Running in Newcastle

Are you tired of running locally?  Why not try to visit the city of Newcastle in New South Wales? Newcastle is just two hours drive from the city of Sydney, less than or an hour drive from Central Coast, and almost an hour drive from Nelson Bay.

If you you are not driving, the option is the regular train travel from Sydney to Newcastle Interchange. A bus from Nelson Bay and other Hunter regions suburb. 

Parking is not a problem if you plan of going to run in newcastle. There are several free parking spaces along different beaches of The city of Newcastle. 

East End parking at Horses Shoe Beach is one of the best option being big and having the view of the Hunter river, the Stockton Beach. And it is a walk distance to Nobbys Beach.

Bar Beach Car Park is my personal favourite because it is in the higher level of the area having the view of the jogging path, the sports complex field, the houses at the hills of  Mereweather, and then the beautiful beach. 

Mereweather Beach Car Park is near the residential area and just in front of Mereweather Beach  with several restaurant and Cafe in the area.

Dixon car park is another free parking option along Mereweather beach, this is just in front of the beach and the jogging path.

These Car Park have at least one cafe nearby but mostly are in the area near Mereweather free parking.  These car park are 4P and 9P. 

Beaches road side parking are also free to park but for a shorter period of time. The Newcastle CBD  and food precincts is about 10-20 minutes walk from these  parking.

If you don't drive, Newcastle Interchange is the end station of train coming from Sydney or Central Coast. Then there is the Newcastle tram from Newcastle Interchange with several stops along Hunter Street all the way to Newcastle Beach. You can start running here all the way to Mereweather Beach, otherwise to the direction going to Nobbys Beach even all the way to Newcastle Interchage.

Running from Newcastle Interchange to Honeysuckle has a bit of traffic, but once you reach the Foreshore Footpath right after the Redges Hotel, it is going to be a smooth uninterrupted run along the beach of Nobbys Beach, Newcastle Beach, Bar Beach, and all the way to Mereweather Beach. 

If it is your first time, I am sure and expecting you to do several stop to get water, buy a coffee, amazed by the view and take a photo when running in Newcastle.

Running in Newcastle 

Walking around the city of Newcastle in Australia

Walking around the City of Newcastle in Australia

Newcastle, fondly known as "Newy" by locals, is a vibrant city nestled on the east coast of Australia, approximately 162 kilometers north of Sydney, which is just 2 hours drive from Sydney and almost 3 hours by train. The city is designed to enjoy by people who love to walk around to sho, eat or just enjoy the beaches and parks. 

No visit to Newcastle would be complete without spending some time at its iconic beach. Newcastle Beach is a popular spot for swimming, surfing, and sunbathing. The beach is also home to the Newcastle Ocean Baths, a saltwater swimming pool that is perfect for those who prefer a more sheltered swimming experience.

For those interested in history, a visit to Nobbys Head Lighthouse is a must. The lighthouse was built in 1858 and is one of the most photographed landmarks in Newcastle. Visitors can climb to the top of the lighthouse for stunning views of the city and coastline.

For those who enjoy a good wine, the Hunter Valley wine region is just a short drive from Newcastle. The Hunter Valley is home to over 150 wineries, producing a wide variety of wines, including Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Semillon.

With its stunning beaches, rich history, and vibrant arts scene, Newcastle is a city that has something to offer everyone. Whether you're looking for a relaxing getaway or a cultural adventure, Newcastle is sure to impress.

Neighboring places to visit from Newcastle:

• Port Stephens: Located just north of Newcastle, Port Stephens is a haven for water sports enthusiasts. With its calm waters and sheltered bays, Port Stephens is a great place for kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and fishing.

  

  
  

• Central Coast: The Central Coast is a stretch of coastline that lies between Sydney and Newcastle. The Central Coast is home to a number of popular tourist destinations, including the Bouddi National Park, the Australian Reptile Park, and the Central Coast Mariners football (soccer) club.

• Blue Mountains: The Blue Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage-listed mountain range located about two hours west of Sydney. The Blue Mountains are known for their stunning scenery, including towering cliffs, lush forests, and cascading waterfalls.

My investing tools in Australia.

These are some of the investments, tools I am using here in Australia. 

