mattyearle

Hey - I am moving to Sydney at some stage next year (depending on work!) and my missus loves looking on estate agents websites for possible houses we *might* be able to afford. The problem is that we have no idea what are nice suburbs - so her dream house could be in the equivalent of Moss Side.

Can anyone tell me which suburbs in Sydney are desirable, realistic (i.e. not TOO posh), best for transport links?

JoolsB

manly, newport, bilgola, balmain all nice

NickyC

The best suburbs are those near water, near the city. Mainly in this order:

1. Harbour fronted suburbs (east of bridge, south side) - like Darling Point, Point Piper, Vaucluse etc.

2. Harbour fronted suburbs (east of bridge, north side) - Mosman, Neutral Bay etc

3. Harbour fronted suburbs (west of bridge, north side) - Lavender Bay, McMahons Point etc

4. Parramatta/Lane Cove River suburbs (north side) - Hunters Hill, Longueville etc.

5. Eastern beach suburbs - Bronte, Bondi etc

6. North Shore suburbs - from North Sydney up the Pacific Highway to Wahroonga

7. Manly and Northern beaches

8. Parramatta River suburbs (south side) - Birchgrove, Balmain, Drummoyne etc

9. Other watery areas like Pittwater, Cronulla, Georges River suburbs.

All suburbs near water of any description cost a fortune. Good suburbs to checkout are those 2-3 back from the top-of-the-range versions. Then you get access to their facilities at a lower price.

Jockstar

You also have Randwick, Clovelly, Coogee.etc. I live in Randwick, 5 mins from Bronte and 5 minutes from Bondi Junction.

gillysm

We lived in on the norths shore at Killarney Heights which is near Forestville - both very family oriented suburbs - nie views of bits of middle harbour, close to bush, 15 mins from beaches. I know there are quite a few expats in Frenchs forest too which is nearby. I'd move back there tomorrow if I could afford it!
gilly

mattyearle

What sort of prices for housing should we expect to pay? We'd like a house (have lived in a flat for too long now!) but am not sure what is a realistic price in a nicer suburb?

yanH

On the North Shore I think that you'd be looking at $700,000+ for any sort of house. If you want a larger house with a reasonable garden probably a lot more than this. Check out the prices on www.domain.com.au