Help - where to live in Sydney?

[ChristineW]

Hi guys n gals,

I'm totally new to this site and hoping someone will be able to help me. I'm moving to Sydney in 2 weeks' time, and will be in a hotel for 2 weeks but then need to start renting. My big dilemma is that I don't know where I should be living?!

I would ideally like to live near to a beach (even if just for summer) as I'm dying to learn to surf - but also will need to be commuting to the CBD (Darling Harbour) so don't want too bad a commute (in London I currently take 45 mins to get to work which I think is ok?!). Have heard good things about Manly and think that commute would be ok but any experiences people have had with the ferries would be great!

I'm going to be moving over by myself, and although have 1 or 2 friends in Sydney I'll need to be somewhere fairly sociable so that I can make new friends. I currently live in Camden in London and also quite like the Clapham/Angel areas if anyone knows of these and can recommend places in Sydney with a similar vibe (but with a beach )...

Also anyone know where I can get decent surfing lessons, and a good place for yoga or pilates??

Thanks so much!

Christine x

[BigLes]

My little sister lived in Manly area for a couple of years and work not so far from Darling Harbour. She used to get the ferry to circular quay and then walk to Darling Harbour - but she ended up getting the Bus in the end because as lovely as the ferry journey is every morning the Bus dropped her a lot closer to work and I think was quicker than the ferry (40mins or so I think).

She loved Manly area - for the beach and bars etc and was willing to put up with the bus journey to have the beach etc on the door step. So if you are wanting to learn to surf Manly is ideal. She actually lived in an area called Queenscliffe just outside Manly itself (at the end of the beach basically!) - I visited her there and it certainly seemed a nice enough area with a good night life and a massive shopping centre called the Warringah Mall I think not too far away for the shops, cinema etc.

Is certainly worth a look in that area for the beach and some good bars!!

[SAINTHURLOCK]

Originally Posted by ChristineW

Hi guys n gals,

I'm totally new to this site and hoping someone will be able to help me. I'm moving to Sydney in 2 weeks' time, and will be in a hotel for 2 weeks but then need to start renting. My big dilemma is that I don't know where I should be living?!

I would ideally like to live near to a beach (even if just for summer) as I'm dying to learn to surf - but also will need to be commuting to the CBD (Darling Harbour) so don't want too bad a commute (in London I currently take 45 mins to get to work which I think is ok?!). Have heard good things about Manly and think that commute would be ok but any experiences people have had with the ferries would be great!

I'm going to be moving over by myself, and although have 1 or 2 friends in Sydney I'll need to be somewhere fairly sociable so that I can make new friends. I currently live in Camden in London and also quite like the Clapham/Angel areas if anyone knows of these and can recommend places in Sydney with a similar vibe (but with a beach )...

Also anyone know where I can get decent surfing lessons, and a good place for yoga or pilates??

Thanks so much!

Christine x

Hi,
I used to live and work in Camden and the closest youll get to that sort of vibe in Sydney is Glebe and Newtown, very cool and we nearly moved there but decided that we wanted to be a bit nearer the sea so went to the Northern beaches. Manly is great but we couldnt find anything suitable for the price we wanted so moved up the road to North Balgowlah (30min walk to Manly) which is a bit quiet but ive got a little un now so is probably best Im kept away from the 'nightlife'.
Is a 45 min door to door commute to the city (walking and bus) but i works shifts so dont have to face the spit bridge traffic which is pretty pants if your a 9 to 5er.
The ferry is a great way to get to work and is cheap as chips (as is all public transport) again great if your an office worker but shift work its not so pratical.
Dee Why is up and coming if your looking at buying property, Harbord,Curl Curl are all near Manly but basically you want to be on the main bus route into the city (L90 is the express bus,look up the route on sydney buses.com.au). Been here 4 months and got no complaints so far....except theres no pubs on the street corners ;0)

[Goody's]

Hi,
We are moving out to Sydney on the 8th Nov, from Southampton area, and have a similar problem to Christine. Although we have a month to look around before we have to find somewhere else. The problem with us is my partner will be working in central Sydney, we want to live near a beach, and be near a good primary school + secondary school. My partner does not want a huge commute, but we think we will have to move about 80km away to be able to afford a nice place. Has anyone any ideas?
Thanks
Di

[Edinburger]

I'm in the same boat Christine. My wife and I are moving to Sydney in January (if the 457 gets sorted by then) and I've been asking quite a few folks who live/have lived there where to look for a place. The two answers that came back more than any others were Manly and Paddington. Also mentioned a fair bit were Bondi, Coogee, Newtown, Glebe, Mosman, Surry Hills and Balmoral.

[twinkle]

Hi,
we have been here 3 months now and the biggest shock to us about renting in Sydney was the lack of choice. I think it varies from area to area but in general there is a lack of rental properties and you have to make your mind up quick or you will lose out to someone else. We had 2 weeks to find somewhere and felt very pushed into accepting something that we were not entirely sure about. The system of viewings work very differently too, on the whole you do not get a private appointment to view the property, they are advertised, you are told the viewing times and days then you turn up with 20 other couples, wait outside for the agent and then do a whirlwind self guided tour in 10 minutes before moving onto the next property ( that is if you have not decided to take this one). We found that the agents didn't really try to 'sell' the property to us, they just stood around, we think that is because there is a que of people behind you wanting the property. The other thing to be aware of is that they find 2nd viewings strange, we asked for 1 as we were not entirely sure and they looked at us like we were bonkers! They did let us have one but we felt like we were intruding!
We live in Surry hills which is 20-30 minutes to Bondi (beach) on the bus and about 15 minute walk to Darling harbour, it's a 'trendy' cafe culture/ bar area with lots going on....