New to Illawarra

My family moved here in April and we kept our expectations low. Based on living in many different suburbs in Sydney, we thought it would be maybe just a bit slower, quieter and simply disconnected from Sydney?

We are still in the honeymoon phase of our life here, but so far our experience has exceeded our expectations. Sydney was not bad, but the Illawarra is an under-rated and unappreciated part of Australia in our opinion.

Depending upon where you live it can be peaceful, spectacular escarpment views, easy access to multiple pristine beaches, rockpools, the nice parks, bike trails, lack of traffic but the most appealing part has been the people - genuinely friendly. There are always exceptions in the community, but the large majority of people have been very welcoming and our neighbours have been fantastic. My wife who is from a non-Anglo background was not confident about living here because of the disconnection from friends in Sydney and English is her second language. She has had a very positive experience, which has been a great relief to me.

We think the Illawarra ticks so many positive 'boxes' and expect it to get better with initiatives like this. It is great to see the engagement with the community to get our current view and our suggestions for the future.

Look forward to better community development initiatives, protection of the environment and improving our connection to Sydney (fingers crossed for a high speed train line...) and the rest of the world.