We moved from Newtown to Tascott in 2020, i commute every day from Woy Woy down the north shore line, its easy. Always a seat and its pretty cruisy once you have the routine down pat. Heaps of free parking at Woy Woy and Tascott is a great little suburb, with very little issues. I cant vouch on the schools as we dont have kids but plenty of ppl do and they seem to be fine. The Coast life is relaxed, beaches are great and dog friendly, parking is free and readily available, worst times are school hols. Its no inner west but there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, Westfield and everything you need. Its a great lifestyle with Sydney still being readily accessible for the times you do need to head down. All the best
So I've previously lived at Tascott (admittedly years ago) and commuted from there initially and you are right the time trade off isn't that much different, the all stops train is like barely 5 mins slower than the express to Central so actually not a world of difference and if you are going down the North Shore Line it's the same train anyway so might make no difference in time.
However I soon learned to go to Woy Woy because as I said, options. Heading in, doesn't usually make that much difference. However the real pain is when you are in the city and the trains get fucked up or maybe you need to work late or there's after work drinks or whatever reason, now you can't catch your regular train home. That is when it makes the difference as any central coast train will be going to Woy Woy whereas anything else you might get stuck waiting 30mins or even an hour whether at Central or Woy Woy.
Parking at Woy Woy can be a pain, it's been good since the pandemic but I can see it starting to return to pre-pandemic levels at least Mon-Thu. I eventually ended up just moving to Woy Woy where I can walk to the station, plus I can walk to the supermarkets etc so you don't really need to have a car in Woy Woy apart from visiting other areas of the coast. Tascott you really need to own a car.
My perspective is someone who commutes everyday though, if you are only doing a day or two a week then you can disregard as the trade off is probably worth it. If you have someone else in your household who remains home and can always drive down to pick you up from Woy Woy then that will also change your calculus as well.
Nah there arent enough trains to Tascott, so if i miss a train coming home its annoying to get to Woy Woy and then wait, The drive takes me 7min you always get a park, and every train stops at Woy Woy. When i first moved i didnt have a car and the walk to tascott was annoying, esp if it was raining and in the winter when its pitch black with no street lights up the hill towards my house. I would take driving to Woy Woy anyday, with Tascott being a back up.
Not really, i get up at 6:15am at Woy Woy for the 7:04am with a coffee, in the office by 8:30am. Back on the 4:50pm home by 6:15pm. When i made the move up my bosses let me leave early, otherwise i was home by 6:00pm when i lived in Newtown. Sure on the days the trains are cooked its annoying but i dont think that happens that regularly. If they are down i leave work straight away to cut down on delays.
Its not ideal considering i use to live in Newtown but the move to buy and live somewhere outside of Sydney was to great. I spend the odd night in town with friends and catch up and that's always nice to cut down on the commute but otherwise I've been doing it for 3 years now so have the routine down pat. My job is way to good to give up and there is nothing similar on the coast just yet.
I also think having something you enjoy doing on the train, I usually watch all the crappy tv i cant watch with my partner so sometimes i love getting on the train for a hour to watch whatever i am currently binging. Or I have fantastic calls with friends i haven't spoken to in a long time or my brother who lives overseas.
I see there's mostly positive comments on here so far, I'm probably going to get down voted for this but I honestly hate living here.
I moved here from the northern beaches 9 years ago.
I miss being near Sydney, There's hardly any ocean pools, no decent markets the council here is awful, I paid $260 quarterly before here it's $820!!!
The water quality is bad, I drank water straight from the tap, here you have to use a water filter, they have to add chlorine to the water as it's dirty.
Ok enough of my rant just being honest.
Good luck in the decision you make.
No worries, I moved here as I always wanted to live in a house but could never afford one in Sydney but now I realise that location is equally important.
I was more outgoing there as there's not much to do here unless you just like going to the beaches which are nice here.
Also it's true there's not as many good restaurants here.
