School Principal and Teacher
“Moving to the Mudgee Region wasn’t just about a job opportunity. It was about our family and the best quality of life we can achieve, whilst maintaining our careers, enjoying our family time and being relatively close to family.”
The beauty of being a school teacher means that you have a great deal of choice when it comes to where you work in Australia (or beyond for that matter). So when it came to escaping Sydney, John and Nicole had the enviable position of being able to match John’s job search with that of a desirable location, and in Mudgee they believe they have found both.
Background
Life in the city has many benefits, however it can also be very demanding. There are more financial and professional obligations and a constant need to juggle both of these along with family and personal life.
Young families like the Carters found themselves racing from home, to day-care and work – constantly rushing, constantly worrying and constantly dreading the busy nature of a “normal” week in a working family. With the realisation that there is a better quality of life out there, they began to plan their escape from Sydney.
Both John and Nicole are teachers, which afforded them considerable options when looking to relocate for work, but first and foremost their decision to move was for their family and provide a quality of life for them all. Their goal was to find a place where they could raise their children (Annie, Pippa and Billy) happily and safely in a community that would embrace them as much as they would embrace the community.
Why Mudgee?
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Mudgee was already known to John and Nicole who had visited the region on their way to and from family. The appeal of the town was immediately obvious; the parks, tree-lined streets and beautiful vineyards and properties, as well as the town’s established neighbourhoods and history. So when Mudgee looked like it could provide John with the opportunity to undertake a prestigious job within its beautiful township, John and Nicole knew that this could be the perfect solution to their desire to escape the city.
Mudgee’s community is backed by great resources and infrastructure with all the benefits of a progressive town, but without the hustle, bustle and congestion of the city. Housing affordability is of major consequence and is a very attractive proposition for John and Nicole who are actively looking for a house to call their own. Additionally, Mudgee’s centrally located shopping centres, parks and schools, medical facilities, day-care centres and of course cafes and restaurants not only embellish their down-time, but also provide convenient living at their fingertips.
The Carters relish the increased family time with less travel time to and from work and appointments. Their lifestyle is more relaxed and they have found the local community warm and welcoming with requests for play dates for the kids and social gatherings as a family.
Work life balance
After living and working in large schools in Sydney, where sometimes connections with the greater school community in and outside school could be difficult, it has been refreshing for John to feel the direct connection to the Mudgee community in his role as Principal at Mudgee Public School.
The ability to meet all of the kids and to get to know them, their parents and sometimes their extended family personally, is both rewarding and beneficial to the schooling relationships that are built between teacher, principal, student and families.
A work life balance is something that has also proven to be very achievable in Mudgee. John now has more time at home with Nicole, Annie, Pippa and Billy, owing to near zero commute times that is something almost unheard of in Sydney. This means there is more time to take the kids to the pool, skate park and any number of the beautiful and fun playgrounds in the region.
Looking well into the future John and Nicole also appreciate the diversity that the community has to offer and even the job opportunities that could become available to their children, either as after school pocket money earners or future career prospects.
mUDGEE pUBLIC sCHOOL
Mudgee Public School was the 52nd school established in New South Wales and it has been providing quality education to the local community since 1855.
With outstanding and varied programs on offer to the children at Mudgee Public, including extensive academic, sports and arts programs, the school cares for and encourages children to achieve their personal best.
With access to technology in every classroom as well as an outstanding Special Education Unit, Mudgee Public caters for children who have a wide variety of learning needs.
