i live in one of the southern suburbs of Wollongong, a place called mount brown (Dapto), wollongong is approx 80km south of the big smoke Sydney and as such has alot of the benefits of Sydney but not all the draw backs. Wollongong's shire is nestled between the ocean and the mountains. the whole area is basically run by the steel works and is currently going through a downturn due to lay offs and the steel industry crisis. we dont really have any 4wding tracks around the Gong, however we do have 17 beaches to visit, some of which you can camp at in the northern suburbs and also a few van parks, Windang being a great example. we are also close to the southern highlands and also the southern illawarra regoin of Nowra, Yalwal, Jervis Bay and the south coast.
Wollongong is the second largest non capital city in Australia, Newcastle being the first. we dont usually have the traffic jams etc that Sydney gets but we have a very cosmopolitan city with our own entertainment centre and awesome food and shopping etc.
i have moved away from the Gong over the years and always seem to gravitate back, however the time has come for me to pack up the kids and the mrs and set sail back to north QLD again, its only a matter of time, could be 6 months or it could be 2 years or so but we are leaving, unfortunately Wollongong has little to offer the young family these days, jobs are scarce and unless your earning 100K its near impossible to bring up a family here and own your own home etc due to the scourge of sydney siders moving down here and taking jobs and raising the prices of houses etc, im not blaming them solely for this, Wollongong has alot to offer those people with expendable incomes and 600k to spend on a nice house.
as for Dapto where i live, its a great place its between the mountains and lake Illawarra, we have Dapto dogs and a 2 storey shopping mall, they are going to ruin the place though as there is plans to build another 5 thousand homes soon and the infrastructure wont cope, its a Shit fight now down in town at 3-5pm, let alone another 18,000 people living here. Dapto also cops a fair amount of flack for being a Bogan town and a dead beat area, i admit there is nicer places to live, but bang for your buck its got it in the bag, average house price is around 350K i guess, and for that you get a house approx 700M2 block, timber or brick with 3-4 bedrooms, your only ten mins from the beaches and 10 mins from the city centre, come to think of it does anyone want to buy my place???
there is no other suburb in wollongong where average joe can afford to bring up his kids whilst only earning an average wage, i say to people that its the nicest place in the Gong that average people can afford.
there are heaps of 4wders around my place and i often get waves from them, especially the guys in 80 series cruisers, my wife has even been followed and stopped just find out info on my cars height and tyre size etc, you dont get that friendliness in a big city, and its that sort of country meets big city feel that Wollongong still has that is the appealing part.
luke
