Newcastle, NSW 2300

Newcastle city is not for everyone, but if your looking for a place that s easy to make things work for everyday activities(stress free)- work, leisure, after school activities, clean beaches, nice daycare dotted along the high end suburb, and still free parking around some of the best beaches in NSW or Australia and into discovering all this new cafe dotted in almost every suburb ( Adamstown, Broadmeadow, Merewether, Junction, Barbeach/ Cookshill) ...then Newcastle or Newy is the city for you.
However Newcastle City Council need to be creative to revitalise the Hunter Street...it really needs TLC ...it is sad as when we first arrived here 8 years ago...it was not really too bad by then but now it is gloomy...
People are friendly but like any other city there are few aggressive, arrogant drivers/people, which to be honest they seems to be the one coming from outside Newcastle city, or few are just being a moron, there will always be few bogans dotting along every city( nothing wrong with that). It is safe to say that you have to live inside the good suburb zone if your not from here. Newcastle is not dangerous city like any city there are places that you can call dodgy places ...if your a decent person ....what are you doing there anyway!!!on the first place? In late night !!too...Even NewYork, London, Paris have what you call dont be there at the Wrong time and at the wrong place scenario.
Overall, if you are just visiting for few days or weeks you cant really appreciate the true nature of this city!!! We have been here in this city long enough to say that it is slowly evolving and councils are trying to revitalise this city...they just have to really do more work rather than focusing too much on the politics side...of their job...also need to break the mentality of its who you know in able to have a chance to get a decent paid job...as in reality there are many skilled workers ( young and matured) people missing opportunity because they dont have anyone backing them up...and few people with dodgy characters and unprofessional attitudes get a job ...because they know/knew someone...a very common practice here in Newcastle especially in small businesses. However saying that there are also decent business owner that truly appreciates skilled , hardworking or even really look after young people that wants to have a par time job...Harry Schnitzel are one of the best place for young people to gain experience and really learn the value of respect within co-worker. So yes Newcastle still a what we call a rough diamond and can not compared to Sydney...Sydney is Sydney...

Our city is being revitalised. Newcastle University's new campus in Hunter Street will bring 4000 students and 400 staff, the new courthouse, high density modern buildings replacing unused and old decaying commercial property. Light rail replacing unused heavy rail connecting our city to its harbour. Positioned between the second largest salt water lake in the southern hemisphere, Lake Macquarie and the sparkling blue water of Port Stephens and just a short drive to some of Australia's best vineyards in the Hunter Valley, but lets keep all this as our secret hey? :)

Many people from outside the area judge Newcastle by the Newcastle CBD but you have to go to the outer suburbs of Newcastle to really get a feel of what Newcastle is like. Suburbs like Warners Bay, Speers Point, Valentine and Elebana are great for walks along the lake, bbqs, parks or family picnics whereas suburbs like Kotara and Charlestown have both got huge recently renovated shopping centres. Like any town there are good and bad suburbs; if you visited jesmond or waratah or Windale you would leave Newcastle saying they are a bunch or derros that let their kids run wild but if you visited New Lambton, Charlestown, Adamstown, Kotara, Suburbs near Warners Bay or Merewether you would leave Newcastle saying its relaxed and people are friendly. Newcastle is very hard to judge because each surrounding suburb and street is different...its full of young, middle age and older families, wealthy and low income earners, working couples, retirees, There is such a vast majority of people here...... One thing I can say though is Newcastle isnt laid back like places like Ulladulla (Ive just been on holiday there), it contstantly feels busy and people arnt as approachable......I have mixed feelings about Newcastle because it depends on the people you comeacross each week, one week you might think everyone is so friendly and happy but another week you might come across cranky rude people and hate the place...........My point is Newcastle changes from suburb to suburb day to day and everyones experience is different. You will either love it or hate it.

Scared Newcastle?

Newcastle is surround by picturesque coastline and harbour. With $6.5 billion worth of infrastructure planned or under way and nearly $2 billion in private development projects, Newcastle is a construction zone. With the completion of the light rail, University of Newcastle’s city campus, New NSW Law Courts Newcastle has so much happening as it makes the transition from coal town to burgeoning urban centre.

Looking to Invest in Newcastle please reach out; I am here to help.

Casey Healey
Director/ BDM/ Licensed Real Estate Agent
Century21 Novocastrian Property Management
02 4827400 | [email protected]

Newcastle is surrounded by beaches, a beautiful harbour.
No shortage on cafes, restaurants, bars. It boasts many walking and cycling paths with copious amounts of history to explore. We shouldn't forget the quirky shops available.

Rental returns will vary depending on investment property, I would always recommend a comparable market appraisal to determine estimated rental return.

