go-oz

Hi everyone!
We are a family of 4 moving to Sydney. We have a 6 YO girl who needs to attend school meaning we have to figure out where we'd like to settle and find a nice school for her as quick as possible. Now the biggie:

• what are nice areas to live with young kids (her brother is nearly 3)?
• where can we find a nice, small public school with a personal approach?

We are looking for an area with a nice village feel, some opportunity for shopping and having a nice coffee. Not too far from CBD and beach/nature and of course somewhat affordable...

Anybody already in Sydney who found 'the place to be' with a nice school? It would be greatly appreciated if you'd like to share and maybe point the way a little bit.
Thanks ever so much!!

Tubbs2Oz

I love Berowra / Berowra Heights. It's definitely got a village feel, you always bump into people you know at the shops. Schools are great and it's nice and green with lots of bush walks around. My six year old is in year 1 at one of the local public schools and my 4 year old will go next year, he's been at a daycare/preschool locally and loving that. It's not amazingly close to the CBD, but commutable by train 45/50 mins and a similar time to drive to the beach. Have a Google and see, but feel free to send me a message if you want to know more. It is a bit cheaper as we're further out, but still not amazingly cheap. A 3 bed house for rent is averaging around $500/week at the moment and if you're lucky you can buy one just under $600k.

LittleKittyCat

Sutherland Shire is nice in the south of Sydney. We are 50 mins drive from the CBD, have lovely beaches and good schools.

go-oz

Is Oatley part of Sutherland Shire? If so, can you tell me anything about Oatley? Shops, schools, etc. Do you have any advice on where NOT to go??
Thanks heaps for your time!!

Azzy

I think the Northern beaches would be a great place to look. It can get very very expensive and it is a bit of a difficult commute into the centre of the city which is about an hour drive when there is no traffic! (there is no train line).
But it is the most beautiful place, very family orientated, good schools and very much has a 'small town' feel. As a place it is a lot like how Brits view Australia (before they get here!!). Laid-back, beachy and pretty.

However, the real estate prices and commute isn't for the faint hearted.

Other than the there I would suggest somewhere like Randwick or Erskinville/Alexandria. They are family orientated whilst being really close to the city. Fairly affordable- for Sydney and the schools are great. I know some kids at Erskinville Primary school and the whole school seems lovely.

Problem is you have to sell your soul to afford the best suburbs!!

Bermudashorts

I live in northern beaches, it is certainly expensive but personally I find the journey into the city a breeze. It is about 35 minutes in no traffic (from Collaroy) an hour on a bad day at a bad time of day on a bus that is ... of course the northern beaches extends over quite a large area.

paddyo

Sydney is massive!! Everyone will tell you they live in a good spot, because it is good for them and quite rightly so. But its down to what you want, how you perceive things and how neighbourly you actually want to be.
Public schools are good on the whole, yes some areas you do NOT want to go to but again it depends on what demographic you feel comfortable with. Multi cultural communities abound in Sydney so have a good look at what culture you would be comfortable with.
Of the places mentioned;
Berowra is ok but too far out for 'close' to CBD and beaches but is close to nature hence it is cheap. Oh, and hilly!!
Sutherland Shire is ok as well and you can get close to beaches if you go towards Cronulla, has good train lines into CBD and prices are reasonable.
Northern Beaches was great when I lived there, as another poster said its what a lot of UK people 'think' is Australia and there is quite a big ex UK community there. No trains but good Ferries to the CBD. Houses are expensive to rent and effing expensive to buy!!

