Three facts: 1) Most Australians live in and around cities 2) City property prices are at their highest ever 3) Australians are working longer hours than ever before
Coincidence? Definitely not!
Why spend every daylight hour scraping together enough money to pay a monumental mortgage or to pay off the landlord's investment property while your dream home slips out of reach?
Doesn't leave much time for a life. The days grind by, but still the ten years behind you went awful quick.
The canny ones have found a way out. More and more Sydney-siders are escaping to the Central Coast. They've realised there's a big difference between surviving and living.
It only takes 45 minutes to cruise up the F3 and into a totally different world.
Quality of life is the big winner. For less than you're handing over to your landlord, you can have your own home - a home that suits the lifestyle of your choice. Cottages on the Central Coast were built to take full advantage of the coastal way of life. Open spaces, leafy outlooks, sea breezes, morning sunshine, magical sunsets. It's a holiday every day!
Instead of slaving from dusk `til dawn, you'll be able to ease off and spend time doing the things you always wanted to.
Take an early Saturday morning stroll to your local beach and make fresh tracks while watching the sun rise. (All the beaches on the Central Coast are un-spoiled. In fact, there are some where you can make fresh tracks at midday!)
Have a leisurely surf or swim, then wander on home, marinate the steaks for the night's BBQ, indulge in a cold drink on the back deck, and doze off watching the kids play in the back yard. Don your Master Chef apron when the guests arrive then relax around the outdoor setting without even a hint of traffic noise or exhaust.
Follow that up the next morning with a stop at your regular café, where they don't just know your name, they know your favourite coffee! Bury your head in the paper, and listen to the waves roll in and the gulls squawk or just chat to the locals.
Then spend the afternoon as you please. Movies, videos, nature walks, wineries, sailing, sport. And talk about shopping! Choose the good `ole customer service of the corner shop or the hub-bub of city-style mall shopping. (Erina Fair is one of the biggest single-level shopping centres in the southern hemisphere.)
Whether you're into clubbing, pubbing, and the decadent pleasures of restaurant and café life, or you'd prefer the beach, the bush, or simply your own backyard pool, the Central Coast has it.
And for all of this, you don't even have to leave your job. The 45 minute commute is probably less than you're already doing. Of course, if you want a job closer to home, the local IT industry is racing ahead in leaps and bounds, and there's always the well established tourism and hospitality sectors.
But best of all, no matter what employment avenue you choose, at the end of the day, you can leave work at work `til tomorrow. There's no pressure. Your living expenses will be cut by up to 60%, so for the first time, you'll be able to afford to `work to live', rather than `live to work'.
And don't worry about your investment. Capital growth rates of 10%-15% per annum have been commonplace across the entire Central Coast for at least a decade.
The Central Coast can give you the life you always wanted. No endless renovations. No sitting in traffic on the way to work. No money worries. Just your own home. Your own lifestyle. Your own life.
--By Glenn Murray |
