ianandhelena

in Tas you could get this for $450,000+.

http://agents.realestate.com.au/cgi-...0&tot=56&t=res

or this for $500,000:

http://agents.realestate.com.au/cgi-...0&tot=56&t=res

TheSubMainMan

And that's the dilemma!

RatRace or Snails Pace?

I will have to stop by and visit the place. I can't be so narrow minded as not to give it a good looking over.

Thanks for the alternate lifestyle option.

possoms

LOL its like comparing Royston Vasey to Cannes

If you can afford Sydney mate go for it, its a fab place

StevenChez

I look at some of these homes from the outside and wonder whether I'd even bother entering the property, but then you take a look at the indoor photo's and it's a different world, something most of us would dream of having. Looks definitely deceive.

Jacque, what is Castle Hill like, which area is it in (I've looked at so many I'm fuddled and what's the location vs coast and amenities, transport links to cbd etc. Most importantly, what are the primary and secondary schools like there. I would have sent you a pm as usual, but you've such knowledge of the area it would help quite a few - I'm so generous with your knowledge

C.x

Jacque

No worries Chez Happy to help where I can.

Castle Hill, a well established and popular family suburb, has a median house price of $608K and is a mixture of both old and newer housing. It's known as the main centre of the Hills area, mainly due to it's proximity to the main business districts (Northwest and Castle Hill) and it's main shopping centre, Castle Towers. The biggest letdown is it's lack of public transport, as, although there are regular buses to the CBD, they haven't always been reliable in the past. Things are changing, however, and with community pressure, there are more services being put on this year and next. Further out, towards Rouse Hill (newer suburb further out) there has just been a T-Way buslink completed which is great for those who use the Parramatta rail to get to work.

There is also the option of driving to a nearby railway station (closest would be Beecroft or Pennant Hills) or driving. I've caught the bus several times over the years I've lived here, however, and have never found it a hassle at all. Cheaper than using the roads and paying all the tolls!

There have been plans in for many years now about a NorthWest rail link, but politicians being politicians, there's usually only positivity about this ever being completed around election time. Funny that

See this link for more information: http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/nwrl/

As you can see, the Castle Hill station won't be operational for another 10 yrs, and locals remain sceptical simply due to broken promises in the past by the NSW Dept of State Planning.

But, I digress....

Castle Hill is a lovely suburb and is most sought after by families who like space, nice homes and security. Most blocks are large (700sqm+) and there is plenty of open parkland and ovals etc for those of us who are sportsminded
It takes about 35-40mins to drive to a no. of Sydney's beaches, and about 30mins to drive into town on a weekend. Mind you, we prefer to drive and park at Parramatta and catch a ferry in or park and catch the train in. More fun for the kids

Schools abound around here, ranging from state to catholic to private. Nearby Parramatta have the well known boys Kings school and girls Tara school, whilst the Hills have Hills Grammar, Northholm Grammar, and quite a few "alternative" options, including the Rudolph Steiner school Lorien Novalis at nearby Glenhaven. Our children attend the local catholic schools, which we've been very happy with. Schooling is very much a personal thing, however, so it's up to you to investigate and work out what's best for your children. We also have a selective school (tested so only the very academically clever can attend) - don't know quite how it works in the UK but I'm sure you get my drift.

Anyway, hope this has helped. You can read more about the Hills area in general on this site: www.sydneyhills.com.au
Happy reading!!

chels

Have you got a jet propelled car, Jacque? We've only got a bog standard one, which must be why we've never come close to those times.

TheAshleys

As we spoke about, know the feeling. :curse:

Where we are looking, and renting now (Upper North Shore), $600k would buy you a either a unit, or a small house, in one of the worst roads, that needs complete refurbishment. We moved here having left a 500,000 GBP house in the UK, expecting to considerably downsize. In reality, the properties we have gone for are at least the same value at the current exchange rate, and in some cases even more ! We are completely amazed at prices, that said, our salaries are around double what we expected to achieve, and we could probably get more by moving companies now, so it's pretty much still in line with our disposable income expectations.

Jacque

Haha! Hardly
Travelling around the northside of Sydney so much as I do, for work, I've found numerous shortcuts and know exactly when to leave a merging lane and when not to

But, seriously, it took me 24 mins from Castle Hill last week to get to McMahons Point (just under Harbour Bridge) - yes it was 10am on a weekday, but still that is pretty impressive. The Lane Cove tunnel took a good 10mins off the trip, by my estimates.

Peak hour times are different, for sure, but being flexible with my inspection times, I can pretty much avoid them most of the time. Coming home at 5pm is far worse than going in at 8.30am, however. And I absolutely loathe Military Rd, at all hours of the day. It's a real bottleneck.

Fastest beach for us is the Manly group (though I prefer the peacefulness of the ones further up such as Avalon, Bilgola and Newport) and we've done it in 40mins a no. of times - it's usually 50mins on a weekend but when you're leaving home at 7.30am on a Sunday to get to Little Nippers training for the kids, you'd be surprised at how much less traffic there is on the roads!!

Where you are in the Inner West you have to fight the city traffic well and truly to get to the northern beaches- wouldn't you normally go to the East for fun and sun? I like Coogee myself, and we've gone there on many an occasion. They have a terrific park for the kids and the walk alongside is great as well.

Katherined0

You'd get a 3 bed in suburban North Ryde for around about that money or maybe slightly more. We like it here -- 40 mins on the bus (30 mins in the car -- but not in rush hour!) into central sydney. Good transport links, good shopping and about 1/2 hour drive to the beach.....

Jacque

I like the Ryde area, especially the Gladesville end, as it's only 9km to the city and is in a great position for amenities. I have an investment unit there and have never had any problems renting it out ever. You can buy an old fibro or weatherboard home in Gladesville for the $600K's but it's usually requiring extensive renovation or is considered a knockdown job.

chels

Maybe you should sell your shortcuts, you'd make a fortune (and probably lose any time advantages you had too after everyone discovers them!).

The Ashleys - like yourselves, I never expected a) housing to be so expensive and b) for it to be so difficult to find a house that meets even some of your requirements.

Of course I expected premier suburbs and houses to be out of my price range, but I never expected not to be able to afford a bog standard family sized home! The 3 bed house I grew up in is now starting to feel like it must have been massive, while my grandparents' freestanding house with a 0.5 acre garden must have been a mansion!

Oh well, the search continues. Today we actually saw a house that might be a possibility (in a north shore suburb we've never looked in before), enough that I may arrange an inspection and even contemplate bidding on it at the auction...

Ozzidoc

That's exciting!!!! Good luck with the search etc

Jacque

It can get depressing at times, I agree- especially when you think you can get a certain amount for your dollars and the photos on the web turn out to be far less than expected..... so much time wasted!

Good luck with the auction- fingers crossed for you

chels

Like the house we went to see today that was advertised on the property websites as being below our max limit - then the estate agent there tells us it has a price guide way above that! Oh well, we were looking at others in the area so it wasn't too terrible.

Keep those fingers crossed - we've got the searches first, already know about a damp problem, who knows what else could be wrong with it! As long as it's not a major problem though

Ozzidoc - yes, it does feel quite exciting knowing we've found somewhere we like and which could be in our price range!!!!!!!!!

iPom

It'll buy you a palace in the Blue Mountains...