Gorokan, NSW 2263

I moved to Gorokan from Manly on the Northern beaches in Sydney. I love how close everything is and the people have been so welcoming and lovely. Like everywhere there are a few interesting people about, but I have never had any problems. I have seen a terrible review on this site, but I haven’t seen any of the things they refer to, other than one time saw a teen try to steal alcohol from the bottle shop (where doesn’t that happen) I am happy I moved to this area and from the almost two years I have lived here I have already seen a lot of houses being done up and lovely families in the area.

The central Coast….

Where do I start…..

Let’s start with the Meth epidemic that plagues the coast. The number of people driving vehicles while high on Meth, not to mention middle aged men and women doing burnouts in the middle of the day, in the middle of residential streets! Embarrassing!

The countless number of road accidents and road rage incidents, probably due to people driving high on Meth.

How about grocery shopping….

Nope, can’t even do that without seeing grown men punching on in the middle of Lake haven Westfields! Get yourself up there if you want to see a little Britain remake, with all the Middle aged jobless bogans riding mobility scooters!

Work colleges, yep, you’ve guessed it, high on Meth!

Let’s talk about Tuggerah Lake, absolutely stunning, beautiful to look at, absolutely stunning to spend the day on…… but it absolutely stinks to high heaven! Dead fish and lots of rubbish in the corners of the lake. Central Coast Council poor effort of maintaining it, is diabolical for the ratepayers who call it home!

The amount of rubbish people throw from their car windows, McDonald’s or KFC wrappers, just thrown from moving vehicle once finished with. The overgrown vegetation, the potholes over every road, because Central Coast Council somehow lost over half a Billion Dollars, this council wracked up the largest financial debt and financial loss of any council in Australian history and had to sack half their staff. The increase in Council and water rates! How about the enquire into the mismanagement of funds that had to be abandoned because for two days they couldn’t get a simple zoom meeting going, blaming it on technical issues. Absolutely stinks of corruption!!!

The local Gosford MP selling visas for cash!!!

My neighbour, raided twice in 6 months by the police, shutting down his drug empire he ran. Was a bit of a relief not seeing at least 20-30 people a day in and out of his house!

Encountering dangerous dogs on a daily basis, the central coast is full of jobless idiots who own these dogs like pit bulls, guess where the capital of dog attacks in New South Wales is…. That’s right, the Central Coast! It’s been the worst every year since 2014!! We aren’t talking 10-20 attacks a year, we are talking 200+ a year!!! A baby killed by a dog during the horrific period I lived there.

A truely beautiful part of Australia, absolutely ruined by Central Coast Council and the people who live there.

Mullet, motorised Esky riding bunch of bogans!

The soundtrack of the Central Coast is emergency vehicle sirens and the sound of people doing burnouts!

Don’t move there!

Back in the day Gorokan had a bad reputation so I was weary when moving back to the Coast after 10yrs away and I got a house in Gorokan. I've been pleasantly surprised though because it has been cleaned up a lot. The neighbours are friendly, prices aren't too expensive shops are minutes drive away and the beach only a little further than that.

Gorokan has it all, from transport, to the lake, the the shops & schools. Central location for all type of lifestyles

Stunning lakeviews, super close to shopping centres, schools, public transport, Norah head beach only 10 min drive away, lovely suburb and affordable for first home Buyers.

I am a single part time self employed Dad that bought in Gorokan 2013 - best move ever. As all above say, close to beach, etc. etc. etc. Nice community around me, friendly neighbours, look out for the other. Most people are good honest folk having a go at life. Great value buying

I have lived in Gorokan my whole life (grew up here). I have attended their schools, used its transport etc. The pros of gorokan:
1. Close to shops (lakehaven, tuggerah, bateau bay)
2. Close to beach (esp if you have your own car)
3. Fairly cheap homes (cheap rent too)
4. Loads of public transport (busses, trains, but not so much taxis)
5. Loads of food options, takeway options, resturants close by (surrounding subburbs)
6. Lots of schools, both public and private. (Some a rougher than others)