Are you Permanent or Temporary and are you buying or renting? If Temporary, you will have to pay $4500 per annum for public schooling unless you can get into a catholic school, they still charge fees but a lot less than the NSW government.
If buying, Sydney has extremely high cost of housing so look very carefully around, if its cheap then there is always a reason; people/transport/logistics etc.
Have a look at the Hills district, bit far from CBD and beaches and can be a pain commuting but is getting better. House prices there is reasonable and some very good schools. I have not lived there but colleagues seem to do ok with it.
Where will you/OH be working? That will be the biggest factor obviously due to the commute involved. Lots of trains and buses and they are cheap, can be a bit overcrowded during peak hours but nothing new there. People do travel quite far here and some of my colleagues live up past Gosford and our office is in Woolloomooloo!!! I have just moved from the Northern Beaches of Sydney to the Northern Beaches of Wollonggong and my commute has gone from 45 mins to 1hr 30...still doable and the fact I can work from home lessens the pain of the commute. We moved down here for a couple of reasons, the main was to live in a beach town where we could afford to buy a nice house and secondly was so that my wife would not have to work and would enjoy the community more. Success so far!!

Fluid36

I would recommend Mosman. I also like parts of Bondi, Rose Bay and Vaucluse. Any of these areas should fit the bill.

paddyo

lol....so would I....if you have the budget!! All are predominantly caucasian wealthy neighbourhoods.

Fluid36

Yeah not cheap I guess but there was not budget mentioned

paddyo

I love those suburbs, we lived in Manly initially and it cost us $750pw for a 2 bed unit. Stunning views though and was in excellent condition.
We then moved to Seaforth and got a 4 bed house for $725, big but old.
Now in Bulli and got 3 bed house for $520pw and absolutely gorgeous views of the ocean and the escarpment.

I think the OP did mention 'somewhat affordable' so it does leave it open!

Bermudashorts

Sounds tempting ... not sure about the commute yet. What is it like, i.e. crowded, reliable? I love my bus ride to work at the moment. I don't like the bus stop bedlam in the CBD in the evening though.

go-oz

Thanks for all the comments.
We have a PR-visa, will be renting the first year (or two). Work is in CBD, right in the middle I'm guessing we will be buying in the area we rent (providing we like it there) because of schools. But that's all assuming many things that can't really be planned ahead...

We've lived in Wollongong in 2007-2008. It's a beautiful area, but was a long commute to Sydney CBD + parking was a problem. Thought Bulli would be better, but reading 1 1/2 hours... oy! Are you travelling by train, paddyo?? Have been looking at Oatley (anybody know anything about Oatley???), Thirroul, Pennant Hills (no idea why, but seems a little more historic and villagy?), Beecroft, Frenchs Forest (heard good things about that, but seems to be occupied by older crowd??). Love (and that's an understatement) Northern beaches (ooooooh, Avalon!), can afford rent, but can't afford to buy, unless I give up a kidney (or two)...

Anyone else, what's it really like where you live? Can you do all your shopping in the area? Can you walk your kids to school? Can you spend time in the village and feel entertained to some agree? What area has the farm-cottages? What's the commute like? What's the community like? Do you recognize faces in the street? How is school? Can the kids have a safe play in the street?
I like swapping tomatoes over the fence, but I don't like my neighbor keeping track...

rozellem

Everybody I know in FForest have young kids and/or are 30/40ish year old professionals. They love it. Properties seem to be bigger than right up close to the city and the schools seem to be good too. We are renting in the Inner West, but it looks like sadly we will be priced out of the market here. I am now looking at FForest as a place to buy, so I would not dismiss it if I was you.

Azzy

I know you said you wanted to rent first, but regardless of the suburb you choose to move into, now is a great time to look at buying. Prices haven't been this reasonable in years and whilst a certain house may have a listed price being quite a bit over the budget, you may just be able to negotiate it down to a reasonable amount before it market jumps back up again in 12 months and then you could be priced out of the market.

I would also suggest looking around St Ives. Got that lovely leafy, upper-middle class vibe and full of families. Although it is a bit further to the beach, it is definitely do-able to get to on the weekends.

I have spent time in numerous suburbs around Sydney (working, seeing friends etc) and I always think the Avalon, Palm Beach, Clareville area is the the nicest for families. The good thing is that because of the downturn in the property market people are selling perfectly good homes for up to 30% less than the asking price! That might only mean selling a chunk of your left kidney