Where in Darwin?

Hi Fab we lived there 25 years just moved south.

What are you looking for??? Close to schools ie private, public swimming pools etc etc.

Nightcliff (daughter lives there) is older suburb on beach, bus runs past, sea breezes etc. Large blocks with choices of g/l or elevated houses.

If you want aircon for 24 hours a day look for any house, but elevated houses, most older types have good cross ventilation for fresh air etc.

Bike paths all over the foreshore are,, see google maps, from city to Casuarina Beach. This is excellent if you can access these as you can ride to city, Parap and Mindil markets etc etc

Some thoughts

Cheers Baz

My sister lived in Stuart Park. I visited for 2 weeks this year, it seems nice but was mostly apartments and not houses.

It's important that you have secure off street parking with a gate that closes. When she lived elsewhere in Darwin her car windows were smashed regularly (in an off-street carport) by thieves looking for money etc.

My impression of Darwin was that everywhere was pretty close to everywhere else and peak hour lasts about 5 minutes. One night it got down to 17 degrees C overnight and the newspaper had a huge "COLD SNAP!!" article on the front page and everyone was wearing jackets and jumpers etc.

Moil, Palmerston, are good area's, good shopping centers close.

CHECK HERE

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I forgot to mention...drill it big time into your kids NO SWIMMING in creeks and Rivers, use a swimming pool at home or public. Be Croc wise.

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having lived in and "around" Darwin i would rent first so you can "road test" the place, it is a very nice place but the kind of place some LOVE it or really, really HATE and very few in between... bear in mind it is not a big city by a long shot and spread out a lot also.
Moving from Adelaide you will most probally love Palmerston as it has "pockets" that are just like the southern citys but also had some bad areas ....
I have known many to move up there with big expectations of the place and last only 1 year and move back again, the heat is one thing that takes a fair bit of getting used to, it is not the same as Adelaide's heat at all ..... and get a Cyclone and it can scare you big time, even the small ones that passed by scared off a lot of people.
You could refer to the whole of Darwin as a "shanty town" at times and that is why a lot stay there ..... that side of it i love about it as do most that live there.
Good luck

Hi Fab72,
For that amount you can get 5 bedrooms 2 bathrooms 2 kitchens, under cover parking, private schools, and public transport at your door, and close to shopping centres

Fab72
Not being a member I can't MM you, My life began at Athelstone, went to Athelstone Primary, used to be behind what is now a Library, it was the classroom for grades 4-5-6 and 7.

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G’day

We made the move from Adelaide (Magill) in 08 so this is our 3rd build up. We love it but won’t be here forever, it really is just too hot, the amount of older people that we speak to that leave when they reach sixty is quite incredible. As far as where to live, Darwin is very different to Adelaide, you can pay a million $ for a house (nothing flash for that!) and still have undesirables living next door. For $750k think $400k in Adelaide terms. Forget the inner burbs you won’t get a house for $750k. Outer burbs you will, if you can get something around Nightcliff that would be the go. Almost all the new homes being built are not suited to the climate which will lead to much longer use of the air conditioner. As suggested, renting initially until you find a burb/area you like is the go, expensive, yes, welcome to Darwin!! It’s all expensive! Wouldn’t want to buy a house in an area where you find out your wife and kids don’t feel safe or you get eaten alive by midges!!
On the upside, great markets, people and some awesome places to see only a couple of hours drive away.
Has your wife spent a build up here? We like to live without the air conditioner as much as possible, some we know wouldn’t spend more than 15 minutes in any given day outside.

Cheers Lyndon

We lived up there for 6 years and only moved down to WA Mandurah in 2005.

They say there is only two things that will get you out of Darwin. The heat or you miss you family. Ours was my wife missed her family.

All the advice so far is spot on so I can only add a few observations of my own.

Finding somewhere that is cooler and not overtaken with bugs was a big must.

We found all suburbs had their good parts and their trashy parts. Some maybe just a bit more than others. When looking for a house to buy we would drive around the little local shops and check out how much graffiti was there - a good indicator of the socio-economic standing of the people - i.e. their attitudes to their own children's activities.

We ended up buying a house in Nakara. Close enough to walk to the beach, and walk to the one major shopping centre in Older Darwin - other major shopping centre is in the satellite city of Palmerston.

There is only a couple of white sand beaches in Darwin and this is along the northern suburbs and the biggest widest is Casuarina beach next to Nakara.

Our kids where in the junior life saving club at Casuarina beach and had a great time in the dry season. Too many stingers during the wet season so the club shuts then.

We had a great elevated house with a pool - essential if you are going to stay in Darwin is to have a pool. And ironically get a pool that is in the sun. Any pools up there under shade are too cold to swim in - I mean freezing too cold - weird Huh. In the hot season we had a shade that would stretch over the pool as it would get a little too hot then but we would take it down for the rest of year.

Try to pick a house that is closer to the top of a hill - or at least not in a hollow. Hollows have no breeze, collect bugs, and get filled with water run off during the wet.

Other than that have a great time - an oh yeah - the fishing is hottttt.

Cheers

David

PS Lots of NT photos in my profile.

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Leave your Adelaide lifestyle in Adelaide.Darwin is very different. And if you are moving at this time of year or in the new year then the humidity will hit you along with the fabulous lightening and thunder storms and heavy dumps of rain.

I landed in Darwin in February 1971 as a single young buck. An old bloke said to me not long after arriving in relation to the build-up humidity "you never get use of it you just bare it". When I drove out of Darwin 20 years later (with my now family) I thought about what he said with his comment being true.

However don't get me wrong the time I was in Darwin was great. In addition to exploring the bush I met the trouble and strife and we had 2 billy lids (true Darwinians/Territorians).

Enjoy the place

If you are wanting at least200sq M under roof
Forget most inner Darwin Suburbs as the houses are old & too small.
Lyons in a new suburb in Darwin houses are BIG but also have the attached price tag. $750,000 ++

A lot of the inner suburbs: Stuart Park, Malak, moil, Jingili, Millner, Nightcliff, have older style houses that are small some have been done up over the years but a lot are small - ie i small lounge room 1 bathroom but have a nice big yard.

Palmerston - about 25km out of the Darwin city center has some good suburbs
Gunn, Farrar, Rosebery, Durack they have some nice houses ie 4 bed rooms
2 lounge rooms, 2 bathrooms & lock up carport but a lot of the blocks are small.

Depends on what type of house you want & what requirements you have.
use www.realestate.com.au & have a look around at prices & what is on offer.