Not so good qualities
1. Vandalism is increasing and crime (i have seen bins, fences and caravans lit on fire recently), a car was stolen in my street, loads of "tagging private and public property"
2. Run down areas (not much pathways, renovated nice homes) a lot of older homes not cared for.
3. STAY AWAY from Gorokan Drive and close by streets
4. lots of noise and traffic
5. not many trustworthy people in Gorokan
6. I dont like the pollution and smell of the lake (on occasions)
7. taxis are hard to get and expensive (it cost me over $20 to get a cab 5k's) and it was late
8. Medical facilities are so/so. Doctors (GP's) are expensive and very very overcrowded. You will need to book in weeks in advance to see a doctor (most do not bulk bill). Wyong Hospital is not fully equipped but its not bad, Gosford is better. If you want specialists you will need to go to Gosford, Newcastle or Sydney.
9. The local government does nothing for "lower class areas" like Gorokan, Charmhaven, Toukley etc. The roads have loads of potholes, no guttering in most areas, no pathways.
10. If you want parks, cycle tracks or pet exercise areas i recommend a 20-30 minute drive to surrounding "better" areas.

Overall View: Not bad for retirees, single parents, first home buyers, low income earners etc. Not recommended for families with a bit of wealth, expecting more for their money.

Having grown up in Gorokan, I have seen it change throughout the years into a better & better place. Everything is really closeby & there is not a lot of traffic. Its nice to bring my children up in the same place i was raised. I recommend living in Gorokan to everyone. Trevor

I moved to Gorokan from Sydney, I couldnt be happier, should have done it years ago but I was worried about moving away from from grown up children and grandchildren. I see them all the time they love coming up for the day and are actually thinking of moving up here. Once the bypass for Pennant Hills road happens the prices will go up no doubt. Everyone is friendly and have time to say hello. They are not so busy. I travel to Sydney to work and it takes me less time to get there than when I lived in Sydney and not such a stressful drive. Great lifestyle. Im at the beach all the time ten minutes away, great for fishing. I just cant believe it's so cheap yet so central.

Anyone thinking of moving to Gorokan do it, you will not regret it. I haven't met anyone yet who has moved here said they are going back to Sydney, they all love it. I have never witnessed a crime or know of anyone who has had a crime against them. Im sure there is crime but I walk at night and have only ever had people say hello and never felt scared, not like when i was living in sydney. I would say it reminds me of what Sydney use to be like when I was a kid 45 years ago before everyone got stressed out trying to live in a fish bowl. Every shop you could ever want within 15 minutes. There is a Westfields at Tuggerah which you don't need anyway as there are heaps of local shopping. The only downside is I have to agree the council do not spend enough on footpaths. Everyone is relaxed and the kids are happy, plenty of things for them to do such as beach lakes, heaps of parks skateparks and all sports they can ride their bikes on the roads of course not on the main streets but in the local streets not a problem, not like Sydney. You just dont have the same traffic here. Anyway good luck, you will not regret it.

We have just moved to Gorokan from Canberra. It's a great place to move to and less crime and drug dealers. We always had problems in the ACT and it costs too much and get taxed for everything. We sold our 3 bedroom ex govie home in Canberra and bought a massive 4 bedroom 3 bathroom 4 car garage in Gorokan and had $50k left to live on, absolutely terrific and love our new home. Never ever move or live in Canberra as there are drug dealers everywhere and are protected by the AFP, really quite sad as Canberra used to be ok 20 yrs ago. The only downside is I can't get a ADSL2 connection in my area but only temporary I hope. Gorokan has both primary and high schools, close to major shopping centre 10 mins to beach and 3 mins to the lakes without the horrible smell that I have noticed in Toukley. Anyone to bag out Gorokan needs to move to Canberra to really appreciate what you have here, nice weather, people are friendly and plenty of things to do that won't break your budget. Anyhow that's my view.

I've lived in Gorokan for almost 7 years now and find it a wonderful place to live.