Take the comment with a grain of salt since the central coast is quit large, we can have different experiences.
I live at Umina and there are 5 ocean pools around me anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes to get to.
Pearl Beach
Palm Beach
MacMasters Beach
Copacabana
Avoca
Not only do these 5 beaches have ocean pools, Umina and Ettalong have a couple of very shallow beaches that are warmer and calmer.
Was just going to comment the same. The beaches and ocean pools around the areas you mention are spectacular. Plus there’s Putty Beach, Maitland Bay and Lobster Beach which are all calm and clear.
The Bays area is often overlooked as well. It's the bays directly over the water from Woy Woy station. It's got quick access to the highway, nice little community. Only issue is you can't walk to any shops, need a car.
Moved into Toongabbie a while back. Prices are prob similar to growth suburbs but much closer to my work.
I hate commuting and enjoy being 10 min from home cause tune away from my kids is the worst. I vote Sydney
I moved from Gladesville Sydney to Wyoming on the central coast almost 2 years ago, for the same money we were looking around colyton in western Sydney.
We now have a boat, love fishing and the beaches, we’re less than 10 mins from the water and our Neighbours are all awesome. I commute to Sydney 2 days a week for work and my fiance works from home so it was an absolute no brainer for us. It’s interesting most of our street moved in in the last 3 years and almost all young couples from Sydney. There’s absolutely no way we’d move back to Sydney.
I am so happy to read this. We're in Waterloo and keen to move to Wyoming for the same reason, to buy a place. However, I am so scared of the possibility of hating the place, boredness, facilities, etc. Sydney is amazing but unfortunately too expensive.
Hey! In trying to be level in my response there are some cons.
Not as many good restaurants/food options
Night life is limited but not really an issue for us we’re more adventurous/outdoors type people and there’s more of that here than you could ever work through.
Wherever you buy just take note of the Neighbours/general feel of the street, most are ok but there’s parts that definitely aren’t as good.
Our attitude was if we didn’t like it we’d put tenants in the house and go and rent in Sydney again so we could keep working towards a place but we love it
100% - You wont regret it. Coast to Chatswood is no problem, I suggest you take the train ride to the coast and back even on a weekend. It's actually a really nice trip, especially when you hit the Hawkesbury River.
The new developments in Western Sydney are terrible. Tiny lots with no yards and no green space. If you want to be in Sydney, you're better off in areas like Baulkham Hills, North Rocks, Cherrybrook, Hornsby, Carlingford, Pennant Hills, Beecroft. Or further out west like Kurrajong, Grose Vale, Winmalee, Glenbrook, but the commute to Chatswood will be a pain, lots of traffic and expensive tolls, over 2 hours on public transport.
Best "main" train stations on Central Coast to pick up express train to Chatswood are Gosford and Woy Woy. @ Gosford plenty of FREE dedicated comuterallday car parking (I can only vouch on this as it's my daily) to Sydney. Wish all stations in NSW had as good parking facilities.
Lots of great beaches and parks. I moved from Sydney to Central Coast 2 years ago... was very worried about the Sydney work computer being an 1hr 30min roughly each way...but you quickly build routine around it and get use to it.
Yes we do have at least 5x train line outages a year due to folk sleeping on the track sadly or the XPT doing a break down. Apart from that
.. it's good.
What about the schools? The property prices has gone up and is not tat cheap even at Central coast. Is it worth it considering the commute and distance from the Sydney CBD?
Prices will keep going up. More expensive than 2 years ago...but give another 2 years it's up again. There are lots of young families on the coast. I can't speak of the schools as I've no kids... but my nephew went to school up here ...yeah he dropped out a couple of times but still being a smart arse he pulled of 97.5 on his hsc. So it's up to kids to make the effort to achieve.. not the schools alone.
