Just done a reccie to Dee Why and thinking about making it our base. I have three kids under 8 years old and there seems so much for them to do.

Manly is nice but expensive for property and has a definite touristy feel to it.

Does anyone have any advice / background on Dee Why having lived there..ie schools, facilities, are the locals friendly enough , crime etc..

We visited Dee Why and Cromer Schools. We liked Cromer Primary the best.

We are thinking of renting when we move over in May this year. Do rental prices come down any with it being winter time ? Is there more availability at this time?

Thanks

Hello

I remeber when I was little living in Manly, I went to Manly Vale School, such a long time ago!!! I am wating for a reply from my dad as regards dee why, all I can remeber is happy memories!!!!!!

My husband and I are now looking to move back and I cant think of a better place!!!

Donna

Hello Dee Why is one of the areas that we are considering along with Narrabeen and Harbord. My brother in law has lived in both Harbord and Dee Why He does prefer Harbord out of the two. I have never been but the other half has and he thinks there isn't a lot in it, he visited them when they were living in both Harbord then Dee Why, but obviously he has only a visiting view not one thats lived in. I on the other hand having not visited but done a little home work, have fallen in love with Narrabeen we have two children and in laws dont have any yet, so i am looking for somewhere thats best for us as a family. Would love to know other peeps thoughts on these areas.

Hiya

We have three kids under 8 too and have been in this area since November. The girls go to Narrabeen North Primary - only about 300 pupils which was what appealed to me as many of the schools in this area are much larger. People are friendly - you just have to make the effort but I would say that we have got 4-5 good friendships already (aussie families) and are friendly with quite a few expats that we have met too (through this forum of course!) We are lucky enough to have family here too (in Manly and Queenscliff)

We found that for a decent house large enough for our family you are looking at a minimum of $550 plus a week and I wouldn't expect the prices to change depending on the time of year. All of the suburbs have so much to offer in the way of clubs etc that wherever you choose you won't be short of things to keep you all occupied! We chose Warriewood as it has a real country feel whereas Dee Why to me felt more towny (what did I expect - we are in the state capital!) It's all a matter of personal preference but i can definitely say that the general area has lots to offer and we have found it very easy to settle here.

Good luck to anybody heading in this direction and maybe we'll get to meet up one day. . . .

Binbird

Did you explore any of the other northern beaches suburbs?
I don't think I'm the only one who doesn't rate DY highly, especially when there are so many nice suburbs near by.
I'm not saying you won't be happy there, I know a few people who enjoy living there. In fact if I had a choice of the UK or DY, I'd pick DY. But, it's so spoilt when compared to the alternatives imo. Rows and rows of units, busy main road and more than it's fair share of problems.

If you're thinking of buying, then it's probably the most affordable beach side suburb in the area. You are wise to rent first, give it 6 months then see what you think. Rents can be negotiated in the winter, it's usually the summer months when the 'blow-ins' take everything going so they can sleep and surf.

If I were you , I'd also consider Harbord or Narrabeen as alternatives to name just 2.

Hello its great to actually have a chance to get some advise from someone thats in the surrounding area that we are considering. Narrabeen North is also the school that i preferred, my children are 7 and 11 so are in years 3 and 6 over here we have looked at there website and it looks like a great school. We hope to be over by May (fingers crossed). Binbird how long have you been there, did it take long for the kids to settle well at the school, and has the school got many after school activities. I know on the web site it says it does, but so does there school web site here in the UK and I'm afraid it doesn't do an awful lot of what it actually says. (Sorry to bombard you there).

Thanks

Hi Jayney

My two oldest girls started at the school mid November in year 2 and kindy. The one in kindy settled immediately but she is very easy going, the one in year 2 took a little more time but she is quite shy. However, she has made good friends now and is very happy (and is costing me a fortune as she has been to three birthday parties already this year!). Our youngest only started this year and loves it already!

To be honest, we haven't looked into after school activities as there are activities of every type imagineable on your doorstep (plus the draw of the sea!) Our girls have swimming lessons on a Monday in Terrey Hills, go to physical culture classes (a cross between gymnastics and modern dance) on a Tuesday in Warriewood and the oldest goes to art classes on a Thursday in Newport. I know that the school offers drama, instrument tuition / band practice, and that there is after school care and there is probably a lot more on offer that I still do not know about but I am reluctant to build anything else into our schedule or I shall resemble the headless chicken that I was in the months prior to leaving the UK!

