SouthernCrossAI/Reddit-posts · Datasets at Hugging Face

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions, really appreciate any feedback.

cheers

Bathurst region is very nice

Dubbo or Orange, both on the train lines.

I'd advise checking out the property prices first, I'm on the mid north coast, rentals are hard to come by around Coffs Harbour and house prices have gone up substantially (although compared to Sydney maybe look OK). If your internet dependent, make sure you plug addresses into NBN/ISP address checker for connection type etc. Child care can be hard to access and schools can fill quickly. Many people seemed to have moved after COVID. Affordable is hard to narrow down as it depends what you can afford. When buying things you have limited choice locally usually and then shipping costs add to everything. Some things just aren't available easily. That said it's still nicer being close to nature, very little traffic and minutes to many beaches.

I moved from Sydney to Taree 4 years ago and am loving it. I also have a 2 and 4 year old. We are 20mins from beautiful beaches with free parking and 15mins from beautiful bush walks and mountain bike trails.

Tweed, Lismore, Coffs?

An idea is small towns that orbit larger inland cities.

Eg Ganmain close to Wagga Wagga, or Uralla close to Armidale.

(Uralla is lovely if you like mountain air, frosty winters in front of a fire, mild summers, low humidity wtc).

Check out Goulburn, 1 hr to Canberra, 2 hrs to Sydney CBD, 2 hrs to south coast, mid size city of about 33,000 people, new hospital, plenty of school choices, property prices reasonable compared to metro areas.

I live near Coffs, would thoroughly recommend. Having the beach 300m from your front door is a pretty great way to live. No traffic, Brisbane and Sydney are both a day’s drive away, it’s bliss.

We did the same, left Sydney with a 2 and 4 year old (we chose Gold Coast) and it's been the best thing we've ever done - very happy with our decision to leave.

Wollongong and illawarra area?

Anywhere on the coast is going to be just as expensive as the city. Go over the mountains.

I’m in the Illawarra (Wollongong area) and still working in Sydney. It’s less than an hour from the city where we are and only about 45mins to the centre of the city on a train. Check it out :)

With children at that age I'd recommend Newcastle. Still close to Sydney but it's a much younger urban area than south or west.

Gerringong

Lake Macquarie is beautiful

thanks ill look into it

I grew up in Dubbo and have lived in both Orange and Bathurst as well as further west.

Dubbo is starting to push the outer limits on the distance they wanted by car, but there are multiple daily flights that only take an hour. The train is nice, but a bit slow at 6.5 hours on the XPT. Grew up there and it certainly has quite a bit to offer now and has grown considerably.

Orange is a couple of hours closer by car, has fights etc and arguably a nicer town to live in. I prefer the climate there by a considerable margin, usually about 7 degrees cooler, more rain and it rarely cracks 40. The flipside is that winter is bitterly cold (for Aussie conditions). Orange has an amazing collection of cafes, wineries and is great for foodies in general. It can feel a bit lacking on the shopping side of things, I remember as a kid people were always going to Orange from Dubbo for shopping trips, now it feels like the reverse is true as Dubbo as grown and expanded the commerical side of things quite a bit while Orange feels like it has less than before.

Bathurst is usually a bit cooler climate than Dubbo, decent enough to live in and has a good range of stores, places to eat and things to do. Basically anything missing from Orange in terms of shopping can be found here a 30 minute drive away and vice versa with easy access to Orange. The big advantage here is the Bathurst 'Bullet' train service multiple times a day. This service ends in Bathurst so Orange and Dubbo don't benefit as much.

Of the three Orange is my pick, has a bit more of a small town feel and the climate agrees with me quite nicely. Housing prices have gone nuts there since COVID though, it got named on a few lists of top destinations and the investment home money came flooding in.

You're probably looking at close to $100 a week more rent for equivalent 4 bedroom places to the other two last I looked. The median house prices are around $50,000 higher than Bathurst and $170,000 higher than Dubbo. 4 bedroom are close for Bathurst/Orange with Dubbo $160k behind. Dubbo has more spread out 'poor' areas which effects the realestate value

we will definetely check prices to get an idea, it is one of the things we really have to look into before we make any decision

this sounds great. I love to do trecking, will be great to get back to it. thanks!

ill check them out, thanks

Coffs too expeno

i think this is very likely, a small town in the orbit, since probably the cities are not that cheap, but we can also look into that.

