Aussie. Newcastle...

[avgas]

So ummmm whats it like?
I realise its not party central - but
Is it a nice city? or depressing?
Technology (phones/internet etc) ok?
Is there anything horrible about it?
Any good out of town rides? otherwise i will consider just another cafe' racer.

basically could you live there for 5 years? or would you want out asap?
Cheers
Stew

[Big Dave]

So ummmm whats it like?
I realise its not party central - but
Is it a nice city? or depressing?
Technology (phones/internet etc) ok?
Is there anything horrible about it?
Any good out of town rides? otherwise i will consider just another cafe' racer.

basically could you live there for 5 years? or would you want out asap?
Cheers
Stew

Our town. Party's fine. Beach and boat city. Tech OK. Nothing horrible now that the steelworks are gone. Blue collar town. 2 hours to the big smoke.
Riding Average. Best bikes - Harleys and cruisers. It's the Putty road or superslab or outback. My tbird was ideal.

I had a lake macquarie waterfront and could have retired there very happily.

This is what the place sounds like on Friday Night.

[pete376403]

When you're there, you should never let a chance go by...

[Headbanger]

Newcastle is a place you wouldn't bother with unless you were born there.

[firefighter]

Newcastle is a place you wouldn't bother with unless you were born there.

I went there a few times when in the RNZN, and yeah I thought it was a nice place for a weekend but I wouldn't want to stay too long or live there

[KiwiRat]

I went there a few times when in the RNZN, and yeah I thought it was a nice place for a weekend but I wouldn't want to stay too long or live there

Same here. The Knights Tavern was a good run. The bar girls used to double as strippers. I can remember one of our Communications Branch guys fornicating on the floor in the Gents lavatory with one of the bar staff (female)

Ah....the good old days.

[Big Dave]

Newcastle is a place you wouldn't bother with unless you were born there.

Or want possibly the best city in Aus to raise a family.

Affordable real estate, coastal aspect, close enough - and far enough away from Sydney, and with a sort of community spirit.

Excellent climate, killer beaches right in town, Australia's largest coastal lake to the South and Port Stephens waterways to the North.

There's heaps more to it than grimy old Hunter Street.

[KiwiRat]

There's heaps more to it than grimy old Hunter Street.

And what have you got against Hunter St Dave ? Something your'e not telling us ??

[chrisso]

& Jennifer Hawkins ( Ex MIss Worlds from Newcastle)
Plenty of good rides out from Newcastle as stated. + The Hunter Valley & Vineyards etc.New England Hiway, Port Stephens is beautiful too. Sydneys only 160ks via the Freeway ( or better still, the Old Pacific Hiway)
It is a working class town -- ive always found the locals friendly

[Big Dave]

And what have you got against Hunter St Dave ? Something your'e not telling us ??

It fell down in the earthquake. Its a few years since I was there - but The Ritz Pie cart is all that is left now. Rest has gone back to residential or vacant space and the commerce moved to Charlestown.

Big country town meets small city. It's a good family and outdoor pursuits place. Part hey central it ain't.

[chrisso]

Ive put your question on Two WheelsMagazine Forum;
Heres one reply''IT IS A HOLE...lol

no it is quite a nice place these days it was come along way

So ummmm whats it like? Nice blue collar city
I realise its not party central - but can be, there are some nice night sots in newcastle
Is it a nice city? or depressing? It is quite nice. Not the depressing steel city it once was.
Technology (phones/internet etc) ok? Tech is all fine mate.. not sure what adsl they are up.. i know it is all at least adsl2
Is there anything horrible about it? I would say horrible but it is like any city
Any good out of town rides? otherwise i will consider just another cafe' racer. Rides in Newcastle arn't great as such but it only take 15-20 min to get out of there for what are some nice country roads..... the surround areas have alot to offer. cafe racer would probably bot be the go.. get something you can rack some K's up on bro ''

Or go to -
http://www.twowheels.com.au/forums/v...=285016#285016
Geez im a top bloke eh( must be coz im a KIWI)

[avgas]

cheers for that link - yeah. I have the contract sittin on my pc now......
But of course now BOSCH also want to bloody hire me......FFS
Sleep now - print contract out in morning......
think....
think....
hand in notice at work......
think....
have a beer (or 8 like i did tonight)
....sign whichever paper the top lands on.

Sounds like a plan

[Hillbilly]

Obviously you lot (apart from Big Dave) have not been to Newcastle in a *very* long time. It's now a very pretty city, with a lot of neew (that's Aussie for new) development happenning on the waterfront. They're even do a full restoration of the old salt water baths at Nobbys.

There's pleny of work too. My cosin who lives in Christchurch was here a couple of weeks back. He's coming back in summer to see if he can handle the heat. It's been around 32 degrees the last couple of weeks so it looks like it's gonna be one of those 40 degree plus summers. However, it's a dry heat. If you've ever been in a dry sauna, it's like that. When the NW wind blows off the desert, it's like someone turning on a huge hairdryer.

