neighbour

Dianna Menegazzo : Shellharbour

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
I moved to the Illawarra when I was 15 – I have lived in the Illawarra for over half my life and I feel like we have always been here.

What brought you to the area?
My family moved here after having travelled to the gorgeous Illawarra on every holiday and weekend. It was destined – we couldn’t stay away! I love the amazing community and the range of cultural events on offer. We have a great little community of artists and creatives that are so engaged with the community. I’m the founder of Creative Culture Workshops, and I love seeing the regular faces who come along – it’s really cool to be able to spend a bit of time enjoying a cocktail and learning something new. The community has really supported Creative Culture Workshops through the changes that we have made to business recently and we just the love them for it.

Ideal start to the day?
You can’t start the day right without a cup of tea, it’s my favourite daily ritual. My current obsession is the stunning blends from Nourish and Nest – another local gem!

Alessandro Ioppolo – but you can call me Sandro : Bellambi

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
Born and bred here, but spent six years travelling and working overseas. I moved back five years ago.

What brought you to the area?
I grew up here, but after spending six years away, I came back to the Illawarra for the lifestyle. Living in Europe was amazing for the travel and the people I got to meet, but once kids came along, I found myself wanting to swap the grey clouds and rain (I last lived in Glasgow) for the laid-back, outdoor life in Wollongong. The opportunities for work/life balance were a huge drawcard, too. Since moving back, I worked for a local accounting business five minutes from home and now run my own business, Quest Accounting and Financial Services, with zero commute. I get to work with clients big and small, across a range of industries, and also have time for family, friends and the outdoors.

Ideal start to the day?
My ideal start to the day would be a long bike ride with my triathlon mates followed by meeting my girls (I have three of them) for a swim at Bulli. We love bike riding, swimming, camping – and are lucky enough to have this ideal start to the day often.

Diana Ioppolo : Balgownie

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
Most of my life, apart from a 10-ish year stint in Sydney.

What brought you to the area?
The parents first time around. Second time around was my first child. I loved living in Sydney, but when I thought about raising her, I really wanted her to have the experience I had growing up here. The beaches, the lack of traffic, the connectedness between people – it was a great experience that I didn’t fully appreciate until I moved away. The natural beauty never gets old, and I think it will always be what I love most about living here. I also love that it’s allowed me to start my own copywriting and marketing consulting business, Ignite Content. Without the financial pressures of living in Sydney, I could explore something I’ve always wanted to do while also having the time to spend with my little people.

Ideal start to the day?
It would start after a full nights’ uninterrupted sleep (I can dream). Waking up to no alarm. Finding perfect autumn weather in the morning. Going for a walk by myself on the beach. Not having to rush back. An answer I suspect almost every parent with any kid under five will give, right?

David Bottin : Mount Keira

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
All my life – 40 years.

What brought you to the area?
I grew up in Towradgi, but fell in love with Mount Keira as a kid when we’d go bushwalking. Living at Mount Keira surrounded by endless nature, while being only five minutes’ drive from the Wollongong CBD is paradise. I started Lost Wollongong in May 2013 while looking around Facebook at the growing number of local history group pages. I noticed there was nothing covering the Illawarra, so a mate and I decided to create our own. Since then my love for the area has only grown stronger. Over the last eight years our Facebook group and page has grown to 30,000 members and followers respectively, and our Instagram 10,000, plus our popular website. The group contains well over 30,000 historic images of the Illawarra from private and public collections. I’ve always been a history buff so looking at images and hearing stories from the Illawarra’s past is so interesting. And it seems to be something the community loves too.

Ideal start to the day?
I’m a morning person, but if I’m not working it’s usually a bit of a sleep-in and taking my dogs for a walk around the many great trails in Mount Keira.

Erika Goines, Emma Smith & Liam O'Brien (l-R): West Wollongong

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
Erika: One year and two months.
Emma: Since February 2019.
Liam: Just over two years now.

What brought you to the area?
Erika: I moved to the Illawarra from Coffs Harbour to study at the University of Wollongong as it was the best uni by the beach.
Emma: My older sister moved to Wollongong to study five years ago and I used to come to visit her in my school holidays. I instantly fell in love with the laid-back beach lifestyle here, and knew this was where I wanted to live. After I finished year 12 I got an offer to study my dream course of journalism at UOW, so I packed up my country life in Young NSW, and made the big move to Wollongong.
Liam: I moved from the Blue Mountains to study medical health science full-time at UOW and haven’t looked back!

