Friwis

We are moving to Sydney at the end of this year and have been looking at where we should try and settle. We can stay with my brother in Sutherland for as long as we want when we arrive, but we want to settle somewhere as quick as poss. so that our son can start the new school year. As neither of us have jobs to go to (yet !!!), we were looking at somewhere not too far out from the city centre and well served by public transport. The St. George area looked like it might fit the bill. Any info anyone might have about living in that area, house prices, schools, parts to avoid etc. will be gratefully received !! Thanks in advance.

JAJ

If being public transport is important to you then make sure you are close to a Cityrail station - bus transport to the city will take a lot longer. I would recommend obtaining at least one car for the family fairly quickly after arrival.

Jeremy

Friwis

Thanks for that JAJ - yup, vehicle at the very top of the "to buy" list when we arrive.

NickyC

Some suburbs in the St George area are OK - mainly the ones near the water along the Georges River or Botany Bay. It's a flattish area and parts of it are pretty unexciting. The area was originally developed in the 1930's/1940's but a lot of the original houses have been demolished and have been replaced with that strange style of 'Mediterranean' house built by european migrants. You see a lot of Greek columns and concrete front gardens in some streets, particularly around Hurstville.

I'd avoid the suburbs along the Princes Highway like Arncliffe/Kogarah/Rockdale. They have a lot of new apartment blocks clustered around the train stations. I'd also steer clear of Hurstville (main shopping centre) and Brighton (too many hoons there).

The nicer areas are south of Brighton on Botany Bay and along the river.