Forster, NSW 2428

As someone who has recently moved to Forster from the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, I can safely say that it truly is a beautiful area to live. I am exercising and enjoying my surrounds more than I ever would have in Sydney as I don't have the huge travel time to work and the family orientated neighbour hood is making me focus on the simpler things in life. It has been said that Forster is boring and there is nothing to however I would have to disagree. Sure, I'm not able to do all the same things that I was able to do in the city however I see this as a good thing as it forces me to be more creative with my time. I truly believe that only boring people get bored and there are so many great things to discover about the Great Lakes for those who seek to find them.

P.S This was written by a 23 year old not a retiree.

Such a wonderful place to live
so much enjoyment to be had
water everywhere you turn

Working here is like being on a holiday every day, no more then 5 minutes in any direction to the beach/waterways. Friendly people, amazing fishing, incredible eating out opportunities.

Forster in a nutshell - Stunning beaches wrapped with breathtaking rocky headlands covered in native Australian flora, Transparent aqua lakes, filled with dolphin’s and migrating whales, forever rolling sand dunes and country hills, stylish and modern bars and cafes, near by snowy mountain tops in the winter and an excellent small town friendly vibe, Gods country to say the least. Thank me later :)

I find Forster a lovely coastal town, small enough that the people are still small town friendly but the town has all the conveniences of fabulous cafes, restaurants, retail shopping, commercial and industrial areas. A collection of pristine beaches plus the lake.
Denise Haynes Sales Agent at R&R Property, Mid North Coast NSW

Moved from Melbourne, love it here, beautiful beaches, friendly people, fabulous lifestyle, so close to beautiful country in the mountains. No not the same as a big city, but I loved Melbourne before it got so TRENDY hence the move. Why wouldn't you live here now that most companies encourage working remotely!

The suburb vibes and community is great. Beautiful beaches around including surrounding suburbs

Beautiful small town with great Beaches and an amazing lake scattered with small islands that's make for a great place to hang out on your days off. Safe town and great local night culture.

I have lived in Forster/Tuncurry most of my life, but do not live here any more thank god! If your looking for a relaxing holiday and a get away from the rat race, then don’t come to Forster especially during holiday season! Because your going to go from one rat race to another rat race I hate to say!
Lots of impractical infrastructure going on in Forster/Tuncurry There’s lots and lots of empty units being built, but yet they keep on building more units, and because they have built so many units in the Main Street and surrounds they have made it impossible to widen the roads, causing extreme road congestion especially during holiday season, which is causing frustration for the locals that live here including myself it took me half an hour to get from Tuncurry to Forster at 10-20kph with the holiday traffic jam!
If you do chose to live here, two things will either happen! You’ll either fit in with the locals and everyone will love you especially if your successful, love horse racing, dressing fancy and into Buddhism, your all your set! But on the other hand some locals have a very tight network of friends and have known each other since birth or at least kindergarten and have been friends for life, it can be incredibly hard to fit in with these people and they can make your life a living hell if they decide they don’t like you!
Job prospects in Forster/Tuncurry is very limited there are more people and even more units than jobs and at times lots of empty shops including losing Target! Due to most likely unfair rental prices, so if your looking to set up business here in Forster/Tuncurry expect to rob the bank to keep your business going!
Buying/Renting in Forster/Tuncurry has become really expensive and mostly unaffordable, due to the lack of jobs in the area, all though you have to give the council credit (Right!) they have made a small effort by opening a shop or two at the bottom of some there precious blocks of units! To keep the locals happy! (Or not!) but unless your a high income earner, Forster/Tuncurry may not be the place for you!
But other than all of the above, Forster/Tuncurry is a beautiful looking area! With gorgeous beaches to walk along to clear your head and to relax at quiet times of the year!

I have just purchased a house in Forster and plan to move in a few years when i retire my wife and i have always loved Forster it has a lovely climate and very friendly people and alot of ammenities

I moved here 3 years ago from Sydney and i can honestly say i love it here. Whats not to love the beaches are great , the people are friendly and a lot of businesses are spending money here. Great place to raise a family and not be tied down with a massive mortgage.

Recommend to those who are leaders and create change.

