smallbeagle

Hi all,

I am a newbie here. Hubby just dropped a bombshell...we will be moving to Sydney soon. Work will be taking him to Chatswood. I am excited but also abit nervous. We have 2 children, 4.5 and 2.

He's shown me a map of Sydney. It looks like north shore will be our best bet. I have afew questions which hopefully will get us planning for our move.

1. How long does it take to apply for visa? He needs to be there early November
2. Are family clubs readily available there ? (for tennis, swimming, gym, fitness classes and dancing for adults and children) ? If so where are they on the north shore?
3. Schools: Any good schools in the area? Read somewhere we need to pay $4.5k if on temp visa. Ochh!
4. Nursery: Are they plenty? Probably secondary to question 3.
5. Do most schools have swimming? Guess we don't need swimming tuition for the kids then.
6. We would be renting first. Who should we use? The local newspaper?
7. Do they have holiday lets ? We could probably stay in one of those before looking to rent.
8. Properties to buy: Surfed the net for properties on the shore. They are huge and EXPENSIVE. In your opinion, which suburb is good for kids? Lots of playgrounds, friendly, easy to commute to Chatswood, have large land area?


Oh my god,,the list is getting quite long. Let me stop here and your replies are most appreciated!

Carkedit

Congratulations!! I LOVE the north shore..although I dont have any kids so I cant help you with most of your questions but until you get some more helpful answers have a look online at www.smh.com.au (Sydney morning herald) or try www.ljhooker.com.au (estate agent) Most places along the train line will be expensive

Milsons point (North Sydney) has a swimming pool (open air) which is situated practically under the bridge just incase you fancy a swim with a view.

I had a friend who lived in south sydney (Janelli) and it would take about 45mins-1hr on the train to st Leonards (just past north sydney) so it is possible to live south but personally I wouldnt want the commute! She had a house with swimming pool etc etc. I LOVED the central coast (bout 1hr north of sydney on train) great beaches (beware of rips on all beaches in oz..pleease..swim between the flags and all that) bit more chilled out etc.

I lived in Kirribilli which was perfect for me as I worked in North Sydney but unless you are rich beyond your dreams or plan to live in a unit then you probably wont be looking there!

Chatswood is pretty neat. 2 big shopping malls. Westfield is the biggest with all the general stuff, chatswood chase is smaller and the more exclusive shops (although thats slowly changing) has loads of shops outside on the streets too.

Joining an RSL like the bears club in north sydney might be an idea. I was a member there and for around $10 (was when I was last there) you get a years membership which also covers the gym, pool, sauna etc (unlimited use). Cheap food and drink too. Not sure how this works for kids (again..havent got any) but the gym is pretty good. I used to pay $80 a month for a gym till I was told about this place.

Anyway..anything I can help with just give me a shout!

JAJ

1. What kind of visa - temporary or permanent? If it's intended to be a permanent move, is the employer sponsoring for a permanent visa - if not, why not?

3. I suggest you make sure it's written into the contract that the *employer* pays the school fees if you are on a temporary visa. It's a good reason to fix the problem at source and go for a permanent visa.

Also make sure the employer is paying for full medical insurance if you are on a temporary visa (they are supposed to cover medical costs). You may be eligible for reciprocal Medicare coverage however this is limited and is *not* a substitute.

And if you plan to live in Australia long term you'll need a permanent visa. Without that, you'll have to go home sooner or later. There is no automatic PR for temporary visa holders - you will need to meet the requirements.

Jeremy

Carkedit

See...sensible answers will come your way :-)

Carkedit

ooh..if you get a holiday let before you get there, and then start looking for rentals, there are weekly free magazines (mosman weekly etc) that are full of houses for sale and also rental properties. We used to pick them up each week and look at the shocking way people decorate their houses and then try to sell them (the joys of being at work with a bit of spare time)

HeatherandTim

Do you want to be near to the beach? You could look at places like Killarney Heights, Forestville (near to swim centre in Killarney) Frenchs Forest, Beacon Hill. All good areas for families and only abot 10 mins to Chatwood and 10 mins to beach.

jjonboy

we live on the north shore at the moment. Chatswood is a great place to work but most of accommodation there is in new shiny apartment blocks not family houses.... would suggest for something realistic in price you look at upper north shore, wharoonga, waitara, hornsby sort of area, just 20 mins on regular trains to chatswood for hubby and excellent shopping/ family clubs as you describe in hornsby for you/ the kids. also Chatswood has very large chinese community.

answers in you order of asking!

1 :visas:- not my bag leave that to someone else
2. all these facilities availble in just about every suburb especially the affluent north shore
3. again most schools are good in line with a good demographic.
4. plentiful but often with waiting lists... govt has promised more places will be made available.
5. aussie kids generally can swim before they can write their name! no worries there. they will get taught at school.
6 renting look at www.realestate.com.au
7. yes holiday lets are available we used waldorf apartments. but there are plenty available
8. again for a compromise of affordability versus convenience i'd be looking at upper north shore or frenchs forest type area as others have mentioned. depends on how important public transport is to you

smallbeagle

Thank you everyone..... I am going to start working on it. Just hope that it won't take too long for visa to come through.

This is a wonderful site.

Once again, thank you,
Livvy

Carkedit

Just dont use the waldorf apartments in bondi..its pants!!