Alicia Alldis and Kate Richards are newcomers to Armidale and have been blown away by how friendly everyone’s been.

Mrs Alldis, originally from Melbourne, moved with her husband Michael, who is the head of Mary White College, and children Sienna, 5, and Jesse, 4, in January.

She and her business partner Alison Cox, who moved to Armidale in December, run a party planning business. 

“The main reason why I came to Armidale was to raise my children in the country,” Mrs Alldis said.

Ms Richards, who is originally from Newcastle, has been living in Armidale with her partner Allen Edwards for about 16 months. 

“I am a city girl who always believed she should live in the country,” she said.

The chamber’s executive officer Tracy Pendergast said the event would give newcomers such as Mrs Alldis and Ms Richards a starting point to settle into Armidale life.

“An event like this has been talked about for years,” she said. 

“A lot of people here come from somewhere else and are from different walks of life.

“The charm of Armidale is it is really country cosmopolitan.”

Ms Pendergast said two speakers had been confirmed for the event and would share their top tips for living in Armidale.

Among them is Peter Georkas from Hutchinson and Harlow real estate and Merilba Estate Wines’ Shaun Cassidy. 

She said the chamber also hoped Armidale Dumaresq mayor Laurie Bishop would attend to speak about his experiences as a tree-changer.

The visitors’ information centre was helping to put together information packs containing sites to see in the area for the newcomers. 

Ms Pendergast said any new arrivals, or newish who have arrived in the past two years, are highly encouraged to come along. 

However, she said everyone was welcomed to attend, even if they had lived in the city for 10 years.