Re: Selecting a Sydney Suburb
 

Cheers for that kevmitch - lots of interesting stuff on there !

Take some advice from an old timer. Whenever you are looking at housing, check out the northerly aspect.

According to Jamie Durie of Backyard Blitz fame, when people attend an open house inspection, 75% head straight for the backyard: he's right!

There is plenty of sunshine in winter. Access to largely uninterrupted sunlight in winter (from the north at midday), preferably in the backyard (no one lives in their front yards) can make a huge difference between enjoying the outdoors all year round or just for half the year. You can put up an umbrella for summer shade; you can't chop down trees which shade too much in winter.

Houses in valleys or overshadowed by large trees can look cool in summer and be depressingly dark in winter mainly becasue of the contrast and the fact you can see what you are missing. This applies the further south you go.

www.domain.com.au is a good housing site.

Do you live in Banksia?

Domain is OK but the price search is totally misleading. www.realestate.com.au is ok and the price search is more accurate.

Who says you can't ? :D
It depends on the State you are in, No , not the drunken state :)
Seriously, in NSW it isnt easy, but in QLD it is much easier.
Another case of different rules for different States.

Does not stop the buggers though. Plenty of trees get lopped to improve those harbour views.

No it doesn't stop them if they are public land, but you wouldn't want to be caught.

If the trees are next door it gets a bit harder.

I'm in Epping as it happens. a thriving multi-cultural community!

I've never really heard much about Epping other than it is on that train line the politicians keep on saying they are going to build. What do make of the area?

I lived in Epping for a while a few years ago. One pub, one railway station, a few shops, a supermarket and an RSL.

Pretty boring. I used to go to the city all the time.

If you move there don't live opposite the park - not unless you like being woken up at 7.00am every Saturday by kids playing soccer and kept awake by people walking home from the pub that is.

There is some bushland in North Epping in which you can do walks but it is very dry.

I'm looking at Gladesville / Ryde or maybe Chiswick, anyone got any thoughts on these areas?

But did you count the churches? And now the restaurants! Epping should be a better commercial centre than it is given the excellent transport links. It probably now has too much competition from the North Ryde "Industrial" Estate despite its superior transport connections. North Ryde was never an industrial estate and is effectively Sydney's Silicon Valley.

Most people go to the City: daily, to work. The train services from Epping are excellent with inter-urbans stopping at Strathfield thence Central (Redfern in the peak for the university). A seat guaranteed. Macquarie Uni will be one stop away when the Chatswod link is working. North Epping can be a bit exciting when the bushfires are bad but it does back on to the National Park so that isn't surprising.

Yes, they do keep re-announcing the new Chatswood service but it's more than a hole in the ground already.

As to the noise in the park, the Tai Chi folk are especially quiet but the magpies and cockatoos are more prominent. Not so many coels lately, thank goodness.

The real estate agents are keen to stress it is in the catchment area for Epping Boys and Cheltenham Girls High schools. These are both non-selective high schools traditionally mentioned in despatches at UAI time. The suburb is a strong magnet for migrants. But not from the places this website services.

Our daughter lived at Artarmon (now Nescastle, NSW that is) and our son in Leichhardt. Food prices are lower at Eastwood (next suburb) which has the good side of Cabramatta without the downside.