Actually am NOT but humour me the idea that I am. Partner has been offered a job there ...what would I expect in terms of living expenses,rent, house prices etc?
My Mrs lived there 10 years ago when she was 19. Darwin is very expensive. Fruit and veg are also very expensive.
Who cares about all that boring *****, they have fire cracker night still! FIRE. CRACKER. NIGHT! Go. Now.
It's not THAT expensive.....it was bat **** crazy there for a while but has since dropped waaaaaay off. Which bit of NT? Darwin, Bush or Alice?
Loved my time up in the top end. We were in the Kimberley but spent plenty of time in Darwin. Still have friends up yhere. I say do it. You only live once!!!
One of my old school mates has been there for a few years (for work) and recently moved back home. I have been keeping in touch with him via FB, and the picture he has always painted is a pretty good one. We lived in the USA for 3 years..it was not always beer and skittles, and money was a bit tight; but we made it a great experience, and so glad we did it. You have got to do it - you are only here on this Earth once.
That is a very boring way to look at it. What about the experiences? Assuming you're in Adelaide, Darwin would be a lot different climate wise and people. Plus check out trip advisor for the top things to do around there! Forget the boring bills it all comes out in the wash, give or take a little bit. It's the fun of a new place and enjoyment (for me anyway) of being away from "boring life commitments" like family functions that are always the same.you'll be exploring new places and lifestyle. Everything will be just the same when you return. And I'm pretty sure Adelaide and Darwin have the Internet now so you can stay in contact with anyone you like. Even us here
Not sure which part of NT you're considering but I've lived in Darwin and Alice. Absolutely loved it. Planning to go back and do locums, have one booked in the Kimberley later in the year. Salary and other employment conditions compensate for living costs in my case. You may need to negotiate.
I came to Darwin for 6 months, 5 years ago..... It's not for everyone though.... Still for me, it's perfect. Lots of opportunity, great lifestyle and fantastic multiculturalism.
My husband and I just moved to Darwin from Sydney in February on a one year contract, we have been loving it so much we decided to extend our contracts for one more year. We had jobs back in Sydney but just moved up for a change and to get away from the mundane routine of traffic/parking/commute/boring life commitments. Cost of living wise rent was just slightly cheaper than sydney when we moved here, got a huge 3 bedroom new apartment with incredible waterviews throughout the whole house for $620/week (much less than what we were paying for a nice new 2 bedroom townhouse in St Leonards last year) but the prices have dropped a lot since we moved here, you can pick up 3 bedroom apartments on the foreshore for $500pw. I don't know if it's a good idea to purchase properties here as an investment - rental prices are dropping drastically. If you are buying your residence it's good value but landlords are struggling to get tenants and properties are sitting on the market for ages. Would be great if someone could comment on this as we will be here next year and trying to decide whether to keep renting or buying. Strata here is very expensive as are utilities. Supermarket prices are the same. Eating out is expensive but we are finding we spend a lot less overall than we did in Sydney as we have less entertainment/dining expenses. We have more BBQs with friends and weekends away camping than the cafe/bars/restaurant lifestyle we had in Sydney. If you have the opportunity to come up to Darwin I'd say check it out. I've lived in Alice Springs for a few months too and enjoyed that but it's definitely not somewhere I could stay for more than 5 or 6 months.
Do it. If I had the opportunity to live up there for a while, I would take it. And then I be sure to make the most of the fishing and camping opportunities while I was there. I've never been to Darwin, but I have always looked on it as a sort of frontier place.
If you can, rent for another year. The inpex gas project is currently employing thousands and will finish up in a year or two. There should be another drop in prices then.
