smoggieswilltravel

Hi to you all.

This is a first time post so I apoligise for repeating any prior posts for the same information.

We would like any advice please on the Sydney suberbs please. We are a family of 4 with 2 girls 6 & 14yrs. We will initially rent and then hope to buy so need to rent in an area we can afford to buy in, so that we do not have to move childen out of schools again.

Rent wise would pay possibly pay $550-$600 per week and buy at a max of $600k.

We would like good schools a nice area, a village feel would be nice, not far from the beaches would be great but looking a bit pricey. OH will be working in CBD so would have to travel in but is used to commuting into London, a change from that would be nice.

Any information would be great, looking at a map is not really helping.

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers

Michelle

Josie1100

We are off to Sydney in November and are too looking at the different areas to move to. We have 2 children age 9 and 10.

hedgehog-girl

Well I think the Northern Beaches are out for you guys....Its great here with good schools, plenty for families to do but the housing is normally well over $700,000 for a 3-4 bedroomed house. You may find something over in the Eastern Suburbs or failing that going towards Thornleigh which I know of a couple of families who live there because of good house, good schools and ease of getting into the CBD.

I would take a good month out when you get here to visit lots of places to get an idea of where you would like to go.

NickyC

You won't get a house in the Eastern suburbs for $600k.

Try south around Sutherland way or Upper North Shore, north of Hornsby.

Jacque

Upper North Shore (Hornsby area) South (Sutherland shire) and Hills Districts all within your price range and have good family friendly suburbs with decent schools and great shopping centres/parks/community facilities.

I'm in the Hills and love it out here- I've lived in a no. of suburbs and still think Castle Hill area is a great one in which to raise a family, and despite the lack of a train line (which is in planning stages for the future) bus services are adequate enough for CBD transport. Only setback is the tolls, which add up if you're driving in every day. With the new Lane Cove tunnel recently opening, it has taken an entire 10mins off the trip and it only takes 25mins to now get to the Harbour Bridge from Castle Hill- not bad at all

Consider this great area and look at the following suburbs that will suit your price range and family: Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista, Glenhaven, Cherrybrook, West Pennant Hills ( a little pricier but also closer to the train line at nearby Beecroft) and Pennant Hills. Best to conduct a reccy trip, however, and make up your own mind. If you do venture to the Hills, however, please feel free to drop me a line and I'll point you in the right direction as far as "nicer" areas to live go!! Good luck!

Katherined0

Hi There.

We live in North Ryde and are very happy here. Beaches 30mins away (a harbour beach only 20) Good shops and while my kids arent at school yet the schools appear to be OK.....
On direct bus route into Sydney which takes about 40 mins and they're building a new train network due to open fairly soon which would help hubby's commute. We pay $375 for a 2 bed house with garden, garage, large kitchen etc. so you'd get something nice for your needs with the money you'll have available to rent...

smoggieswilltravel

Thanks for the info, we will make sure we check these ara's out as they definatly look like our price range.

Many thanks

smoggieswilltravel

Thanks for the imfo, so many area's to look at. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

binbird

Hi smoggieswilltravel

Look out for Sydney Ladies FTC meets when you get here! We meet on the first Tuesday of the month and get together during school holidays too. Hope to see you soon.

B

smoggieswilltravel

Hi

Thanks for the tip off. The seach goes on for where to live. What is Sutherland like, good or not so good?

Jacque

Check out this local council site for more info on the Sutherland area, or "The Shire" as it's commonly referred to by locals. And, no, it's not in any reference to the Lord of the Rings

http://www.sutherland.nsw.gov.au/ssc/home.nsf

spottydog

I live near Sutherland in the Shire (and personally I think the description of the hobbits and the shire at the start of Lord of the rings is pretty accurate ).

Sutherland Shire starts around 20kms south of Sydney. Its about 40 minutes on the train from the CBD and 40 to 60 minutes in a car (depending on how many red traffic lights you hit). The area is really green with most places a short drive from an absolutely huge sandy beach (Cronulla).

Trains to Sutherland are the most regular followed by Jannali then you get the trains to Waterfall which stops at Como and the stations on the Waterfall branch and Cronulla which stop at all stations on the Cronulla branch. If your station is Jannali or Sutherland then trains run at least every 15 minutes between around 5am and 1am. There is plenty of on street free parking at Jannali station (don't know about others as Jannali is my stop.

Suburbs around Como/Jannali/Sutherland include Oyster Bay, Bonnet Bay, Woronora & Kareela. On property websites check postcodes 2225 and 2226.

House prices (apart from Cronulla and deep waterfront) seem to start at around $500k for a 3 bed and $570k for a 4 bed. There are also a number of fibo's coming on the market for around the same price and vacant land is generally offered from $550k upwards. Some of the houses are starting to need a bit of TLC (aussies don't really seem to do DIY) but structurally most are fine.

The big shopping centre for the area is Westfield in Miranda but most the communities have varying levels of shops.

There is generally a good supply of restaurants but most the pubs aren't particularly good (we stick to drinking in Sydney).

I can't comment on schools as I don't have kids.