plantpot

Cromer,Turramurra, Avalon, Chatswood, Dee Why, Dulwich Hill, St Peters Erskineville, Gladesvilleand Albert Park...

Care to comment on the vibe, particularly keen to hear about Avalon as City Hobo says the following...

'This is the place surfers and people who were into herbal teas during the 1970’s and 1980’s have ended up. And who would blame them. Avalon is a sensational place. It’s got a great beach, great views, plenty of trees, good cafes, and a welcoming village feel. Natural therapies abound.'....

I am kind of wondering if this description is a good thing or NOT, I am imagining Koh San Road in Bangkok with dread locked hippies and patchouli, or was that in the past? Is there ANY truth to this?

And ...btw ...WHAT is a colorado shoe?

PP

NickyC

OK - me as usual .

I'll tell you what I know about the ones I know about (I'm not familiar with all of them.)

Avalon is nice, really nice. I'd live there if it wasn't so far away. As the description says it does have a great beach and a lovely village-like shopping centre. It also fronts onto Pittwater (on the opposite side of the peninsular) and has sailing clubs and the like. It's not the slightest bit hippy-like and very few dreadlocked people (too expensive nowadays). It's probably the best example of a Sydney beach suburb - not too busy and not too quiet.

Chatswood has a whopping big shopping centre. Once you get away from the CBD bit, the surrounding streets are nice. Biggish blocks and lots of federation-style houses.

Dulwich Hill is nothing special. Inner west but not one of the nicer inner west suburbs.

St Peters and Erskineville. I'd say not. It's the cheaper end of Newtown and Newtown attracts a mix of people ranging from students to extremely alternative weirdos. It has some interesting shops though and loads of cheap restaurants.

Can't assist with any of the others. Of them all, if you can cope with the distance go for Avalon.

PS Colorado shoes come from Colorado shops.
http://www.colorado.com.au/home/default.asp#/home

gedge

Nothing like Koh San road, and i've stayed there a few times.
I cannot rate Avalon highly enough, I would move back there in a flash.
Yes there was/is a percentage of residents who probably smoke the herbs but it's not noticeable as everyone is so laid back and chilled (well almost).
It has a good mix of people, never met anyone there who wasn't friendly.
The natural therapies, well yes it seems to have a high proportion of places giving wholistic, natural, acupuncture, herbal, reflexology.... treatments, but it ain't so bad. Book yourself up a massage and you'll appreciate it all the more.

Colorado, just one of those high street clothing chains.

plantpot

Thanks for that, I quite fancy it but am wondering if the price tag is fantastic as well

Soooo glad it's not Koh San Road!!!

Might need to come and see it when I arrive....how long would it take to get to Lavendar Bay? Or surrounds?

PP

plantpot

Thanks NickyC....helpful as usual!!! Exactly how far is it from the rest of the world? Say Lavendar Bay? And how pricey is it? Trying to find the balance between HUGE $$$$ and tiny and bigger and less $$$ ranging from the desireable to the less desres....

Hmmmm ..... thinking cityhobo was written by someone ON the 'erb themselves....;

gedge

I had to remind myself of where L Bay is. Milson's Point / North Sydney.
Rush hour traffic... hour and a half to two I would guess. You'd have either the Pacific highway to slog down or the Spit bridge to be squeezed thru.
My preference would be the bridge and then navigate some of the rat runs from Mosman thru Cremorne and NB.
Yeah maybe not such a great commute unless you can negotiate flexi time. Otherwise I'd go for a location near the train line.

Oh btw, Dee Why... don't do it. Of all the places in the area... blot on the landscape imo.

asher

If you need to commute the best way is by train it's comparatively hassle free get a map of the trains and look at places with stations nearby.


The train is more reliable than the UK (not saying much there) and a darn site cheaper.
Sydney is a huge place, you really need to go look at the suburbs to get a feel for them We had very firm views of where we wanted to live after exhaustive research however that all went out of the window after having a look at the suburbs.
Avalon and whale beach are dream locations ...UNLESS you want to commute to the CBD then it's a nightmare!

plantpot

Thanks that's true, I guess our pre requisites are to be centralish to Sydney as jobs will be in Lav Bay or around about or will need to travel anyway, so better to be central than really far north and then have to travel really far anyway...

So centralish it is, no idea what that is but will just keep an open mind, all the reviews from City Boho count for nothing if you haven't seen the places, and Colorado and Thong as a description of an area make no sense to me...

Thanks again all...xxx

PS if you 'can' rec any very central South or North then feel free...

Jacque

Hiya

I wouldn't go placing too much faith in cityhobo. Half of Sydney's suburbs aren't even on it! Far better to buy a book like Sydney's Best Suburbs (Author: Michael McNamara) just recently released for about $30 as it give you a much more detailed and accurate guide, with maps etc.
Lavender Bay (which is just lovely) is next door to McMahons Point/Milsons Point and is a very pricey place to live, renting or buying. It all depends on your budget, and how close to the city you want to be.
Like others have said, you really need to see these places for yourself before deciding. Too difficult otherwise.