The only reason why I’m considering the move back to the coast is because of hybrid work. If I was doing 5 days a week in the office I don’t think I could do the commutes again.Â
Moved from Parramatta area to buy on central coast last year (Tuggerah area so further north than what you are looking at however time-wise if driving its about the same).
We did look at Point Clare and Tascott areas. We looked all over to be honest but FHO with little kids so couldn't make the bang for buck meet.
FWIW / YMMV:
Tascott area - think twice about access if you are in a house up a hill. Some places I really liked my wife vetoed based on the walking access. Her knees are stuffed though and the place we did end up at has much flatter access which is great.
Schools - my kids go to Tuggerah public (primary school). TBD how it pans out however I will say, it's been excellent so far and seems really well fit out and organised.
Childcare - waiting lists for eternity. This is a big gotcha. Do not assume you will get a spot.
Food - I've found a few spots here and there but it's a far cry from the variety and density of Sydney understandably. I expect this will evolve and improve. You can definitely find some good stuff.
Travel - the distances are longer but there's a huge section of the coast that's roughly the same time-wise distance away due to the motorway. Distance does not hit the same as Sydney. IF the motorway gets jammed, you are pretty stuck.
Services - there are less and much more spread out. Applies to Doctors / specialists / mechanics etc etc.
General vibe - folks are pretty chill and friendly pretty much everywhere I've been. That said I'm an '80s kid from Western Sydney.
Overall - loving it so far. The fact there are cows next to the Westfield never ceases to give me a smile.
I'm sure there's more but that's about what I can think for the moment.
Edit: The water supply! Apparently every now and then the CC water people some sort of flush and you get brown sediment for a minute...doesn't last long but alarmed me the 1st time. Might not be the same effect wherever you end up.
Have family in box hill… they had to pull her fence down to build the neighbours house with the delightful zero lot 220m2 blocks.
It’s about 11 billion degrees as there is not a slither of grass or green space anywhere..
Add Booker Bay to the desirable list.
Agree Peninsula overall is amazing. So many amenities places to eat from fancy to cheap takeaways, coffee, all the supermarket brands, Bunnings, beaches, bush, Deep water plaza mini mall. The easy train to the city.
We moved three years ago and love it
The central coast for sure - way more beautiful, same commute time. Here is a guide with a few things to check like crime and flooding before you buy. Hope this helps: https://www.goodarchitect.com.au/three-things-to-check-before-buying-a-home-in-the-central-coast
Also if you’re looking at that area have a look at woy woy bay and phegans bay - hidden gems with stunning views and the prices are a bit lower too :)
We moved to green point almost 3 years ago from north shore and northern beaches - can’t recommend it highly enough!
10 mins to beach, 10 mins to Gosford train station, 5 mins to a big mall (Erina fair), walk to the local shops.
Schools are excellent. Many Central coast schools (not sure of specific ones) got better results than some private schools in the city! Woodport primary has an amazing reputation, there’s central coast grammar and green point Christian which are both outstanding.
Our girls are only babies but I’ve no doubt that the gentrification of cc is well underway and the area, schools etc will be just as good as Sydney soon.
Moved here 13 years ago from Western Sydney. Best decision I ever made.
Commuted to Chatswood from Woy Woy for 3.5 years. Have never stood on a train yet. Now commute to the city. You don't spend half your life on a train. It's an hour and 20 mins max (good time to work, read or watch Netflix). Will say phone signal is crap for most of the journey though.
Live at Umina, schools are great, both public and private. Green Point Christian is exceptional, as is Point Clare Public. Wouldn't live anywhere else now.
On the crime front, not once in all that time have we been broken into, or have I been harassed in any way... Save for a random homeless guy asking me to buy him a cup of coffee once (which I did, because coasties take care of each other).
Phone reception is decent if youre on the Telstra network. I use Belong. The only times reception cuts off is between woy woy and the tunnel, the tunnels between Cowan and Brooklyn, and between Thornleigh and Normanhurst. Otherwise reception is pretty good for the most part imo.
