Moving to Darwin; any advice?

[Croozer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Croozer]

Hi all,

I'll be moving to Darwin with my family in about 8-12 weeks and I have absolutely no idea about the place. My employer will be paying the rent for a house of my choice (up to about $800 pw) so costs aren't an issue on that front.

Can anyone shed any light on what the costs of living are like up there? Electricity/food/fuel etc?

And what about suburbs? What areas should I be looking at with a young family?

And lastly but most importantly, I'll probably be placing an order for a new Prado shortly. Should I do it here in Sydney or wait till I get into Darwin (Im guessing Sydney due to more competition and supply - though unsure about registration costs in NT compared to NSW)?

Any other info would also be appreciated.

Cheers,

[PLAYDOH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PLAYDOH]

Buy your Prado in Sydney and just transfer your registration once you are in Darwin. You can then apply for a refund of your registration from NSW. Registration for D4D Prado is $287 for 6months.

Family, what does your family consist of? primary school is my guess with young family? I've worked at different schools and places around the N.T if you need school advice send me a PM or let me know on here.

Electricity I believe could be more expensive to other places, you don't have a choice of power providers like some other states do in the N.T. Again being from NSW you might find you are smashing the A/C a bit more than a local would and might find your bills a little higher than others. I can't actually give you a good idea on power bills at the moment as I have not paid one for 3 years now as my current work covers housing electricity and water for me.

Food is a little more, but local markets for fresh food and vegetables and of course plenty of Coles and Woolworths everywhere so no real difference. I really didnt notice any difference in price from when I was recently down in Melbourne and doing some grocery shopping, in both the food and alcohol prices.

Depending where you work might influence where you live in terms of travel time, if its gas plant jobs you might find you wanna be in the Palmerston area as it will be a shorter drive from the city or Casuarina suburbs. Being from Darwin myself I would most likely never live in Palmerston suburbs. I have a house in the Casuarina suburbs which is more central to everything around Darwin. Rent in this area depending on rooms pools and garages will fetch $450 and upwards a week. Because cost's are not an issue and you want to let me know what you are doing up here I might be able to recommend a place in a suitable or more worth while area.

You are coming up at a good time brilliant weather right now If you have any other questions shoot away lived and grew up and have worked in Darwin all my life.

[1tuff4b Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1tuff4b]

Dont swim in the rivers!!!!!!

[PLAYDOH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PLAYDOH]

Dont swim in the rivers!!!!!!

There are plenty of rivers, creeks, rockholes, springs and even hot springs if you think it is cold worth swimming in, and the best thing is you can do it any time of the year because the water is never freeze your balls off cold. But don't swim in the Adelaide river, or any of the rivers that have the word Alligator in them.. epic Crocodiles.

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...al-Park-Gunlom

[8608 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close 8608]

you'll need a 4" lift and 33"s on your prado for up here.

J/K.

pretty much what playdoh said, he's good like that, especially with schools and stuff. he's in on the system.

then if you want to get out for a play or sight see, let me know. won't mind showing you some local tracks if you're interested. any excuse to get out and get dirty.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Buy a shotgun, always keep spare rounds on the dash. (I recall seeing this in a posted video by Nika.

Don't buy a dog that has a very low belly and large mouth.

DO buy a dog to "check" the water depth for you before you attempt to cross a river.

Don't lend your rig to an indigineous brother and be careful with your joke selection.

Be good to your mother.

Dole checks are every second Thursday, get in early as there is a loooong line.

Take lots of sunscreen.

Thats it

Social Responsibility Officer - mlc

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

Fishing Rods are a must have, always fishing...

But never in the same spot more than 3 days in a row!!!

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

Fishing Rods are a must have, always fishing...

But never in the same spot more than 3 days in a row!!!

Now that is EXCELLENT!!! advice.
Crocs are very good at counting and recognising patterns.