Moving to NSW - so many questions!

[marikdp]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I received state-sponsored PR from NSW and plan to make our big move in November. I have a PhD in the Life Sciences, and am currently doing my PGCE (teachers certificate).

We would really love to speak to someone who is familiar with NSW - we have no idea which areas to look at (and don't really have specific preferences in terms of Sydney vs rural).

We are basically looking to move somewhere were we could live off a teacher's salary alone, as we are afraid that my husband may have trouble finding work, and we have heard horror stories regarding cost of living in Sydney!

As you can tell we really need help - we were so surprised when the visa came through that we only realised then that we know nothing about the state we need to move to!

Any help much appreciated!

[OubaasDik]

Wagga Wagga is quite nice. Small city in the sticks. Pronounced Wogga Wogga - shortened to Wogga by those in the know.

I've only been through it a few times, but it seems to have everything - probably not many cardiac surgeons and so on, but you get what I mean.

[HansaPlease]

Newcastle also seems a big enough city that procides everythig you need, but not big enough to be a rat race. It was traditionally a bit of an industrial town but it has grown up a lot and has become a lot more arty and tourist friendly.

The advantage of being a teacher is that your work options are not limited to big cities, and you have the luxury of being able to to choose from a range of regional centres.

First and foremost though, go where you find work, I reckon.

Edited February 25, 2014 by HansaPlease

[Bob]

Hi!

My wife and I am Australians, but I've been on this website, helping South Africans settle in Australia since it all began back in 2004.

We have travelled to South Africa in 1985 for a month, and was impressed with the lifestyle in South Africa at the time, and have since got to know personally many Saffers that have joined the stampede which has begun once Nelson Mandela handed the reins of power over.

Obviously, we are older Australians, now both retired and living in South Australia, but we travel all over Australia, so can picture life in various settings.

My youngest daughter, Heidi, just graduated in December as a doctor and now practises as a dental surgeon at two hospitals in the southern suburbs of Brisbane. Heidi used to study at Griffith University in Southport on the Gold Coast, which is the beach area to the south of Brisbane, all the way down to the New South Wales border, about 60 kms in length.

The immediate town over the border in New South Wales is called Tweed Heads and has exactly the same lifestyle and climate as the rest of the Gold Coast. There is only an imaginary straight line dividing Tweed Heads from the more northerly Gold Coast suburbs.

Your PR visa for New South Wales would entitle you to live in Tweed Heads, or any one of the northern coastal towns in NSW and shop or swim / surf, go to church, make friends and so on with any other folk on the Gold Coast.

My daughter lived in the Queensland Gold Coast town of Palm Beach, just 10 minutes drive from the New South Wales border.

The airport of Coolangatta is actually right on the border, with the runway in New South Wales and the aircrafts taxiing up to the airport terminal buildings just over the border in Queensland (the Gold Coast town of Coolangatta)

If you'd like me to send more info on the lifestyle enjoyed by Gold Coast people, just send a message thro.

I'd be happy to tell you all the pluses and minuses of a Gold Coast lifestyle which you could enjoy on your PR visa by living in Tweed Heads, NSW.