As above

We moved to Forster 4 years ago after holidaying here since childhood.

Pros:

Stunning beaches
Nearly endless waterways to explore if you have a boat (although lots of Wallis Lake is very shallow which can be frustrating.
Laid back lifestyle, little traffic, no endless traffic lights.
Public school is quite good, good with bullying etc, good Principal. Quality schools in general.
Great Lakes Campus is, in my opinion, a good school and is turning out some pretty good students.
Most amazing, blue water and ocean views you'll see just about anywhere, teeming with dolphins - just gorgeous.
Nice community spirit (provided people know you....) If one of their own is in trouble, the locals will rally around and help out. If you're new, well, good luck with that.
Beautiful swimming spots.
Big sporting culture - if you're into the whole triathlon, running festival thing, you'll love it.

Cons
Very cliquey - if you move here expecting to make friends in a hurry, think again. Most people here have been hanging out with each other since preschool and the networks and 'groups', which are often glued together with family ties, are very hard to penetrate. People love to gossip and know everyone else's business, probably because it is a small, relatively isolated town. Very high elderly population.
If you're into a healthy lifestyle ie. farmers markets, health food stores, etc, again - this may not be the place for you. There is a farmers' market here once a month and to be honest, it is abysmal and barely qualifies as a farmers market. Very limited produce (unless you live on homemade jams and organic lemons) and very poor attendance - I wouldn't be surprised if its days are numbered. The local Go Vita recently started selling organic produce, which is great, but it is quite expensive and sometimes dodgy. Going by what I see the majority of people put in their trolleys in Coles and Woollies, this is a town without a big population of people who care about their health. Diet Coke and frozen pizza paradise. Not a lot of spiritual/alternative people. The bogan element has increased, I think, even since we've lived here. Relatively high unemployment. Shops and business, at present, are closing left, right and centre which isn't helping with unemployment/bogan migration.
Out of season, or when the weather is bad, there really isn't a lot to do. Once you've explored Port Macquarie, Taree, and perhaps Barrington Tops to the West, you've pretty much covered the day trips available to take. School holidays in winter can be a nightmare because after going to the movies a couple of times or perhaps 10 pin bowling - there's not much else for young kids to do.
No educational facilities - small TAFE in Tuncurry but no university - closest is 1.5 hrs away in Newcastle.
No public hospital. There is a private hospital which is more of a rehab facility than a hospital, although it does have an oncology unit now so if you're unfortunate enough to need cancer treatment, you don't have to go to Taree. However if you have an accident and need emergency treatment, the closest hospital is Manning Base at Taree which is a 40 minute drive on not particularly good roads (see below).
The roads in and out of Forster/Tuncurry are atrocious and are known as some of the worst in NSW. The Lakes Way has claimed several lives in the last few years.
Wharf Street (the main street down near the lake) is slowly dying thanks to greedy landlords who extort their tenants until they close up and leave, basically. Currently there's about 8 empty shops and Council seem to think it's more important to check peoples' backyards for weeds than invest some money into sprucing up the main street with its million year old facades and dangerous and ugly walkway covers. Great Lakes Council, in general, does not have a good reputation for sensible spending of its money. All the money seems to be thrown at aged care and the aging population and none at the younger people that live here.
The other alternative for shopping is Stockland, which is full (well, not that full actually) of boring, generic chain stores such as Miller's and Ice. If you like to shop, Forster is not the place for you. Some nice touristy knick knack shops, though. Wharf St might 'come back' when the economy improves, but at the moment it's looking like a ghost town. Forster thrives in the warmer months but winter is tough on local business owners and many can't deal with the lack of tourism from March to October and high rents.
Restaurants/Eating out is limited. Many places are overpriced and the food is underwhelming. This is fine if you're on a two week holiday, but as a place to live, it can be depressing. There is no good sushi in Forster. NONE. There are NO healthy take away options. Unless you like pies and pizza, eat at home when it comes to a quick bite to eat on the run.
The radio here is T E R R I B L E. Unprofessional, lame announcers, long, unexplained gaps in transmission, no real target demographic (just a mishmash of lots of genres), embarrassingly dreadful ads. It's just bad, bad, bad all round.
Slow internet - ADSL 1.
Crappy TV reception in some areas (like, ours).
Lots of cockroaches. BIG cockroaches.
Crime seems to be increasing, usually perpetrated by the same group of locals. Some areas are no go zones at night. Some of them I wouldn't set foot in during the day, personally.
Housing, considering there is very little work and limited infrastructure, is expensive. And at the moment, is losing value.
Be very sure that the job that you're moving here for is a keeper. If you lose your job, it can be hard to get another one. Very little part time work unless you know people and of the work there is, is badly paid. We're talking mid-nineties hourly rates for admin work, for instance. Why? Because they can and know the locals don't have a lot of choice.