Ideal start to the day?
Erika: A sunrise surf at East Corrimal and a takeaway coffee!
Emma: A sleep-in, followed by a late cafe brunch and walk by the beach, while listening to a podcast.
Liam: I like to start my days with a shot of caffeine and a hug from our labrador, Ruby.

Andy Smith : Tarrawanna

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
My wife, Sam, and I moved here from Bondi Junction in Sydney in 2009.

What brought you to the area?
We wanted a different kind of lifestyle to what Sydney could offer. We wanted space, loved the beach and wanted to start a family. Sam grew up in Kiama and I grew up in The Shire and also lived in Fairy Meadow while studying ay UOW so we knew the area and found the slower pace of life and friendly people a real drawcard. We came across Tarrawanna and loved how quiet it was – little houses on big blocks, with creeks running through backyards. We fell in love with the space and the trees. I’m a high school science teacher in Wollongong, Sam runs the Learning Lab school holiday program at UOW and our kids, Gwen, seven, and Mack, nine, go to school nearby. Tarrawanna is a great central spot for us and I get to ride my bike to work each day – even on a bad day it’s still an awesome way to start the morning!

Ideal start to the day?
With two kids and a dog, we love when we can all manage to get outside. If the weather is good, East Corrimal Beach is our go-to – surfboards in tow, space for our dog Stewie to run. Perfect! It’s our favourite way to start the day together.

Dave O’Keefe : Coledale

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
I moved from Sydney to Albion Park in 2000 and then Coledale in 2002.

What brought you to the area?
I was born in Pyrmont, but grew up and lived in a number of places throughout western Sydney including Penrith and Greystanes for most of my life. In 2000, I moved to Albion Park to live with my son and one week later I met my current partner, Margaret, who lived in Austinmer at the time. In 2004, Margaret and I bought our home in Coledale where we currently live. I spent 50 years working as a carpet and vinyl layer and also a first-grade referee for the NRL. I refereed over 400 games of footy from 1982-1997! These days I’m retired so it’s lawn bowls at Thirroul Bowling Club and taking my dog Bruce out for adventures in the area.

Ideal start to the day?
Most mornings we grab a coffee from Earth Walker and head to Little Austi beach where Bruce can play. If it’s raining, Bruce and I go window shopping in Thirroul to stretch our legs. It’s a fantastic area to live; we’re really happy here.

Ann Hollifield : West Wollongong

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
We just celebrated 10 years in Australia (and the Illawarra) in June.

What brought you to the area?
I am originally from Vancouver, Canada but was living in Edmonton, Calgary with my husband Patrick and our three kids while he completed his PhD at the University of Alberta. Patrick’s supervisor was Australian and told him about a job going at the University of Wollongong. We had never even heard of Wollongong but liked the idea of being somewhere new and had heard it was close to Sydney but more family oriented. I remember when I arrived here, one of the first things I did was take the kids on the free bus around Wollongong. As it pulled into North Wollongong I’ll never forget looking up the coastline and my mouth literally dropped open. I remember thinking it looked like something out of a magazine. 10 years later and I still can’t believe that we live somewhere like this! We feel connected to the community here. I now work at UOW and volunteer with the Honk Festival and as the Regional Manager for Primary Ethics in Wollongong which is a great organisation that rolls out ethics classes for primary kids throughout NSW. Volunteering has allowed me to meet lots of new people and have a strong sense of community which is really important when you live a long way from your family.

Ideal start to the day?
My husband and I love going bushwalking. Now that the kids are grown up we don’t need to talk them into coming with us! I love walking through the National Park, there are some beautiful Aboriginal engravings near Jibbon Beach in Bundeena, which is one of my favourite spots to visit.

James McCoy : Thirroul

How long have you lived in the Illawarra?
We moved here in July 2018.

What brought you to the area?
I grew up in Manchester, UK, and moved to Australia in 2009. I landed in Sydney and lived in Bondi for nine years where I met my wife Emma and we had our three kids: Drew, Jack (six-year-old twins) and Harvey (four years old).

A couple of years ago we took a family holiday to go camping in Coledale and fell in love with the area and the landscape: the escarpment and the sea was really breathtaking. The area presented a better quality of life for us as a family – not having to live in an apartment with three kids was a big bonus! We started researching the area and looked into what part of the Illawarra might suit us best and we settled on Thirroul. We love it here, having our own house and yard also meant we could finally get another dog! I was volunteering at Wollongong Animal Rescue Network when I met our lovely pup Chloe so now we feel right at home.

Ideal start to the day?
Waking up, having a coffee and heading to the dog beach with Chloe and then back home for breakfast with the family. Followed by a relaxing day at home, kids playing in the backyard and lots of friends around.