seayork2002

Greenwich is a nice area, close to the harbour and it has Crows Nest near by which is great for restaurants, cafes etc. The are some lovely suburbs surrounding it too.

There is also Epping/Eastwood way which has Macquarie shopping centre nearby which has all you need. There are some nice federation style houses around there and I heard a football (I think they use the term football not soccer anymore) team trains there with Mark Viduka or some Aussie player.

DrWho

Spit's a nightmare... if you're not over by 7am you're dead...

Ferry from Manly is the way to go, assuming they don't shut it down... Need a strong stomach in winter for the swell through the heads though...!

paddyo

Funny you mention shutting down, is that a serious rumour?? Bearing in mind the problems with the spit I would of thought it a bad decision, unless its losing money of course!
I am an ex RN so the sea state don't bother me none!!

DrWho

Yeah, there's been talk in the local rag... Can't say I blame them from the financial point of view, lots of the ferries seem to be heavily under utilised... gotta remember the politics here too... a Labor state government has little interest in doing anything to help one of the richest parts of it... the Spit is a disgrace; been many promises of widening but it never happens...

trixie

Hi all. I've finally decided to register and join this forum after weeks of reading! My husband and I are moving to Sydney in early April 2008. I am a GP and will be working in Kareela, Sutherland Shire. My husband is an IT contractor and hopes to be working in the Sydney CBD financial district. I plan to drive to work but my husband would love a short commute ( that being the main reason for leaving Hampshire!). I've been looking at possible locations and wondered if anyone could recommend a safe,lively suburb that's midway Kareela and the CBD ( as well as close to transport). Is Wolli Creek any good....or is too loud as it appears to be quite close to the airport? We initially plan to rent for the first 6 months. This forum has been very informative and I look forward to hearing your ideas!

paddyo

Sutherlandshire is apparently a nice area, as always getting a place near to public transport would be ideal for your husband to work in the CBD. How close depends on your own travel requirements and his wish for commute time. Kep away from anyway near Bankstown, sorry for those who live there but the general consensus is that it can be a hot, dry place with some underlying social tensions.
Try cityhobo website for an indication of sydney suburbs which is aimed specifically at middle working class families. Wolli Creek isn't close to the airport...IT IS the airport!! lol
If you are thinking of both your transport needs why not look at Brighton le Sands?

NickyC

There are quite a range of suburbs to pick from in the Kareela/CBD corridor. The ones along the Georges River are nice - Oatley, Blakehurst, Carss Park etc. I wouldn't call them lively, though - more family suburbs in a lovely setting.

Brighton-le-sands and the other suburbs along Botany Bay are OK but nothing really special. Sure you are near the water (and Brighton has a lot of restaurants and bars), but they have a lot of flats and suffer from bad hoon behaviour at weekends. Can be really noisy along there - and the noise doesn't just come from the airport. Rockdale and Kogarah just back from the beach are not particularly attractive and suffer from the frantically busy Princes Hwy running though them.

If you really want lively (and you don't mind a bit of a commute) you should also checkout the eastern suburbs. For you to travel to Sutherland to work you'd be going against the flow if you drove and there are direct rail links from Bondi to Sutherland (don't even have to change trains). And it would be very handy to the city for your husband.

saveme

I rather like Panania area and have got to know it well as my brother lives at Picnic Point. His area is very leafy and close to the bush. The suburbs have changed over the last few years and there are now plenty of restaurants and coffee shops. I had some excellent meals at the Panania Hotel too. I think it's about 35 mins to the City on the train. I might not choose to live in Bankstown but it is the nearest big shopping centre.

My own home is in Surry Hills but it's been rented out for over a decade whilst I've been back in the UK. I like Surry Hills because it's so handy for both city and beach - five mins walk to Central Station. I never had a car whilst I lived there. I walked, used bus or train and taxi but out in the suburbs you need a car. I used to live in Neutral Bay too and that is very handy for North Sydney.

