MarkMC

Hi All

We got our visa's granted last year and had to get them validated before April 2008, I had gap in my work plans, so we decided to head down for a visit.

The 27th Jan started with a 2 hour drive to drop the Doggies off, followed by another 3.5 hours to the airport. We flew out of Heathrow on 27th Jan and arrived in Sydney on the morning of 29th in much need of a shower!!! We picked up a hire car and headed in to the city. Somehow even with the help of tomtom we missed the turning and ended up the wrong side of the harbour. So a trip over the infamous bridge and $3.50 in tolls put us back on track.

The hotel did not have a room ready, and we got told there check in time was 3pm, "BUT ITS ONLY 10:30" after a few minutes of arguing they agreed to get a room ready asap and ring once it was available. We sat in a cafe stinking the place out, and managed to get in to the room at about midday. Refreshed, we headed out to circular quay, took photos of the bridge and the opera house, that was the tourist bit out of the way!

We had a look at lots of suburbs and spoke to some locals and we both agree we like (and can afford) the hills district. We found a display of new builders with 120 new homes to look at in Kellyville. We picked the nearest 4 builders to the car park and had a nosey. The first were really helpful, chatty and gave us loads of advice. The next 2 were pretty useless. We were not welcomed in to the show homes, they just looked at us and comtinued chatting, so they were crossed straight off, The final one had a lovely display home with loads of glass and a great layout. The sales lady was really friendly and gave us loads of info to take away. Its not something that we had though about before, but building a home is now a serious option.

The weather in Sydney has been terrible, a months worth of rain overnight, and its supposed to be summer. We Hit a few more tourist attractions and quickly got bored. NOTE a week in a hotel in the centre of Sydney is far too long. Maybe we were in the wrong place, and the weather didnt help. We hit the Zoo and the Aquarium, the maritime museum, got the ferry to Manly, got bored....

Anyhow, we are in the Hunter Valley now, Weather was great this morning, Visited a few vinyards and the Hunter Valley Gardens (very good), but its raining again now. We're sat here watching the rain with a bottle of plonk.

Here's to hoping that the weather improves......

Cheers

Mark and Kerry

kronk

Hi

Do you mind me asking what builders you looked round in Kellyville? This is an area that we are looking at and we are also considering building.

Thanks for your help.

Backhomeatlast

Sounds like Blackpool

saveme

A week in Sydney is far too long? And Sydney is supposed to be the most exciting of Aussie cities!

I think I'd have got a travelcard for all suburbs (what are they called?) bus, ferry,train and gone round the compass - say 190 bus to Palm Beach one day, train to Cronulla another, Campbelltown, Penrith, Hornsby, Parramatta. Forgot the Eastern Subs - how could I? Watson's Bay and The Gap, Bondi Beach and if the weather is OK, do the coast path thru Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee and back on the bus again.

In 2006 I spent a few months in Sydney and I went out each arvo in the car and picked a suburb at random, parked up, walked around for an hour or so, went in a pub or club, did some shopping. Got to enjoy even suburbs with bad rep like Lakemba.

It's fun just trying to go where the locals go. I had a week in London in Jan - OK I did go to a few museums but what I was mostly doing was just walking around, stopping for a coffee at Pret a Manger, walking a bit more. I can do that in any city!

Fleaflyfloflum

Geez.. if you are that bored with Sydney that quick, whatever you do dont go anywhere else!!!

I would question your move if i were you!!

Seriously..

MarkMC

I meant we were board with the City, we got out to Palm beach and some other suburbs in the car. They were better, but the torrential rain didnt help, we couldn't have a walk around.

Hutch

It has been monsoonal down here - 'the big wet' on the east coast, courtesy of La Nina. But I'm inclined to agree with everyone else - if you got that bored of the very hub of Sydney within the space of a week - then I think you should probably stay put - rain or not. I mean, it's not like the Hills District is going to be more vibrant than the 2000 post code, is it?

asher

how the hell did you manage to be bored in Sydney? I just spent 3 months there and there was just so much I still hadnt done/seen!

Have you not got an umbrella? waterproof?

yes it rained a lot when I was there (just got back) but yikes theres just so much and lots indoors too

I spent a whole day just riding the ferries

Mrs Jackaroo

This is where they would have been:

http://www.homeworld.com.au/

Its a HUGE estate full of different builders homes in various styles - excellent

kronk

That's great, thanks for this link, I'll have a good look through

Mrs Jackaroo

you're welcome

MarkMC

Yeah, thats it. Homeworld, was great to have a look round and chat to the builders.

MarkMC

There are loads of things that we are planning to do once we move here, such as scuba diving, joining a rugby club, etc, etc. The fact we got bored with the touristy bits in the city doesnt mean we should question the move. We came back in to Sydney after the Hunter Valley and enjoyed it, we just needed a few days out of the hustle and bustle. I even looked in to the diving and ended up in with the sharks in Manly.

It was hard trying to have a holiday and relax and really enjoy it, when we were we were constantly thinking could we live here, is this better than the UK.... Like I just said we had a better time once we had chilled out and treated it more like a holiday.

Jacque

So how are you going now Mark?
I pity you with all the rain- it actually has got depressing and is most unusual for this time of year. It's been the first Sydney summer I can recall where I feel seriously ripped off- what happened to summer!? Usually we have balmy nights and really hot days, but all we've seen is rain, rain and more rain. Great for the garden and catchment areas however

I know the Kellyville area well and Homeworld too- big estate with lots of brand new housing which is great for decorating ideas and colours
Personally, I'd buy something already built as there's a plethora of choice in homes in this area less than 10yrs old, and you get the benefit of landscaping, growing trees, a readymade neighbourhood and other features not included in the new home packages eg: pergolas, paving, more upmarket fittings and fixtures, pools etc. Kellyville has been in the news here recently in Sydney, with mortgagee sales making headlines, but I believe there's some real bargains to be found in the established home market. There are some areas that are considered "better" than others, though it's more a snobbery factor with one side of the road a different council than the other.

Building brand new from scratch can be an exciting thought, but everyone I know who's gone down this path (my own family included) has said they'd reconsider if doing it again. The "extras" really add up and it's very easy to underestimate the costs such as site costs, service connections (gas for eg), floor and window coverings, fencing etc

Having said this, if you still prefer to build ensure the builder is reputable, speak to past clients and make sure you know upfront all your likely costs, then add 10% for good measure. Though at the time of signing you're sure you won't change the plans, as the build progresses, you're going to change your mind about something- trust me on this Building is not for the faint-hearted, even when it's a project home.

The biggest upside is that you only pay stamp duty on the land when you build, whereas SD on established homes is for the total value. Though this can add up you may still end up being better off buying something that's finished and you can clearly see. Personal choice, really.

Check out this site for more reading and best of luck!

http://www.homesite.com.au/new-homes-and-land

MarkMC

Hi Jacque

We are back in the UK now, its bloody freezing.... I prefer the warm rain :-)

Our last week was really good, We had some amazing food, including a really good Indian . I've read on here that the curry's are rubbish, I have to disagree. I had some amazing fish dishes too, I never eat fish in the UK.

Thanks for the advice about the houses. We still have a lot of big decisions to make and will be looking at some ready built ones. We will be starting with a rental and taking it from there. I like the idea of a landscaped garden with a pool

Cant wait to get back out there, I'm even considering dropping the house keys back to the bank rather than selling it just to get back out there a bit quicker.

Mark and Kerry