I lived in Sydney in 1996, near Newtown and thought it was great.
We are looking to go back to Australia next year and wanted to canvas opinion.
In general do you think Sydney is still a great place to live or should we be looking elsewhere. Are the trains still safe and reliable? Is the city still a safe & clean place? Is property too expensive now? What about the school standards for kids?
Any general feedback good or bad welcome on any aspect of living in Sydney
I spent most of my adult life growing up in Sydney. I left there in '03 to move to the UK and will be going back with my husband next year (hopefully). Saying that though, I won't be going back to Sydney.
The big reasons for me/us is the cost of living. We were back there in April this year for a holiday and I must admit, even though I'd only been away for about 18 months at that stage, the expense SHOCKED me. I have friends and family living in Sydney also whom own property - they've all been telling me it's hit an absolute slump.......
To justify living there, I would only be comfortable if I was earning $80K+....(This is approx £35K)......I know this can sound easy as the comparison to sterling is a possibility here BUT - the average wages in Sydney can be from $40-$45K (yep nearly half that £35K - not much eh?).
We are planning to make the move to Melbourne. I think the main thing I'll struggle with is the lack of beaches (surf)......I absolutely loved getting up in a morning (weekday or weekend) and going down for a quick dip. There is nothing that is that refreshing. Followed by some lovely breakfast at a cafe on the beach wrapped in your towel with sand in between your toes (ahhhhh).
Newtown - not too sure about. Personally I would NOT live around there. I grew up on the North shore of Sydney, so a bit spoilt in the aesthetic department there. I believe the prices for houses/flats etc would have sky-rocketed since you were last there.
A great website to check out on rentals/buying in Australia is: www.domain.com.au
Interesting to read your comments about how expensive it is to live in Sydney. Obviously everyone (or every family) has their own personal lifestyle, ranging from the type of house they buy, where they buy it, right down to how often they eat out and what sort of restaurants they choose to eat at...so how much money people need can vary greatly. I have seen that property is v. expensive in Sydney, but that aside, surely if you shop around and live a 'reasonable' lifestyle, you can get by on a lot less than $80K a year?
I'm an Aussie currently in the UK but planning to move back to Oz early-mid next year with my (British) boyfriend.
I'd have to agree with Sarah that Sydney isn't a practical option unless you have a very healthy income. It's certainly a beautiful city, clean, safe, picturesque and has everything you could want but the cost of living, even for a modest house, is ridiculous. I'd agree that $80K is a realistic income for a comfortable lifestyle in Sydney for a couple.
We're currently looking at Newcastle (my preference) or Wollongong. My boyfriend wants to study for an MBA and both these cities have good universities. They are large enough to have all the benefits of Sydney and are coastal so you still have the beautiful scenery but without the insane house prices. Both are close enough to Sydney that you can easily travel there for the day or evening to see a show/concert and soak up some culture. Both cities are small enough that you can drive across them in under 40min so all their facilities are easily accessible no matter where you live. In the past, both of these cities have had the reptuation for being very industrial but this is changing rapidly, particularly in Newcastle.
If you have your heart set on a larger city then I'd say you should definitely look more closely at Melbourne.
we moved to australia nearly 4 years ago, rented in sydney for a couple of years before moving to Newcastle. It is a decision im so glad we made. The cost of living in Sydney is tremendous, toll roads everywhere, you have to pay for parking at the beach, and the traffic is a joke, especially if you have to commute to the north shore (via a toll road)! The trains are taking a pasting in t he press at the moment for unreliability and safety of commuters etc. Englands problems exist here too!!
Sydney is a nice city however and persnal opinions can only be made once you have visted and experienced it for yourself.
Newcastle has better beaches , is so much more relaxed, the cost of living is so much less...and if you really need to get down to Sydney for the weekend its only less than 2 hours down the freeway.
Adrian
We are moving to Sydney in September and are hoping to get by for a while on one wage (yet to get a job) and hope for about $70K. We will have money from the sale of our house here which will equate to about $270K so will have a nice deposit for a house and hopefully a smallish mortgage. We have family who will help us too so shouldn't go hungry! We are a family of 4 and we are doing this for a lifestyle change for our kids not for a higher standard of living, we won't be out partying every night and won't want a massive house, just 4 bedrooms so that people can stay with us if they want. I guess life is just what you make of it, isn't it?
Hi Mrs Patsy, we're also a family of 4 and moved here to Sydney in March for a change of lifestyle. etc. We sold up in the uk but didn't have as much cash as you'll be bringing although we had enough to get us started with renting for 12 months and 2 cars. we're both working now and kids in daycare/school. It's pretty expensive here and we're finding that the lower income out of the 2 of us is mostly used on childcare! We're toying with the idea of my husband starting his own business to get some flexibility in looking after the kids and hopefully, in time, making more money than he could as employed. Buying a 4 bed house won't be cheap either in sydney - depending on the area of course. We're based in the northern beaches which is dearer than most, so you're looking at c$600k minimum for a house that size. Think we'll be renting for a while!! or moving to the central coast!!
But Sydney is a great place to live and I love working in the city, the view from the bus into work is amazing! Looking forward to the summer though, had torrential rain for 3 days - not quite what we expected!
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Just go for it, life's too short :cool:
Thanks for your response. We were originally looking at Perth too but the house prices are equally as expensive now as Sydney (I know people won't agree with my on this but look at the website and see for yourselves!) and you won't get anything decent there for under $450K. We have been looking to buy in the suburbs of Glenwood, Kellyville, that sort of area and we don't mind a house that needs some work as hubbie is a very "handy Andy"!!
How old are your kids, as I have a 5 1/2 yr old and a 3 1/2 yr old and that's why I think I will have to stay at home for a while or get a job working in the evening. My son can start school in January so that's one lot of childcare less to worry about but I hear it is still expensive (saying that I only work part-time here and £575 p/m goes on childcare for my daughter and I think that is expensive!)
Hubbies family live there and they pray for rain and it hardly ever does apparently! Bring on the sunshine I say!
Glad to hear you are enjoying it though, it's nice to hear good stories for a change.
Hi Jackie,
We too were looking at Perth but are not sure now because of the house prices, I have a friend who lives in New South wales and has said we could stay with them while we look for somewhere to live, we have never been to Australia so haven't really got a clue where to go My husband is coming over to do Vehicle Spraying, and I do clerical work our children are 13 Rebecca and 16 Stephen and so will have to find schools and a college for them. We were looking at Perth last year and the houses have just shot up in that time you don't get so much for your money. We hope to be going in October this year, owever our house sale nearly fell through this week so keeping our fingers crossed Frances and Mark :D
