evie202

Hi , we live in St Ives in England , and have looked at many Sydney suburbs and had lots of advice from the lovely people on this site ! We are weirdly leaning towards St Ives over there as it seems to have everything we need , anyone out there live in St Ives ? Do you like it there and what is it like to live there with a small family ? Cheers !

seayork2002

Sorry I am not much help but I have been there a few times and I think it is nice but very pricey

michael_w

Nice if you can afford it! That whole area of St Ives/Pymble/Turramurra is traditional leafy North Shore big-house-and-garden territory.

bigAPE

Don't you mean that you live in St Ives in Cornwall

Al

walaj

we lived there for 20mths and moved to the next suburb 3mths ago. There are a couple of other posters that still live there, and should pick up something if you do a search.

It is a big surburb and can be very different in one part to the other. There are a lot of units being built in close proximity to the shopping centre, mainly aimed at over 55s, but there are still plenty of families too.
No train line, but can get bus to Gordon station (or drive there & park) or express bus to city. A variety of shops (don't like the woolies there, v cramped) but not much I would specifically go there for now, would rather go to Hornsby (and think food prices there are better as there is more competition). Library and Early childhood centre at the shopping centre too. Out the back there is a skateboard area, tennis courts, playing field, playground. I still take my pre school children to the Occassional care centre there.

When we were looking to buy it was originally on our list, but had preferences for other nearby areas, especially where we eventually bought. We ended up paying a lot more that we thought we would have to, but I am much preferring where we are now to the part of St Ives we were in.

If you have any other Qs let me know

evie202

R U in Hornsby ? What is that like ? We are looking for Good Schools , Nice big home with space in a place with a village atmosphere . A pub / restaurant nearby would be nice and plenty of sports , not much then !!Maybe St Ives too quiet ?

Rich_Lyn

Hi
We live in St Ives. No village atmosphere. No pub. However, it is a leafy suburb with nice houses, a bit like Surrey. 20 minutes from the beach.
Depending how much cash you have, and the lifestyle you want, should drive where you choose to live. There are a lot of older people in St Ives. A nice 4 bed home in a better area of St Ives will set you back an easy $1.3m if not more. Our son goes to the local high school (he is 15). He loves it and has plenty of friends. Great for sports too.
I agree with the other posts re shopping etc. St Ives is very close to national park walks, cycle tracks etc. Essentially there are a few restaurants which are nice, but social circles are difficult to break into. We have made friends through this site and our sons friends parents.
The train line at Gordon or Pymble is 5 mins drive away. Buses are frequent.
If you want beach, Mona Vale is a nice suburb currently going though a "facelift". But of course the nearer the beach you are on the northern beaches, the further away from the city you are!
By the way, Turramurra (next suburb) is the wettest suburb in the state. Yes, it has been raining all day here too!!!!

Cheers

Rich_Lyn

Hi
St Ives is like Surrey. Very leafy. The next suburb (Turramurra) is officially the wettest in the state. Yes, It has been raining here all day!!
No Village atmosphere. No pub. No centre of the community. The schools are great both public and private. Our son, 15 loves it. We are renting, but when we buy it will be in a different suburb cos there is nt enough "going on"
Property - a nice 4 bed home in a better area of St Ives will cost an easy $1.3m - if not more!
We hope to buy nearer to the beach which is 20 mins away. It is a different climate than St ives. EG it rained all day in St Ives yesterday, but 3 klm from the beach the clouds disappeared and the sun was out. Nice. Much more relaxed etc.etc.I agree with the other posts. We shop in Hornsby.

Let me know if i can be more help

Richard

evie202

What !!! No pub !! Crikey ! We def need more going on , also in our village here we live with a lot of retirees ( seaside ) we need a younger area so it sounds like St Ives isn't for us after all . We would also prefer to be closer to the beach , let me know if you find a nice place , thanks for all the info !

yanH

Hornsby has a lot of amenities, including good shopping, numerous restaurants and a couple of half decent pubs, but it isn't exactly the prettiest of suburbs. There is a lot of unit building, and it is densely populated.
2 stops along the North Shore train line (towards the city) is Wahroonga. This is a leafy suburb with a villagey feel. It has a beautiful park, some nice restaurants and a lovely shopping area with little specialist shops rather than supermarkets and chain stores. We rented in the area and from the centre of Wahroonga you can walk into Hornsby in half an hour for the pubs etc. There are lots of apparently very good private schools in the area, but the public ones have served as well. Our 14 year old also goes to St. Ives High, and the local primary schools have an excellent reputation. There are also a lot of sporting clubs for kids locally. Wahroonga has the added bonus of being on the train line. It is, however, quite pricey (although comparable with St. Ives).
We have just bought in Berowra, 10km north of Hornsby, again on the train line. Here there is a definite villagey feel, as other suburbs don't just roll into it. Again it is a lovely place for families with good schools (no high school, but eldest gets the train in) and is aronud 25- 30% cheaper than Wahroonga simply because it is further out from the city. A lot comes down to budget, but personally I wouldn't choose a suburb without a train line as adding buses in can add significantly to your commute time.

