks down there it will be a ghost town! :p

Too=two
 
The gong and surrounds is for wannabe sydney siders.

And Newcastle/Gosford isnt?

i actually meant south south though. My grandparents used to live around Ulluadulla - was a fantastic spot.
 
South Coast is out, has to be North so I can get in and annoy MHB on a regular basis ;)
 
My mum & her husband live 25 mins inland from Forster / Tuncurry (on 120 acres beside the river). F/T is a bit of a heavens waiting room, and basically doubles in size with young families every xmas & easter holidays, but to be honest I reckon you'll find that most coastal towns are like that between Eden & Tweed Heads.

Have you looked around Lake Macquarie? Lots of nice leafy little suburbs tucked away which are far enough away from Newcastle & Sydney to to make them unattractive to commuters, but still close enough to make the trip if you need to. Same goes for Hallidays pt/Old bar/Harrington/Laurieton with F/T, Taree & Port Maq I suppose but these are a bit small (think half a dozen shops & a bowlo/rsl). All depends on what you want I suppose. :)
 
Family meeting and it's decided: Taree in mid October. :beerbang:

Wauchope sounds nice, Wagga, went through there last year on the XPT, and in Feb we stayed at Mac for a couple of nights and visited Rob for a pint and yes had an Erdinger or three in that bar on the river :chug:

With SWMBO being a bit older than me and having driven around Taree via Streetview, it's not a bad looking place with all the services and hospital and Aldi :rolleyes: so that's our choice as opposed to somewhere like Harrington or Old Bar which is a twenty minute drive in and out of the place which could get irritating eventually, but Taree is still close enough to the rellies without being in their pockets.

Funnily enough, where we live now if Taree was Caboolture/Morayfield then Old Bar, as an example, would be almost exactly in the same location as Beachmere and that's the thing, that extra drive in and out all the time is the downside for the mates I know who live at Beachmere.


beachmere.png
 
Family meeting and it's decided: Taree in mid October. :beerbang:

Wauchope sounds nice, Wagga, went through there last year on the XPT, and in Feb we stayed at Mac for a couple of nights and visited Rob for a pint and yes had an Erdinger or three in that bar on the river :chug:

With SWMBO being a bit older than me and having driven around Taree via Streetview, it's not a bad looking place with all the services and hospital and Aldi :rolleyes: so that's our choice as opposed to somewhere like Harrington or Old Bar which is a twenty minute drive in and out of the place which could get irritating eventually, but Taree is still close enough to the rellies without being in their pockets.

Funnily enough, where we live now if Taree was Caboolture/Morayfield then Old Bar, as an example, would be almost exactly in the same location as Beachmere and that's the thing, that extra drive in and out all the time is the downside for the mates I know who live at Beachmere.


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Good Luck Bribie G.
You realise youre still 2 hours to MHB?
 
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