naturalselection

Awesome thanks, lots of locations to look into tomorrow! I noticed out to the west of Sydney central, the house prices drop off a cliff, are these "undesirable" areas?

Sydney is entirely down to a direct reach out from a corporation there, mixed with all the positives you hear about the place (minus cost of living). I had looked at Brisbane last year. My worry is that I'm going to waste the opportunity of a large corp. holding my hand along the way - maybe I should be more patient.

Thanks for the responses. Leichhardt looks like an awesome central location, brief search indicates I'd have to sell a my house, earn more and maybe a kidney or two! I've been doing up to 1.5 hours each way on some of the most notorious motorways in Europe for the past year - I've vowed never to do that again if possible, it's soul destroying, the money doesn't make up for it either. I'm guess I could easily do 1 hour each way sat on a train, anything less is a bonus. The salary range I gave is accurate, it worries me you say even in boom times it would be hard to achieve, so who the hell is living in these $1 houses then?! It sounds like London all over again :-)

Thanks for the response! I'm guessing the $1mil figure is applicable to anywhere within a reasonable commuting distance? Is that inclusive of appartments? Sounds like it might not be feasible at all, I'd have to sell my house here for sure with the deposit requirements! Aah well!

I'm considering a move to Sydney from Manchester, and I'm curious how viable it is to buy in the area (within a reasonable commute of the centre of Sydney)? Currently I'm a contract software engineer in the UK and in Aus I'd be permanent on a salary of 130-150K AUD - I'd be taking a cut in overall income. I own an house (with mortgage) in the UK, ideally I would keep this and rent it out, as a financial life-line to the UK should I return. I have a strong affinity with home ownership and don't think I could make the jump if home ownership isn't viable. 130/150K AUD seems like a decent salary, even in Sydney - so being condemned to perma-renting seems crazy, briefly looking at property prices it seems to be that way... but of course I lack local knowledge. Any help / advice would be much appreciated.