Nicole Hoare
Assistant Property Manager/Business Development Manager
0408 434 461
[email protected]
Century21 Novocastrian

This was our first contact with Newcastle and our fist impression. We were on a monster interstate road trip and business matter . We stayed in Newcastle for 1 week and we loved it first few hrs....Pleasant wather, nice lake, green hills etc. We thought that is a little paradise.

First things we noticed is a lot of aggressive drivers on the road. Everyone is in a rush and short tempered. They seemd to think if they glue to our bumper it would make us dissappear from the road. For a city who pride itself having "relaxed lifestyle" it was very suprising.
Then suprises continues : people are very unfriendly, suspicious and I would say defensive. It doesn't matter where you go, you greeted by cold, self-important "We are best kept secret and we like to keep this way".
I am grateful that they did not add " Go away" .
The business meeting we had was successful but again we had very unpleasant atmosphere, that requires more energy to push through then needed.
House prices are way too high for what you can get. Even Real estate agent gave us a sarcastic lecture on my question how a family of 4 can afford such a house on 1 average income if mother have to stay at home with young kids. I don't have young kids, but was curious how local people do it.
Anyway, we had our things done, and had a coffee by a beach and were ready to go.

Our impression was that lovely people on Newcastle have " Napoleon Complex ".
Aggressive social behavior compensate for something they might think they are lack of.

You, guys, need to relax a lot and stop comparing yourself with Sydney.
No one taking your city from you. You are so busy to keep it as a best secret that you didn't notice the impression you made, or you don't care.

Plenty of amenities even at night so families with children or without are welcomed. Affordable housing and a fun crowd as neighbours.

I have lived in Newcastle all my life and adore it. House prices are very affordable speaking of which our house is for sale If you consider moving please consider our house for sale. Water views for under $850K!! Link http://bit.ly/1hawklake .average commute time to work is 30 mins, great schools, lakes, beaches, hunter valley vineyards all within 45 min drive of each other.

With a population just under half a million, 10% of Sydney's, and with its own natural harbour, this little jewel of a city combines a wonderfully scenic environment with a burgeoning cafe culture and an abundance of cultural options that are all virtually within strolling distance from the city centre. Pretty beaches, harbourside parklands, heritage buildings and historical sites, blend with trendy cafes and arty boutique shopping to provide a wealth of pleasure activities for all ages. The cultural centre, with its beautifully refurbished town hall, theatre, art gallery, music conservatorium, library and new university buildings, surrounds Civic Park rendering it just like an old fashioned village green. Here and in Pacific Park beside the beach, markets are held monthly. There is excellent supermarket shopping at Marketown, free public transport within the city environs, and our own cathedral perched on the hill overlooking the city and harbour. Housing is far more affordable than Sydney and health services are good, making the city the perfect choice for retirees.

The lifestyle of living here is brilliant. Surf or swim before work and again in the evening, there is nothing better.

Newcastle is the result of an over greedy council from about 15-20 years ago who even now have no direction for the town or it's people.
Newcastle is about one and a half hours north of Sydney by car ( 3 hours by train ) it has some of the best beaches in the state and not much else.
Newcastle does have a lot of potential which has been let slide by over greedy councils and even greedier developers who saw a quick buck to be made on wharf space and closed and ripped down a once busy hospital.
when the property market boom hit people from outside of Newcastle found what they thought was a good investment in property outside of Sydney,
What they got however is much further from the truth.
House prices in 2004 - 2007 were well over priced and investors would be just starting to see some small growth if any from what they paid.
If you just want to retire near the water Newcastle would be a fair destination as long as you dont need to be too close to medical care.
In short has some real potential,
a shame to see so many buildings in the cbd decaying and boarded up,
If council can stop their infighting and start thinking of whats best for Newcastle and less about whats best for themselves it could be the once great town it was again.

Newcastle is a great city or as I prefer "big country town". It doesn't feel like a real city due to the dead CBD but apart from that there is some great shopping if you know where to look and some great restuarants. Excellent schools are avaliable and even public ones rate well.

As you would expect anywhere on the east coast, the further west you travel through the suburbs , the more bogan it becomes. I would advise to stay as close to the 2300 postcode as possible. Property is priced at an affordable level for most compared to Sydney.

