The best child friendly, affordable place to live in NSW? (not Sydney!)?

Question

What towns do you think are the most child friendly and affordable (to rent) in NSW? (not Sydney).

Answer 1

The determining factor ultimately will be your ability to find employment: unfortunately many places outside Sydney are pleasant but lack job opportunities and accommodation.

I haven't lived in NSW (only Queensland and Victoria) but I

believe all the coastal towns are attractive, the most expensive probably being Byron Bay.  The working class city of Newcastle apparently has good beaches and is close enough to the big smoke if you need specialist medical care etc.  http://www.visitnewcastle.com.au/visitne...

The unusual rural University town of Armidale in northern NSW is in a beautiful region (but very cold in winter!!)

http://www.une.edu.au/

Answer 2

How about Wollongong or the Illawarra region.

Close enough to Sydney yet far enough away at the same time. There are some cheaper suburbs like Dapto or Albion Park which have beautiful homes for rent. Definitly a place to raise a family.

Answer 3

The Hunter Valley is beautifull. Its a 2 hour drive north of sydney. Its got beaches, wineries the lot.

Answer 4

Usually the further you are able to move away from the coast, the cheaper things get. Smaller country towns have been screaming for more people and skilled persons to take on jobs, sometimes companies will pay extra for coastal people to move inland. People in the country are generally more likely to "look after" one another than those in capital cities, the climate and air is better, there isn't the traffic jams and road rage you can find in Sydney/Newcastle/Wollongong areas and housing is much more affordable. Anywhere west of the Great Dividing range is a great start. Try areas like Tamworth, Bathurst or Armidale.

Answer 5

I lived in Harbord (It's in Sydney but it's a lovely, quiet place with great public + private schools and has a lot of lovely parks and houses) for 11 years. It's a nice place but it may be a bit pricey for your likings. I suggest you have a look for houses there though - you might find a nice place.

I also lived in Woolongong for 1 year and it was lovely too - That's a nice place to bring up children, but I still prefer Harbord!

My sister lived in Bathurst for a while when she went to university which is a lovely place.

I agree with the poster above me, the further away you are from the coast - the cheaper it gets.

Good luck finding somewhere to live, I hope this helps.