Retirement and me

[Sprinter]

I have asked this on other forums and will no doubt ask it on more, but its an important topic for me and possibly others as well, so Im trying to get as wide a spead of opinions as possible

Its early days yet but within about 5 years or so Im hoping to retire. So Im starting to consider where Ill end up and trying to put some planning in now.

So Im considering 3 areas in NSW, one South Coast, and two North. Spots on the North are Lake Macquarie and Forster.South Coast is Merimbula/Pambula. I see positives and negatives in all 3. Problem is Ive only ever holidayed in these ares not lived there so maybe Im seeing them all a little better than they really are. Id like to hear from people that actually live in these regions (or any other for that matter) about what they see as good and bad about where they live. Obviously fishing colours my choices but I will be living there so need to consider more practical problems such as how much house I can afford, what other activities there are etc. I dont know what my budget will be just yet so that does make this a bit open ended. Id like to be near the water but alternatively would be happy out of town a little on a couple of acres.

As you can see I still have quite a few decisions to make so would really appreciate anyones thoughts on this. So what do you see as good and bad about the areas you live in?

[Wally93]

I spent all of my childhood in Forster Tuncurry until I moved to tasmania for uni. I also have my retired grandparents living in Tuncurry. They find it perfect for everything, being ease of access to facilities and not too expensive. The only negative about the area is the swelling of population in holiday season. Traffic becomes unbearable and prices shoot up. Obviously being on a fishing forum you're also looking for somewhere thats fishable. The great lakes is an awesome estuary with awesome fishing year round! Although from a bream perspective a boat is a very handy tool.

Hope this helps to some degree

Wally

[PM79]

I camped at Lake Macquarie for ten years and I've recently moved here in the last seven months.

It's fantastic, like a permanent holiday.

I can't find a single fault with the move except a lack of decent tackle stores, I find myself going back to Sydney for most of the stuff I'm after.

As for fishing colouring your choices, the pro's were shown the door over ten years ago and I think that's as good a colouring as you can get.

I've been seeing a lot of pictures of 40cm+ bream being caught in the lake in the last few months.