Can anyone recommend Sydney suburbs ? We have a young family and want all the usual things us Brits crave , sun , sea , chilled lifestyle . We want to be a max of 50km outside the city if poss . Looking for a four bed house in a nice neighbourhood with good schools and facilities nearby , at the moment the hardest thing is trying to narrow down the area we want to settle , Oz is one big country !!! Cheers everbody !!!

1. Where will you be working...?
2. What's your budget...?

Castle Hill in western Sydney is where I spent my teenage years, good schools, loads of playing fields, pony club, exelent public transport and a really nice shopping center. I would recommend living there to anyone, although in the center of town houses can be pricey, if your willing to make the kids uses there bikes to get around on you can still get well priced houses. Actually anywhere in the Hills area is nice.

Steve will be looking for construction work as a foreman , site supervisor . Our housing budget is from $600,000 to $1,000,000 .

If you do a search here there have been a few "which Sydney suburb" threads recently

Ah... You have the visa and the necessary licences, etc already...? $1m will get you an OK house up here on the Northern Beaches - it's a nice place to live... Not sure where most of the big construction stuff is going on though... Guess you'd be travelling a bit...

You could live like a king in the Hills area with a budget like that, horses, motorbikes and as much land as you want. Try Cherrybrook, Glenorie, Castle Hill, Kellyville all around that area.

Second the Hills recommendation- 35km from CBD and great place for families with great schools, shopping and sporting grounds. You will get a lot for your money here.

With a budget up to max $1m there's a lot of options open to you, including North Shore and Eastern suburbs as well. However, there are obviously large discrepancies in what your money is going to buy you. A couple of examples:

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1201819413
Castle Hill- Hills

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1201819579
Neutral Bay - no parking- Lower North Shore

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1201819683
Wahroonga- Upper north shore

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1201819802
Bondi- no parking- Eastern suburbs

You're really best off doing a reccy trip, if you haven't been here before, or at least renting in short term accommodation before buying for the first time. I had a client from interstate who made the mistake of purchasing before checking out the area properly and 12 mths later, decided to move to an entirely different part of Sydney- expensive exercise!

Best of luck

Hey and thanks for the info , i am looking into the Northern beach areas also , we will rent for a while because we want to get it right the first time . We would prefer a large plot of land or a house that has seen better days ( as your Wahroonga house ) as we are builders and i would like my own stamp on whatever we build , we would ideally like to purchase a few of these properties , for newbuild or renovation .

Come south to Kirrawee, Gymea, Miranda, Cronulla - anywhere in the Sutherland Shire really.

Good shopping, close to beaches and bays, Royal National Park 5 minutes away, good rail links.

Its very nice here..!

i would second cronulla

I think you should look at Harbord (just had a name change back to Freshwater)
I think it has everything you are looking for. A good pub, walk to beach, a nice village atmosphere. Also close to shops and transport and Manly for nights out, restaurants and bars etc. There is a good high school at Freshwater ( my daughter went there). Check it out.

I just noticed that you are considering St Ives. Don't go there. There is absolutely nothing to do for teenagers or you for that matter. Message me for more info.
Heather

Wasn't that area the scene of riots and racial tension a while back?

yep Cronulla is fabulous it must be it's where I live