To understand the real value of Forster you must understand that it is not another over crowed Cronulla or Manly. It is a true beach-side town and with that goes the laid back life style. It is developed enough to have all the big retail shops but small enough to retain the friendly small town atmosphere.

Forster has allot to provide for people of all ages. For the outdoors people, Forster offers numerous activities including surfing, camping, scuba diving and hiking. For the families plenty of space, local sports for the kids, great schools and mostly the piece of mind that you can live in a secure neighbourhood and the kids can play in the street. For the retirees access to great medical facilities both public and private, and most of all to keep the grumpy old men happy - great fishing all year round!

Have a look at a small piece of what Forster has to offer: http://www.greatlakes.org.au/pages/things-to-do/

Forster does not however have allot of options for going out. The main night life revolves around the RSL and Leagues clubs but it is about an hour and half to New Castle for those inclined. The places for eating out are very limited but for what is available it is of a moderately high quality including great seafood restaurants. The shopping district within Forster is also limited with allot of touristy knick-nack and surf shops but as mentioned before it does not miss out on all of the main big retail shops. For what it lacks in retail variety Forster more than makes up for it by the amount of local markets selling fresh local produce.

It is noticeable that Forster's real estate value has dropped over the past few years and is still struggling to recover but rental returns still remain strong. Forster is not an area to make a quick buck overnight, however, it does have some attractive assets (eg numerous beaches) which I feel makes its a great investment, just over a longer period of time. For the home buyer the low prices represents good value for money, a great lifestyle and a solid long term investment. For investors, with low growth aside, Forster's population has a relatively high amount of renters which leads to longer term residents, shorter periods between tenants and higher rental returns. With bit of searching positively geared properties could be found.

Forster may not be a booming and happening place which may make it a boring place to visit, but, for those that really want to have the sea side lifestyle with low house prices or long term investors with high rental returns, then this is the place for you.

If your poor and want a place to live your remaining years with other very old people Forster is for you. Dining out options are very limited, apart from fishing there is little else to do. A very large very old population. The town really has nothing to offer.

house prices have crashed. some of the poorest people in australia according to index of living standard. high crime.
if you want to live in a poor white christian retirement village this is the place for you.

while Forster is a nice places to visit it's not a very good place to live. Its a nice quiet clean town but that's most likely because its such a small place there aren't many shops or much for younger adults to do only a few restruants, one small cinema, no night clubs and next to no music scene. Forster is some where for you to retire to not to raise a family.

Forster is in the Great lakes area on the North coast of NSW just 3 hours from Sydney. Forster has great water sports and activities including some great fishing. There is also horse riding, golf, plenty of walking opportunities and 4wd experiences. For the more adventurous you can try sky diving, white water kayaking or mountain biking. Stay at the local caravan park, B & B’s with great facilities, motel and hotels or luxury resort style accommodation. There are plenty of places to eat from restaurants to cafes and takeaway outlets. You can sample some fine wines at local wineries or visit the art and craft shops, museums and art galleries. Forster is a great holiday destination or a place to retire with all facilities handy.

Forster is a very popular beach town on the Central Coast of New South Wales. There are two main beaches in this area - Forster beach and Five Mile Beach. The busiest time for Forster is during the summer periods where many Sydney siders come up to spend Christmas or New Years vacationing. The beach and excellent fishing make it very attractive. The area has all the usual beach town facilities like pub, boat hire, fishing shops, surf shops and restaurants. You will find more fish and chips and cheap Chinese restaurants than hatted restaurants as most people who come here are very laid back.