Hi all

I've not really posted much on here before although I'm on here everyday just reading.

We have just booked our flights to Sydney and arrive Jan 4th. Hubby has a job to start but other than that we wont know anyone in Sydney and have only ever been for 2 days (we have been to Oz twice tho as parents live in qld).

I have been looking at 'The Hills' district and was wandering if anyone has any info on the area.
What are good secondary schools? And are there any areas that aren't so good?

Would you also know how long it would take to get to Condell Park/Bankstown? This is where hubby will be working.
Are there any nice suburbs around there? I've only heard 'not so good' things about this area.

Trying to narrow down the places to look when we arrive as we will only have a couple of weeks before oh starts work and really want the kids to start school end of Jan.

Look forward to any advice you can give.

Thanks, Sam

Hi Sam,

I don't know too much about Sydney's western suburbs. I've only ever lived closer to the city but Bankstown doesn't have the best reputation.

Try checking out the following websites:

www.cityhobo.com It's got plenty of info on more than 50 suburbs in Sydney including transport, moving information, cafes, gyms, medical facilities, and schools in those areas.

www.sydneyrail.info for train information given you will be living in Bankstown. It is on the train line which is good.

www.domain.com.au for rentals

If you can live in Strathfield or Burwood, that could be good. YOu'll be in interesting suburbs which aren't too far away from the city centre or Bankstown.

There's an express train from Burwood to the city centre (Central Station) that takes about 10minutes.

See ya,

Charliegirl

Hi Sam,

We have just returned from a reccie to Sydney. Before we went, we had a list of 25 possible suburbs, but we have come home with 2 left on the list. This is mainly because of the proximity of my relatives. They live near to Liverpool, which I think is near to Bankstown. For us it depended a lot on what we can afford to spend on a house.

We are putting our house on the market in the new year, so you'll have a bit of a head start on us.

Good luck....

Hi Sam,

I don't know too much about those areas as we are in the Inner West, but I just wanted to say don't panic! Two weeks should be plenty of time - my husband started work the day after we arrived, and it's all worked out fine. He took one day off when we went to buy electrical goods (we were in the US before here so apart from the odd thing from previously in the UK nothing was compatible)/sign up to Medicare/open a bank account/got driving licences changed over, but other than that we've managed to do everything at the weekends or I have handled it.

We booked into a furnished let near OH's office for 4 weeks to take the pressure off us for finding a rental, but as it turned out we found the right place 4 days after we arrived.

The other thing I would say is that in terms of looking at places to rent, don't believe everything you see on the web - get a good feel of areas from what others can tell you, but in my experience very few of the rentals looked like their online pictures when we got there, so you are definitely better waiting until you can look with your own eyes!

Good luck!
Suzi

Thanks for all your advice.

I think we will just have to wait til we get there to decide......cant wait.

Sam x

Hi


We live in the Hills District and love it here. We live in castle Hill which is a great area, close to all amenities, shopping, cinemas, ice skating, restaurants, parks etc etc. Great for families.

Lots of nice areas, Kenthurst, Dural, Glenhaven, they are more rural, depends on what you are looking for.

Lots of good schools, dont know too much about secondary though as my kids are all primary age, were you looking at public, private, church etc?

Good luck!

Hi Poppy

I live and work here in the Hills as a buyers agent and know the area intimately. Great family suburbs, though a bit of a drive to Bankstown - about 30mins in normal peak hour times.

If you want to be closer to Bankstown, however, check out the suburbs of Georges Hall and Bass Hill- both have "nice" sections with family friendly streets - though I can't help you much with schooling.

Heaps of great schools out here in the Hills- indeed I believe we boast some of the best ones in Sydney - private schools include Hills Grammar, Redfield College and Northolm Grammar. Several good public and catholic schools as well as the selective Baulkham Hills High.

Best of luck with the move

Thanks Rachel & Jacque

I will check out the areas you've both suggested.
Half hour to Bankstown is good, hubby travels at least an hour each way at the mo.
Will look at schools also, dont really know what we want (other than a good one). All this searching takes up so much time though when I really should be clearing out the wardrobes/airing cupboard/shed/etc etc as we move in 10 weeks time

Thanks again for all your help.

Sam x