Recommendations for best suburbs in Sydney ...

Hello

I have been looking around here for good places to live, having originally had a more 'fixed' idea of what would be ideal (Collaroy area) - but from feedback I have had on here, I gather it is best to have more of an open mind instead.

We don't know what kind of budget we'd have for rent yet - but my wife and I are both professionals who should be on an average income for 2 professionals (maybe a combined $130 to $140k salary) - and out of that we have 3 kids - so, not sure where that puts us on weekly rent. Possibly $600 ish (this is a guesstimate!)

So the question is

What's the best suburbs in Sydney?

Here are the important factors:

I want/need to be able to get and out of the centre in an hour (or less ideally) - preferably by train

We want to be able to get to the beach in 15-20 minutes

Nice, safe, family orientated neighborhood - with things to do (parks)

Decent schools

Affordable but good value (as we are a nurse and a graphic designer - i.e. Not exactly rich!)

We are a family and are not that bothered by 'city life' per se, but I will need to work in the city - so we are looking for the best 'all round' places. Some people have already recommended places to me, and these are all on a big list, and geting researched (slowly, as soon as I get the chance)

If anyone cares to leave recommendations that fit this bill, we would be ever so grateful.

Thanks

Matthew

Actually the most important factor is the budget for rent. :wink:

This budget is pretty low for Sydney suburbs and would price you out of northern beaches and also I think northern shore. I think you need to head south, to Sutherlandshire.

Actually the most important factor is the budget for rent. :wink:

 

This budget is pretty low for Sydney suburbs and would price you out of northern beaches and also I think northern shore. I think you need to head south, to Sutherlandshire.

What's a good budget for weekly rent? (Given that we aren't 'rich')

What's a good budget for weekly rent? (Given that we aren't 'rich')

I don't think there is any such thing. Other than a good budget is what is comfortable for you, some people will say no more than a third of take home pay, that might be a decent guideline.

I agree with Rupert re Sutherland Shire. It is a fantastic area, we have been very happy here. It is a bit under an hour to the CBD (depending exactly on where you are), and has pretty much everything you could need, including affordable housing, beautiful beaches and national park, and very good schools. Many people overlook this area because it isn't in the north of Sydney, which seems to be where most aim for, but this area was always our number one choice.

ETA: we are in the western part of Sutherland Shire, which is about 30-40 mins drive from the beach at Cronulla, but in our opinion the beaches in the Royal National Park are far nicer and much less crowded. We find we don't go so much these days, because we have a pool which is far more convenient!

Agree with what others have said about the rent , another thing is commute time to work as Sydney traffic is the absolute pants at the best of times .

good luck with every thing.

Would you say that being on a train route rather than the bus is the best way to get in/out quickly?

also - re: budget - i guess we don't really know what this is yet - still have to get my head around that. we might be able to afford more - hard to tell from where we are at right now.

If we didn't have our 3 kids all in school it wouldn't matter as we could just move about, but as we have them, we need to get ideas of the areas in advance. We can't really move them from one side of the planet t the other, then move their schools more times in Australia (if this makes any sense to any parents out there) hence why I am doing a lot of research now.

I work from home, and OH drives to work (he works in Hurstville), but lots of people I know around here commute in to Sydney, and the train is definitely the best way to go. Our nearest station is Engadine, but the southern trains split at Sutherland, with half going to Cronulla and half to the Illawarra, so most people drive to Sutherland and get the train from there (twice as many trains). From what I hear, the trains are pretty reliable.

i agree that you need to have an idea of area before you move. Although our girls were not at school when we moved over, we still wanted to move to roughly the right area.

Would you say that being on a train route rather than the bus is the best way to get in/out quickly?

