Good evening,

i‘m new on here and just signed up as our start for a new life in Australia begins. I’ve lived in Australia before 09-11 but this time it’ll be with my wife and 2 boys (1yo & 4 yo) who’ve never been. We’ll be relocating to Sydney, where I used to live (bondi).

i have a couple of questions to kick off:

what age age do kids start school / where are the best primary schools?
what locations should we be look at living with a family? Our plan is that my wife won’t work for at least the first year to get into the life and look after our boys and we will have a good stash of money from our house sale to plan for this. We would love to be by the beach but understand this may not be achievable, we’ve been recommended the northern beaches north Sydney to look around but I do love the bronte/bondi side from what I remember. I guess I’m looking for specific areas that are good for young families and ones where we can get into the area and make friends and my wife can make friends easily to.

thanks

A lot will depend on where you will be working and your budget tbh. Property prices have soared since 2011, although they are falling slightly now ...in some areas.

The commute can can be a real issue so worth thinking about. If you give us an idea of work and budget it will help. Or do a quick check on realestate.com.au to get a feel for prices, rentals and sales.

Looking at 700-1200 p/w

iddalky would like 3 beds bug understand may have to sacrifice for 2 dependent on location.

i’ll be working in the CBD.

In NSW kids start school the year they turn 5 before 31 July although if their birthdays are March onwards they're probably recommended to wait for a year. The best schools tend to be in the most better/more expensive suburbs. If you're arriving on a temporary visa then school fees are going to cost you $5k per kid per year. Find a suburb which has available properties in your price range and had access to all the other facilities you think you might need and where you like the look of the neighbours because that will largely dictate the appeal of the school, Schools usually fall into place when you've found your 24/7 home.

What visa? As this may affect greatly on school fees?

[QUOTE=Beoz;12665263]The northern beaches commute is hell unless you can live in Manly and work at the Circular Quay end of the CBD.

If Bondi is your pick but unaffordable try South Coogee or Maroubra. You are only 15 mins away from Bondi if you need your Bondi fill. Despite it's old reputation I find Maroubra a great beach for kids. The pub there is awesome too.[/QUOTE YOU

you can get a bus from many of the Northern Beaches to the CBD and it will take between 30-40 mins at peak time. If you have a young family and are British 1 would recommend that part of Sydney. It's very family friendly.

The Northern Beaches area includes those suburbs that are directly on the beach eg Manly, Freshwater, Dee why, etc. These are very expensive to live in if you are looking for a family home but reasonably affordable if you are looking for a unit. Most British families I know live a suburb or two away from the beach e.g. Balgowlah, Alambie , Frerichs Forest, etc. These areas are very family friendly, easily commutable to the CBD (I do it every day) and only a short drive to the beach.