I'd not do this as the travel to and from the major city os going to be a not small cost of time and fuel. Also any house you buy in these places will not keep value like a house in town. They may go backwards in real terms even.

thx mate, ill look into it

yeah i think it just makes sense for us. Im not Australian, so i dont have attachments to the city and my wife is originally from Wagga, so we both looking forward to country life. The city doesnt really appeal to me, since i lived most of my life in one

ill take a look at them, thanks

Just not true. Umina, Ettalong is on the beach, and houses are a 1/4 to a 1/3 of Sydney prices. A 3 bed for $800,000. this area will keep it's value and it may from the low base rise faster than Sydney. The little towns along the rail line are even cheaper, Koolawong, Tascott.

im not to keen in staying so attached to sydney, but i guess Newcastle could be an option. I gotta research how affordable houses are. thanks

Thanks a lot for this information, its really good. Bathurst was one of the areas we already keeping an eye, including Orange. Its nice to get some feedback from someone that grew thjere, really appreciate the time you took to write this.

Coffs has lovely beaches, Tweed is on the border with QLD, Lismore is cool but remember it floods.

Happy hunting either way.

Yeah, probably. Everywhere not out West / literal back of Burke is though in many ways.

It's really not that attached to Sydney. It's got enough going on that you won't be bored, but its far enough away that rents are cheaper, there's more of a beach town vibe.

Also got some nice cafes in the main Newcastle area and restaurants in Hamilton. Mereweather is lovely too.

They have a stadium for footy games, some concerts and the civic centre for shows. I've gone up to Newcastle overnight and seen a comedian there because their show sold out in Sydney. Accomodation was pretty cheap in comparison to Sydney.

Also reasonably well serviced by public transport. I've considered moving there myself, but I don't really know anyone living there. I dont have a partner or kids and I'd likely work remotely so I dont think there would be a huge opportunity to meet people in a similar stage of life. Only pitfall though!

If youre considering Newcastle try Maitland first. It's cheaper than Newcastle but close enough you can drive in every day if needed. Big country town.

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Thanks I'll do some research on it

Honestly, @EsmeraldaWeatherwax sounds bitter and cranky about the state of Newcastle, but she’s not wrong. The city has had an influx of Sydneysiders that has pushed up house prices beyond what locals can afford and left a big shortage in rentals, and strained public facilities beyond their capacity. There is a lot of resentment towards folks from Sydney, who get higher wages because the live in a high COL location, coming here and making living costs too high for folks who have lived here all their lives but now can’t afford to because local wages haven’t increased to match the insane costs rise in the region, and they’re hurting. It’s not the Sydney folks’ fault that we don’t get paid what they do, but it’s a bit like looking for a snack at a homeless soup kitchen - taking from people who are in a worse spot that you are. The government seriously needs to step in and do something about housing affordability, but if history is anything to go by, they will just throw money at Sydney infrastructure as if that is what the shortage is.

Yes, as I stated a couple of times I’m not from Newy. Why don’t you give Sydney a shot, you sound miserable xx

This is pretty much every major town along the east coast right now. Sydney is forcing people out, and it's causing severe rental issues as these towns aren't prepared for the influx of people. The Sydney people have deeper pockets so they win out in the rental war, forcing the locals out.

I moved to the Gold Coast from Sydney 2 years ago, so I'm part of the problem, but I also need to keep a roof over my kids head and I couldn't continue to do that in Sydney.

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That doesn’t surprise me. On an individual basis, I have no problem with folks coming from Sydney and it makes complete sense why they do. On a population level, they are essentially bringing their problems with them (but passing them on to someone else) and those working remotely are taking advantage of an income disparity that we can’t all enjoy. It was always the tricky dichotomy that houses were most affordable where jobs were hard to find or pay was lower, but the increase in WFH (while it has a lot of benefits) has hit service and blue collar workers (who can’t work from home) harder while enabling white collar professionals to get around that difficulty. It sucks, and something needs to be done to address it for everyone’s sake, or the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ is going to get worse.

I won’t give anyone flak for doing what they need to to get housing security for their family, but it really is hard not to be bitter when that action reduces housing security for others.

We’re grateful you don’t either xx

Why don’t you write a letter to that mayor?

Where do you live? Do you live close to Fairfield City Council area? Could just be an honest mistake by the people who letter drop. If it's posted, could be just an admin issue.

coming soon to news.com.au

Maybe your part of Fairfield now as a developer bought out the council to make their development more desirable.