The town is best described as being a step back in time to the 1950's, in culture and looks. It is not uncommon for the man to be the sole worker who's ego is with what hangs off the arm, which leads to a bit of a superficial culture. Whilst the social norm for the girl's is to have the children to the highest income earners and to use their best assets to ascertain this. It is not uncommon to find some to be unfriendly, rude, whinge, a little arrogant, narrow minded as they don't like change and certainly a culture of aggressiveness, around the CBD being the highest rated area in Australia for domestic violence. Locals don't tend to venture too far, where a 20 minute trip can be classified as too far to go if you don't need to go. The town to me is better described as a oversized country town rather than a city as it is promoted as, I found that women are the more dominant character than the men and living is similiar to those from low socio-economic area's of Australia with an attitude of affluent areas of Australia, with many having an english background and is quite clique. Newcastle does have nice beaches, good services as transport, hospitals, schools. There is shopping centres in the suburbs which are newly built but again this is just catching up to what other regions have had for years and years but alot of the CBD area and other suburban areas to the west have alot of bordered up shops etc but this has been like this for 20 -30 years! There is a couple of streets pointed out for dining precincts being Beamont St Hamilton and Darby St and some dotted along the foreshore nothing different to what other regions have as well, yet locals believe these are the one and only. They are attempting to revamp the area and change the appearance of the town which can be done but it doesn't change the culture of the people with their obsessive overprotection of the town unlike other areas!! Definately can say coastal and lakeside towns north and south can be a better option when you do the proper research and do the comparisons for what and where, being from regional Victoria and have since discovered better options north and south of Newcastle such as Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour or surrounding coastal lake areas. It would be best to stick to the suburbs close to the coast or lake which aren't actually a part of Newcastle .

The beaches in Newcastle and around the central coast are unreal. Newcastle is only an hour north of Sydney.

I visited Newcastle on a day trip when I was holidaying at near by Nelson Bay 2010.
I did not enjoy the experience to say the least, with-in 2 min of exiting my car I was asked for a smoke and change.
The people did not seem too friendly and I would describe the area as dirty, for me it was undesirable.
There was a great beach along the coast and some nice cafes opposite the atmosphere in town was a stark contrast.
There where many shops boarded up and vacant probably a sign of the times ,I think Newcastle was probably hit hard by the recession.
It took me at least 30 minutes and a lot of walking to find somewhere I considered “decent” to eat and ended up eating at Oporto takeaway because I was hard pressed to find a cafe or nice eatery.
This was my personal experience and I see by other reviews that others rate the town highly, I’m sure it has a lot to offer after all I was only there for approx 2 hours (wanted to leave a.s.a.p) but I expected a thriving metropolis and was bitterly disappointed, smaller country towns surrounding Newcastle would be better visited in my opinion.

Most people in Australia have heard about Newcastle, often because of the celebrities that hail from there - think Jennifer Hawkins, Mikey Robbins, Silverchair. But what else does this thriving seaside town have to offer?

Great beaches is the immediate answer. Many locals spend their time in the water - the place has a really relaxed culture.

Commerce and industry thrive here. It is the second most populated area in NSW. Tourism is a big drawcard, and the coal industry is booming here. Centred around the port, Newcastle has quite working class feel.

The city itself has huge shopping centres, business areas and all of the essential services. There are many schools here too. Only 170 km from Sydney, the area is well serviced by flights, trains and buses.

Newcastle is a coastal town north of Sydney that really developed due to the steel industry in the area. Newcastle itself is quite a nice area with some very nice beaches that brings in the tourists. There is also a university in town which leads to a few international students and Sydney-Siders heading there for studies. Newcastle does have its fair share of celebrities like Andrew Johns, the great rugby league player and Jennifer Hawkins, the former Miss Universe. Although there really is not much to do but go to the beach, it is a nice relaxing place worth driving to for a relaxing weekend away from Sydney.

Just over two hour drive from Sydney is Newcastle. Once known for its steel the city has much to offer the resident and tourist alike. Accommodation for the tourist is plentiful with nearly every option you can think of and for those looking to reside there rents and home prices are with the range of the average family. There are restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets to please everyone and Newcastle has great shopping centres as well. Sporting facilities are plentiful with swimming, golf, tennis, go karts, horse riding and playing fields for most field sports. Beaches are clean and you can even go whale watching. With the hinterland not far away there is plenty of inland exploring to be done as well.

Newcastle is in a rather unique position in that it has surf beaches on one side and a large industrial port on the other. This city was built on the back of the coal mining industry many years ago. It has seen its ups and downs, but has continued to grow and prosper.

Being such an old city there are major contrasts in architecture right throughout as the old and the new mix together. It appears to be a relaxed city but in fact Newcastle is a very strong commerical and industrial city north of Sydney as it services the rural area and the wine growing region of the Hunter Valley.

With its growth has come some very trendy areas and locals expect high standards in the restaurant trade. Nightlife is well catered to with excellent clubs and bars.

Sydney is only 1.5 hr drive south so Newcastle is by no means isolated.

All sports are well catered to in Newcastle and there have been many Australian sporting icons emerge from this area.