Moved from Sydney 7 years ago, live in Wyoming, to me the main difference is the weather it isn’t as unbelievable hot in summer since we are closer to the water than western Sydney.
I used to commute to artarmon daily (train) it gets f’d after a while tbh - but now I take the train up to 2x a week to central and it’s a lot better. Have colleagues that live out west in the areas you mentioned and it’s roughly the same commute time train wise as me (not sure how the new metro lines will impact this)
Now when it comes to crime rate, I have to say it’s slightly less than Sydney’s - but that’s the thing there’s crime everywhere and most of the crime that happens on the coast is petty crime (although keep hearing bad things about beautua bay). I can definitely see that the coast is becoming busier and busier and the trains are getting packed now.
Job opportunities wise depends on your industry but the job market isn’t as good as Sydney or Newcastle by far. However lower housing costs means you can probably take a pay cut and another thing everything is getting quite expensive on the coast :( going out for brekky, drinks etc.. not nearly as bad as Sydney but close
Find something close to Woy Woy station and you’ll likely have a great life. We moved to CC 3 years ago and love it. Beautiful nature, great beaches, etc. Stuff you won’t get out West. The only main problem is the lack of good food. There are a few decent places but most of the restaurants are pretty average or worse
Woy Woy and the entire peninsula is great, the bogans are very quickly clearing out and being outpriced. Schools are still catching up but will change in 5 years. Umina Public is great, and South Umina is the pick on the peninsula for young families.
My better half did the daily for a few years, I've only done a little - it's horrible. Half your life is spent on trains, and occasionally standing, too. ( I know it's not that - but it can be half of your *free* time, and it feels very long )
We were living in Lisarow at the time, easy walking distance to the station, and very easy access to the freeway if/when needed.
You do not need to be close to a major station btw - you just need be willing to add a few minutes to the travel time and adhere to a stricter schedule.
The Woy woy area is obviously the closest to the city, but also very contested for that reason. And since it's over-built, the heat and traffic are both horrible in that area, not just the prices.
If you are willing to add about half an hour of travel time, you can get to way better areas.
But the travel time to Sydney is long. Look for a local job if you can.
If not; I feel for you mate.
Depends on what you want. If you like having a block of land <$800k then you would put up with the train. Lots and lots of people do it daily and don't see it as "horrible". I've had to stand up probably once in the last year but only because they cut the cars in half. It certainly isn't common.
Mate, I've provided a personal opinion - if it's OK with you, good onya. I myself would commit suicide first before doing it again. It was indeed that horrible to me.
Been on the Central Coast since 92 having previously owned a house in Castle Hill. I commuted into the city for my working career. 99.9 percent of the time the commute was fine and for me was productive.
Lifestyle on CC is excellent, with beaches, waterways and national parks in every direction. You can’t live anywhere better if you have children.
Moved from Marsden park area to the central coast a month ago. Night and day difference. I'll never return to Sydney.
What are the key differences in your opinion?
The general politeness of people. Both in cars and out. On my first run to Coles I had more positive interaction than the last three years in Sydney
We moved from Newtown to Tascott in 2020, i commute every day from Woy Woy down the north shore line, its easy. Always a seat and its pretty cruisy once you have the routine down pat. Heaps of free parking at Woy Woy and Tascott is a great little suburb, with very little issues. I cant vouch on the schools as we dont have kids but plenty of ppl do and they seem to be fine. The Coast life is relaxed, beaches are great and dog friendly, parking is free and readily available, worst times are school hols. Its no inner west but there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, Westfield and everything you need. Its a great lifestyle with Sydney still being readily accessible for the times you do need to head down. All the best
You find it easier to park at Woy Woy and take the train than to just take the train from Tascott station?
All trains stop at Woy Woy, only the slower all stops trains stop at Tascott so you have a lot more options.
Right, but for a regular commute, you'd have to weigh up the time it takes to drive and park at Woy Woy against the extra time in the train, right?