Saving Account or Transaction Account

When I arrived in Australia on 2016, My sponsor chooses to open my bank account with Commonwealth Bank. A regular Savings account or Transaction Account where my salary is going to be deposited by my employer. 

Salary in Australia is being deposited to the savings account usually every week.  This transaction account is normally the one I am using to pay for my apartment, to get money from the ATM machine. It can also be access through online banking and through  the Commonwealth Bank App. 

Through the Commonwealth Bank App, I opened another savings account which is called Goal Saver Account.

Goal Saver Account

Goal Saver Account is where I regularly transfer portion of my weekly salary to save. 

It is a savings account that offers a high interest rate if you meet certain conditions. Here's a breakdown of the key features:

• Interest Rate:
  • You can earn a bonus interest rate of 4.9% per annum (p.a.) on your balance, provided you make at least one deposit each month and your account balance increases over the month compared to the previous month.
  • If you don't meet these conditions, the interest rate drops to a much lower 0.40% p.a.
• Minimum balance: There's no minimum balance required to open a Goal Saver Account.
• Deposits and withdrawals:
• You can make unlimited deposits into your account.
• However, to qualify for the bonus interest rate, you can't make any withdrawals during the month.
• You get one free assisted withdrawal per month via branch or ATM, but subsequent withdrawals will incur fees.

Here is the screenshot of my Goal Saver Account with my weekly $10 automatic transfer from my Transaction Account, and the weekly variable bonus interest and credit interest. 

CommSec Account

Because the salary in Australia comes every week, investing in the stock market is a good thing to do, aside from just saving the money. 

Commsec is Australia's largest online stockbroking firm and it is a subsidiary of commonwealth bank, and because of this, opening a Commsec account is easy simply by using the Commonwealth Bank account. 

Commsec website is easy to navigate and easy to understand and that is why this is where I got some of my stock market investments. I was not aware before that Commsec is more costly than other brokerages.

Some people are trader, they are usually very active in buying and selling. They buy low and sell high to get the profit in a matter of hour or days. Some people like me are just buying and holding hoping for the stocks to keep on going high in value. Some people are just getting the dividend and some are reinvesting their dividends. 

Some of my holdings.

• The A2 Milk company Limited  
• Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF 

Cryptocurrency

It was 2017 when I started to buy some coins with my extra $500. Its total value at the time of writing is $5244.8

 I understand the idea of cryptocurrency being similar to stock market where you buy low and sell high. But the same like in the stock market, I normally just buy and hold hoping that the value will go up in the future.  I am Using Coinspot to buy and sell cryptocurrency because it is base in Australia and it is trustworthy for someone like me living in Australia.

Here are some of the screenshots of my portfolio and check this link for my full cryptocurrency story. 

eToro International Stock Market and Cryptocurrency Investing 

When it comes to buying international share of stocks and cryptocurrency I am using eToro.

One of the best feature of eToro is the Virtual Account. 

Virtual Account is like being able to invest to the real stocks using a $100000 Virtual money from eToro.  This virtual account allow the user especially the beginner to understand the movements of stock markets and cryptocurrency that is also applicable to Real Account. 

The Real Account is where I deposited a money coming from my Commbank Account and then I was able to buy some US stocks, which I currently have Google share of stocks, and I also have Shiba Inu Cryptocurrency.  And on my virtual account I initially bought Tesla but sold it and then just followed one investor copying his investments and now my $100,000 is now $100,345.95.

Follow and copying investor is one of the best feature of eToro.  We all know that some people are master of their craft and so as some investor are masters of investing, they know it very well and they succeed. We as beginner can just sit to follow and copy and we'll just see it growing...hopefully.

My failed Investments.

In 2021 I invest about A$500 with Celsius. Celsius was another international cryptocurrency platform base in the USA, They went bankrupt but the good thing is they refunded the money to me and transferred it to another Cryptocurrency platform which is Coinbase. Because of this I have some Ethereum with Coinbase which is at the moment got higher value than it was A$500 in Celsius.

I do not have so much knowledge about investing that is why I am investing only the money I can afford to lost, and these are all my online investments tools here in Australia that I can access anytime anywhere in the world I am. It feels good looking at it on the app. It inspires me.