bournemouthglen

hi everyone this is my first post. I moved over to oz a couple of days ago and am starting work on monday, i was hoping that someone could give me some advise on where is nice to live thats not too far from the m4, i've currently found a houseshare in cranebrook which seems nice but my partner and kids will be joining me in a couple of months so i'd like to find somewhere with good schools and transport links.
Can anybody please give me any pointers.
Thanks

In Exile

where is cranebrook?

probably need a bit more information about what are you after:

budget, size, house or appartment, where do you work, age of schools, parks, commuting distances, schools, train stations?

Kooky.

Ooh that looks a fair way out - is your work out that way? Will your partner be working and if so, where?

If you need to be out that way have a look in the archives for threads about the Hills District, as a lot of families live out there and there will probably be some information about schools too.

bournemouthglen

Hi again sorry for being a bit vague, i will be working in a place called wetherall park so a little outside sydney but judging by the traffic i met when i went towards sydney yesterday may well be better off out of it, it felt like being back on the m25 (i hate sitting in traffic).
Anyway i'll be looking for somewhere with a decent secondary school and as my partner doesn't drive some decent bus or train links so she can get out and about. i've noticed that the further you get out of sydney the cheaper it is to rent but most importantly is the schools as i've no ideas about the good or bad areas to set up home, 3 bed plus would be good to find.
Any pointers that anyone can give me would be appreciated.
Thanks

LittleKittyCat

What about Alfords Point, Illawong, Menai or Barden Ridge in Sutherland Shire? We drove up that way from our bit of Sutherland Shire for a wedding about 18 months ago and I seem to remember it took about 50 minutes but we are further away, so maybe about that on a rush hour.

johnp

Hi

I have been in the area only six months, and Glenmore Park, Penrith has been good to me, cheap 3 beds in the area and M4 follows well unless there is a crash. i work by Parramatta and only takes me about 45min to get there in the mornings

Kooky.

Hi again. We don't have kids so I'm no use on schools I'm afraid, but we do get a lot of threads with similar titles to this one and after a while can become immune to them

You might want to post a new thread with something more explicit, and hopefully the many parents on the north shore will help you out.

I do have to tell you that there is a LOT of traffic in Sydney, so your M25-like experience may become the norm. Sorry.

saveme

I'd look for somewhere nice as close to your work as possible and close to a station too. Maybe pick somewhere on the City side of your work so you MIGHT have the bulk of the traffic going the other way in the rush hour. My brother used to live at Edensor Park which I seem to recall consists of a lot of new-build homes so it should be well established now. No station there mind.

paddyo

For Wetherill Park I reckon as a family the Hoxton Park, Prestons areas might be good, about 10k south. Fairly large and newish areas which seem to have a few ex-pats there as well.
Otherwise if public transport and decent schools is a big issue try Padstow, 13k south east, NOTHING like the Padstow we know but seems a decent enough area and far enough from Bankstown to not suffer its problems.
But, like a few posters have said, the Hills district may well meet all your needs. Nice area suited to ex-pats, quite popular and has semi decent train/bus links which will be improved over the coming years.

saveme

My brother lives in the Padstow area now - Picnic Point - and I rather like it as it's leafy, quiet - mostly - close to areas of bush and the Georges River. Transport to the city is not bad from East Hills. You might be OK travelling to Wetherill Park from there via the M5 as all the traffic is going the other way into the city.

Can you go M5/M7 to Wetherill Park? (have to pay the tolls of course.)

paddyo

yes, or go via Fairford Rd and Horsley Drive, past Bankstown.