What's great about the Illawarra??

[clairbear]

Hey all you Illawarra parents!
I have a favour to ask you. We are planning to get out of Sydney due to the fact that we are wanting to buy a house soon and cannot justify paying so much and still coping with the traffic, pollution, population density, lack of space etc in the Sydney areas we like (inner west).
I grew up in Dapto (yep go the dogs) and my wonderfully supportive folks are still there..... I never thought I would go back to the Gong area (bad teenage experiences) but the years have passed and my memories have mellowed to the positives about the place and now I have two small children.... would love to hear about your experiences/suggestions re living in the area with kids.......suburbs you recommend that have a good community feel etc.
I eagerly await your replies + thanx in advance:fingerscrossed:

[defa]

Hi there..
I thought i would write..
I to grew up in Dapto and i didn't have much fun living here when i was young..
I all ways said i would never live in Dapto...
well i am 32 now and guess what i live in dapto...
I married a guy from dapto something else i said i wouldn't do...
I have traveled the world and yes i can back here i really do like living here now alot has changed since i was at school..
I don't talk to anyone i use to go to school with so thats ok with me..
It is really good having my mum and dad and the inlaws down the road aswell..
The olny thing i know i wont be doing is send my child to the HIGH schools here as thats where all my proplems started and i just can think of any reason to send my DD..

There are still the good places to live in dapto I would recomed that you look for a place not in horsley as the road work hasn't started out that way yet and it is bloody yuck...
Hope that helps and if you do come down this way let us know and come visit..
I have a Charlie to just spelt different....

[kazandsteve]

hi there
iam 30years old and i live at dapto also even though iam from sydney orginally

we moved here to dapto in january of this year and am loving it

and i wouldnt go back to sydney now for anything except if i had too

i have been down here for over two years now and i moved down here as my fianicie lived here but it is soo much nicer then sydney more quieter and the people are even more friendly then sydney

even though iam still getting use to dapto and where everything is i wouldnt change it for anything
the houses are pretty cheap here also compared to sydney anyway and its a nice area
and ive meet a few mums here but would like to meet some more as all of my family and friends are up in sydney
except for my partners family they live at warrawong

so if u do move down here it will be great to have another illawarra mum to chat too and maybe meet up with

hope this helps ya

hope to chat with u again soon
take care
kaz

[JATS]

I've lived in Nth Wollongong, unanderra, Dapto, Albion Park and Kiama.

My Advice... DON'T DO IT!

:laughing:

Seriously it is an OK place to live. Not great but OK.

We live in Robertson now, technically the southern highlands but only 20min from Albion Park or 35min from Dapto.

No polution, less traffic, lovely close knit community, 'small town' like, where everyone knows you, wonderful pre-school and primary school for the young kids, close enough to all the facilities of the big city that you can use them daily, far enough away that you don't have to deal with all the problems of the big city daily! :thumbsup:

Choice of Albion park or Bowral for the shopping (both 20 min away, just opposite directions!).

Oh and the pub is great! We don't drink but the meals are fantastic and affordable, very friendly atmosphere.:yelclap:

[GraceUnhearing]

i grew up in Dapto and still live in Dapto
hahaha

its not to bad of a place

i'd really like to get out though.
25 years here is enough i think

[missie_mack]

I've travelled the world, spent a zillion years working in Sydney spent long hours on trains and never once thought of living anywhere else if I could help it. The area is just beautiful. There is the whole multicultural thing about Wollongong that I love- the varying foods and backgrounds of people etc. I like it that you can have the city life and come home where it is just a little more relaxed and drive your car to the beach without sitting in peak hour.

We spend a lot of time in Sydney on weekends normally (except now when I am hibernating in NW Victoria for 12 months :rolleyes: ) I myself (IMO) probably wouldn't choose to live Dapto way, given the choice. There are big traffic issues in West Dapto and so many houses it isn't funny. I like the more coastal areas of Shellharbour (where we have our place), Port Kembla maybe- if your looking for a renovate, Oak Flats, and probably Albion Park Rail. But then again there are always exceptions to the rule. Not into the Northern Suburbs my Mum lives out that way and even she admits they don't have the facilities that the Southern Suburbs have as most people tend to shop in Miranda.

Everything changes with time. Same as Sydney suburbs. What had a bad name 20 years ago could now be a boom area- look at Newtown and Glebe :laughing: the same happens down here

Can you tell I'm missing life in the Gong??

[illawarramumof2boys]

hi:wave:

i'm an ex sydney girl and have lived here approx 5 years now.

i love:

the house prices, the beaches, lack of traffic and slower pace most of all.

i don't like:

the fact it took a long while to fit in and make new friends (but i think this happens everywhere), lack of doctors and decent hospitals. i also really miss miranda fair but for a big shopping adventure i still drive there.

my personal choice of areas is the southern side ie: shellharbour, windang, shellcove,flinders,blackbutt, lake illawarra.

feel free to email me if you want to know anything else. :D

[clairbear]

Thanks for all of your replies! Great to read different viewpoints. Robertson sounds lovely but dunno if we'd both get work easily down there...?
Not sure if i could do the Dapto thing, we lived out in West Dapto until I was ten but then it was real country. Had a drive around there a few years ago and was in total shock. Why would people want to build humungous houses right up to the fence so they can see in their neighbours' windows when they live in such lovely wide open spaces??? Greedy developers i guess
Sorry to sound negative....of course Austinmer, Bulli, Thirroul would be great but more expensive. I love the parks in Wollongong and the art gallery/shops etc. Spose I am still a bit dubious about the redneck attitudes I experienced as a teenager, but I am sure lots has changed in twenty years!
We will keep on researching, keep the feedback coming girls:thumbsup:

[mum2peanut]

It made me laugh when you referenced Dapto dogs, cause that's what I think of when ever I think of Dapto. I too am not into lego land type housing areas, everyone is so close together and all the houses looke the same, I;m just not into housing estates.
I grew up and live in the Illawarra. I grew up in Balgownie, which is a beautiful suburb, leafy, quiet, non steel works soot, nice little village etc. My Dh and I built in Figtree which I like cause it's close to Wollongong. I personally wouldn't want to be any further than a 15 minute drive to Wollongong. When we were looking our cutoff was Figtree in the South and FairyMeadow/Balgownie in the North. Figtree is a nice place to live, but there is a lot of steel work dust, which annoys the cr@p out of me. But it if farily central. Saying that I would love to move back to Balgownie. I guess there probably are the more dodgy areas, just make sure you research all the areas. Goodluck!

[singlemum]

Hey all of u ILlawarra Mothers i am from the south coast which i stil class as the Illawarra. I haev Lived In Warilla Shellharbour And Kiama But now in the quiet old town of Berry. Yes we do have the best dougnut shop in the WORLD