Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

We have been living in Brisbane (Bayside) for 4 years and are very likely to be moving to Sydney at the end of the year. We need to decide quickly where we are going to live and find a good school in the area, as my daughter will be starting school next year. Any advice would be gratefully received.

A bit of background info to help...

My husband is an architect and will be working in the city. I'm currently a stay at home mum, with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. If/when I go back to work, I will be looking for work as an account manager in the design/branding industry. We have some friends who live in North Manly who we are likely to meet up with fairly regularly, but don't think we'd be able to afford to live there. We probably wouldn't want to pay much more than $650-700 per week for a 3 or 4 bedroom house.

In the UK we lived in SW London (Earlsfield) and probably would have moved to somewhere like Walton on Thames if we'd stayed in the UK. We want to be somewhere where there's plenty going on, good cafes/restaurants and activities for the kids. Ideally we'd be within a 20 min drive of a decent beach. We would probably be looking at a state primary school for my daughter - or a catholic school, if we could get a place at such short notice. We've enjoyed the Brisbane lifestyle to a certain extent, but have missed the 'sophistication' and cultural side of London. We'd like to live in an 'old' suburb, with a bit of character to it, rather than one that is all new housing estates.

Would be very interested in people's views - and any school recommendations.

Thanks!

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

I think that would be a very tall order in Sydney at that rent. You'd have to compromise a bit on your wishlist. Maybe live in a townhouse or unit in a beachside suburb like Coogee or Bondi? Or compromise on the 'plenty going on' part and move to the Northern Beaches? Or compromise on the 20 mins to a beach part and move to the Inner West?

You need to tell us what is most important to you? When you visit Sydney which areas do you gravitate towards?

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Agreed the OP is asking a lot for a modest rental, best to look on domain.com.au & see the kind of properties available, we saw a large number of unrenovated houses for that much & more i.e. kitchens & bathrooms out of the 60/70's. In the kind of areas you're alluding to you may be looking at an apartment rather than a house.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Oh dear, I hope we're not expecting too much - not exactly encouraging comments so far! We definitely don't want to be in a unit or apartment - we're coming from a 4 bed house with pool in Brissie (for much less rent)!! I don't think Bondi area would be our scene - too young and trendy for us! Maybe I should clarify that when I say lots going on, I'm thinking more for families - not bars, clubs etc! I think Northern Beaches - or other Northern suburbs - are what we'll be tending towards, based on what we know already. Just don't know which suburbs exactly! Have, of course, already had a bit of a look on domain.com and realestate.com - but was just hoping for some first hand knowledge of specific suburbs!

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Have a look at Sutherland Shire. We have lived here for almost two years, and wouldn't move anywhere else. We are an hour or less from the CBD by train (depending on where you are in Sutherland Shire), there is plenty for families to do, rents are more reasonable too.

Let me know if you want any more specific info!

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

I think Sutherland Shire is more equivalent to Bayside than the others mentioned. Sydney is on a completely different scale to Brisbane.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

I'd personally take a $40-$50k p.a. pay cut to move to Brisbane tomorrow and feel I'd be as well off - it all seems so much more affordable there. In Sydney I'm on a good wage in a fairly stressful job, pay a small fortune in rent and commute 2+ hours a day to work in the CBD.

We looked at Sutherland and it wasn't for us but I know many people like it, its still not exactly cheap either.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

I was going to suggest the Shire too, it's not just Sutherland.

The Shire (sometimes known as God's country to the locals :lol:) includes Miranda, Caringbah, Gymea, Cronulla, Sylvania, Wooloware, Engadine, this whole area is very Aussie compared to others, no specific "ethnic" areas of any note etc......

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Northern Beaches and Northern Shore suburbs are expensive places to live. We have recently been through the whole househunting thing and I do not think you will find anywhere decent in these areas on that budget, which is very modest for a house in a Sydney suburb. I think the Sutherlandshire advice is good, it was an area we considered but just didn't see the right place at the time.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Northern Beaches is an expensive area but it is still possible to get a 3 bedroom house for $700, though almost certainly without a pool... I know Earlsfield very well - my sister lived there and we looked at houses in the area too at one stage - and Walton-on-Thames is where I grew up so I think I know the sort of feel you're after and I can thoroughly recommend the Avalon area where we're living.

It's got a really nice family, village-y atmostphere - quite arty and a quite a lot of ex-Europeans which makes it quite multi-cultural. The primary schools in the area are very good and there's loads going on for young families. This high up on the peninsula you're never more than 10 minutes from water - either the ocean or Pittwater - and it's quite green. The other bonus is that out of peak hours, you can get into Sydney to get your City-fix in less than an hour. When looking at Realestate.com.au check out Bilgola Plateau, Mona Vale, Newport as well as Avalon.

BUT, and this is the big but, it is not the best place to be if you need to commute into the city daily. There is no train so you're dependent on the buses or the car and it can take over an hour - more like an hour and a half in peak traffic. Having said that, people do do it - they tend to leave early and get back early(ish). They do it because the life up here is so good at weekends etc. We certainly love it.

Good luck making a decision!

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Depends whereabouts on Northern Beaches, we commute to the CBD every day and it is a pleasure. One of the best commutes I have ever had in my working life. We would hesitate to go as far north as Avalon though because then as you say, it would start to get a bit long.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Whereabouts are you Bermudashorts?

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

Collaroy, near Longreef.

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

So how long do you reckon it takes you to commute into the city from there? Just curious really...

Re: Moving to Sydney - advice on suburbs and schools please
 

I don't need to reckon. ;)

Takes me five minutes to walk to the bus stop and then about 40 minutes on the bus. No complaints here, I am used to a much longer journey to work.