Why were you looking in everyone's letterboxes?

Most mafia sounding Mayor ever

Or even cheaper and easier, call the phone number that’s conveniently provided on the flyer and say “hey, someone’s fucked up”. Job done.

If you live in a building, all the letterboxes are in the one location. It's not that difficult to see the same item sticking out from each one.

Have an open mind before trying to accuse me of a Commonwealth crime.

Nope I don't buy it. There's no way the delivery person left them sticking out of every letter box and didn't push them all the way in.

The dimensions of the newsletter are larger than the depth of the letterbox.

Stop shit-stirring.

I’m backing OP, I’ve seen this sort of thing plenty of times. They totally want brochures and shit sticking out, because they want your attention

Everyones letterbox would be at different capacities. Some empty some with letters already in them. There's no way all the letterboxes could have the newsletter hanging equally outside the letterbox far enough that you could tell they were the same. Something else is going on here.

They are likely smaller letter boxes that are likely the width of a standard letter envelope deep.

This is clearly larger than a standard letter so would not fit fully in a mailbox of the smaller type common to apartment buildings so would stick out.

Just because you live under a rock and never seen it does not mean it does t exist.

Stop being a cunt, go for a walk and enjoy some sun

A friend has just bought their first house off the plan and has had their real estate agent try to talk them only doing the pre-settlement inspection the day before settlement saying it’s no big deal and they’ll have 90 days after settling to discover any issues. This sounds dodgey AF to me.

What would be the best way to approach this? Should they be looking to book a professional to assist this with this inspection?

Ya mate has spent THOUSANDS of dollars - and it would be wise to have a pre settlement inspection.

And absolutely get a professional (building inspector) to go through with them specifically to check for defects and issues.

The inspection could uncover a problem that might not show up for years, let alone in 90 days. Tell them to GET THE INSPECTION!

NSW Conveyancer here: The pre settlement inspection is the time for the purchaser to ensure that the property is in the same condition as when the offer was made, and the exchange of contracts. As it’s OTP, it’s the time for the purchaser to ensure that what they are purchasing is what they paid for, and that its all in working order. Check all doors and windows open and close freely, if there are blinds/curtains, make sure they open/close freely and are new and unmarked. Check oven, stove tops, fans, heating, cooling all work properly. Take a phone charge or table lamp to check al power points are operational. Electric garage door works. Hot running water. NBN connection ready for your ISP. Check with your legal representative to ensure that there is a Minor Defects Clause in the contract regarding the 90 days to find, report and have repaired any minor defects on the property. It helps, but isn’t necessary because you have rights under building legislation. Not unusual for pre settlement inspection to be in days before or even day of settlement. If during inspection any issues are found, contact your conveyancer immediately to advise, and instruct NOT to complete the settlement until issue resolved.

EDIT: just to add, the above checks for a pre settlement inspection is what I recommend to all purchaser clients, not just OTP new homes. You want to make sure you get what you think you have paid for, too late after settlement if you find air con doesn’t work, or as has happened to a client in the past, the oven door falls off when you go to open it.

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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*

Yep my thoughts exactly.

Thankyou so much.

Put it this way:

You’ve ordered a brand new car, it’s arrived in the country and been delivered to the dealership.

Based on my experience with my last car- Before we signed any paperwork we were taken down to the car to inspect it and make sure that we’re happy with it. Yes the dealership has done their own inspection and checks but we still gave it a good look over.

A property is 10x-100x the cost and complexity of a car.

If you have spent hundreds of thousands on it - another $500 or even $2k to pay a professional who knows building codes, Australian standards, and best practice to look over it and help identify any defects or issues is well worth it.

Not sure which website this is, but that's correct. According to Wikipedia, Penny Sharpe is the leader of the government (opposition before the election) in the Legislative Council (the upper house). Chris Minns, being the premier, is the leader of the government in the Legislative Assembly (the lower house).

Since 8th of June 2021

I'm sure Chris Minns wasn't a figment of my imagination.

This is for the Legislative Council, Penny Sharpe is Labor’s leader in that house.

That’s why it lists Matthew Mason-Cox as President. The Legislative Council has a President rather than a Speaker.

Also Damien Tudehope as the Leader of the Government rather than Domenic Perottet (or Alister Henskens who was Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly).

In the context of this list being about the MLC then it's all correct.

Yes

Did you not notice that immediately above that is Alan Tudehope, the former leader of government business in the NSW upper house?