Living close to the lake is awesome, and whilst we don't live right on the water, it is very close and accessible. In the summer, we use the lake most weekends. The beach is also a short 10 minute drive and not over crowded like some beaches.

I like Gorokan. It's quiet, central, easily accessible from the F3 (we're commuters), and the people are friendly! The biggest bonus is that house prices are low! We bought a 4 bedroom house with a pool for less than the price of a two bed apartment in Hornsby...

I was just looking up a freinds house listed in Kanwal and stumbled on this reveiw. I have lived here in Gorokan with my small family for 4.5 years now and am very happy. The people are nice, everything is easy to get to and we have good parks for the kids. Somebody wrote about sirens, some rough footpaths & a busy main road in Gorokan. All I can say is find me ANY town in Australia - anywhere that doesnt have some rough footpaths, ocasional sirens and a busy main road! Some people it seems cant be pleased. We did actualy live for a while in the hills above Terrigal which was beautiful but like anywhere, even postcard suburbs have their problems. Its easier to go for a drive yourself and look around and actually talk some people who live here and ask them what they think.

I have lived Robson Ave for 2 and a halh years. When we moved I was worried about the bad reputation Gorokan Drive had, but have had no problems. The council is replacing and improving the street with better housing and only few houses are not very presentable .We found the people in our street friendly and we look out for each other and the elderly among us.
We live opposite a cuoldaseck and have a lot of little children who play together under supervision.
My new husband has been here for 30 yrs and had no problems.Most of his close neighbours have been here for decades as well and have a repo with each other and like living here.
My children attended the Gorokan High School as well as some of our friends and had moved on to futher studies even into higher education and been very succesfull. Its what you bring to the are that you live in that makes a difference.
Being close to the shops beaches and both Sydney and Newcastle is an advantage as well

This area may be "close" to things (isn't everything when an agent writes about it??), but those who extoll the wondrous boating and waterside facilities forget to mention that unless you're a millionaire you're stuck living in the crime-ridden noisy backstreets with police/ambulance sirens going night and day and no end of domestic disturbances and barking dogs.
There are precious few footpaths and even fewer places to cross the road (was Gorokan built before pedestrians were invented?). So........don't even think of visiting friends on the opposite side of Wallarah Rd - you won't make it across in one piece. Go for a walk around the block and sprain your ankle instead: that'll heal quicker. Oh, and bring a stick to fend off stray dogs.
This area is in a big black whole that all the services and infrastructure seem to have sunk into. I know someone here who lives in a wheelchair and the paving is so bad (mostly non-existent) that the longest trip he can do without obstruction is 30m: that is, to the corner.
But Wallarah Bay Club down near the Toukley Bridge is a great place in every respect: it gets 5 stars.

Im not too sure where to really start but I suppose the basics are all you need here to get an idea of my local area & layout of Gorokan NSW.

# A huge shopping centre nearby within ten minutes by car (K-mart, Woolworths, Coles, several banks, Supercheap Auto, Harvey Norman, Bunnings, post office, numerous eateries & cafes, countless clothes shops etc)

# 10 minutes to the F3 freeway so commuting to either Sydney or Newcastle is a breeze.

# 10 minutes to Warnervale station or around 15 minutes to Wyong railway station.

# 10 minutes to Wyong Hospital

# Around 15 minutes to the beautiful coastline of Norah Head & Soldiers beach which are both well known for their fishing (rock, beach, deep sea & also coastal spearfishing) as well as swimming, surfing & just kicking back & relaxing on the beach. I know I have personally spent my fair share of days with a clear mind looking out to sea at Soldiers beach.

# You are also within 10 minutes of a boat ramp at Toukley bridge with access to the Entrance by boat if you wish (on Lake Budgewoi / Tuggerah Lake)

Local schools, great public transport & just nice, friendly people are what else you'll find around the local area. Basically, check out where Gorokan is on Google maps & you will see what I mean for its location - its awesome here!

10 years here & loving it. Needless to say - we're not going anywhere anytime soon.