Escondido

Need some advises on where to stay in Sydney. I will be working in Macquarie Park and Sydney while my wife works in the City. We are thinking of renting at Rhodes, Meadowbank area (near to the trainline). How long would it take to drive from Rhodes/Meadowbank to Macquarie Park and would I encounter severe traffic jams during peak hours ? Any tolls roads to North Ryde area?

drivetrain

Hi, there arent any tolls on the Highway 3 (Homebush Bay Drive) which leads to Macquarie Park. We lived at Liberty Grove, Rhodes for 6 months, a self contained complex of a couple of hundred houses, and apartment blocks, rent is high ($1860.00 a month for a furnished unit). Approx 30 mins on train to Sydney City and a 10 minute drive to your destination. It can get busy at peak times, it is a fast road, but it leads you all the way. The area is nice and has been transformed since the games. This area is good if you like sports and entertainment, as the Telstra Stadium has lots of gigs etc on.. Hope this helps...

walaj

the other half works at Maquarie park - depending where you are working there maybe limited parking, and new parking restrictions have been put in place on Talavera Rd. A lot park at teh shopping centre, but going there last week after work there were plenty of cars parked where they should not - so looks like restrictions may have to come in place there too. There will be a train station opening on Ryde Rd nr to Epping Rd, but that is not planned to open until 2008(?).
Lane cove tunnel (toll) is due to open in next month or so (lot of political point scoring going on to when it will actually open) but should make it a bit better if that route is used.

Toll rd - there is the M2 with junction at Macquarie park, but that takes you out west or east to the tunnel or lane cove rd (which is v busy)

We live to the east along Ryde/mona Vale Rd, and yes traffic can get very bad, and I would suspect worse from the other direction - it is not too bad at the moment with school holidays & many people ahve been on hols.

Escondido

Hi drivetrain & walaj,

Thanks for your replies . Rental at Rhodes is expensive. However we do have a budget of $350 to work on and will settle with a secure 1 bedroom modern apartment.

What about traffic and rentals at Burwood or Strathfield area - Along the trainline or Paramatta Rd ? Would I be able to commute from this area to North Ryde on bus too ?

hubbard

Burwood is ugly, hot and smelly in summer. Traffic to and from along Paramatta Rd is nasty. Lots of traffic lights and loads of cars.

Mctree

West Ryde isn't too bad. You can a bus to Maquarie park or a train / ferry (from Meadowbank) into the city. It's cheaper than Rhodes, $400 a week should get a 3 bed house in W Ryde.

Swerv-o

Raiinoz who occasionally posts here works in Macquarie park and lives in Rhodes. I've been out to visit her a couple of times, and nice though it is there isn't much there beyound Ikea and a suite of shops. There are no nice restaurants or anything. I know that she was thinking of moving elsewhere, a bit 'nearer the action'.

Maybe drop her a PM and see what she says.

S

walaj

for public transport times & routes this is useful http://www.131500.info/realtime/default.asp

ptlabs

http://www.whereis.com.au

Even lets you choose tolled or non-tolled routes

Peter

ptlabs

Rentals in Burwood and Strathfield is usually more expensive for smaller dwellings as these are main train stations in the inner west. Strathfield is perhaps the busiest train station other than Redfern and Central stations.

Parramatta Rd is bumper-to-bumper to the city in the morning and to the west in the afternoon.

Peter

Escondido

Thanks everyone for your valuable comments.
Where is the nearest shopping town should I stay near to Meadowbank/Eastwood/West Ryde (along the trainline area)?

Mctree

Depends what you mean by shopping town. Not much in Meadowbank, West Ryde has a decent supermarket and a few shops, Eastwood has a small shopping centre.

Opposite Macquarie Park (North Ryde) is a large shopping Mall http://www.macquariecentre.com.au . Other shopping areas include Chatswood (Malls and High Street) and Parramatta.

Mummy

Lane Cove is where we started out - frequent buses from there to Macquarie Park and approx 30 mins to CBD on bus too. $350 will get you a 2 bed unit there. Nice leafy suburb with a good shopping/eating area.

Jacque

Agree with Mummy on Lane Cove. Nice area, in between Macquarie Park and CBD and close to shops and transport (bus to city) Plenty of 2 bed units for rent between $280-450, depending on condition and location, naturally.