Where to live?

My partner (Australian) and I (British) are thinking of moving to Sydney. My partner is a teacher, so can work all over Sydney and I am in broadcasting so I will probably work in the CBD.

We don't want to be right in the city but we want to be able to access the Sydney centre easily (train/bus) for nights out. We are looking for an area that has a selection of bars/restaurants/cafes plus parks for our two dogs.

We will look to rent first but also plan to buy eventually (and don't want to live in a shoebox but also not a mansion lol).

Any area suggestions??

It will depend on budget

Well there are literally hundreds of options meeting the fairly brief criteria you have mentioned. Everywhere has a route into the CB for example, so it feels a bit random to throw out suburb names at you.

Have you thought about which area roughly you would like? By that I mean Northern Beaches, North Shore, Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, Parramatta etc? The Sydney suburbs are clustered into these areas and it probably makes more sense to decide which wider area you would like than exact suburb at this stage.

It is correct that this will depend on budget too, there is massive price variation across Sydney so that comes into it a lot.

Also I guess you need to have a good look at where schools are, well obviously they are everywhere but your OH is likely to be supply teaching for a long time so you might want to think about somewhere where he can easily get to a number of school options.

Haven't you only just moved from Oz to the UK?

My partner (Australian) and I (British) are thinking of moving to Sydney. My partner is a teacher, so can work all over Sydney and I am in broadcasting so I will probably work in the CBD.

 

We don't want to be right in the city but we want to be able to access the Sydney centre easily (train/bus) for nights out. We are looking for an area that has a selection of bars/restaurants/cafes plus parks for our two dogs.

 

We will look to rent first but also plan to buy eventually (and don't want to live in a shoebox but also not a mansion lol).

 

Two things will determine where - how much rent you can afford and what you think is an acceptable commute for nights out.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about going to the city centre for nights out, unless you mean concerts and theatre. Most of the night life (bars and restaurants) are in suburban centres. So you've got the Church Street cafe/restaurant/night club strip in Parramatta, the lively beachside nightlife at any of the beaches (Cronulla, Bondi, Coogee, etc), the Inner West areas of Glebe and Newtown, etc

Check out rentals at domain.com.au

As has been said Parramatta has a good cafe/restaurant etc culture. More importantly there is more scope for getting casual teaching jobs. The Eastern ,Beach and Northshore suburbs have enormous lists of casual teachers to chose from, whereas the suburbs west of Parramatta very often have great difficulty in finding casuals. The trip into the City from there isn't bad at all. You would have the choice of bus, train or river cat.

Haven't you only just moved from Oz to the UK?

Are you bringing your little dogs back here again?

Did you sort out your rent issue from last time you were here? I know you were breaking lease and just thinking of going, but said it was not a worry because you would not rent here again. Hope it was sorted out otherwise you will be on a rental blacklist here.

I believe you only arrived back in the UK a month ago?

Sydney is very expensive and so your budget will determine where you live to a large extent and where your partner can pick up relief teaching now and agian.

Work out your budget first and then decide and go on from there.

That's a long journey for your little dogs if you are bringing them again. You moved here in December 2015 with them, moved back to the UK with them last month and if they are coming over again so soon, it could be super stressful for them. Maybe get some advice from the vet on that issue too. Good luck with your move.

Haven't you only just moved from Oz to the UK?

I thought that too, but maybe they didn't leave Brisbane and are coming to Sydney instead? Only @MelanieJS can tell us for sure!

Hi all,

Thanks for all your responses.

Firstly, we did return to the UK. I wanted to stay in Australia by the end but my partner had been offered a job until end of July. I think we were both in panic mode but being back my partner has seen UK in a different light. We have always liked Sydney so are just discussing about the possibility of moving there. Job prospects are better for me in Sydney than in Brisbane anyway.

Secondly, our dogs are our importance so I would always check with vets plus the pet carriers (Airpets) first.

Thirdly, we paid the rent in the end. I felt too guilty (although there was a health & safety issue with the front door which the agents 'brushed under the carpet').

Fourthly, my partner is Australian and did her original teaching degree in Oz but has taught in UK for the past 18 years. She is currently deputy head of special needs so would be looking for something similar or head of year. She also taught in Brisbane this year.

Fifthly (?), we would want restaurant/cafes/pub etc in any suburb we were living as that is where we would hope to mainly socialise. We would not be going into Sydney every time we were going out.

Thanks for all your responses and I hope I cleared up some of the queries.

New here in Gosford. Such a nice place to live!