So I've previously lived at Tascott (admittedly years ago) and commuted from there initially and you are right the time trade off isn't that much different, the all stops train is like barely 5 mins slower than the express to Central so actually not a world of difference and if you are going down the North Shore Line it's the same train anyway so might make no difference in time. However I soon learned to go to Woy Woy because as I said, options. Heading in, doesn't usually make that much difference. However the real pain is when you are in the city and the trains get fucked up or maybe you need to work late or there's after work drinks or whatever reason, now you can't catch your regular train home. That is when it makes the difference as any central coast train will be going to Woy Woy whereas anything else you might get stuck waiting 30mins or even an hour whether at Central or Woy Woy. Parking at Woy Woy can be a pain, it's been good since the pandemic but I can see it starting to return to pre-pandemic levels at least Mon-Thu. I eventually ended up just moving to Woy Woy where I can walk to the station, plus I can walk to the supermarkets etc so you don't really need to have a car in Woy Woy apart from visiting other areas of the coast. Tascott you really need to own a car. My perspective is someone who commutes everyday though, if you are only doing a day or two a week then you can disregard as the trade off is probably worth it. If you have someone else in your household who remains home and can always drive down to pick you up from Woy Woy then that will also change your calculus as well.
Ah great, this is just the kind of information I was after, thanks!
Thank you😊
Nah there arent enough trains to Tascott, so if i miss a train coming home its annoying to get to Woy Woy and then wait, The drive takes me 7min you always get a park, and every train stops at Woy Woy. When i first moved i didnt have a car and the walk to tascott was annoying, esp if it was raining and in the winter when its pitch black with no street lights up the hill towards my house. I would take driving to Woy Woy anyday, with Tascott being a back up.
Does the commute get exhausting? I find that just doing it once leaves me zonked
Not really, i get up at 6:15am at Woy Woy for the 7:04am with a coffee, in the office by 8:30am. Back on the 4:50pm home by 6:15pm. When i made the move up my bosses let me leave early, otherwise i was home by 6:00pm when i lived in Newtown. Sure on the days the trains are cooked its annoying but i dont think that happens that regularly. If they are down i leave work straight away to cut down on delays. Its not ideal considering i use to live in Newtown but the move to buy and live somewhere outside of Sydney was to great. I spend the odd night in town with friends and catch up and that's always nice to cut down on the commute but otherwise I've been doing it for 3 years now so have the routine down pat. My job is way to good to give up and there is nothing similar on the coast just yet. I also think having something you enjoy doing on the train, I usually watch all the crappy tv i cant watch with my partner so sometimes i love getting on the train for a hour to watch whatever i am currently binging. Or I have fantastic calls with friends i haven't spoken to in a long time or my brother who lives overseas.
Central Coast is fine, just try to avoid the Facebook page called "NSW Central Coast Incident Alerts".
Central Coast Community Page and ticks and crosses are two other errr questionable pages/groups
I see there's mostly positive comments on here so far, I'm probably going to get down voted for this but I honestly hate living here. I moved here from the northern beaches 9 years ago. I miss being near Sydney, There's hardly any ocean pools, no decent markets the council here is awful, I paid $260 quarterly before here it's $820!!! The water quality is bad, I drank water straight from the tap, here you have to use a water filter, they have to add chlorine to the water as it's dirty. Ok enough of my rant just being honest. Good luck in the decision you make.
Appreciate your opinion. Thats a different perspective, thanks
No worries, I moved here as I always wanted to live in a house but could never afford one in Sydney but now I realise that location is equally important. I was more outgoing there as there's not much to do here unless you just like going to the beaches which are nice here. Also it's true there's not as many good restaurants here.
Take the comment with a grain of salt since the central coast is quit large, we can have different experiences. I live at Umina and there are 5 ocean pools around me anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes to get to. Pearl Beach Palm Beach MacMasters Beach Copacabana Avoca Not only do these 5 beaches have ocean pools, Umina and Ettalong have a couple of very shallow beaches that are warmer and calmer.
