Pine Cone

Currently we're paying NZ$550 per week for a small 3 bed townhouse (with a garage but non-existant garden) in a convenient area, and walking distance to a decile 10 school. That works out about AU$425 per week. We are anticipating paying more than this in Oz, given the cost of living is higher. However, trying to work out how much more is reasonable is like trying to measure a piece of string without a ruler.

emigratingherberts

Can't think of a place 15 mins drive from the beach and 1 hour commute to CBD for that money

hotfuss

Although Sydney has an abundance of beautiful beaches, actually living close to one is tough if you're not willing to pay the big bucks. Also even if you live within a short drive of one (we are a ten minute drive to our nearest) parking is generally a bit of a nightmare. I have yet to find a beach where parking isn't an issue and I figure it's just one of the downsides of living in a big city.

If you're happy to do an hour commute to the CBD you won't have trouble finding reasonably priced accommodation but the 15 minute to a beach without parking issues may be a problem.

Maybe have a look around Lane Cove, Ryde, Chatswood.. they all have good public transport links to the city and would be about a half hour drive to Balmoral or Chinaman's Beach.. You'd also have Lane Cove National Park close by which is lovely..

Swerv-o

Yes, this is very true. A lot of people fail to realise that Sydney does have an awful of of wealthy people living here. There are many doctors, dentists, financiers, lawyers etc. The beaches and inner city suburbs are very affluent areas.



Unless it's trying to be Houston, in which case it's bad. very bad.



Agree with this. You may also want to consider The Shire - Down as far as Cronulla. Houses are typically cheaper, and there are excellent beaches nearby, and a reasonably swift rail service. Alternatively, some of the inner city suburbs are also lovely. If you already don't have a garden, and you are unlikely to miss it, then I would recommend Balmain. It's very close to the city, has its own waterfront, and is also off the beaten track a bit in terms of traffic by virtue of it being a peninsula. I live in Chippendale, next to the University, which is about 20 minutes walk from Central Station, 30 from Town Hall. This is a great area in my opinion - nice tree lined streets, yet period buildings with tons of charm and character. Still some bargains to be had too, if you're looking at buying, but the area is rapidly gentrifying since the government announced the demolition of the Redfern Stalin era housing projects and the Redfern re-development plan. Houses and apartments selling like hot cakes at the moment.


S

Bermudashorts

Just look on www.domain.com.au for prices. I think you would need to double it at least for a 3 bed house with the criteria you want.

cdb

Try Freshwater, Queenscliffe and Curl curl, All are close to beaches, reasonably priced (for Sydney) and you could commute to the CBD by means of a bus to Manly and then a ferry to the CBD,

Not a bad commute really I did it for the first 3 months here.

Pine Cone

Well as I said before, we anticipate spending more on a rental given the relative cost of acommodation is higher in Oz. Mostly, we are just trying to assess what is a reasonable sum to pay as we'd also be earning more too.

jamiejam

I lived 7.5 kms from the CBD and depending on the time of day, it could take me an hr by car. If you want within an hr and close to beaches, take a look at Sutherlandshire. Carringbah or Engadine for example

Pine Cone

What is Sutherlandshire like for public transport?

When I say within an hour, I am really talking about by public transport. Neither of us would particularly want to drive to the CBD of any city given that full-day car parking is usually so expensive, not to mention the gridlocked roads during rush hour. Hubby would rather sit on a bus/train/tram with his PSP than behind the wheel of a car thats not moving.

Swerv-o

The Shire is reasonably well connected by trains. There is a line that runs all the way down to Cronulla, which has a really nice beach. There is an express service to Sutherland, which avoids all the starting/stopping along the other route, though I am unsure when this runs.

Can't comment on buses.


S

plantpot

Forestville or Frenchs Forest could be good for you, you are near Clontarf (no issue parking and plenty of free parking unlike Balmoral whih is $9 for 2 hours!)...

Less than an hour from CBD and near beaches....Pay around 600 for a 3 bedder in this area....

LittleKittyCat

We live in Sutherland Shire and love it. We are right in the west of the shire, about 30 minutes drive from the beaches (we go to Bundeena, Garie and Watamolla in the Royal National Park in preference to Cronulla). Property prices vary depending exactly where you are, more expensive over to the coast/near the rivers and cheaper further inland. The train to the CBD is good, hubby used to commute to the CBD and thought the journey was fine.

It is a lovely area in my opinion.

SamG

This was also our choice for best job markets and we quickly came down on the side of Sydney. For us climate had a big impact in our decision - it's a lot better in Sydney for most of the year and we were looking for a real change from the UK.

Like a lot of Australia Sydney is fantastic for families - great beaches, parks, the Harbour, good schools, easy access to the Central Coast/Hunter Valley/Southern Highlands for a change of scene.

I've only lived on the North Shore so can't comment on living in other areas but can say that the North Shore of Sydney is a good family friendly area with good access to beaches and good transport links to the city. Of course all this comes at a cost and it's not cheap. We live very simply and I'm a demon budgeter so we get by but I think cost is the main drawback of Sydney life.

The city itself is relatively safe and has a great vibe to it, but then I'm sure Melbourne does too

I guess you need to research, research, research and make endless lists until you start to make some sense of it. We started off by looking at New Zealand, Canada and Australia - once we'd settled on Oz we whittled our search down again through the cities and just tried to think about what was important to us, why were we moving, etc.... then our choice of destination became clear.

Good luck with your decisions!

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Try looking South towards Wollongong then. That would get you out of Sydney completely and so long as you only go as far South as say Thirroul then its an hour on the train to Central station..... its also a much much much better place to live than any of the Sydney suburbs out West.

SamG

In my (pretty expensive) part of town a 3-4 bed rental will set you back $800-$1000 per week.