Captain Roberto

ha ha! well the bay run is always there so easy loops if you are in that area. Many runners run all around the harbour. I am a little bit on and off myself> when I was full time employed it was quite easy to run around Pyrmont or Mrs Maquaries chair at lunchtime, but now I am self-employed it's harder to get as many opportunities to train often enough. Normally the six-foot track marathon is on on March, but as it's in the Blue Mountains it might happen this year as it's just too dangerous and smoky and the parks are often closed now - https://www.sixfoot.com/

https://enfieldscott.wixsite.com/trailblazers-sydney https://www.sydneytrailseries.com.au/sydneytrailseries/index I reckon you'll find plenty out here. The only small drawback for me personally is that a lot of stuff starts a bit early, like meeting at 5;30 aam - I like to be asleep then!

There's lots of running routes around Sydney. Maybe follow some of the runners on Strava and see where they run? Try these lot: Look for Sydney Striders (running team) Sydney Harbour Runners and maybe runners Like Thomas do Canto, Ben St Lawrence, People always run around the 'bay run' and all around the harbour, there's lots of trails in the north in the bush and also in the blue mountains. Lots of options

You could look somewhere like Forestville or Frenchs forest or Surrounds (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Cromer) if you want to be nearer to work and also close enough to beaches. There's buses that go along Warringah Road towards Chatswood then loads of trains into North Syd. Have a look o Google Maps - you can track the kind of places and get an idea. Once you cross the Roseville bridge (between Forestville and Roseville) it's not too far a drive to North Sydney or the harbour bridge (although there's a lot of traffic). And there's a lot of transport options on buses and trains from Chatswood. Sydney is zoned up by the landscape, so you will find things like the harbour and areas of bush/national parks tend to carve up the landscape a bit. So there's not many eas ways to get east to west, and that can slow down the commute. Vibes wise, there's quite a bit of difference between different areas, and there's a different feel nearer the beaches compared to the upper North Shore. It depends what you like, but you can't really be told by other people what will suit you. We lived on the upper north shore for 1 year when we first moved out, but found that we spent every weekend travelling to the beaches. So, after the 1st 12 months was up we just moved to the beaches! In hindsight it would have been better to just move to the beaches so it would be less disruptive for the kids. But hindsight is useful like that hey... Further up the beaches (maybe from Collaroy onwards, and especially north of Mona vale) is a bit more of a hassle to commute to and out of most places and it's a little bit easier lower down. Lots of people love Freshwater but it's maybe a bit more expensive, but it does have a lot of good stuff going for it. It's more expensive by the beach, and a bit cheaper a little inland (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Brookvale, Cromer etc) if that helps.

Places like Marrickville are very handy for Darlington - or anywhere in the inner west. Or if you go out further south if you like more of an out door beach life, like Cronulla or the shire you can jump on a train that will go to Central Station. Darlington is not too far from there. Depends what you like. I know of people who live out lower than the Royal National Park and commute in from places like Thirroul.

it's when i try to log in form this part - which is a link about 3 further in from the one you sent @vickyplum - https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen/permanent-resident it's not working. maybe it's just today. I'll try again tomorrow!

Hi all We are eligible to become citizens here now, and we need to proceed so my kids can apply for student loans - my eldest is currently coming towards the end of year 11, so we need to get on. Is it just me, or does the page/site never work? I get permanent sever errors here: if anyone has any sinight here on when is a good time to look, please let me know! Thanks in advance Matt

If you do look at the summer hill / inner west area, do a search for the ‘bay run’. It’s basically by the harbour and there’s lots of water about. It’s not the beach but it’s open spaces and there’s lots of parkland. Good coffee and cafes lots of benefits https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/explore/parks-sport-and-recreation/walking-and-cycling/walking-and-cycling-routes I’m not suggesting this is ‘the’ solution but I know a lot of people who live out that way. They run, cycle and it’s in between SOP and the CBD. Beach wise you could probably get to the eastern beaches or down to Cronulla from there. It’s always hard to tick every box really. So pick what important to you. Our mix has its pros and cons but overall for the whole family I feel like we are in the right location. I’m the only one in the family who has a long ish commute to work but I can handle it. Kids are happy. Gotta look at the big picture!

