isobelmaria

Hi everyone - this is my first post as we are moving to OZ within the next 2 months. My hubby will be working in North Sydney just over the bridge and we need to look for a 4 bed house to rent. We have a 3 yr old and 6month old twins! Ideally we want to be no more than 10 mins drive from the beach but with a reasonable garden space. also our son will be going to pre-school and primary next year so there have to be good options. Ideally I would like to be able to walk from the house to local amenities inc. school, kiddies park, cafe/shop etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated as hubby is there now and needs to look around this weekend.........

pink-passion-flower

Hi
we are hope fully going soon to the best places to look i have heard is the sutherland shires but if you go to google maps you can look. the shires as its called have shops within walking distance and lots of beaches and little coves really nice but can be expensive.

Kooky.

I doubt you want to live in the shires and work in North Sydney.

Tons of threads on this so have a look in the archives; you can usually find me on them and look out for "plantpot" too as she moved here last year with a little one so will be good for pre-schools and so on.

My area is great (5 mins walk up the hill to North Sydney, tons of cafes and enough shops) but not cheap, certainly not for 4 bedrooms. I would recommend looking around the North Shore trainline. Google maps is a great help.

Would offer to meet your husband (don't take that the wrong way ) and drive him around, etc., but we're away for the weekend, sorry.

mohogony

The problem with Sydney is you need millions of dollars to live somewhere nice like the north shore otherwise your out in the western suburbs with the gangs.

lapin_windstar

Yeah, err...helpful and true!

More helpfully: don't live in Sutherland Shire and try to commute to the North Shore!

I think step 1 would be to find out how close the place of work is to CityRail and decide whether OH is going to commute by train or not. If you're starting with a clean slate, everything else can flow from there. Traffic along Military Road can be brutal!

emigratingherberts

It all depends on your budget and how long your husband is willing to travel everyday. Also be aware that rental costs are calculated weekly not monthly. If you want to be close to the beach then you need to be looking at either North Shore or Eastern suburbs.

paddyo

Rubbish, I certainly DO NOT have millions of dollars!! I live in Manly and although it is more expensive then the western suburbs it is affordable depending on what you are looking for.
For the OP, 10 mins from the beach can be a lot of places on the Northern Beaches, North Shore or Eastern suburbs but it is really dependant upon the length and type of commute your OH is willing to undergo. I would not go to Sutherland Shire, purely because of the distance involved, but if he is happy with an hour plus commute to North Sydney than it may be worth a look. Also, do you really NEED a 4 bedroom place? If you can make do with 3 it would open up your options and might enable you to live in a nice suburb more easily. As another poster mentioned, rents here are WEEKLY so make note of that when you see a fantastic 4 bed in Mosman for $1800, it will be 4 times that per month!!
We live in a very nice sea front 2 bed apartment in Manly with stunning views and it costs $650 per week but we only have ourselves and our demon son of 4 yrs to accomodate, oh, and its the bloody views we are paying for!!
It is a huge city and a weekend to look for your hubby is not easy!! If you want I can assist him with any advice, suburb travel etc....but not on Sunday as I am going to the Manly wine fair!!!!
Use this link to plan a journey:
http://www.131500.com.au/default.asp
and this link to look at Sydney rentals:
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Sear...term=Balgowlah

swigski

Suburbs on the train line like Chatswood, Roseville, Lindfield, Gordon and Pymble are good for the commute to North Syd.

Otherwise for proximity to beach you are looking at places like Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne. Bus service to NS.

For best of both worlds, Cammeray, Northbridge and Willoughby are 10 mins from city, 10 mins from North Sydney and 10-15 mins from beaches. All serviced by Bus to NS and CBD

Not much around on the rental market especially 4 bedrooms. 3 may be more easier to find. Good Luck!!

mohogony

l meant you need millions to buy a house not rent.

Rainydaze

Try http://www.cityhobo.com/ for info on some of the more popular Sydney suburbs.

tartankoala

That is an excellent site

The same could be said for all the suburbs next to the ocean!

As for the OP's question, try any of the lower North Shore suburbs but you may have to take what you can get in the short term. It's highly unlikely that you'll find a rental with your exact requirements first time unfortunately and even if you do there will be serious competition to get it. Good luck though.

FHI

With a young family you should also look at Forestville, Kilarney, Frenchs Forest, Beacon Hill, Davidson, Belrose and around that area. They are not on the train line but you can get to North Sydney.

paddyo

Eventually!!!!

lapin_windstar

OP: your husband needs to be very organised to look at property - inspection times are short and brutal 15/30 minute blocks and if you're late, tough. He needs to get up early, buy the Sydney Morning Herald for the domain supplement (or do it all online through domain.com.au) and line up a cluster of houses to see in a neighbourhood one after the other. He'll need a car and a good street atlas too because it's a thrash between them all.

Also: it would help if you can tell us more about where you live now and how you like it. For instance, French's Forest and Forestville can be very car-oriented (although there are good express bus services into the city at peak hours, I believe) but if that's like where you already live and you're fine with it, then that might not worry you.

Still rubbish, with an side order of irrelevant, considering OP asked about renting. It's also rubbish that the Western Suburbs are full of gangs. And it's also a false (rubbish) dichotomy that your choice is EITHER somewhere nice OR the West.

isobelmaria

Thanks all... it is very budget dependent. Husband's company foot the bill and are not known for their generosity! We don't know the budget yet which is seriously inconvenient but as some of you suggest it prob won't be enough for 4 beds near the beach. Thanks anyway for the suggestions... I have forwarded them to hubby. Not knowing the areas at all myself is quite tricky as you really need to have a feel for them... but here I am in the UK trying to pick a house! Is it ideal to have a pool? We have just been in Johannesburg for 3 years where everyone has one because you can swim for 9 months of the year. How long is the 'swim season' over there??