Newcastle Travel Forum

Hallo everyone!
I am a greek doctor who has recently been offered contracts for specialisation training in Brussels, Belgium and Newcastle, NSW. This is one hell of a dilemma, as I suppose that we are talking about two completely different things.. I have visited Brussels (it's only a 3-hours flight from home) but won't have the chance to visit Newcastle. So... What could you Novocastrians say to persuade me come there?
By the way, I will be moving with my partner, who is into management-hr-shipping. Would there be any relevant jobs there or should she look for something in Sydney?
Oh and much of my training will be in hospitals throughout the Hunter valley. That would something completely different than just living in Brussels, so I'm worried about how rural hospitals work there and whether that could be an interesting (and not dramatic!) experience..

Thanks in advance

Sun, surf, great lifestyle, wonderful wines from the Hunter Valley if the day has been a little stressed. Spa's for relaxation.An excellent opportunity to experience something totally different than in Europe.A chance to explore all Australia has to offer.
I don't know about hospitals in the Hunter Valley area but where I live in Victoria the country hospitals have a friendly bunch of people( usually locals to the region) working in them.
Good luck with your dilemma:)

If your wife is in Shipping HR then it shouldnt be too hard for her to get a job in Newcastle as it is a pretty industrial area with a few ships that come in.

Newcastle is a great size city - a great new area is the honeysuckle wharf development - heaps of resturants and apartment living - other areas I like are merryweather and hamilton - you aren't too far from sydney and also port stephens for fabulous beches and water ways - plus as other have said the hunter valley

Does anybody have anything bad to say? I mean, what could be the bad aspects in such a decision, as far as Newcastle is concerned? If anyone has any nice photos of the area, CBD, suburbs, anything, please send them to elias_pero@hotmail.com. There are some in the internet, but would prefer something less commercialized!
Oh and go on with your comments, they are so useful! If I finally come there, I hope I'll meet you all (although not in hospital, for heavens sake!) :)

Elias

G'day Elias,
I can't be negative about about any part of Aussie land to someone having a chance to visit our wonderful country.
All places will have negatives, I think it is what you make of it when you get here.
All along the East Coast is growing fast, Newcastle was known for being an Industrial area, but now with development it has become and still is becoming a growing area where the local goverments are spending money to make this a beautiful town, not just for industry.

You know Belgium and Brussels, both beautiful, but hey I would go for the *out there* move and just go with the flow to Aus:)It's not as if you will have to stay here forever:)

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania/Australia/State_of_New_South_Wales/Newcastle-1871985/TravelGuide-Newcastle.html

Here is the link to all the VT members and tips/photos etc of Newcastle.
Lots of info and pics here. Read and enjoy:)

Come on downunder matey....honestely, you definately won't be dissapointed!!
Cheers, Ann :o)

Thanx you people, I have the strangest feeling that Aussies are all so wellcoming that I know I won't miss coming there :)

Actually, working at country hospitals in the Hunter might give you a unique window into what life in Australia is like. We have a very sparse population here and a public health system that tries to provide hospital access to all. But in the country areas, simple economics means that people have to be referred to the cities for pretty much anything more serious than an ingrown toenail. The country hospital has to stabilise seriously ill patients and prepare them for transport. Sometimes this leads to horror situations as you may have read in our news media. So the work will certainly be *different* compared to a Western European post.