# Gosford vs Wollongong NSW



## dimaleo

Hi Guys,

A very (may be not) simple question, what would be a better place to stay for good - Gosford or Wollongong?
I used to live in Gosford about 12 years ago and then moved overseas for 7 years. Now it is time to come back home and I am wondering whether Wollongong will be better place to put down roots?
Any insight is very welcome


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## Boboa

Depends what are you looking for. If you are looking for city life and buzz, Wollongong all the way. Currently it is the fifth city ranked for entertainment in Australia (after Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth). And it is set to outpace Perth in next 3-4 years. Has everything to offer from excellent schools, university, restaurants and such. Not to mention being 1 hour from Sydney. 
It has 17 patrolled beaches with excellent, clean water.
Job wise it is an extremely favourable city as well. With one of the most active employment markets in Australia. Number of new business setups in Greater Wollongong is more than Adelaide and Darwin combined. 
On downside it is becoming very expensive, with rents climbing sky high, and sooner or later it will be on par with large cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. House prices are not cheap either. 
Gosford didn’t change a lot, more recently, the Gosford CBD has suffered a decline as more commercial activity has relocated to Erina, particularly Erina Fair. However in General Greater Gosford including Erina are doing pretty well, and slowly growing and expanding….


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## dimaleo

Thanks Boboa. Very informative!
And what you thing about commuting to Sydney on daily basis? I know it is almost the same distance, but I wonder about rush hour crowd on the train. I recall that traveling from Gosford to Sydney and back every day was quite hard, but still tolerable those old days. Also, M1 motorway was getting jammed more and more and while it took me about 35 40 min to drive home, back in late 90-s, later it became almost twice longer. So, how bad is it now for Wollongong, both by train and by car ?
Will it kill me ?


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## robboat

I would vote for Wollongong.....
It is a really happening place and easy to get to using trains and driving.

If you need to go to the city there are express trains every few hours.

Newcastle is getting better as well - have you looked there instead of Gosford?

Good luck


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## dimaleo

robboat said:


> I would vote for Wollongong.....
> It is a really happening place and easy to get to using trains and driving.
> 
> If you need to go to the city there are express trains every few hours.
> 
> Newcastle is getting better as well - have you looked there instead of Gosford?
> 
> Good luck


Actually, I haven't. Newcastle seems too far away to me. 
If it is not too much to ask, how much is a ticket for express train from Wollongong to Sydney and how fast is it? I could not find anything at CityRail web site about express srvice.


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## Ukey

*Ukey*

Wollongong, hands down... If you want a life anyway.

Education:
- Wollongong's university was just ranked Australia's best young University by times QS higher education in 2012, equal with Macquarie Uni.
- Construction of Wollongongs second University commenced this week - Nan tien institute.

Lifestyle:
- wotif this week rated South Coast beaches i.e. Wollongong the best in the world, as voted by wotif users... 
- GPT currently has a $300million expansion of its Wollongong central development underway, due for completion in Jan 2014, 
- Stockland just finished its $300million expansion of its Shellharbour centre (10 mins from Wollongong cbd)
- the close proximity to southeast suburbs of Sydney such as Surry Hills, Newtown etc has had a huge influence on Wollongongs burgeoning small bar and arts scene. 3 new small bars have opened in the last month alone to give an indication.
- somebody already mentioned its entertainment ranking in Australia.

Industry:
- a $1.5 billion expansion of Port Kembla outer harbour currently underway, supporting the changing nature and use of the Port away from its base in steel making. It is the deepest and most accessible Port on the entire East coast of Australia
- first Australian city to get the NBN due to go live by June 2013
- Wollongong Council's free wifi network for entire CBD, to go live prior to Christmas
- $430million worth of commercial construction currently underway in cbd
- Wollongong uni has more IT graduates then any other Australian Uni
- $35 million data cloud centre commenced construction this week just outside Wollongong cbd. Australia's largest data centre when complete, and combined with the nbn and the unis IT faculty there is a huge drawing on the knowledge services sector, and IT start ups to the region.


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## Dexter

As a Sutherland Shire citizen I would choose Wollongong. It is larger, better amenities, good public transport and connection with Sydney (express service from Wollongong to Central). Also, if you drive, it is quite easy to get to Sydney as it is right next to Freeway 1.


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## Boboa

Dexter, I don't think a lot of people from the Gong would like to have the shire mentioned anywhere near Illiwara  ... Joking


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