tiannam

We moved here 6 years ago to settle down and start a family. We were pretty meticulous about choosing the right suburb for us. Coming from the noise, traffic, pollution and crime riddled Western Sydney, we were adamant on a quiet, safe, leafy green suburb, with friendly neighbours, nice parks and schools, that was still close to medical centres, major shopping outlets, resteraunts, beaches, and everything else the Central Coast had to offer.
Narara rated in number one for us, and 6 years on, I still say it's the best decision we ever made.
Our 5 year old attends an amazing Christian School, St Philip's Christian College, that is only a short five minute walk from our home.
The school has a gorgeous little preschool on campus, set back near the mountain, that overlooks the Valley.
Our daughter made friends at preschool that she started school with this year, because most of the children from the St Philip's preschool (Narnia Christian Preschool) went on to start kindy at St Philip's Christian College.
They will grow up together, which I think is beautiful, because it's a preschool to year 12 campus.
St Philip's Christian College is one of Narara's best assets.
The school is honestly like a home away from home and second family to us, where the Teachers have a real interest in drawing out the potential in every child, and getting to know them on an individual level.
If you're a Christian family wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of Sydney for a more family oriented, laid back lifestyle, do not go past Narara Valley Baptist Church.
The church has a fantastic children's program.
Just last year, the neighbourhood created a beautiful playground for the children of Narara (Narara Valley Prescint Park) that has lovely playground equipment and BBQ and picnic amenities.
There is a lovely local nursery, a dog park (for dog lovers like ourselves), a local oval with an attached skatepark, and duck pond.
You're literally a five minute drive away from the Gosford CBD or Wyoming Shopping Village, which have everything from Woolworths and ALDI stores, to gorgeous salons, cafs, bakeries, boutique clothing stores, thrift shops, toy stores, playgrounds, a local library, local pools, and more lovely picnic spots, parks, and pop up cafs along the Gosford waterfront.
West Gosford (which is only a two to five minute drive up the road) have a huge Bunnings, a huge selection of homeware stores, as well as camping stores like BCF.
Entertainment wise, you have Central Coast Leagues Club in the Gosford CBD, which has a gym, family style bistro and resteraunt, indoor children's playground (Monkey Mania), rock climbing etc.
On the other side at West Gosford, you have Gosford RSL, with a gorgeous outdoor eatery and children's playground.
We are surrounded by some awesome little fishing and picnic spots, walking and bike riding paths, and nature reserves.
There is a local bowling alley in our neighbour suburb (Gosford City Tenpin Bowl), another gym, lots of choice as far as take-away goes...
If you want to drive a little further out, it's only a 15 minutes drive to Erina Fair, or the other way towards Westfield Tuggerah is about 20 minutes.
Only a short drive to all the beautiful beaches.
If you are looking for a quiet and friendly neighbourhood that's safe for your little ones to ride their bikes, play with other children in the street of an afternoon whilst you relax on your patio with a cup of tea, listening to the bellbirds, but still close enough to the freeway to commute to and from Sydney for work, Narara is the place for you!

Originally from Umina, twenty minutes away, moving to Point Clare has been a dream. We are enjoying the peace and quiet, which has been long lost in the Umina Beach area unfortunately. Waking up every morning to the sound of bellbirds instead of cars screeching around is fantastic. We ride our bikes along the Point Clare cycle way , which is gorgeous. Our neighbours are lovely. We had problems with rowdy teenagers vandalising property and fighting in Umina area, but one thing we noticed when we moved to Point Clare is that the residents are either families or older couples, which makes it a very safe, quiet, drama free place to live. There's a local oval, two parks, a familyfriendly and dog friendly walkway/cycle way along the waterfront that stretches from the main shopping complex and children's park with the bridge and duck pond, right up to the hidden picnic and bbq areas along the waterfront and the Aldi supermarket, deli and cafe. Heading in the other direction it takes you all the way to the Gosford waterfront and shops. In between, Spotlight, camping and outdoor recreations stores, homewares/Bunnings etc. Central Coast Leagues Club just a five minute drive down the road, and Erina Fair a fifteen minute drive away. Point Clare is a Coastal treasure, and has a lovely little boutique feel to it. One of those rare suburbs nowadays where you will still find kids playing cricket in the street of a late afternoon. With our first baby due in June, we do not regret buying here.