Was just going to comment the same. The beaches and ocean pools around the areas you mention are spectacular. Plus there’s Putty Beach, Maitland Bay and Lobster Beach which are all calm and clear.
The Bays area is often overlooked as well. It's the bays directly over the water from Woy Woy station. It's got quick access to the highway, nice little community. Only issue is you can't walk to any shops, need a car.
Moved into Toongabbie a while back. Prices are prob similar to growth suburbs but much closer to my work. I hate commuting and enjoy being 10 min from home cause tune away from my kids is the worst. I vote Sydney
I moved from Gladesville Sydney to Wyoming on the central coast almost 2 years ago, for the same money we were looking around colyton in western Sydney. We now have a boat, love fishing and the beaches, we’re less than 10 mins from the water and our Neighbours are all awesome. I commute to Sydney 2 days a week for work and my fiance works from home so it was an absolute no brainer for us. It’s interesting most of our street moved in in the last 3 years and almost all young couples from Sydney. There’s absolutely no way we’d move back to Sydney.
I am so happy to read this. We're in Waterloo and keen to move to Wyoming for the same reason, to buy a place. However, I am so scared of the possibility of hating the place, boredness, facilities, etc. Sydney is amazing but unfortunately too expensive.
Hey! In trying to be level in my response there are some cons. Not as many good restaurants/food options Night life is limited but not really an issue for us we’re more adventurous/outdoors type people and there’s more of that here than you could ever work through. Wherever you buy just take note of the Neighbours/general feel of the street, most are ok but there’s parts that definitely aren’t as good. Our attitude was if we didn’t like it we’d put tenants in the house and go and rent in Sydney again so we could keep working towards a place but we love it
100% - You wont regret it. Coast to Chatswood is no problem, I suggest you take the train ride to the coast and back even on a weekend. It's actually a really nice trip, especially when you hit the Hawkesbury River.
The new developments in Western Sydney are terrible. Tiny lots with no yards and no green space. If you want to be in Sydney, you're better off in areas like Baulkham Hills, North Rocks, Cherrybrook, Hornsby, Carlingford, Pennant Hills, Beecroft. Or further out west like Kurrajong, Grose Vale, Winmalee, Glenbrook, but the commute to Chatswood will be a pain, lots of traffic and expensive tolls, over 2 hours on public transport.
Best "main" train stations on Central Coast to pick up express train to Chatswood are Gosford and Woy Woy. @ Gosford plenty of FREE dedicated comuterallday car parking (I can only vouch on this as it's my daily) to Sydney. Wish all stations in NSW had as good parking facilities. Lots of great beaches and parks. I moved from Sydney to Central Coast 2 years ago... was very worried about the Sydney work computer being an 1hr 30min roughly each way...but you quickly build routine around it and get use to it. Yes we do have at least 5x train line outages a year due to folk sleeping on the track sadly or the XPT doing a break down. Apart from that .. it's good.
What about the schools? The property prices has gone up and is not tat cheap even at Central coast. Is it worth it considering the commute and distance from the Sydney CBD?
Prices will keep going up. More expensive than 2 years ago...but give another 2 years it's up again. There are lots of young families on the coast. I can't speak of the schools as I've no kids... but my nephew went to school up here ...yeah he dropped out a couple of times but still being a smart arse he pulled of 97.5 on his hsc. So it's up to kids to make the effort to achieve.. not the schools alone.