My cousin works at the railway workshops, and was surprised to find that the parent company is located in Newcastle. There' shitloads of stuff to do. International bands are always playing there or iun the Hunter. In 2004 I went to a concert that had both The Pretenders and Brian Ferry!! The atmosphere was wonderdful! After the Pretenders and during the break, my flatmate and I had a cool beer outside in the warm 23 degree Newcastle night. No gangs anywhere!!

There's also Lake Macquarie to the south where I now live. Hey Big Dave, I moved from Brightwaters to Silverwater "around the corner". It's 4 kms away. Here in Oz, "down the road" means at least 50 km away!! This weekend I'm going to the Catalina Flying Boat festival around the lake at Rathmines. That's right, a *real* flying boat base! I'm looking forward to a flight in one. Here the Aussies preserve their history!

There's also Stockton Beach on the northern shores of Newcastle. With 20km of white sand, dune buggies and lotsa fun.

There's *always* something happenning, and it's relatively cheap too. BTW, wages here are higher too. Great working conditions.

When I get the photos of Newcastle that my cousin took, I'll post them so you can see what newcastle looks like today close up. There's also the local airport at Williamtown too. From there you can catch a flight to just about anywhere in Australia. The trains are double-decker air-conditioned electric railcars. They run regularly from Between Newcastle and Sydney.
You can get off the plane at Sydney International terminal and catch a train right to the centre of Newcastle. It's a 3 hour trip, but only costs $AUD21.00!! Gas (91) is hovering between $AUD1.50 and $AUD1.69 for the moment.

In the meantime, have look here:

http://www.visitnsw.com/area/Newcastle.aspx

I live here, and that's a *lot* different to something written in a motorcycle magazine. Bike wise, I reccomend one of three different type of bike:

Firstly, a big sports tourer like a Honda CB1300S, Yamaha FJR1300, Suzuki Bandit 1250S etc.

Secondly - if you can afford it - an Italian Naked bike. Take your pick, in all honesy they're all expensive, and they're all great bikes. The new Ducati Monster 696 is $AUD12,990 followed by the new Benelli TNT 899 for AUD$17,990

Thirdly, a Cruiser. Again, take your pick. Suzuki are currently selling their
Boulevard M50 and C50 for under $AUD10,000.

Don't forget you've got large distances to cover. I've lived here since 2003, and will *never* move back to NZ. Another cousin who lives in Perth (5,000km away) says the same. I'll come over for a visit sometime, but I could never live there again. If you're really serious abou coming over, PM me and we'll make arrangements for you so stay while you look around/get settled. We know all the real estate agents and where everything is etc.

[chrisso]

cheers for that link - yeah. I have the contract sittin on my pc now......
But of course now BOSCH also want to bloody hire me......FFS
Sleep now - print contract out in morning......
think....
think....
hand in notice at work......
think....
have a beer (or 8 like i did tonight)
....sign whichever paper the top lands on.

Sounds like a plan

If you go to Newcastle, join TW Mag Forum & giz a buzz--a lot of members up Central Coast way.

[avgas]

Took job at Serck Controls. Went to Newcastle.
Newcastle is a FANTASTIC place - if you ever get to move there, get a place in the CBD - you are walking distance to shops, beaches, train-station (goes to Sydney), waterfront (which is very nice) and Darby street (great food).
Anyway, unfortunately for me Mrs got job in Sydney, and i mentioned this to my boss who had no work for me in Newcastle - he mentions i contact Sydney office.
I contact them, get involved in Transgrid project (*sigh* no another power project ). Then they push me into moving to Sydney.
Work on project, which turns sour, in a city i hate (No really, Sydney is crap!) - wonder what the hell i am doing here. I start pointing out flaws in project, like the fact that NONE OF IT HAS BEEN FORMALLY PLANNED. Clearly this does not look good on spreadsheet in front of bosses (accouting engineers - money is more important that actually getting system to work). I put in more and more overtime, fine more and more flaws.
We lose project manager, and other Senior Engineer due to them jumping ship. Leaving Me, Graduate. Senior Engineer from another project pulled into our team. Mechanical Project Engineer hired to become our new engineer - becomes as useful as the paperclip in MSOffice to us.
Power cut in Sydney CBD (where project is based - but diff sub) twice, pressure builds. I start fixing problems with concept - legal fight errupts. I'm named witch, become fall-guy. Told at 3:30pm monday morning after meetings where i show where everything is tracking. Told to leave by 430.
First time in my life i have been dropped by a job (i have letters of recommendation from other jobs).
Bitter and twisted. Create plan for world dominance to crush those who have wronged me. Sign up for MBA and book tickets to NZ
Notice that Serck now advertise my job for 100K (more than i was getting paid) - talk to recruitment agent and he now really doesn't want to put anyone into role. Seems they have created a bit of black mark on system.
Be back on 2nd of May.
So if anyone has ANY work for me when i get back (even washing dishes) will be most interested. Don't really want to walk into WINZ.

Summary:
- Newcastle, great place - move there. If you want photos check the link below for my blog (check around Oct,Nov)
- Sydney, not that great - prob better if you live away from the crap that is the city.
- Serck Controls, run by kiwi hating aussies (fyi the only other kiwi was fired 1 month before me). Not what they seem....a lot smaller. PM me for more info.
- Experience, worth the effort. Even the 2 months i had in Newcastle make it worth while.