Dave

ps that was my first post! I lived in Sydney for eighteen years from '78 to '96 (he's SO last century!) and now I've been in The New Forest for twelve years and I'm edging towards returning for a second (and final?) stab at life in Sin City.

markinhull

For what it is worth, I am in Chatswood and the commute in to town depends on the weather. I can normally do North Sydney in 20 minutes but if the weather is bad you can double it. Pacific Highway can be a nightmare in rush hour.
The train links in to the city are very good. Again, 15 - 20 minutes and you can be in the CBD.

Chatswood itself seems like a nice place but to me it is not the type of place I would want to settle in. It is very expensive for property on the Lower North, we are renting a fairly new 2 bed apt for $550 per week.

I now want to be nearer the beach, Curl Curl, Dee Why, Narrabeen and Collaroy are my ideal locations. We had a little reccie there this weekend and they seem ideal places to settle. Nice beaches and a few bars / cafes.

Mark

paddyo

Mark and Nicky C have both given me some fantastic insights into the areas, with Northern Shores and East Sydney respectively. Both appeal to me for different reasons but we have pretty much decided that, once we get over there, if we can find a decent 3 bed in Collaroy (or other similar places along the Pittwood rd for commute) then we are gonna go for it. We want a 3 bed to accomodate guests (we are 2 adults and one 3 yr old boy) but if we really see a place we like and its only a 2 bed then stuff the guests wer'e alright!! I have totally discounted the south west for various reasons and we have decided to go for the beach lifestyle with easy access to the CBD, for the 1st year anyway, and if later we want to have a quieter lifestyle we may go northwest to the Hills district. I am scheduled to be in Sydney for 3 years and I don't want to go there to exist, I want to explore it all and enjoy the experience while I can. I certainly won't we doing the usual ex pat thing of looking for UK produce when there, gonna go native and 'when in Rome' and all that!! Well, aside from finding a decent pub/bar anyway!!
As always, I have taken so much advice from all the kind people on here but there is nothing to compare with seeing it for ourselves when we arrive end of March. We have a serviced apartment for a while until we find a place and I am going to use a broker to assist us (company is paying!!) as well as letting 'she who must be obeyed' do her own recce during the days whilst I am work.

michdp

Avalon is at least an hour & a half commute to the city. For those of us who live up on the Northern Beaches, we know better than to go beyond the Avalon bends if you're commuting to the city. Once you go past Newport, the traffic slows becuase the road becomes a windy two way road rather than the 6 lane road all the way up to it!

michdp

Think you must be confusing Collaroy with Manly (which is full of Brit expats!). I've lived in Collaroy for 3 years & there's fewer brits here than other parts of the peninsula.

paddyo

Maybe, but not overly worried about ex pats, just don't want to be dragged into a secret coven with Uk citizenship as a pre-requisite for membership!! Wanna enjoy the whole experience without reverting to type and try and be a decent dad/hubby for a few years....then I will go back to a football watching, lager drinking good for nothing git when we return!!

CarlaA

Just to say... having lived here a couple of years, we too think Avalon is a great place for a family. We really like the primary school - yet to try the high school. It's a good spot for the kids to be able to go out and about independently with their mates as they get older. The beaches and being able to sail on Pittwater are great, but also all the clubs/activities, shops, cinema, cafes etc in a village/small town setting.

I use the buses a lot but not usually in peak hour. Generally it's a good service. Recently more of the journey to the city has been made (in peak hour) a bus lane and the express buses are now prepaid tickets only, so efforts are being made to streamline things. But bits of the journey are still slow (especially, as has been said, Spit Bridge and through Mosman). One advantage of starting from Avalon is that at least you can get a seat and hunker down for the trip. Getting out of Sydney will be more of a hassle, with lines for the buses and sometimes no seat until you clear the city. If you can deal with UK commuting you will cope here I think. Sorry I can't be more specific re times.

Hope that helps.

saveme

Talking about Avalon has made me nostalgic for when I lived at Narrabeen in 1982 and again in 1987. It would be great to live there again if I did not have to commute to Sydney which I hated whether by bus or car. But I also remember how good it felt, particularly on a Friday arvo, getting past Dee Why to Long Reef and then it always felt like I was going on holiday! We had a townhouse halfway between the lake and the ocean. What's happened to that pub - The Sands? (Royal Antler when I was there) They were building a new one in 2006? I loved eating barramundi and chips and had one of my best ones there!