Jay92000 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hi all, My husband and I and our 11 year old son will hopefully be moving to Muswellbrook, NSW around May or so, just awaiting Visa etc. we are coming from Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and we are just wondering if anyone could give us some insight what its like to live there ie. best areas to live, housing, things to do, high schools, shopping, socialising etc. My husband's job will be in Muswellbrook, we may also look to maybe live in surrounding areas depending on travel for work/schools etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Janine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 The Hunter Valley has its good areas and bad areas, like everywhere. The nice thing is that there's lots of wineries! I would probably look to live between Muswellbrook and Newcastle (the nearest big city). It means you'll be handier for the big shopping centres and the beaches. t's a whlie since I've been there but I think Singleton would be worth looking at (about half an hour's drive from Muswellbrook). Look at the suburb reviews on Homely.com.au https://www.homely.com.au/muswellbrook-muswellbrook-hunter-new-south-wales ( a note about the reviews: "bogans" is Australian for "chav") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay92000 Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hi Marisa, Thank you for replying. Yeah no where is perfect really! and the fact that it has lots of wineries is a bonus lol. Yes, I think that we will maybe look at living in Singleton, have heard some good reports about there, housing and schools etc. I think we are going to wait until we are there to have a look around first and then hopefully decide. Do you know if it is a long process with the real estates to apply to rent a house? We would be in a motel for probably a week or so and in between then we would like to get moved in to a rental. I will have a look on the homely.com website, thank you for this and hopefully get some more information. Thanks again Janine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 10 hours ago, Jay92000 said: Hi Marisa, Thank you for replying. Yeah no where is perfect really! and the fact that it has lots of wineries is a bonus lol. Yes, I think that we will maybe look at living in Singleton, have heard some good reports about there, housing and schools etc. I think we are going to wait until we are there to have a look around first and then hopefully decide. Do you know if it is a long process with the real estates to apply to rent a house? We would be in a motel for probably a week or so and in between then we would like to get moved in to a rental. I will have a look on the homely.com website, thank you for this and hopefully get some more information. Thanks again Janine A week is not nearly long enough. Most people book into a holiday let , caravan park or Airbnb for a month when they first arrive. We we’re lucky and found a place to rent in our second week, but then it took another week and a half before we could get the keys. Houses are often only open for inspections on the weekend, and it will take at least a week to go through the admin processes before you can occupy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 17 hours ago, Jay92000 said: Hi all, My husband and I and our 11 year old son will hopefully be moving to Muswellbrook, NSW .....just wondering if anyone could give us some insight what its like to live there ie.... housing,.... Get a house with a good airconditioning unit. The maximum temperature for the next 4 days varies between 42 and 44 C! http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/muswellbrook.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay92000 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Hi Marisa, Yeah we will probably do the same just until we have a look around to where we actually want to live. Thanks for the info. Hi Skani, Yes, we definitely will lol - Yikes that is crazy temperatures! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Stay away from Cessnock 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjm Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I lived in Singleton. It’s an “ok” town in a beautiful area. I have no experience of the schools as my children were preschool age at that time. I believe they have upgraded the central town area somewhat since I was last there. The housing is nice - lots of new modern houses, particularly in Singleton Heights and definitely more for your money than you’d get in the cities. It can be quite a transient town as a large amount of the population is made up of mining or army - both of which move on often. Summer temperatures can get crazy!! Not unusual to be in the mid 40s. But winter temps rarely drop below the midteens - although you do get frosty mornings. Summers are long and winters are very short! I see you are a ping ponger having lived in Aus before...? Can I ask why you left and why you are moving back?? We too are currently contemplating a move back to Aus having been back in UK for 8yrs. We lived in Aus for 3yrs - Singleton for 1 and Melbourne for 2.... We now have the opportunity to move to Sydney... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay92000 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Hi Bulya, Ok, will do. Thank you. Hi FJM, Yes we are indeed ping pongs lol - We lived in a place called Roma in Queensland in 2013. We stayed 18 months. Roma was very outback and a good 7 hour drive to the beach. Our kids at the time were 6 & 13 and they found it pretty difficult to settle. We came back to the UK for a wedding in between and that kind of broke us and we thought we were missing something from back home so we decided to come home. We quickly found out that we weren't! - We had a house to sell in the UK and it has taken us this long really to get the opportunity to head back. My husband has been offered a job in Muswellbrook and we are hoping to be back in Australia by May this year. We are planning to start in Singleton and see where we end up. We do plan to stay this time! You planning to head back then? Which part of Sydney? Good luck with everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjm Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I just couldn’t settle last time we were there and got desperately homesick when we first arrived and although that faded, home was always pulling me back - my husband would have stayed. I couldn’t have lived in Singleton forever but Melbourne is truly amazing! We’ve toyed with moving back to Australia for probably the last 4yrs, but I’m really cautious given my feelings last time.... Ideally, we’d like to be in Melbourne and my husband has had a few job offers - 2 in Melbourne and 1 in Canberra, but the overall deal/salary didn’t work for us. He’s now in talks with a company based in Sydney and it looks like the salary and package is going to add up this time. Question is... do we up sticks and start all over again?? Our kids were 3 and 1 last time - now they are 13 and 11 and very much have their own views and opinions! One is open to the idea, the other isn’t keen on the idea but he doesn’t like the idea of change in any aspect of his life! I don’t want to make the wrong decision for them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 13 hours ago, fjm said: I just couldn’t settle last time we were there and got desperately homesick when we first arrived and although that faded, home was always pulling me back - my husband would have stayed. I couldn’t have lived in Singleton forever but Melbourne is truly amazing! We’ve toyed with moving back to Australia for probably the last 4yrs, but I’m really cautious given my feelings last