alkristensen

Which one is best do you think for us.We have come to the conclusion so far that we want to be on city fringes but not in the city.

Somewhere within 3/4 hour via ferry/bus/train/car to go to eat/drink/dance but to live in a villagey sort of place that has a smattering-adequate variety of shops/bars/cafes in the areas for a young couple about to be parents

We have looked around Sydney a little and so far the so called trendy areas on the edge of the city are far too expensive so we are so far put off sydney as the houses and areas close to the city arent as cheap or affordable to us as brisbane so we need help beintg talked into sydney over brisbane by suggestions of areas please as there is loads of info on brissie but none of sydney

We dont want rural and would like a balanced view of each city please

Please help

al and clare

Lord Pom Percy

Just wondering have you considered somewhere outside Melbourne or does it have to be SYDNEY/brisbane?

alkristensen

Melbourne could be a reality too.

Is it cold in melboune?

We were there for 4 days in oz summer and was cold for 4 days and im an all weather motorbiker in the uk !!

I suppose we came straight from brissie and caaarns so it may have seemed colder. Overall what is the climate like in thew four seasons(if there are four)

The world is our oyster and our visa allows us to go anywhere in oz(mostly!!)

cheers

al

Nikki

Hi Al and Clare

We are fellow South Manchester neighbours!!! We were living in East Didsbury until Sept. 06, when we made the move to Hunter Valley, as they say 'no going back' for us!!! We are in a Town called Cessnock, which has all the amenities a town requires, however, for us we have the Vineyards on our doorstep which provide a dramatic backdrop in terms of scenery!!

We are 2 hours from Sydney (which I love for my 'City fix') and only 50 minutes from the stunning beaches at Port Stephens. You may consider where we are in the vineyards as rural, if so you might want to look at Newcastle which has changed an awful lot from the Industrial port it used to be, also I believe Hamilton a suburb close to Newcastle is nice, a bit like Didsbury with the cafe bar culture. Also, there are many small towns right by Lake Mcquarie - we took a drive round there a few weekends ago and some of the places are stunning!!

Cannot help with Brisbane as I have never been. In terms of where we are, to give you an idea of land / property, we have purchased a block of land looking over a vineyard for $160,000 (900sqm), to build our house (4 bed, 2 baths, study, rumpus, lounge, huge open plan kitchen/family room) it is costing $185,000.

Hope this helps, if you need any more info just let me know.

Regards

Nikki

alkristensen

Brilliant, we will have a look, we are renting in sydney for 6 months to have a PROPER look and will decide later or sooner what we are doing.

Sounds realistic but are you in the middle of nowhere outside of newcastle.

Like manc i can go to chester/preston/bolton/wilmslow/rural/ town or stay local. I have a chois=ce here and want the same there. All boxes wont be ticked but a beach isnt important, neither is a rumpus room LOL. i have expats for that!!

Everyones needs are different and ours have changed since clare became ill and got better and we dont want to have a 7am-7pm work life with a commute to boot. We want a community that i can open a barbers with a good cross section of students/workers/oaps and families(preferably more of the latter 2 of the 4) Do you reckon newcastle is like this?
Thanks for the info

al

Lord Pom Percy

The weather in Melbourne is good most of the year excpet cold for 3 or 4 months. l recommend the Dandelong mountains just outside Melbourne, beautiful green countryside, relatively affordable, a 30-45 minute train trip to center of Melbourne.

alkristensen

is there life there?

thanks

al

Nikki

I wouldn't say we are in the middle of nowhere, sure I have to drive to places like big shopping centres (but then I had to drive to the Trafford Centre), however, I have Target, Coles and Big W on my doorstep aswell as a great butcher and other family owned businesses, like Didsbury I suppose (a choice of Market chains or local businesses!!).

Funnily enough a barbers opened up in town only a month ago!! What I love about where we are is that it has had a name in the past (probably like West Didsbury years ago before it became the place to live). The place has changed since we came on holiday for the first time 5 years ago, I feel that it is still changing and in terms of property I would like to think we have not got in at the bottom of the boom, but I think we should do well in terms of investment as lots of Sydneysiders have moved and are moving over this way to swap the lifestyle and take advantage of the cheap property when selling up in Sydney.

