Wollongong, NSW 2500

Wollongong has an abundance of beautiful outdoor places to go to. Gorgeous beaches to the East and mountains to the west. There is always something new to discover and northern and southern suburbs are easy to get to. If you know the area you learn where not to go (namely at night time). I lived in north wollongong for 7 years from uni and after and always found it quite safe. It's a close walk to north beach and town, with buses into town. I now live in keiraville and have discovered a new and leafier side to the area. The botanic gardens nearby are stunning and the neighbourhoods feel quite safe and friendly. There is a nice community feel in some of these suburbs. Having moved here for uni, I haven't wanted to leave because it is such a nice place to live. The downside for me is as a young professional it is hard to find many jobs, ESP in some specialist fields and I have always travelled for work. Traveling home down Mt Ousley always brings a smile to my face. It is great for eating out with a large variety if Thai, Italian and many other types of restaurants. A new exciting scene is also evolving - away from the rough pub culture with more trendy bars and cafes opening- something that wollongong was lacking.

Wollongong makes the beginning of the south coast of NSW and the wonderful beaches and scenery. Wollongongs beaches are patrolled which means great swimming and surfing for all with great parklands for picnics in the sun. The area is also home to the largest Buddhist Temples in the Southern Hemisphere. Wollongong has many activities apart from the usually sports, you can go paragliding, try climbing at the Hangdog Climbing Gym, take a canoe or kayak adventure or visit the Illawarra Fly treetop walk. There is accommodation for all as well as some great places to eat for all tastes. Looking further afield take a scenic drive along the coast to the south and enjoy 140 kms of wonderful scenery.

Wollongong is about an hours from Sydney and it never really gets crowded or has any traffic jams on weekends. North Beach is a beautiful beach with excellent facilities. The showers over look the beach so when you are rinsing off, there is the worlds best view there. The waves are also really good for surfing and the food at the beach caf is good value.

City beach is not as nice as North Beach and does not have the beautiful shower facilities. There is also the lighthouse in Wollongong and also markets when you heading into the city centre. Lately though, it seems that there are never any crowds in Wollongong so it is always good to get away but this seems to worry the shop keepers as many of them have worried looks on their faces.

Wollongong itself is dangerous at night. I've lived here 7 years and am hoping to get out of the Illawarra... Homeless & drug affected people easily seen on streets. Crimes such as assault/ robbery is rife. I would never walk around or park near central Wollongong after dark... Northern suburbs are much safer. There are 3x methadone clinics in Wollongong, so that'll tell you how bad the drug problem is here!

I know someone who had their face beaten in for walking along Crown St and needed facial reconstruction.

Then I know others who have been chased home, had their drinks spiked, flashed, heckled by strangers, stalked, and so on.

Disgusting place with a drug problem.

Please, whatever you do, don't move here. Don't waste your money and time.

1. Wollongong has been destroyed by overdevelopment. The council have allowed cash-grab construction companies to exploit the town in exchange for profits. The place is absolutely ruined beyond repair. Wollongong is becoming claustrophobic, real fast.

2. No right turn, no left turn, half hour parking, no parking, no standing, prams only, reserved parking. When a town gets to this point, leave. Just leave. Don't bother. Don't waste your life or money trying to find a park. You could be doing something better with your money and time. Life is short, too short for Wollongong.

3) Burelli Street and surrounding filthy streets is full of full-time drug addicts. The amount of times, I've almost been assaulted or verbally abused there is incredible. The drug problem is real. Don't bring your kids here.

4) The city is dirty, run-down and full of wanna be cyclists who in their minds think they're going to win the next cycle fest. There's nothing wrong with cycling, but these people think they're achieving something great.

5) The place is full of local celebrities whose name constantly enters the local paper for business awards that nobody really cares about except the recipients. Their children infest the place and receive jobs via nepotism arrangements. I won't get to the miserable post-menopausal women in retail with bob haircuts who reek dissatisfaction. You have to feel sorry for them.

6) The shopping is actually not shopping. If you go to Wollongong to shop, you will find more of what you don't want than you do want. It's unshopping. In this sense, you save money. Shops are closing down and the shopping today is far worse than it was years ago, even months ago.

7) Unless you're a toddler or a drunk, there's nothing to do. All activities are geared towards children under 5 or drunks. If you're over 5, you're screwed.

Professional Tip: Use the M1 highway to bypass Wollongong.

Lived here for 7 years. In that time David jones closed it’s food hall and retail has steadily declined in general. I now have to shop in Sydney. It is a developers paradise who have Carte Blanche to build a plethora of defective units. Hoons take to thestreets at night and the police donothing. The blue mile is lovely but getting very busy. Ocean pool a massive plus.

Wollongong has become the ultimate lamentable unmasterpiece. The parking meters wait expectantly in the midst of the night, like hookers waiting for their timed cash. The parking hookers were seemingly installed as diabolical punishment against residents who pay exorbitant rates and support local retail.

Resident-funded parking meters charging residents money for parking. Giving residents the cane for coming back again.

I’ve lived in Sydney my entire life and moved to Wollongong 4.5 years ago for a sea change.

At first I liked it but it’s become increasingly like Sydney in the cbd and hard to get parking.
That’s reason I left Sydney not to see more high rises with little parking going up.
A lot of businesses unfortunately went under with covid but even then you walk down the main strip and it’s pretty sad looking and feeling.
The beach’s are nice. But some of the locals are very small minded.

Apartment buildings are going up faster then you can blink. Wollongong is great for young couples and singles. It is very close to the beach and has lots of cafes, restaurants and nightlife. There is a good sized shopping mall. And also lots of office buildings and jobs available. It also hosts the Wollongong University which is almost a town in itself. This award winning university brings students from all over the globe to the town. It's a much slower paced environment then Sydney, and you can get around town with a great free bus service.