Smaller cities/towns in Australia

mac123

After looking through the forum here everyone seems to be concentrated around the big cities, with Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth being the most popular.

Im hoping to hear from people living elsewhere...

So besides these places where would you recommend living? Im only going for 4-6 months and id like to be by the coast (I surf) but il also need to be somewhere that il find work relatively easy. Im not too pushed on what type of work. I plan on working for the most part and maybe take a month or so to travel a bit.

Im assuming finding work in the smaller coastal towns would be more difficult?

I was thinking Newcastle, seems like it could be a good option??

Also is the cost of living lower in smaller cities/towns?

kiwipower

mac123 wrote: »

After looking through the forum here everyone seems to be concentrated around the big cities, with Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth being the most popular.

Im hoping to hear from people living elsewhere...

So besides these places where would you recommend living? Im only going for 4-6 months and id like to be by the coast (I surf) but il also need to be somewhere that il find work relatively easy. Im not too pushed on what type of work. I plan on working for the most part and maybe take a month or so to travel a bit.

Im assuming finding work in the smaller coastal towns would be more difficult?

I was thinking Newcastle, seems like it could be a good option??

Also is the cost of living lower in smaller cities/towns?

I think you will find Newcastle is not that small.

mac123

Compared to the the big cities it is relatively small, population wise anyway. It depends what you would call big i guess...

winning

I'm very interested in this as well. The likes of Cairns, Airlie Beach, Surfers, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay? Any others? Whats it like in these spots work/rent wise?

Mellor

mac123 wrote: »

So besides these places where would you recommend living? Im only going for 4-6 months and id like to be by the coast (I surf)

The big 4 cities are on the coast.
I live in sydney and I can walk to the beach.

mac123 wrote: »

Compared to the the big cities it is relatively small, population wise anyway. It depends what you would call big i guess...

Newcastle is smaller than sydney.
It's also big compared to the majority of irish towns. I don't know how likely you are to find solid work there. I have firends that have worked there (i've done a bit myself) but everyoen was based out of sydney travelling up for the day/week and returning back again.

kiwipower

My understanding of Newcastle (I have never been there) is that it is a steel industry town. There was once a movie filmed there I think it was called bootmen about "tap" dancers in a steel mill. It also experienced a small earthquake in the late 80s early 90s wich done considerable damage to houses.

As for Surfers I lived there for a year in the early nauties I wasnt to keen on the place but I can see why others are. I dont surf, Im not confident on surf beaches, even though Im a strong swimmer. The climate was hot but balanced by ocean breezes making it more pleseant than Brisbane, there are some cool theme parks the nightlife is hopping all night/morning long, though in my experience was very heavily hetrosexual, young person targetted, it is a strange feeling comming out of a night clup at 4am while its still pumping to see the sun rising over the ocean! There is lovely green bush about 30-40min drive inland from surfers where a lot of handgliding etc takes place. (Camping rough in Beu desert is one of my fav things) Traffic was managable, resturants great. I did find it slightly fake though, all plastic bodies and silicone breasts, people either living on daddies gold card or surviving on the dole, maybe it was just my first experience awaly from sheltered NZ but I found that drugs where rampant (especially eccies) and had a few situations where my refusual to take part in this culture caused problems.

I wouldnt tell anyone not to go there, because loads of people love it, but I do no it didnt suit me.

mac123

Mellor wrote: »

The big 4 cities are on the coast.
I live in sydney and I can walk to the beach.



Newcastle is smaller than sydney.
It's also big compared to the majority of irish towns. I don't know how likely you are to find solid work there. I have firends that have worked there (i've done a bit myself) but everyoen was based out of sydney travelling up for the day/week and returning back again.

Thanks for the response. I guess I wasnt too clear originally, I realise the big cities are on the coast but I dont really want to live in a big city and id prefer a coastal town.

How did you find Newcastle anyway? Nice place? I thought it might be a little easier to find work there as from what iv heard the small coastal places like Byron are tough to find work.

seachto7

what about Rockingham,Bunbury, south of Perth in general.........

jackbhoy

seachto7 wrote: »

what about Rockingham,Bunbury, south of Perth in general.........

+1. Nice part of world, especially if you like to surf.

Mellor

kiwipower wrote: »

My understanding of Newcastle (I have never been there) is that it is a steel industry town. There was once a movie filmed there I think it was called bootmen about "tap" dancers in a steel mill. It also experienced a small earthquake in the late 80s early 90s wich done considerable damage to houses.

It's not a steel industry town any more. It was in the past, it was a major big shipping port, still sees some traffic.
The earthquake was xmas '89, the damage ran to billions. Some of which is only being rectified now.

As for Surfers I lived there for a year ...

I wouldnt tell anyone not to go there, because loads of people love it, but I do no it didnt suit me.

Just wondering, why would you stay a year if you didn't like it.
To be surfers is like a holiday resort, just like a spannish island or resort. Drink drugs and young people. Great for a week, but I wouldn't live there.

mac123 wrote: »

How did you find Newcastle anyway? Nice place? I thought it might be a little easier to find work there as from what iv heard the small coastal places like Byron are tough to find work.

I've never stayed there any length of time. I drive there in the morning and drive back at night (making the trip again next week). My friends got the train up monday, back friday. so we could really comment on what it is like to live there.