I have friends in Petersham, summer hill - and Lewis Hamilton and marrackville are nearby. It’s inner west - but further out. A sweeter spot between the more in demand places and spots like Ashfield which are maybe a litre less suitable. Maybe look intp those? My mate has a dog and says it’s good for dog walks.

also - regarding dogs. From our experience, being 'further out' doesn't necessarily equate to being dog friendly. In my experience the opposite is true. Some places are just more dog friendly as they have plenty of places to take dogs and they are more tolerant of dogs. We did initially live in the upper north shore, which is a kinda 'upmarket'-but-tedious part of Sydney, and they really hated dogs there. There was hardly anywhere to take ours. there might be loads of national parks etc, but you can't take the dog there! so, what's really needed is a place with 'user friendly' infrastructure. I know people who live in more 'urban' areas who say there are loads of good places to take dogs. It's pretty hard to discern what's what from asking people on the internet and googling unfortunately. You only really know what suits you when you try and find out for yourself. I'd focus on finding a nice place to live once you get over here. We ended up on the northern beaches, which is very dog friendly and pretty nice all 'round, but it's a bit of a trek to SOP from there.

anywhere in the inner west? Marrackville?

Indeed. We know well as we only moved from Newport (on the road up to the plateau, Cheryl Crescent) to MV just before Xmas. My teen daughters go to school at freshwater senior campus (older one) and Pittwater HS (younger one), so we took the opportunity to make it easier for them. All in all, you can't go wrong around there. Lovely part of the world! Newport public is a good school. My boy goes there and we like it.

Sydney traffic is quite bad and commuting isn't great. Buses and trains a but batter as you can read, mediate, listen to audiobooks an podcasts etc - but most of the public transport is designed to get you in and out the CBD. So you will probably end up driving. Not the end of the world, but it could be up to 3 to 4 hours a day. Most people i know who do this leave really early, work from 7am til 3 or 4pm and avoid traffic jams this way. I can see what you mean about wanting to live near the beach as it's a nice lifestyle, so it's hard to make it work immediately. But maybe you could live near the beach and just get another job with a better commute later? If you know where you ideally want to be in 2 or 3 years time, I'm sure you can make it work. You might just need to take a couple of different steps to get there.

Hey These are both lovely suburbs. We lived in Newport for about 2.5 years and liked it very much - but recently we moved to Mona Vale as it was better suited for us, better transport for work and for the kids to go to school, with B Line bus service etc and little nearer to the CBD. It's about an hour to Wynyard in the morning on the bus depending on whether you get stuck in traffic between Mosman and York St (which you often to, but this can't be helped...) When we were at Newport, they changed the bus service and brought in the B line, and I ended up driving from Newport down to Narrabeen every day and it took maybe an extra 15 mins each way. All 1st world problems, but in general, the higher up the peninsula you go, the more hassle it is getting around on public transport and the more conservative it gets with resident groups trying to stop any and all changes to ways of life. It was these lot that blocked the b line bus going to Newport. Not really a major problem if you are older, richer and don't use public transport, but less useful for our teenage kids and for CBD workers.

That may well be possible, but in general you might find you need to up your rental budget, as everyone does here. But also - in most cases you get paid a bit more and can afford the extra rent. It just balances out somehow around Sydney. Other than that I'd be a little bit flexible, maybe make peace with the idea of maybe moving after a while if you don't quite like the suburb you have picked first time. we've been here over 3.5 years and have lived in 3 different suburbs, although the latest suburb is the next one along from the one we were living in previously. What I really mean by this is only you can know what's right for you, and it's hard to know until you spend spend time over here. Research on the web only gets you so far. Different suburbs differ greatly as far as i an tell, and everyone has their own needs. For us we like a balance of good lifestyle and lot of things to do locally, balanced with good transport options for work and schools. We also like the beach i summer as it's really hot and we need to keep cool to keep sane Most schools here are pretty decent I think. We've just always use state/public schools and our kids are doing just fine. Good luck!