NatalieB

Hello All,

We are considering a move to Sydney, (we are in the very early stages), my husband has been offered sponsorship within the construction industry and their offices are based in Sydney CBD.

We are a family of 4 (my hubby, me and our 2 boys ages 11 and 12) + 2 doggies!

We currently live in a small semi rural village in Lincolnshire and love it! We both grew up in big cities so for our children to enjoy the freedom of village life is something we treasure.

I am wondering if anyone else has moved from a semi-rural location in the UK to a suburb around Sydney and if so, how have you / your children adjusted? Are there any quieter places to live within a reasonable drive of the city? We will obviously need to be near schools too.

I'm not looking for something similar to what we have now, I'm pretty sure that wont exist so different is fine, I'm just keen to see how people have settled and what 'different' they love and what 'different' they don't love!

I have been researching rental properties in different areas (using lots of threads in this forum for help in which areas to look at - thank you!) When I look at how much properties cost to buy most of them are auction (with no guide price) and the ones that aren't are soooo expensive!
Do expats tend to buy in and around Sydney or rent?
We would look to rent to start with but eventually I would like to buy - has anyone bought a property in a suburb within commuting distance of the CBD?

Apologies if these questions seem daft but I would really love to hear some first hand experiences / advice.

Thank you :-) Natalie

Beoz

In comparison to what? Rural Lincolnshire? Or another city like London?

I would take a step back first and work out how much you are going to earn. There's 5 million people in Sydney and there's a price to suit everyone's earnings obviously otherwise people wouldn't be able to live there.

If you haven't started the salary negotiation part then I would make sure you are well and truly on top of that first, then you can figure out what area you are likely to afford and focus in on that area.

Retirednow

Very well said

rammygirl

Sure people who don’t have millions own houses in Sydney, mainly because they bought or inherited them before prices went stupid!

As above, how much are the company offering both for re location (that in itself with kids and dogs will be expensive) and salary. Also check if the amount is before or after super, the compulsory pension payment.

Beoz

That's not true. We bought a free standing house within 10km of the city 4 years ago in Sydney at the top of the market at that point and we neither inherited anything nor earn millions.

If buying a house is the priority, it takes a little more research than looking at houses in the best areas on a website and doing an exchange rate calculation. You have to look at what you are earning, what you are prepared to part with a month, look at interest rates, interest only or full payment options, deposits, different areas. Its a bit more than blanket questions and answers.

rammygirl

I did say mainly……..could you still afford to buy your house at today’s prices though?

Beoz

Our repayments have decreased since we bought due to interest rate drops. They have dropped by a long way.

The biggest challenge for any buyer is the deposit. We had never owned before therefore had a sizable deposit at the time and avoided LMI at 20%.

To answer your question, could we avoid LMI today? If prices have increased by 20% - 30% since then, not with the same deposit, it would put us just under the 20% but LMI isn't the end of the world, it adds another cost to your repayments and is pro-rata'ed based on how far off your are of the 20% deposit, so I think the answer is yes, we could afford to buy, our repayments might be slightly more accounting for LMI repayments.

On top of that the other challenge for buyers today in Sydney at least is supply. No one is selling. Supply Is a killer.

quoll

Semi rural and the freedom of village life? Sydney will be about as diametrically opposite as you could find. I live in Canberra and can only hack Sydney for 2 days at a time at most and Canberra isnt really a place of rural isolation either even though most Sydneysiders would tell you it is bucolically boring.

Tom Sawyer

If you are looking for semi-rural, then the Camden and south area is probably the nearest you will find as a comparison. The drive into the CBD will be a minimum of 90 minutes in (normal) peak hour traffic. Nearest train station will be Campeltown, but no idea of train commute times, so have a look at Transport for NSW/Trains website.

Going further south is Wollondillyshire which covers Picton, Wilton and surrounds, but of course has a longer commute. I know people who live down that way and they can get to the airport in less than 60 minutes, but that is outside of peak traffic times. Be aware they did have some pretty big bushfires down that way not too long ago, and Camden and Wollondillyshire both have big housing and business developments going on and planned.

Helensburgh, Heathcote and heading down into Wollongong maybe another option to investigate. Big plus for that direction is it is on a train line, and close to the coast which makes it a bit cooler in summer than inland. 'Gong to CBD is about an hour on the train. It is also "protected" due to the Royal National Park which prevents development, but again bushfire risk.

We are in Woronora Heights/Engadine, which is nearly as far south as you can go whilst still remaining as part of the main Sydney conurbation, but it is not rural.

Once you have had a look at those areas and checked out buy/rental prices, see how that compares to your expected salary and factoring in shopping, bills and living expenses.

brits1

Hi Natalie, what sponsorship visa are they offering you....I am not being nosey.. honestly lol....just a thought if it's not permanent one (for now)....then I would just concentrate on what you could afford in a rental property....that will narrow your search down at little and then also the distance/time your husband will be willing to travel this should also help narrow your search and then if school age children, I would then (after maybe narrowing down area's from the first two suggestions) start to look at how good the school's are in the areas you maybe interested in. Good luck with everything hope all works out well x ps I have just travelled through Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk...it's a lovely part of the UK