You'd find work easier in newscastle than byron (unless you want to work in a hostel). But you'll find work in sydney easier. Considering it takes some people 3 weeks to get work in the city, I wouldn't like to settle in newscastle without a job. If you are set on living somewhere smaller then my advice would be to hit a city, find a temp job to get some income going then start looking for jobs away from the city. Once you get one then move.

amybabes

Cairns and Airlie Beach do not have proper beaches. Both have lagoons. Would not recommend Cairns to live, we were there 4 days and got out of there, bit of a dump! And the cyclone hotspot.
Airlie beach is lovely, but tiny, like one main st with 3 or 4 pubs! Full of backpackers too. But nice and rent is half the price of what I pay in sydney!

I'd recommend Perth really, i felt it was like an Irish City, small, easy to navigate etc. The beaches are really nice and rent is cheap compared to Sydney! Surfers is a bit meh, Byron Bay is supposed to be lovely.

cormaclynch

I lived in Wollongong for a year and would highly recommend it. Large town/small city but it is on the coast and there is good surf.

bitter

Stay away from Gosford on the centralcoast as it really is a ****hole

kiwipower

Mellor wrote: »

Just wondering, why would you stay a year if you didn't like it.
To be surfers is like a holiday resort, just like a spannish island or resort. Drink drugs and young people. Great for a week, but I wouldn't live there.

I was a new grad in my first permanent post; it was the first place outside of NZ that I had lived and my fourth position in 6 months. I also had young cuzzies and auntie up in Redland bay so had moved to be near them and to get to know the cuzzies. It was a stepping stone towards my plan of moving to Ireland to meet the cuzzies, aunts, uncles and Grandfather on the other side.

seachto7 wrote: »

what about Rockingham,Bunbury, south of Perth in general.........

Spent 6months of a winter working the south east of WA amazing to see, Wave rock real cool! Meet some amazing characters in little "farming" drought stricken villages where they had not seen an outsider in about two years!

Meet a most interesting continental European who had 20 years ago gone to Oz for a 6week walkabout with a friend. Meet her husband the night she arrived in this one horse (one pub no shop) town and stayed!

Meet farms so destroyed by drought in Kondinin they where $AU8million in dept and suicide was considered as a way out.

Albany was an old whaling town of a reasonable size green and wet with a fair bit going on. Narrogin was the greatest craic. The motels where full of other temporary workers and this farming town had a fairly mixed ethnic and international population.

Would definitely recommend WA and the coast down around Bunbury its chilled relaxed with sizable towns and from my understanding good surf. Only advice is heed the locals about water/weather/shark information. When I was in Perth two English tourists where taken by sharks after ignoring advice from locals to stay out of the water.

cormaclynch wrote: »

I lived in Wollongong for a year and would highly recommend it. Large town/small city but it is on the coast and there is good surf.

Never got here, heard great things, has (or had in the early nouties) quite an expat kiwi population. I believe there may even be a Maori marae there. Suppose to have great kai moana (seafood) according to a lad I meet from their.

Lived in Rockhampton QLD for a summer, sticky hot in the summer, my white ass burnt the second I stuck my ginger head out the window! Yappon (on the coast) beautiful! It was amazing watching all the fruit bats leave the mangroves in the evening to fly off in search of fruit, it could take them a couple of hours. It was much cooler than rockhampton (pleasantly so) due to the coastal breezes.

Man sitting here writing this is making me realise how much I miss just drifting round the world following the work. No wonder I’m getting cranky giving the settled other half such a bad time, three years in one job and one location just doesn’t suit me! Does anyone else post their 20s feel the same? Just wondering if I went back to it could I do it for ever, does any one raising kids manages to do it.

celtictigermrk2

mac123 wrote: »

After looking through the forum here everyone seems to be concentrated around the big cities, with Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth being the most popular.

Im hoping to hear from people living elsewhere...

So besides these places where would you recommend living? Im only going for 4-6 months and id like to be by the coast (I surf) but il also need to be somewhere that il find work relatively easy. Im not too pushed on what type of work. I plan on working for the most part and maybe take a month or so to travel a bit.

Im assuming finding work in the smaller coastal towns would be more difficult?

I was thinking Newcastle, seems like it could be a good option??

Also is the cost of living lower in smaller cities/towns?

Just back from Oz myself. If you're looking outside the main cities, and you like surfing, then somewhere on the coast is what would tick your box.

My favourite place on the east coast was Byron Bay. Lovely scenery, and a fairy laid-back vibe. Good social life too. Now, it is expensive in the tourist season(Nov-Mar), but if you are planning outside of those months, it should be a runner.

There will also be a huge demand for workers in the Queensland area to rebuild all the damages caused by the recent flooding. Try to stick to southern Queensland, as it gets tropical(i.e. wet!) the further north you go.

Outside of those areas, as other posters have recommended, the west coast is pretty cool. I have a friend living in Perth and he loves it. The west is also much less visited from a tourism point of view, and there are some lovely unspoilt regions and places to enjoy.

Just for your own knowledge, I did notice that Oz had gotten significantly more expensive since the last time I was there 2 years ago. This is partly down to the dollar being very strong against the euro, but food, drink and lodging costs have risen significantly in recent times. So, if you can, bring a decent bit of cash with you to get started.

Best of luck with it.

Jumpy

Is Cairns not also a box jellyfish location? Might hamper the surfing a tad if you die in agony.

Jumpy

I can also put in a recommendation for Mollymook/Ulladulla

mac123

cormaclynch wrote: »

I lived in Wollongong for a year and would highly recommend it. Large town/small city but it is on the coast and there is good surf.

I assume you were working there? Is work easy enough to find?