'Beautiful, quiet and easy': Why well-heeled Sydney buyers are making the switch to Port Macquarie

After the frenetic pace of a race track, there’s nothing Andrew Miedecke likes better than coming home to “beautiful, quiet and easy” Port Macquarie.

The racing car driver and owner of the local Ford and Mercedes Benz dealerships moved up the coast from Sydney in 1980 with a plan to build his dealership over 10 years then sell up and move back to the big smoke.

Nearly 40 years later, Miedecke says he has no plans to move anywhere.

“I really like the weather here,” he says. “I’ve just been in Brisbane, where it’s too hot and now I’m in Melbourne, where it’s too cold. Port Macquarie’s climate is just right!”

Miedecke says it’s also quick and easy to get around town or to connect with nature. “Everything about Port Macquarie is very easy,” he says. “Even though I’m in the car industry, I love the fact that I spend less time in the car
and more time at the beach, the movies, or a restaurant. And we’ve got the hinterland behind us with great national parks where you can ride motorbikes.”

Fab food and culture

The town lays claim to a hatted restaurant, The Stunned Mullet, which boasts a gorgeous outlook over Town Beach. It’s also home to what Miedecke describes as one of the best small theatres in the state at The Glasshouse cultural centre, which is also currently hosting the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

“You can get your culture fix, plus we’ve got all the sports, good schools, a teaching hospital and a university,” says Miedecke.

Among the fastest growing regions in NSW with a population exceeding 80,000, Port Macquarie was once a haven for retirees but is now attracting what Percival Property agent Di Calder describes as “young entrepreneurial folk”.

“They’re setting up businesses and opening restaurants,” she says.

Waterfront lifestyle

Calder says there has been good activity at the high end of the market, most recently with the sale of 41 Harbourside Crescent, a luxury waterfront home that sold for $2.1 million in November. She says the sale has lifted the benchmark for other property in the area, and Port Macquarie is fortunate to have excellent access to beach and river frontage.

“In most towns, you have to go out of your way to get a view, but here you drive along the coastline, and there are views everywhere.”

She says the friendliness of the locals is also a big drawcard.

“What’s special about the town for me is that it’s still small enough to encourage that friendly interaction between folk.”

Top home in the area

Claiming a north-facing riverfront block, this architect-designed home comes with floor-to-ceiling glass that makes the most of the views.

Finishes include cedar, spotted gum and travertine, with Miele appliances in the kitchen. Outside, manicured gardens wrap around a 15-metre lap pool.

Percival Property have set a price guide of $2.39 million.