As you quite rightly say everyones needs are different, I have 3 kids so a rumpus is top of my list!!! We like the beach as it is a v. chap way of occupying 3 kids, but on the doorstep we have a cinema, pubs, a huge selection of eateries and take aways - coming from a place like Didsbury I certainly did not want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. My kids left a fantastic school in Didsbury and go to an equally if not better school here in Town. It also reminds me of Didsbury in the way that whilst it is a Town, it has a village type welcoming feel, I have met lots of people who have really helped me to settle.

Give me a shout if you want more info on surrounding areas.

Nikki

alkristensen

Its nice to know that someone can equate to didsbury and the area i would like.

Its easier to say that i want this and that but people perceptions of a villagey place can be totally different, i like the sound of where you are and like you say west dids used to be a sh1thole and the metropolitan(midland pub) used to be a right dive. but i like the boho gritty trendy edge it has and the indie shops, so your area sounds great we will defo have a look

is everything "new" looking or higgledy-piggledy mixture as this is a key factor too, a worn area with a good mix of old and new it great as it looks less stale and less Steford Wives (IN MY OPINION)

More like this will be a great source of reccie!

thanks you so much for answering my question.

al

I know its all askin a lot, but its easier to rule stuff out that we dont want 6 months before we look as it is a big area to cover.

Nikki

Here where we are is a mixture, there are old dilapidated miners cottages, some have had lovely renovations on them, there are brick and tiles, where old cottages have been knocked and replaced and then there are a couple of new estates. We have gone for the 'stepford wife' estate as O/H is a builder and wants a solid brick and tile and I want to be surrounded by people at them moment so an estate suits me. Give me 2 years to come to grips with the 'wildlife' and I might be out on an acreage!!!

Obviously, where I am does not have what I would call the cosmopolitan edge that Didsbury has, but then I didn't move to the other side of the world for the same, I want to embrace the culture and differences that this lovely country has to offer, not the shallow culture that came with the Didsbury life!

Lord Pom Percy

Lots of nice small towns or villages, not too far to Melbourne if you want more life, definently not stepford wives or legoland.

alkristensen

i understand, i took dont like the shallowness of what you have to earn to live there but i like the feel of the street of burton road.

its the sort of street i want to be able to walk/bus to in five minutes.

you decribe the area i like there in hamilton. i will seriously check it out.

We like eating out, not at cafes and chippies like we are on hols but in nice independnt restaurants that have a variety of food, like mongolian or vietnamese, thai or peruvian etc as well as traditional stuff cooked well. I dont mind as long as its good food what the place looks like.

I dont want just one or 2 cafes sat with workers and old biddies like in withington where my shop is.

I will find it and have had a few great areas said.

So far......

Hamilton near newcastle
Bulimba
Morningside
Balmoral.

I know i like New Farm (not sure what you mean dagboy about sleazy, its more like altrincham !!) and i like that its 2 minutes from fortitude valley which is like camden or northern quarter manchester.

In sydney, to rent, Balmain, Manly, ad Darlnghurst etc.

To buy.............................. nowhere
Maybe sutherlandshire. Dunno yet, the house prices are ok and its supposed to be pretty and less than an hour into town so ill see that
Campbelltown. Way too far out and supposed to be full of white goods and furniture shops(so im told)

Bankstown. Id be a frowned apon ethnic minority(so im told)

Melboune, lke south yarra. didnt go anywhere else except st.kida and it was pleasant but not my cup of tea

All the rest are too far out or too expensive.

Unless someone can shed light in a pm if they know of such an area or disagree on the above posting please do so asit may shed light on any other areas i have ovelooked.

I see not many sydneyites shouting off about thier area, is this cause they are too busy for these sites LOL


al

BadgeIsBack

There is as much life as the same in Brissy.

Mate we have most, if not all, of what you are looking for and we are in Melbourne.

The city offers the best of both worlds for people of your age. You should consider it.

BadgeIsBack

Its relative. If it was cold when you were here you were unlucky or did not stay long enough.

Princess Leia

I would suggest the Central Coast but that is a bit over 3/4 hours from the city.

I really like other people's suggestions of Melbourne (I say this as a Sydneysider). There are lots of villagey places in the hills in the East that I just love. It's not always cold, most of the time it's pretty mild by UK standards but it can get very hot, hence the bad season of bush fires this year.