No some bus journeys are quicker than some train journeys... I wouldn't look at it that way, just find a suburb and then look into journey to work.96

When we lived in sans souci we could get to circular key in about 50 min,either on the bus or if we got bus to Kograha then train. Cheaper on the bus

Hi, we're in Sylvania on the water and it's a great place to live ! Very quiet apart from a bit of building work but that won't be for long. I use to get the train to CBD in a morning and had to get bus to Hurstville all in all took an hour and public transport is far superior to the UK ! Just buy the 10 trip bus and train tickets saves a lot of money. There are also loads of schools in the area, cronulla beach is 15 mins away in the car and a good shopping centre two mins away with a very big one 10 mins away in Miranda. Also access to some amazing scenery and waterfront walks within minutes, rent is more than your $600 a week but not hugely !

You've probably already looked but a good place to start (if you are remotely interested in using the trains and not driving all the time) is:

http://www.sydneytrains.info/stations/network_map

As you'll see, some areas are not viable if you want to use the train. But of course many other things to consider at the same time...

I was working on the assumption that buses get stuck in the same traffic jams that the cars get jammed in during peak hours - which is what happens here in the UK. It's not the distance usually, it's those jams

@rupert & others: If, say we could afford $1000 a week in rent, what kind of thing does that get us? (Just trying to get a better picture here)

@rupert & others: If, say we could afford $1000 a week in rent, what kind of thing does that get us? (Just trying to get a better picture here)

$1,000 a week would put north shore probably even northern beaches back on the able for you.

Oh and no, buses do not get stuck in jams to te same degree as cars due to bus lanes.

Thanks again. Useful to know

$1,000 a week would put north shore probably even northern beaches back on the able for you.

 

Oh and no, buses do not get stuck in jams to te same degree as cars due to bus lanes.

The beaches aren't any more expensive than the shore tbh. As far as cost goes, the North Shore suburbs closest to the harbour (Mosman, Neutral Bay, Waverton etc) are up there with the Eastern Suburbs as the priciest places to live in Sydney

$1000 a week does get you a lot more choice, this is true

The beaches aren't any more expensive than the shore tbh. As far as cost goes, the North Shore suburbs closest to the harbour (Mosman, Neutral Bay, Waverton etc) are up there with the Eastern Suburbs as the priciest places to live in Sydney

 

$1000 a week does get you a lot more choice, this is true

Was just my experience when looking around that Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra, St Ives were a touch cheaper than the places on the beach. But no, not a lot in it.

Hi, we're in Sylvania on the water and it's a great place to live ! Very quiet apart from a bit of building work but that won't be for long. I use to get the train to CBD in a morning and had to get bus to Hurstville all in all took an hour and public transport is far superior to the UK ! Just buy the 10 trip bus and train tickets saves a lot of money. There are also loads of schools in the area, cronulla beach is 15 mins away in the car and a good shopping centre two mins away with a very big one 10 mins away in Miranda. Also access to some amazing scenery and waterfront walks within minutes, rent is more than your $600 a week but not hugely !

We were in Sylvania for 12 months. Nice place and very easy to get to where we needed to during the week and at weekends. Used to take me longer to get my bot hooked up to the car than what it did to get to the boat ramp under tom ugly s. miss that place.

I'm going to say it again. If you want convenience, and area with lots of parkland, recreational facilities and within driving distance of beaches (23-30mins for Eastern suburbs, 45-60mins for Northern Beaches) then to anywhere along the inner west trainline to Strathfield and the Northern Line to Epping should suit your budget. I'm gutted we weren't ready to move recently as large 3 bed bungalow went up for rent just up the street from us for $550 p/w. It looked a little shabby on the outside but inside there was a newish kitchen and all the rooms still had period features intact. Generally rents for that size of property are from $600 up.

Thanks

Hi Matt, you don't say what visa you are coming on so be aware that if you are on a 457 you gave to pay school fees for your kids. Nats

Hi Nat

It'd be a 190 (I think) - a perm

Resident. My wife is a district nurse/sister so we are applying through her occupation

We have 3 kids so we couldn't afford to pay all those school fees!

She is in the process of gathering everything. IELTS, APHRA etc.

All very fiddly and slow moving. But it's progressing. I think applications might be closed til July (by which point we should have everything we need in place)