Hi guys, Looking for units / townhouses in 1.5 hrs from CBD - was checking Gosford area and Wollongong. Found that Wollongong is 15 - 20 mins farther than Gosford station. How is the comparison between the two in terms of Local industry and economy, Schools, the quality of tenants and vibrancy etc ? If you were to choose which one would you go for and why would you prefer compared to the other Thank you
I think you need to look beyond the train trip. Gosford itself is far from the nicest part of the Central Coast. I don't know Wollongong as well but I do know that some of the suburbs closer to Sydney are lovely, not sure how pricing compares as I haven't investigated either area. To expand a little further, the closer you get to the water on CC, generally the nicer area but then you need to add the trip to the train + parking on to your commute time.
Where in Wollongong? I live here, I'd recommend Wollongong (CBD areas)/North Gong if it's in your price range. Stay aware from Dapto as it's over run with new builds (Horsley/West Dapto). Wollongong you'll get a mix of (depends on area) families, professionals, student's and low to average wage people. A lot of people travel to Sydney from Dapto and further down the coast (Albion Park, Shellharbour) to the CBD via train just FYI. Don't purchase Adina apartments if they're still selling them... Hotel selling off rooms essentially you'll know it when you see it. If you give us a budget I can point you at some suburbs of interest.
Hi Dan Wood, Thank you for the reply and info around Wollongong The budget looking for is around $350k to $450k region. With around 2 hours on train - do people still travel to CBD from there ? !
I'll be honest, Wollongong at that range you're looking at 1 bedders in new apartments 50+ in a block. Around 50 to 70m² (if you're lucky ) There's a few older style units around, depends what you want to be near, beach, CBD or train station. Being aware there is a "free bus" that drives around the CBD, hospital to the uni and back. 1/68a Smith Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500 2/1 Hercules Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Stay off crown St if you can, main road in/out, parking is rubbish and it'll more than likely be close the to Hospital. A townhouse. 6/45 Mckenzie Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Do your research, there's a whole bunch of pretty shiny apartment blocks going up/just built, avoid them if you can (if you want to). They're cheaply made, lack parking and expensive for what they offer imho. Yep the stations packed at 7am to get into the CBD, I did the commute for 6 months, horrible experience!
What happened to all the other states and areas you researched? Why is the Gong any different from those? Its only half joking. What value do you see in units in that area, and what will make you want to buy when youve dismissed so many others?
This, totally agree. Wollongong is not up and coming imho and expensive... Brisbane has been labelled as the next tech hub, it's sunny, it's beautiful and cheaper. Each to their own I suppose.