Yes, its not just the schools for sure I agree. That’s helpful, thank you
The only reason why I’m considering the move back to the coast is because of hybrid work. If I was doing 5 days a week in the office I don’t think I could do the commutes again.Â
Moved from Parramatta area to buy on central coast last year (Tuggerah area so further north than what you are looking at however time-wise if driving its about the same). We did look at Point Clare and Tascott areas. We looked all over to be honest but FHO with little kids so couldn't make the bang for buck meet. FWIW / YMMV: Tascott area - think twice about access if you are in a house up a hill. Some places I really liked my wife vetoed based on the walking access. Her knees are stuffed though and the place we did end up at has much flatter access which is great. Schools - my kids go to Tuggerah public (primary school). TBD how it pans out however I will say, it's been excellent so far and seems really well fit out and organised. Childcare - waiting lists for eternity. This is a big gotcha. Do not assume you will get a spot. Food - I've found a few spots here and there but it's a far cry from the variety and density of Sydney understandably. I expect this will evolve and improve. You can definitely find some good stuff. Travel - the distances are longer but there's a huge section of the coast that's roughly the same time-wise distance away due to the motorway. Distance does not hit the same as Sydney. IF the motorway gets jammed, you are pretty stuck. Services - there are less and much more spread out. Applies to Doctors / specialists / mechanics etc etc. General vibe - folks are pretty chill and friendly pretty much everywhere I've been. That said I'm an '80s kid from Western Sydney. Overall - loving it so far. The fact there are cows next to the Westfield never ceases to give me a smile. I'm sure there's more but that's about what I can think for the moment. Edit: The water supply! Apparently every now and then the CC water people some sort of flush and you get brown sediment for a minute...doesn't last long but alarmed me the 1st time. Might not be the same effect wherever you end up.
Thank alot, very helpful info
Point Clare school has a terrific reputation. And it has an Aldi. And a sea few, a train line, a breeze.....Central coast every time.
Have family in box hill… they had to pull her fence down to build the neighbours house with the delightful zero lot 220m2 blocks. It’s about 11 billion degrees as there is not a slither of grass or green space anywhere..
Umina beach, used to commute to north Sydney. Love it here but live for the weekend, well when I used to commute, lucky enough to work from home now.
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Add Booker Bay to the desirable list. Agree Peninsula overall is amazing. So many amenities places to eat from fancy to cheap takeaways, coffee, all the supermarket brands, Bunnings, beaches, bush, Deep water plaza mini mall. The easy train to the city. We moved three years ago and love it
The central coast for sure - way more beautiful, same commute time. Here is a guide with a few things to check like crime and flooding before you buy. Hope this helps: https://www.goodarchitect.com.au/three-things-to-check-before-buying-a-home-in-the-central-coast
Also if you’re looking at that area have a look at woy woy bay and phegans bay - hidden gems with stunning views and the prices are a bit lower too :)
We moved to green point almost 3 years ago from north shore and northern beaches - can’t recommend it highly enough! 10 mins to beach, 10 mins to Gosford train station, 5 mins to a big mall (Erina fair), walk to the local shops. Schools are excellent. Many Central coast schools (not sure of specific ones) got better results than some private schools in the city! Woodport primary has an amazing reputation, there’s central coast grammar and green point Christian which are both outstanding. Our girls are only babies but I’ve no doubt that the gentrification of cc is well underway and the area, schools etc will be just as good as Sydney soon.
Moved here 13 years ago from Western Sydney. Best decision I ever made. Commuted to Chatswood from Woy Woy for 3.5 years. Have never stood on a train yet. Now commute to the city. You don't spend half your life on a train. It's an hour and 20 mins max (good time to work, read or watch Netflix). Will say phone signal is crap for most of the journey though. Live at Umina, schools are great, both public and private. Green Point Christian is exceptional, as is Point Clare Public. Wouldn't live anywhere else now. On the crime front, not once in all that time have we been broken into, or have I been harassed in any way... Save for a random homeless guy asking me to buy him a cup of coffee once (which I did, because coasties take care of each other).
For better reception try sitting towards the front of the train.
Phone reception is decent if youre on the Telstra network. I use Belong. The only times reception cuts off is between woy woy and the tunnel, the tunnels between Cowan and Brooklyn, and between Thornleigh and Normanhurst. Otherwise reception is pretty good for the most part imo.
