louise4

hey chels, which suburb are you looking at, we used to up in berowra. nice place, great for the kids.

louise

chels

Hi Louise

We're looking around the lower north shore - definately get more for your money there than in the eastern suburbs! Not so close to the beach, but there's lot of green space for OH to explore on his bike so that'll keep him happy, and lots of older houses to keep me happy

We've also booked flights to do a Brisbane reccie, as it would seem there are more job opportunities up there for me and the wages are similar, but the houses are cheaper. So a lot of things to think about over the next few weeks

suzimc

Hiya,

Just wondering what industry you are in... we have looked at the possibility of Brissie too, but the salaries were considerably lower for me (Marketing Manager)and husband (HR Director). I think the housing prices there are more likely to rise in value in the next couple of years so it would probably be a nice investment area!

hubbard

Quick question to any that are familiar with Sydney- what do you think of Glebe as a place to buy?? We are looking to buy a 2/3 bed terrace house and have a budget of around $850K, we were looking predominantly in Paddington before but have finally resigned ourselves to being out priced. So any thoughts on Glebe for a family of two with baby on the way, we both work in the CBD.

Thanks

iPom

I like Glebe very much... Geordie George lives there... perhaps you could ask her what she thinks of it?

Geordie George

As if by magic, the shop keeper appears.

iPom

OMG! I saw you'd replied and that very phrase came to my mind before I'd read the words!

Geordie George

Your budget would certainly get you something in Glebe. Perhaps not one of the four bedroom terraces with original features etc, but easily a 2/3 bedroom place.

Here are just my thoughts on the matter:

Glebe has a very laid back feel. There's a lot of alternative health/crystal/massage shops etc. A few of the character locals include the man who wears a tutu, the opera singer (he sings while walking) and the man who takes his pet rat for a walk on his shoulder. It's not a stuffy place.

It used to be the student area (Sydney Uni is close by), but that honour is now Newtown's, as the students can't afford to live here so much anymore.

It's quite a family-friendly area, I think (although Mr GG and I are child-free (iPom )). There's lots of prams around the place, and both primary and secondary schools. There are a few parks; Black Wattle Way park is particularly popular and also has free barbecues.

Glebe Point Road is the main drag - it runs from Broadway to Glebe Point. The Broadway end is the busier end, with more restaurants and cafes. Glebe Point end is close to the water and so more desirable (and expensive!).

It's got the usual smattering of restaurants (Indian, Thai, Nepalese, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese etc); there's more cafes than you can shake a stick at (Badde Manors is particularly renowned for it's veggie fare - excellent brekkie options, too); there's pubs (the Different Drummer is the best of a fairly disappointing bunch, although the Friend in Hand is also worth a look - make sure you look out for the crab racing on a Wednesday night). Oh, there's also a dog track and horse racing (trots).

Location wise, I think Glebe is fab (depending on where you are). For us, it's a 20 minute walk to the fish market (the second biggest in the world - first being in Tokyo), a 30 minute walk to Darling Harbour and a 40 minute walk to the CBD. It's only an hour's walk to Circular Quay (I walk everywhere!).

Transport is excellent - lots of buses (I've never waited more than 10 minutes, even on Sundays), but no train station. There's also the light rail (but that's expensive and doesn't really go anywhere).

Oh, and there's Glebe Markets on a Saturday morning (more alternative stuff, massage stands, cheap food, clothes, CDs); it can congest GPR a little, but is worth a look.

Eerrrrrrm. Think that's about it. It suits Mr GG and I perfectly, as we always feel in the thick of things (you can see Sydney Harbour Bridge from the top of our road and there are views of the city from lots of places). It's not cheap, but not prohibitively expensive. And it's a good mix of old and newer type buildings. But horses for courses - you might hate it.

Geordie George

Who doesn't love Mr Ben?!

iPom

I so wanted to be Mr Ben. It only ever came true in my imagination.

chels

Pretty similar to you actually - marketing communications, with a background in infrastructure / major projects; OH is in recruitment.

I thought salaries would be much lower in Brisbane, but there's only 5-10k in it and the cost of living would be much lower (ie our mortgage repayments would be less). So for me, it would be a good move, for OH we're not so sure, and he's the main earner these days (not sure when he shot past me in terms of earnings - probably when we came over here and he did brilliantly in his job, and I struggled to get a junior role on $40k less than what I was earning in the UK... oh well, it worked out fine in the end, just required a bit of a career change for me ). Hopefully we'll line up some interviews in Brisbane and I'll find out for definate...

suzimc

Spooky parallels there! My main focus is MarComms/Branding. What was your career change? I don't like the sound of a big drop in salary You will have to let me know how you get on... I think we will be arriving in early September so I am very interested to hear. Good luck!

chels

I was working in PR/public affairs back in the UK. I arrived here thinking my skills and experience would be welcomed with open arms only to find that my bulging contacts book impressed no one... I didn't have Australian contacts, so they weren't interested and weren't willing to hire me as a senior PR without them (even if I could quickly build them here). I couldn't afford a huge drop in salary to take a junior role, it was bad enough dropping a few rungs of the ladder when I did start working, to get that 'Australian experience', and managing projects that I would have been doing more than five years ago back in England.

Moving over to marcomms wasn't a huge career change, I started off in marketing years ago but never thought I'd go back to it. It's a bit behind England too, but never say that to an Australian!!

I worked my way back up the ladder in less than a year, although I'm still earning less than I was in the UK and if I'd stayed there I'd probably have moved up a level after 3 years in my last role. Oh well. I try to not look at the Guardian online's job section too often, otherwise I get a bit disheartened at what I could be doing - and earning in - England.

suzimc

That sounds pretty frustrating - but I suppose it is a cost of the lifestyle benefits and it's good to hear that your other half's career has thrived since you arrived there. We've been talking about giving Brisbane another look based on what you've said. We might as well at least checkout jobs there again. My hubby has a job waiting for him with his current emloyer in Sydney, but he would quite welcome a change too I think.

chels

Lifestyle benefits? Hmmmm. We both work longer hours over here, are struggling to find a house to buy within our budget (and luxuries like pools, rumpus rooms aren't very likely!), and spend less time outdoors than we did in England (mozzies like eating me too much).

The cost of living here is another reason for us considering Brisbane...