Imagine living in a city – the second largest in New South Wales, in fact – and enjoying an average commute time of 15 minutes.
What may sound like a pipe dream is the reality in Newcastle – a connected and compact city that boasts extensive transport services and facilities allowing you to escape that daily commute to spend more quality time with friends and family.
That work/life balance scale just tipped a little in your favour.
Imagine living in a city where you could be sitting on a world-class beach, then walking five minutes to an eclectic boutique shopping district, or ten minutes from buzzing café, small bar, and restaurant hubs.
Or even hopping in the car, knowing you could be at the sixth-largest regional airport in Australia in half an hour, or one of the most renowned wine regions in the country in just one hour.
That’s Newcastle. A truly compact and connected city.
Newcastle is a city that is designed to be enjoyed – and there’s lots to enjoy, too.
The convenient nature of Newcastle, thanks to infrastructure such as the Newcastle Light Rail, and the way the evolving city has opened up since the removal of the heavy rail corridor that previously split the CBD, means you’re never too far from everything the city has to offer.
Newcastle’s reputation as a gateway city is well founded too, with attractions in Sydney and the Hunter Valley never too far away thanks to the Newcastle Link Road.
Completed in 1993, the Newcastle Link Road connects Novocastrians to the Pacific Motorway to the Central Coast and Sydney and the Hunter Expressway to the Hunter Valley.
Port Stephens sits just over an hour’s drive from the Newcastle CBD, making it the perfect spot for a day trip, and a regular bus service makes the journey even more accessible.
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Newcastle Airport in Williamtown is also conveniently located just over half an hour from the city and is serviced by two public bus companies – Port Stephens Coaches which operate from the airport to Newcastle Interchange 11 times a day, and Hunter Valley Buses which run from the airport to Maitland, Raymond Terrace, and Stockton.
The airport operates flights to Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, the Gold Coast, Ballina, Canberra, Cobar, Lord Howe Island, The Whitsundays, Cairns, and the Sunshine Coast, and seasonal service to Auckland, New Zealand. Opening August 2025, upgrades to the airfield and terminal to host a new class of international aircraft will open Newcastle to the world.
Playing a key role in the ongoing revitalisation of the CBD, the Newcastle Light Rail makes getting around the inner-city a breeze.
Completed in 2019, the Light Rail runs from the Newcastle Interchange in Wickham to Newcastle Beach in Newcastle’s East End.
The frequent and reliable service connects key precincts in the CBD via six stops – Newcastle Interchange, Honeysuckle, Civic, Crown Street, Queens Wharf and Newcastle Beach – making it the perfect way to get around and explore the Newcastle city centre.
The City of Newcastle is also committed to ensuring residents can get around as easily as possible as well as planning for future population growth, allocating, in the 2024/25 financial year, for example, almost $18 million for the renewal and delivery of new roads, bridges and footpaths.
Another fantastic way to explore the city, or even commute to work is on a bike, and the city boasts an extensive cycle network across the LGA.
City of Newcastle is committed to improving and expanding cycleways network with recent projects including the first phase of the City Centre to Merewether Beach Cycleway, the extension of shared path at Scenic Drive, Merewether and new cyclist refuge and crossing at Merewether Heights, and a shared pathway through Islington Park, to name a few.
You can find out more about planned and completed improvements to the Newcastle cycleways network here and the City of Newcastle’s vision for cycling across the city here.
You’ll also find a comprehensive E-bike network in the inner-city, meaning you can explore all that Newcastle has to offer at your own pace.
So, if you’re looking for a compact, connected and convenient city, Newcastle ticks all of those boxes.
