Mr_California

Hi -

Great forum -- I have been loving the "search" function here for the past several days. But I haven't quite found the answer I'm hoping for, so I thought I'd post. Please forgive me if I just missed an obvious thread. (e.g., RTFF!)

I am moving to Sydney from Calfornia in mid-may to start a pretty exciting private equity job ($200k+ AUD). I am single, mid-30s and really looking to enjoy life in Sydney.

My office is in Milson's Point just over the harbor bridge. Most people I've talked to have suggested that I live in the eastern suburbs -- particularly Paddington / Woollahra area, broader net including Edgecliff, Rushcutters, Bondi Junction, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst. I've also looked a bit at Kirribilli (sp?) figuring I could walk to work.

So this is really is a post about 2 questions:

1) If you were a mid-30s professional guy looking for a great, furnished, modern top-floor place or townhouse ($700 - $1000 p.w.), but that was in easy walking distance of plenty of shops, restaurants, grocer, etc., where would you live?

(IMHO, Darlinghurst looked a bit down-market as did Surry Hills? People told me the north shore was "dead"/suburban, which is why I'm questioning Kirribili...)

2) If I do live in Paddington / Rushcutter / Woolahara or any of the places that aren't right by a train stop, will I need a car? When I visited a few months ago, i was staying in Darlinghurst about 5 mins from King's X station . . . I could walk to King's X, catch a train, change trains, and get to Milson's Point . . . but it was frakking *HOT* in summer and I sweated like a pig with all the walking / sweltering train stations. Wasn't clear to me if a bus route (say, from Paddington) would be more direct (no changes) or faster?
-- How bad a drive would it be (in terms of time and angst) from the eastern suburbs to Milson's Pt during normal commute times. I fear if it's longer than 30 minutes I'll not dig it.
-- How hard will it be to find a parking space if one doesn't come with whatever property I rent, again assuming eastern suburbs. Is it permit parking?

Input gratefully welcomed. Thanks guys, you really are a great community board.

-Mr. CA

walaj

Hi & welcome,

Milson point - you also have the option of travelling by ferry, then a walk up the hill.

If you are thinking of using a car the main issue would be if work provides a parking place as it is not cheap to park all day in the area. We spent some time in Nth Sydney which is a major hub for businesses and is busy during the week but dead at weekends.

travel time try 131500

We live in the 'dead' Nth Shores, but that is more suitable being married with children - ohh for thoses footloose & fancyfree days , so can't help much more

TillyG

My husband works in North Sydney, so not very far from Milsons Point. We live in Cremorne - in what is known as the "Lower North Shore". It's a lovely area to live in and from my place it takes maybe 20mins max on the bus to get from Cremorne to Milsons Point.

www.131500.com.au or www.131500.info (both take you to the same place) are great for travel times. Also check out www.whereis.com as that will show you how far places are in car-time.

We've been here for just over a year now and we don't have a car. The public transport around here is fantastic mostly (although today it took me the best part of 2hrs and 6 buses to get somewhere that would maybe take 20mins in the car... it just wasn't on 1 bus route, it was a combination of 3 LOL).

Sometimes we hire a car for a weekend - Dollar Car Rental in North Sydney do a great rate at weekends where you can pick up first thing Friday and drop off last thing Monday for a set price ($149 for a Yaris size car)

As for car parking - where we are we have a double-length lock up garage (in rental listings it will be listed as LUG, sometimes SLUG (for a single one)) which we use as storage really.

As for places to live - have a look at the ferry timetables too (also on 131500 website) as you can get from somewhere like Balmain to Milsons Point in about 10mins on the ferry.

Hope this helps a bit - sorry it's a bit disjointed, my 3yr old is watching a Hi5 dvd and it's hard to concentrate LOL

T x

chels

Eastern suburbs to Milsons Point - journey will depend on where exactly you live, as it covers a wide area. For what you're looking to spend, you'll be able to find a very nice place, probably with resort facilities (pool, gym etc) if you live in a unit or a house in a good location.

Beach suburbs - you'd need to get a bus into the CBD then ferry or train to work, or bus to Bondi Junction then transfer to train. Journey can take a long time, as roads are a bit crap in those areas.

Woollahra - posh suburb, maybe be a bit too family orientated for you. Close to a train station.

Vaucluse, Watsons Bay etc - very expensive housing. Bus journey into the CBD takes forever.