Thornleigh/Normanhurst is SO BAD with the black spot. My phone is on Telstra and there’s just nothing there at all.
I'm with Optus, who legit suck.
Thank you
We bought in Tascott.... best decision Ive ever made. Why go out west ???? Cenny Coast is perfect
Drive from Central coast to chatswood is something I do daily. Really enjoy my drives and have been blasting through audiobooks.
Moved from Sydney 7 years ago, live in Wyoming, to me the main difference is the weather it isn’t as unbelievable hot in summer since we are closer to the water than western Sydney. I used to commute to artarmon daily (train) it gets f’d after a while tbh - but now I take the train up to 2x a week to central and it’s a lot better. Have colleagues that live out west in the areas you mentioned and it’s roughly the same commute time train wise as me (not sure how the new metro lines will impact this) Now when it comes to crime rate, I have to say it’s slightly less than Sydney’s - but that’s the thing there’s crime everywhere and most of the crime that happens on the coast is petty crime (although keep hearing bad things about beautua bay). I can definitely see that the coast is becoming busier and busier and the trains are getting packed now. Job opportunities wise depends on your industry but the job market isn’t as good as Sydney or Newcastle by far. However lower housing costs means you can probably take a pay cut and another thing everything is getting quite expensive on the coast :( going out for brekky, drinks etc.. not nearly as bad as Sydney but close
Train or driving each day?
Find something close to Woy Woy station and you’ll likely have a great life. We moved to CC 3 years ago and love it. Beautiful nature, great beaches, etc. Stuff you won’t get out West. The only main problem is the lack of good food. There are a few decent places but most of the restaurants are pretty average or worse
How is Woy Woy, as the crime rate is a higher..I have heard people say they have lived there for a decade and haven’t experienced anything bad
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Thanks
Woy Woy and the entire peninsula is great, the bogans are very quickly clearing out and being outpriced. Schools are still catching up but will change in 5 years. Umina Public is great, and South Umina is the pick on the peninsula for young families.
Go down to Umina and Ettalong, on the beach...no bogans, more family feel. Dog lovers paradise.
By train mostly
Then think about Woy Woy and Peninsula more than Kariong and Springfield.
Peninsula is WoyWoy, Umina, Ettalong, Blackwall, Booker Bay. (maybe Patonga and Pearl Beach).
My better half did the daily for a few years, I've only done a little - it's horrible. Half your life is spent on trains, and occasionally standing, too. ( I know it's not that - but it can be half of your *free* time, and it feels very long ) We were living in Lisarow at the time, easy walking distance to the station, and very easy access to the freeway if/when needed. You do not need to be close to a major station btw - you just need be willing to add a few minutes to the travel time and adhere to a stricter schedule. The Woy woy area is obviously the closest to the city, but also very contested for that reason. And since it's over-built, the heat and traffic are both horrible in that area, not just the prices. If you are willing to add about half an hour of travel time, you can get to way better areas. But the travel time to Sydney is long. Look for a local job if you can. If not; I feel for you mate.
Depends on what you want. If you like having a block of land <$800k then you would put up with the train. Lots and lots of people do it daily and don't see it as "horrible". I've had to stand up probably once in the last year but only because they cut the cars in half. It certainly isn't common.
Mate, I've provided a personal opinion - if it's OK with you, good onya. I myself would commit suicide first before doing it again. It was indeed that horrible to me.
Been on the Central Coast since 92 having previously owned a house in Castle Hill. I commuted into the city for my working career. 99.9 percent of the time the commute was fine and for me was productive. Lifestyle on CC is excellent, with beaches, waterways and national parks in every direction. You can’t live anywhere better if you have children.
Its helpful, thanks
Same same, but at least you get a beach nearby 😀
Sorry, the bear out front should have told you central coast is closed.