Rich_Lyn

Hi
It all comes down to lifestyle at the nd of the day. We moved to Oz cos we wanted to be near the beach. St Ives is OK, but hopefully we will buy soon. It will take me 60 mins to drive to work (if no traffic).
Good bus service from the beaches to schools in the St Ives / Pymble / Wahroonga area. Shopiing is Ok with Warringah Mall 15 mins away. Plenty of local shops if you dont like shopping at supermarkets. Plenty of socialising, but i think, nothing like the UK. I used to be able to walk to 4 different pubs!!

Try www.realestate.com.au or www.domain.com.au for property prices

Good luck.

PM me if i can help further.....it is a hard gig to settle, especially if you have a "family and friends" lifestyle in the UK

Jacque

Hi Evie

St Ives is nice (some would say a little mundane but very safe) but your budget (renting or buying?) budget will ultimately determine what you can secure and where.

There's so many "family" suburbs in Sydney that fit your requirements- but more info is needed here. Give us some more details and we'll see if we can help you narrow down some areas.

evie202

Thanks Jacque , we have up to $1,000,000 to buy . Like you say , i am a little worried about St Ives having nothing to do , i have been looking at Kellyville in the hills . I know we could afford to buy near the beach but we live near the sea here and are surrounded by holiday homes , second homes and older people ( no offence to older people !) We need more life , a couple of pubs , and nearby restaurants . This sounds like we should be in an urban area like Castle Hill which is tempting but seems quite large . The thing is we have always lived in villages here and we know we can't have it both ways , all amenities with space,village atmos , leafy areas etc . We know we may have to be in a more built up area but a quiet part of Castle Hill would be nice , i believe our money will go a long way there with more people our age living closer , here (uk ) it seems the more money /nicer house you have , all your neighbours are elderly . All our friends live 15 mins away in an affordable family estate . I've heard Kellyville is close to Castle Hill ,but has more space don't know much more than that so far . We won't need to commute into the city but nearby trainline would be good . We are also looking for investment property to let out , probably near the coast , what are the best areas for the best returns ? I am looking to work in property sales when i get over there ( no experience except i have bought and sold a lot of property personally , and live , sleep , eat property !!! ) do you have any ideas on this ? Many thanks in advance for your help !

Jacque

Your budget is fine and will get you a lovely large home in the Hills, in a quiet street, walk to all amenities, with little problem. We have no train line, however, so you'll need to rely on city buses and routes vary, depending on where you live. Express buses take anywhere between 45-75 mins, again depending on distance from suburb to CBD.
As far as the quiet life goes, with trying to retain that village atmosphere (and I know exactly what you mean as I prefer it and live it myself) there are areas within the Hills that would suit- nearby Glenhaven and Dural come to mind, as well as Kenthurst, which are further out and semi-rural in parts, but still close to the centre of Castle Hill and all its shops, restaurants, parks, fields etc. Best of both worlds, really, but you will pay more for acreage lots than your standard residential blocks of 700-1000sqm. Then there's Cherrybrook and closer in to the northern rail line, Pennant Hills, Beecroft and Epping areas- again, anything getting closer to rail is going to cost you more.

As far as investment goes, ensuring you buy property well placed to transport, schools, shops etc in a popular area within a quiet enclave is a good start. Some suburbs have had better capital growth than others and rents are again dependent on demand in the local area. For my money, I'd be buying as much land as possible because it's getting expensive here in Sydney and they just aren't making it anymore!!

$1m isn't going to get you a big plot, but here's some examples in the suburbs I've mentioned for typical of what I'd consider:

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1202378329
Typical Castle Hill house in your price bracket with pool

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1202378747
Still in suburbia but a very quick drive to rail line and a well respected suburb. A little quiet and further to drive for the pub but a possibility

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1202378329
Dural home on 1/2 acre

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1202378329
Glenhaven home backing onto bushland (most of land wouldn't be arable here) but it's quiet, close to CH and a really lovely area

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1202378329
Kenthurst- when it comes to acreage you're starting to pay bigger bucks but this home is older and you could easily improve. Partially cleared land and a 20min drive to centre of CH
Good location, as our own tennis champ Lleyton lives around the corner!
(I know he's not that popular with you Brits but he's a damn good player )

Hope that's helped somewhat. The only real way to discover an area for yourself is to rent or get short term accom for a while (3-6mths) and have a look around. Only you can decide what's right for your family and needs.

Best of luck

evie202

OMG ! The first property in Castle Hill is gorgeous !! Thanks for all your help , we are planning to stay in a nearby holiday park for 2 weeks so we can find a rental in the Castle Hills area for 3 - 6 months so we can look around the area . Our max budget for rental is $575 a week , we need 3 beds + and ideally a pool ( i know , we don't want much !) i have seen the odd one online so fingers crossed , thanks again !