Double Bay, Edgecliff - again, expensive suburbs but close to CBD. I find some of the local residents are a bit up themselves!

Paddington - can be a right mix. Expensive houses one road, next one full of cheaper rentals. No train, but bus into CBD doesn't take too long or you can walk.

Darlinghurst, Kings Cross, Potts Point, Surry Hills - all a bit more urban, but you'd never get bored, full of bars and cafes etc. Some very upmarket housing in these areas, like the Horizon etc. Easy access to the CBD either by bus or train (some) or walking.

Randwick, Kensington, Kingsford - probably a bit too studenty / family orientated for your liking, but some nice restaurants and lots of open space. Beware of the flight path. No trains.

That's most of the Eastern Suburbs. My recommendation - live in Balmain (an Inner West suburb) and get the ferry across. Balmain has everything you want. Our rent budget doesn't stretch as far as yours, so we live in Rozelle next to Balmain. The area has lots of bars, restaurants, little shops, quick access into the CBD by ferry or bus and even less time by car. Only downside is that it'll take about 20 mins by car to get to the nearest beach (if that's important to you).

Do you need a car? Depends on whether you're the type who uses one a lot now and enjoys the convenience. We probably could live without one, but life is much nicer and easier with one. Parking is limited (narrow streets) on the Balmain peninsula, but we get a free permit from the council to park on the street and a visitors permit too.

gedge

welcome to the forum Mr_CA
one place sticks out in all that... Kirribilli
it's a great suburb imo, enough life for a night out and close enough to the city to really hit the town every night, it's got all those things you mention, Kirribilli village is a typical city village with all the character you could hope for
the only issue you might find is on street parking can be a right mare

my wife and i lived on Kirribilli Av, the so called dress circle, for our first 6 months
we had a great split level 2 bed unit with views of the OpHouse, it's got to be done if you can afford the rents
good luck with it

Jacque

Hi Mr C

If it were me, I'd stick to the northern side of the bridge to avoid using it for work! Much easier, and the north side is less crowded, prettier (in my opinion) and I think it's a long bow indeed to call Kirribilli "suburban"!!! One of the safest Sydney suburbs if you ask me. After all, do you think Johnny Howard would live there otherwise?!

Check out beautiful Kirribilli and the quieter part of North Sydney (cheaper) as well as the lovely nearby McMahons Point and Lavender Bay. Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Mosman, Balmoral etc. All great blue ribbon suburbs, close to all Sydney has to offer (wait 'til you check out the Northern beaches including Balmoral) and you don't need to fight the bridge traffic to go to work. Why would you want to live on the Eastern suburbs side?

Having said this, of course, if you like a bit of racey night life (think Kings Cross) then Potts Point/Darlinghurst might be your cup of tea. Just make sure you don't go out after dark without security in mind- it's not the safest area at this time.

You could easily do without a car if you lived northside. East side, you'd want to be near the train line or take your life into your hands on a bicycle, perhaps...


As far as renting goes, $1000 will easily get you something with parking and views. Furnished is harder, but depending on how long you're planning to be here, I'd consider renting or even buying as it may work out more economical. Good luck with it all!

Mr_California

Hey good comments from everyone above, thanks so much!

People here keep talking about Balmain -- but when I was in Sydney a month ago, it never came up when I asked people where to live. Plus some things I've read say there is still a bunch of low-income "council" housing in Balmain? What is the scoop? On a map, it looks pretty far from things . . . sort of off on its own even farther then Pyrmont/Ultimo. (I like the idea of taking ther ferry to work, but the though of having to walk 6-7 blocks each day to get to the ferry is distressing?) Any more input?

In my wanders, Pott's Point looked sort of small without a ton of stuff, and a little urban. Darlinghust (what I saw of it) looked urban and not really that great, some kind of downmarket bars and moderate indian / vietnamese restaurants. I must not have seen the right part of Surry Hills -- I saw sort of the Elizabeth St. / Cleveland St. sides, maybe I missed the better parts?

On Kirribilli -- maybe I didn't see enough of it to judge yet. I walked about one block east of the Milson's Pt train station for lunch one day, looked like an OK but nothing special mix of take-aways and some bistros. Did I not go far enough? I agree some of the views look spectacular. I should probably go back and check it out more. What are the demographics like -- is it more families than single 30s folks?