time.... Ideally, we’d like to be in Melbourne and my husband has had a few job offers - 2 in Melbourne and 1 in Canberra, but the overall deal/salary didn’t work for us. He’s now in talks with a company based in Sydney and it looks like the salary and package is going to add up this time. Question is... do we up sticks and start all over again?? Our kids were 3 and 1 last time - now they are 13 and 11 and very much have their own views and opinions! One is open to the idea, the other isn’t keen on the idea but he doesn’t like the idea of change in any aspect of his life! I don’t want to make the wrong decision for them.... I must say, I am a bit scared reading your post. Homesickness is not a logical thing. It's not about missing family or friends, necessarily. Some people have a deeply-held connection to their homeland - one which they're not even aware of until they try to live somewhere else, and then it takes them by surprise. And there's not a thing you can do to make it go away, except to go home. The scarey thing is that once you do get safely on home soil again, it all starts to feel like a bad dream and you think, "why was I so stupid, we had a great life, I was just being an idiot, I know better now". But if you are one of those people, you won't be able to stop it, it's built into you - the "I don't belong" feeling will return as soon as you get back to Oz. I have no idea whether that applies to you. Only you can say. But it's something to think about. I am also still worried about the idea of moving to Sydney, unless you think of it as a short-term job just to get you back to Oz, then he can look for a transfer. We've had several people on these forums (including me) who have left Sydney because they realise they'll be renting forever - house prices are so far out of reach. I've seen several newspaper articles saying people are moving to Brisbane and Melbourne in droves for the same reason. You may be able to find reasonably-priced rentals online, but in reality you'll find that real estate agents doctor the photos so what you see isn't what you get, and competition is very stiff (with price auctions) for anything decent. I know a recce trip is expensive and I wouldn't suggest it for any other city, but I would be visiting first and sussing out the real estate market before I made a final decision for Sydney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjm Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 4 hours ago, Marisawright said: I must say, I am a bit scared reading your post. Homesickness is not a logical thing. It's not about missing family or friends, necessarily. Some people have a deeply-held connection to their homeland - one which they're not even aware of until they try to live somewhere else, and then it takes them by surprise. And there's not a thing you can do to make it go away, except to go home. The scarey thing is that once you do get safely on home soil again, it all starts to feel like a bad dream and you think, "why was I so stupid, we had a great life, I was just being an idiot, I know better now". But if you are one of those people, you won't be able to stop it, it's built into you - the "I don't belong" feeling will return as soon as you get back to Oz. I have no idea whether that applies to you. Only you can say. But it's something to think about. I am also still worried about the idea of moving to Sydney, unless you think of it as a short-term job just to get you back to Oz, then he can look for a transfer. We've had several people on these forums (including me) who have left Sydney because they realise they'll be renting forever - house prices are so far out of reach. I've seen several newspaper articles saying people are moving to Brisbane and Melbourne in droves for the same reason. You may be able to find reasonably-priced rentals online, but in reality you'll find that real estate agents doctor the photos so what you see isn't what you get, and competition is very stiff (with price auctions) for anything decent. I know a recce trip is expensive and I wouldn't suggest it for any other city, but I would be visiting first and sussing out the real estate market before I made a final decision for Sydney. You make lots of sense.... I share your concerns.... Which is why I’m cautious.... Maybe I just need a holiday lol!!! It’s not a seasonal thing as I feel the same whether it’s summer or winter here in UK. Curse of the expat... It’s an awful feeling and hard to understand unless you’ve experienced it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 On 24/01/2019 at 10:30, Bulya said: Stay away from Cessnock Why’s that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Currently living in pokolbin as others have said it gets quite warm here this time of year. It’s a hours drive from here the expressway is very busy with a lot of mine traffic on shift change over , I know a few who travell from Newcastle , not my cup of tea Singleton is not to bad , enough shops and quite a good hospital Some nice areas around Maitland A new town being built at Huntlee which is about 45 min away good luck with your move ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 On 29/01/2019 at 19:11, fjm said: You make lots of sense.... I share your concerns.... Which is why I’m cautious.... Maybe I just need a holiday lol!!! It’s not a seasonal thing as I feel the same whether it’s summer or winter here in UK. Curse of the expat... It’s an awful feeling and hard to understand unless you’ve experienced it! I do understand it, experienced it in reverse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjm Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 5 hours ago, Marisawright said: I do understand it, experienced it in reverse So where are you now.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 6 hours ago, Rallyman said: Why’s that ? Drug central and worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 9 hours ago, Bulya said: Drug central and worse Do you live there to make a comment like that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Rallyman said: Do you live there to make a comment like that ? I spent years in the Hunter region and my girlfriend at the time was a Sister at Maitland Hospital. Trust me, I know that area well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 9 minutes ago, Bulya said: I spent years in the Hunter region and my girlfriend at the time was a Sister at Maitland Hospital. Trust me, I know that area well I live in pokolbin and have the last 3 years Do our shopping in Cessnock , yes it has some dodgy parts as do most areas , I have worked in far worse both here and uk. Find most of the people good people Think you will find it’s changed a bit since you were last here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Rallyman said: I live in pokolbin and have the last 3 years Do our shopping in Cessnock , yes it has some dodgy parts as do most areas , I have worked in far worse both here and uk. Find most of the people good people Think you will find it’s changed a bit since you were last here. There two years ago looking at a horse float. Very rundown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 41 minutes ago, Bulya said: There two years ago looking at a horse float. Very rundown Lot changed in last 2 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 7 minutes ago, Rallyman said: Lot changed in last 2 years Possibly, but only a nuke could fix Cessnock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallyman Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 22 hours ago, Bulya said: Possibly, but only a nuke could fix Cessnock! Harsh, as I said good and bad everywhere 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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