Scimum

Hi there

I'm a newbie, moving to Sydney at the end of December with my husband and 3 boys aged 8,6 and 2. We're currently looking at places to stay - preferably near the beach - and considering the Eastern Suburbs or North Shore. It's so hard to get an idea about areas before we move out! One of the things that puts me off potential areas is whether we can walk or have to drive for basic shopping.

For example Bronte looks like a lovely area with a beach, a park and a good public primary school but I read somewhere that you have to drive to get bread and milk. Is this true? I can't find a Coles or a Woolworths nearby but surely there will be smaller shops selling basic groceries? If not, this would definitely put me off the area, no matter how lovely the beach is.

Also, opinions are welcomed regarding this area, other Eastern Suburbs or North Shore suburbs near the beach.

Thanks

Sherlock Holmes

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Jon77

I would take a look at Balmoral Beach, it is an inner harbour beach meaning it is sheltered and calm for most of the time and great for swimming and families. It is also located in a very nice area indeed and close to shops on the Military Road which runs from the lower North Shore out towards Manly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balmoral,_New_South_Wales

http://www.pleasetakemeto.com/austra...ch/information

NickyC

I lived in Bronte for many years when my kids were small. It's lovely there - you can't go wrong.

It's true that there are no large shopping centres in Bronte but you can buy bread and milk all over the place. There are plenty of corner shops dotted about in the residential streets. There's certainly no need to get in your car every time you need some.

If you're on the south side of Bronte there are some local shops in Macpherson Street and on the north side of Bronte you're very close to Bondi Road which has loads of small shops including the very good (but smallish) Kemeny's supermarket.

The closest large shopping centre is the amazing Bondi Junction which is only about a five-minute drive away. It has 2 Coles and a Woolworths supermarket (plus every other type of shop in existence).

You definitely should not be put off living in Bronte due to lack of shops in the vicinity!