spottydog

totally agree, we did this, cost a fortune to sell and move

Buzzy--Bee

Disagree.

In my area 2.5 years ago $550,000 would have bought a great new house. Now you need $800,000 for the same house.

This has prevented people we know personally from buying in our area which they love, instead they have had to buy somewhere a lot further out of Melbourne.

BB

crouchingpeeky

Thanks for all of your replies and suggestions.

I agree to buy somewhere straight away would be foolish imo. I was more interested in finding out what would be affordable for us, what areas that would get us and how long a commute it would be.

I have to say looking at a few properties in Patterson Lakes, they are gorgeous and according to Google Maps only a 45 minute drive into the City (any more accurate measures than Google Maps would be helpful!!).

Bernieboy

I'm off to buy a tent to bring with me,know any good sites in the CBD

nmparsons

I arrived in Sydney in August and decided to look for a house in the Inner West - Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Annandale, Haberfield, Stanmore are all good suburbs to start off with. But 700K won't get you much at the moment - so try renting for a while.
The word on the street is that property prices are going to take a hit soonish. We'll wait and see.

freebo

Obviously no-one has told you "its different here", better buy quick or you'll be priced out of the market

paddyo

Yep, I can understand that. Its a nice family area but not much else to do. It just doesn't do it for me but I can not think of an objective reason.

asher

I live in the shire and it depends where you live, the cronulla area is lovely
loads to do and the national park is on your doorstep, the beach, the river, whale watching, lots of festivals such as Jazz and shiraz and nice restaurants.

where in the shire were you paddyo?

we don't have children either

house prices are rising fast here too

paddyo

I wasn't in the Shire, thats what I am saying, it doesn't appeal to me but I can't quantify it. I have been driving through there quite a lot recently and it does nothing for me.

spottydog

I lived in Bonnet Bay (about 15 minutes walk to Jannali station). Lovely area with beautiful views but evening wise everything was shut by the time I have got home from work, relaxed a bit then was ready to go out.

LittleKittyCat

We live in Sutherland Shire and love it, but we have two small children and it is a lovely area to raise kids. I can see that if we didn't have children it may be a little on the quiet side. Having said that, it depends on the lifestyle you want. There are some beautiful places for bushwalking in the Royal National Park, and also some lovely quiet beaches, plus it is only a short hop down to the Illawara region which is lovely too.

paddyo

Yes, must admit I am very tempted by the Illawarra, mainly from Stanwell Park down to as far as Bulli.
Train line, good road options and nice beachside towns.

LittleKittyCat

Yes, had our children not been so small, and had my husbands work been more usual hours (he works up to 9pm some nights and also at weekends and six/seven day weeks) we would have more seriously looked at that area to buy. We are very happy where we are now because we have the best of both worlds, can be in Wollongong in about 30 mins max, and in Sydney CBD in about 50 mins, but we have said that once we are looking at high school for our eldest (years in the future!), we may consider making a move down there depending on what the schools are like.

paddyo

Well I am fortunate in that I am able to work from home and would be taking the train if need to commute into work. My office is in Potts Point so a direct train to Kings Cross from the southern beach towns is very suitable.

Lany

Patterson Lakes is really nice, my brother in law has lived there for 13 years. We live in seaford which isn't perfect as it's quite close to Frankston which is one of the less nice suburbs but you could get a good house here for 700k! We are renting at the moment and pay $330 a week for a 3 bedroom house with huge garden, two mins drive to a very nice beach and within walking distance of several schools.

Lany