I have been posted to Nowra, effective next month. I know most of NSW and Sydney very well, but haven't really explored the south coast, apart from driving through once.

I'm not too keen on living in Nowra - possible places I am looking at are Kiama, Shellhabour, Shoalhaven Heads, Culburra Beach and Nowra itself. My considerations are:
-close to facilities (a coles/woolworths, decent pub, basic shops)
-close to Sydney/Wollongong
-close to Nowra (obviously a toss up with the previous point)
-close to water, idealy surf beach
-quality housing available, at reasonable prices (no more than $300 pw for a 2 bedroom place)

If anyone has lived in any of these places or have spent some time and have an opinion, please let me know.

Can you live on base?
Much cheaper.

I personally would prefer to have the extra cash.

My boss has a holiday place at Culburra for past 20 years and he says its a top spot!
Ive spent a lot of time down holidaying at kiama. thats a fab spot also! best place in southcoast!
Anywhere near Shoalhaven is also excellent.Nowra is a big place.it would have everything you require.

My boss also has a house there, Culwulla. :)

Nowra is a good place (as far as small towns go) and has the major shops like Coles and Woolworths etc. It's the main shopping place for the whole Shoalhaven region. I don't know if you'll have access to a car so if comming into Sydney is a priority for you then the the nearest station is Bombadery, which is just over the river from Nowra (few km's)

You'll find loads of info on http://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/.

Move to Vincentia or Huskisson - towns that sit on Jervis Bay. Beautiful location and only about 20-30mins drive from Nowra.

u can live on base,

Member Without Dependants (MWOD) (single) are required to pay a contribution for accommodation,
which varies from $39.60 to $69.10 per week depending on the standard level,
a contribution of $56.75 per week for meals and $9.85 per week for utilities. Members with
Dependants (MWD) (married or in a service-recognised defacto relationship), who have been
categorised Members with Dependants Separated (MWD(S)), are not required to pay for accommodation,
meals or utilities.

or if ur in a relationship u shud live ofbase cos u can get rent assistance. so ur in the raaf? what position?

I'm an Air Traffic Control Officer. Hell will freeze over before I live on base again - I've been living on for 18 months. Nobody lives on nowadays. Especially with RA (Rent Allowance)- there's no point (you can be single and still get RA). Not to mention mess food is usually shit.

Thanks for the info guys. I don't want to be living south of Nowra - I will be driving up to Syndey a fair bit - will be going to a lot of functions at RAAF Base Richmond, being the closest Air Force base. (Don't plan to get to close too the navy!). Plus I have a lot of friends up there. At the moment it seems a toss up between Culburra and Kiama.

Manyana beach, near Bendalong. Green Island is a world class reef break when the swells up.

Berry is a sweet looking place! Pice pubs and a village type of atmospher, great wineries, or Shoalhaven Heads...but can be too touristy!

Nowra or Wollongong (about 80km drive) are your other options. Rent will be expensive in w'gong, not sure how u feel about living near the Uni campus at Nowra?

I think Wollongong is a bit far (I know a coupla blokes in my firm who used to commute from Nowra to Wollongong and it sounded... taxing).

The problem with living North of Kiama is that you will have to drive through the Minumurra bends near Dunmore, which area is prone to flooding and delays (and the road ain't always the widest). However, that takes you further away from Sydney. A good compromise might be Shellharbour - but house prices (especially new) have really skyrocketed in recent years. I couldn't tell you what the surf or the rental scene is like.

I'm an Air Traffic Control Officer. Hell will freeze over before I live on base again - I've been living on for 18 months. Nobody lives on nowadays. Especially with RA (Rent Allowance)- there's no point (you can be single and still get RA). Not to mention mess food is usually shit.

Thanks for the info guys. I don't want to be living south of Nowra - I will be driving up to Syndey a fair bit - will be going to a lot of functions at RAAF Base Richmond, being the closest Air Force base. (Don't plan to get to close too the navy!). Plus I have a lot of friends up there. At the moment it seems a toss up between Culburra and Kiama.

Be sure to take photos of Nowra Airport. Havent seen any. :)

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I'm strongly leaning towards Kiama - it seems to have everything I want. I'll just have to see how I like driving that far every day.

Be sure to take photos of Nowra Airport. Havent seen any. :)

Well obviously working in the tower I could get you some nice photos... but I don't know what the rules are there. Most RAAF bases prohibit photography - and I wouldn't want to jepodise my security clearance. I'll see how I go - there should be some public photos available.

The tower there is the newest tower in the ADF - only built in the late 90s. Since the RAAF took over control of the airfield they've installed an ILS and got rid of a lot of navy-isms. (Thank God). We're still there to serve the navy but we are a RAAF unit so we play by Air Force rules.