On the car issue: So here in California, I live about 20 minutes by freeway away from downtown (add 10-15 to find parking when you get there). . . If I want to go anywhere, I need a car. I drive 25 minutes to my office, park in my building, and at the end of the day drive home. I drive across the street to go to the market and load bags into my car. I drive up the street to go the video store and Chinese restaurant. It didn't seem to me like this particularly was the Sydney lifestyle.

I guess my "car need" question, to be more specific, is really this: would I have a more bearable commute to work in Sydney if I drove vs. trying the public transport (which looks like walk -> bus -> walk -> train). Is it really brutal getting across the bridge/tunnel from south to north in the AM?

Thx!

Mr CA

TillyG

We've managed perfectly well without a car here in Sydney for the past year.

We're in Cremorne and my husband commutes to North Sydney (not a million miles from Milsons Point) every day. The bus that takes him to North Sydney continues down to Milsons Point, via a bit of Kirribilli. The bus probably takes about 20-30mins in the peak traffic, so he's started walking from ours to North Sydney and it takes him 30minutes, which is perfectly bearable now the weather is cooling down a bit.

Where we are we are well served for supermarkets. There are 2 x Woolworths & 1 x Coles in Neutral Bay (5min bus ride from right outside my front door) and they also do internet shopping. I have an IGA supermarket 5 mins walk up the road from my house and they do home delivery - so this morning I went and bought $150 of groceries and for a set fee of $5.50 they'll bring it to my place later today.

For other stores, we're fairly close to the city (10min ferry from Cremorne Point to Circular Quay and then a 5min bus ride or 10-15min walk). There are a couple of malls within a 20-30min bus ride of ours too. So pretty much everything is "handy".

The only place that is a bit out of the way is Ikea - but then, apart from when you first move over and get your house set up, how often do you really need to go there?

I'm not sure about the demographic of Kirribilli as I've not really been there. And not sure about the "council" housing in Balmain. All I know is that the Neutral Bay/Cremorne/Mosman part is lovely (with rents to match - 3-bed apartment costs us $500 per week, which is cheap for this area, most people would have to pay over $650 per week for something similar). Yes, there are a few crimes - someone was stabbed up the road a while ago and then in Crows Nest the other week an obstetrician was carjacked and set fire to.

BUT I have never felt threatened or uneasy here in Sydney. It's weird, I really expected to feel a bit more edgy, especially at night time.

gedge

Maybe it depends on what your expectations and experiences are. Kirribilli was our first real experience of city living. What you describe is probably about it. There's a deli, some take aways and restaurants, a hotel/bar and a few other 'corner' shops. To add to that you've got tthe olympic pool, a few parks, harbourside walks, Luna Park (good or bad?), train station, North Sydney shops near enough. Like I said, if you're after more you can always get in to the city in minutes. I would see the demographic as being a split between career 30 somethings and cashed up older folk.
We managed easily without a car for some of our time there, sometimes it's better without. If you're fit and willing you can walk to most things or get public transport.

freckles1970

Hey

I used to live in the eastern burbs, and would suggest to avoid edgecliffe as it is a little seedy.

If I was you I would opt for Double Bay. Walking distance to edgecliffe station....trains to the centre are fast and regular and then you can hop on a ferry from circular key; if you really want to get into Sydney life you can actually catch a ferry direct to circular key from Double bay, which I have to say with a coffee and a fresh bagel in hand is a very civilised way to start the day!!

Great shops, bars and restaurants in this area, it is pretty upmarket. You are just a couple of miles away from all the best beaches and they also have there own bay and swimming area which many locals use (very good for socialising)

If you are into boating, there is also a good club here.

Hope this helps

Stella

chels

Balmain - maybe people were confusing some of the typical housing (workers cottages - 2-3 bedroom weatherboard cottages with small backyards) with social housing? I've not come across any social housing in Balmain, there is some in Rozelle at the southern end near Lilyfield (about 20 houses that stick out like a sore thumb because they're pig ugly 70s jobs) but Balmain is full of young professionals who are looking for a more upmarket lifestyle than you get in Surry Hills but aren't quite ready to settle down in front of the fire (metaphorically speaking) with their slippers on out in the 'burbs.

Great selection of restaurants - thai, indian, chinese, moroccon, lebanese, french, italian, irish, vietnamese,malaysian,japanese, fish, spanish, even german - some lovely delis and artisan bakeries, organic food shops, a great little wine shop with some interesting stuff as well as decent pub bottleshops.