I believe that the catchment area for the school is Narrabeen, Warriewood and Elanora Heights but I do not know how strictly they enforce this. If there is anything else that you think I may be able to help with just give me a shout. . .

Binbird

Thanks for the insight very much appreciated. Hopefully wont be to long and we will be able to sample it for ourselves.

I worked in Dee Why for about 6 months a few years ago. I worked for Roche Products and had to share the bus with a lot of kids on their way to the local school and they were really well mannered.

I liked DY a lot, and even had my first encounter with a Red Back there and it didn't put me off.

Thanks

We are used to a bit of hustle and bussle and Dee Why seemed to have that, We liked the look of Cromer as a far as housing goes. I was hoping we may have got something nearer the $500 a week mark in winter. I would need to commute to the CBD and any further up would not make that any easier. Narrabeen is just up past collaroy where we spent 8 days. Really enjoyed our time there but too far to commute.The way I look at it is that it has plenty of shops and it is only 10 mins in the car to get to Manly or further up the Northern Beaches. Harbord we did not look at purely for commuting purposes.

You indicated early that it had it's fair share of problems. Can you elaborate a bit more on that part.

Thanks

I was chatting to hubby last night about this thread and he reminded me of two conversations we have had with people about Dee Why - an english couple who bought a house there a few years ago but now rent it out and live elsewhere as since they have started a family they thought it wasn't the best place to raise children. And, our neighbour two doors down (an aussie) - he was out with hubby just the other day and driving through Dee Why he said that he wouldn't want to live there as it's become quite rough, particularly night time activity - violence, noise and hoons.

It's like buying a house really - you should check out suburbs at all times of the day.

Binbird

The Church of England (Anglican here) church we go to is in Dee Why although we live inland from the coast a bit. The area seems friendly. The sea front is pleasant but I think the top end near the main road is horrible. There is a plan to re-develop. This is only hearsay but a friend who lives in Dee Why sends her child to Beacon Hill because the kids at Dee will "eat her son". Not quite sure what that meant. There is probably less of a community feel there because there is a lot of rentals and a high turn over of people coming and going. Also there are a lot of flats which is unusual for a suburb. But I think it looks a fun sort of place. Good luck.

Sorry for the delay in reply, my adsl connection has been down for a week now and I'm spending all my time waiting in a queue for the helpdesk.
Aaaarrrrrrrgghhh!!!! Had to let that out.

By fair share of problems, I may be judging a book by it's cover although the preceeding two replies might indicate not.
Firstly DY is crowded. Just about every block contains apartment blocks. there doesn't seem to be any open space within the residential areas.
Secondly there does seem to be a higher rate of crime if you go by the reports in the local rag (Manly Daily).
Thirdly, traffic. Probably an over exaggeration but the main road from the top end of DY down to the garages at Brookvale can seem to take forever with the traffic and so many sets of lights. We taken to calling it Dee Lay, as that is what it represents to our commute.

I may be doing the place an injustice, but I know that I'd choose any other Northern Beaches suburb over DY.

Thanks for being so honest..

I live in the east end of Glasgow and as far as crime and drugs go it is a daily part of life. You get used to it. It makes DY sound like a holiday camp.What I liked about DY is that it has loads of shops , a nice beach, you are not far from Manly for a night out but you dont have to pay Manly prices for property. Yes there are loads of units but we would be looking for houses in the Cromer , Narraweena , Harbord areas but would use DY for all amenities such as banking , shopping etc..It has a bit of hustle and bustle to it whereas other areas are quiet in comparison. You are only 10 mins to quieter areas such as Narrabeen and Collaroy and 30 mins to Bobbin Head. We need to be near Pittwater Rd as I need to commute to CBD on a daily basis.

What areas would you recommend for a family (3 kids), I dont want to jump into things and regret at a later date..

Thanks again

We have three kids too (as I probably said before!). Having chosen the Northern Beaches as the area that we wanted to settle, the suburbs we looked at were Cromer, Beacon Hill, Forestville, Warriewood and Mona Vale. Two of our kids were of school age when we moved over so the most important factor for us was which school they would go to. Having chosen Narrabeen North Public School, we then sought to find a house within the catchment area and so far have no regrets either about the house or school. Good luck to you in getting it right first time too!

Binbird