Hi there, just wondered if any one can help or advice.
We are moving out to Aus in May and like the look of Terrigal. Have contacted the school and they were helpful. Does anyone know this area? Husband will be commuting into Sydney every day. I thought Terrigal looked too far out for that but he thinks its ok.
Also couches, roughly how much would a decent corner sofa, 2 seater plus chair cost. As we are taking a 20 foot contatiner we thought we would get new couches to put in as I think they could cost more in Aus. They cost £2,500 here.
Also has anybody used Atlantic shipping from the UK and pps pet shipping.
It does seem like a real hassel to ship the dog over and she is very nervous. Not sure if we are doing the right thing for her.
Will it also make renting property hard.
Sorry for so many questions but if anyone could help I would be very grateful.
Thanks
Kaz

I think it is a long way to travel every day. A good two hours each way, if not 2.5 hours.

We looked into it quite recently and had to dismiss it as too much. We are not 9 to 5-ers though, at a push it might be manageable for somebody with very defined hours like that. We have to work the hours required though so it was not an option.

Thanks for that we thought it was about 1.5 hour each way. He already does that driving the M1 everyday so thought it would be ok. I did point out that the commuting was one reason to move.
I noticed you are Nothern beaches, could you suggust any other area's to consider pls.
Thanks
Kaz

I think the train journey might be about 1.5 hours, but then you need to get to the train station first and then once you get off the train in Sydney you are unlikely to be slap bang beside your office. So that is where we got 2 to 2.5 hours from.

I believe if you do google directions it will tell you have it is about 1.5 hours drive from Terrigal to Sydney.

If you did some google directions from Collaroy (where I live) to Sydney it will say 34 minutes. Fact is there is no way I would be able to drive from Collaroy to Sydney in 34 minutes unless I had the road to myself. The bus I get every day at 6.30am takes 45 minutes and that has a dedicated bus lane. I think it would take a good hour to drive from Collaroy into Sydney in the morning or evening.

I only moved last year so I am no expert on where to live, however if you are looking for somewhere near the beach but a bit further out than Collaroy, then I would recommend Newport or Avalon.

Thanks for the advice, I will look up those area's
Kaz

I live in Terrigal. Depends on the time of day for your trip to the station. Traffic is particularly bad at school times needing an allowance of 40 minutes to get to Gosford station. Outside peek/school times, it only takes 20 minutes. Terrigal to Sydney is about 1.5 hours by car - subject to the F1 freeway working okay.

Personally, I would not look to commute daily to Sydney from Terrigal, although I know there are some that do it. I visit Sydney 1 to 3 times a month and can stand the commute for that!

I spent a lot of time in Terrigal the best part of a decade ago. Actually, it was 1 year shy...

It will be alot busier now than then, and when I went back in 2006! it seemed hectic!

Terrigal / Avoca / Wamberal etc - great area to live in especially if you have kids, but commute to Sydney as other have said is at least 2 hours on an average day. Outside of peak hours it can be done by car in 1.5 if you have flexible working hours. I commuted for over 7 years before eventually admitting defeat and getting a local job.

There are new housing estates all around Terrigal, a lot of the houses purchased by investors are offered as rentals so you can get a nice modern house for reasonable rent. ( $450 - $550 per week ) Cheaper/smaller properties are in short supply. Restaurants and Cafe's are average but shut earlier than in Sydney, kitchens close before 9am during the week and 10am on weekends. There are not many 'good pubs' in the area if that's your thing. Shopping is good, two major Mall's ( Erina and Tuggerah ) and lots of smaller shopping centres dotted around the place. There are good Primary schools in the area, and also there are a few pre and after school care places popping up now who also do school vacation care too.

Cost of living is slightly cheaper than the Northern Beaches though. You're question about furniture - it really depends on the quality you are looking for. A corner unit with two chairs would be about $3000 for a reasonable quality unit in leather. If you went to a 'fancy pants italian style shop' double that.

Rental will be harder with a dog, but if you leave her behind you'll miss her. Central Coast isn't very dog friendly, but there are areas set aside by council for off-leash walking. Terrigal has a good area at 'the skillion' that allows dogs.
Outside the allocated areas the Rangers issue on the spot fines for dogs off leash and they are ruthless.

Hi Kaz

Like others have said, Terrigal is lovely but really too far for a Sydney commute. Reconsider other areas such as the Northern Beaches or Eastern suburbs if you want to be near the water (will also largely depend on your budget!)

Re: pets. Yes, you will find it extremely difficult to rent with a dog. Make no mistake here. You may want to leave him in the UK (if not too difficult) with family or friends and perhaps buy another pet when you buy something in Oz. Best of luck with it all.

Depending on exactly where your oh is likely to be working, you could also consider Sutherland Shire which is around an hour south of Sydney CBD, and a lovely family friendly area. We are pretty close to the coast and I would think that prices are a bit lower than Northern Beaches (I haven't actually looked for a while, but they were).

Hubby used to commute to Sydney CBD from Yowie Bay on the Train (Miranda or Sutherland station), took him maybe just over an hour including finding a park at the station and then walking to work the other end. He found it no bother at all.

Terrigal is nice. We stayed up that way when we came on our reccie (at Forresters Beach, also lovely), but the few trips that we made in to Sydney to meet with oh's new employer were long and very dependant on the traffic. One Friday evening it took us over three hours to drive from Chatswood to Forresters because there had been an accident. I definitely wouldn't want oh to do that sort of commute daily, he works late nights and weekends, so he would never see the children.

Hi Babybella,

How is the decision making? We are the opposite to you. We have settled in Collaroy despite my husband working on the Central Coast. You definitely need to get a feel for the places and schools to make a decision. We looked in Terrigal, Northern Beaches and Upper North Shore. Please feel free to send me a private message if you need any advice. We arrived 4 weeks ago and have been in this house for 1 week, having stayed in holiday rentals for the first 3 weeks with 3 children in tow!
It is really not easy, especially when you need to consider schools. We had that dilemma...private in Central Coast but happy with public in Sydney...obviously looked into the schools and there were only a handful that we had picked to be close to.

Good luck...the Northern beaches are lovely and lots going on, if you want it but equally peaceful when you choose.

I think you mean the F3, but yes it is 1 1/2 hr to north sydney and yes I too have the Journey from terrigal to sydney but only every forthnight or so. if I did commute, I still wouldn't move as I would not find anywhere nicer to be when I have time off, the people are great. My neighbour does the commute everyday to parrmatta road.. You need to way up the pro's and cons of work days and weekends, but also what your neighbours are like or could be like. On another post a couple are having huge issues with bogons and horrible neighbours. Best of luck with your decision, check out other expats here and ask them, their opinion..
Eamon.