Talking of which, the Balmain Peninsula used to have the most pubs per square mile in Sydney. A lot of them have closed as the old industry moved out (there used to be working docks etc, but they've nearly all been turned over to parkland apart from the parts around White Bay which are still busy). There are some great pubs in Balmain, from traditional ones like the London to newly refurbished places like the Exchange - however, its not a boozy place where loads of kids descend to get drunk, thankfully.

No cinema (the nearest ones are in the CBD or Leichhardt, a 5 min drive away) but lots of DVD hire shops. A couple of gyms. A bowling club, if that's your thing, and the Tigers League club up the road (and the occasional Tigers game in Lilyfield). There's one supermarket, not huge, but had all things you need. There's a really good organic butchers too.

Other shops - lots of independent clothes boutiques, homewares, gift shops, vintage shops, hairdressers, some nice furniture shops, hardware, etc. Darling Street, the main thoroughfare, is a long road lined with shops, restaurants and cafes. There are 3 local markets, the Balmain one sells new stuff, gifts and stuff, Rozelle is a vintage market, and down the road in Lilyfield is a lovely farmers' market.

There's no real beach (there's a tiny harbour one but I wouldn't fancy it) but there's a harbour swimming pool and an outdoor pool in Drummoyne up the road and in Lilyfield. If you want to get a boat, there's mooring facilities. A popular run is the Iron Bay run, a 7km stretch around the water at Iron Cove (never done it myself!).

To sum it up, Balmain has a lot character and charm, it only takes 5 mins on the ferry to get to the CBD (there are a few wharves to choose from, and a couple of routes - East Balmain offers the most services but it is right at the end of the peninsula so a bit isolated from Balmain 'village' itself) or a bus takes about 10 mins (if you catch it from Victoria Rd, add another 5 or 10 mins if you catch it along Darling St somewhere). Mixture of housing stock, but mostly heritage listed so no monstrous tower blocks or dull modern legoland houses. Great views. Lots to do. Good community feeling.

And now I must return my Balmain Tourist Guide hat to the person it belongs to!

Re Kings Cross etc - it can be a bit scabby around there, some drug dealing and prostitution issues, but it's also got a great night life with some of the best restaurants etc. I lived in Potts Point for 5 months when I was on a working holiday visa, great place for me then, just out of uni, wouldn't want to live there now (but great for a night out).

Some of the areas in the Lower North Shore are really lovely, but I found it a bit too quiet for my tastes when I looked around a few years back when we first arrived in Sydney. It had a quite a busy feel during the week, when people were working around North Sydney etc, but felt like a lot of shops and cafes closed at the weekend as their main business was office workers. But I'm sure parts of the area do come to life at the weekend, Sydneysiders love their weekend brunches

FINAL point - do you really want to live so close to work anyhow? Sometimes it's good to put some distance between yourself and the office etc so you can feel like you've escaped

northerner

Another vote for Balmain area from me. We are absolutely loving it here, central enough but Balmain's got it's own identity with a real villagey feel to it. Loads and loads of shops/bars/cafes/restaurants as Chels mentioned - I don't ever want to leave LOL

I work in St Leonards which is north of North Sydney (if that makes sense!) and I get the ferry most days (only one ferry from Balmain to Milsons point in the morning unfortunately but it's at a good time (for me at least) - 7.38am. And it gets to Milsons Point in 10 minutes. Others from Balmain/Balmain east go to Circular Quay more often but that doesn't help you much. If I want to go to work earlier I just get the bus in and then train out - no big deal. One thing I must say though is that getting the ferry to/from work is one of the finest ways to start/finish your working day - especially when you get blazing sun on your face all the way to work whilst out in the fresh air enjoying the view!

As for rentals you will be fine with that budget - how about this place? 5 minute walk to Balmain ferry stop - and a bus 2 minutes walk away into the city.

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1175246777

There you go - all sorted, you can buy me a beer when you arrive LOL

Graham

Oh and Chels, must try to make one of the drinking meets again...... Sorry

Mr_California

This information is outstanding. You guys rock!

daisylilymum

I lived in Randwick and hated it. I then moved to Balmain & loved it. I don't think you can go wrong with Balmain. As OP's have said close to CBD via ferry or bus. So much to do there Mind you, it was some time ago - so it may all have changed

hedgehog-girl

One word,


Balmain.

funky young and different and professional. You will find a great place to live and the girl (or boy!) of your dreams!