A nice area to live within 30 minutes comute from kogorah in south Sydney ?

Hi,

my wife has secured a job in Kogarah and we are hoping to be flying out in July we are a hoping to live within a 30 min comute for her and would realy like to be near the sea. My wife and I are both in our 40's and we have an 8.5 year old daughter so were not bothered about being close to night clubs but would like a family friendly area. Also we have always lived in quite a small town so city life is going to be a little bit of a shock to us. We have have been thinking about cronulla Or coogee as we thought places like Brighton le sands are probably going to be noisy being so close to the airport ? Can anyone suggest any good areas to consider or places to avoid ? Thanks in advance.

Steve, Cath & Maddie

Hi there,

I reckon what you should do first is post what sort of budget you have, do you want to rent or buy? Coogee is far from cheap and if your are near the centre or the beach front its noisy, it is also directly under the flight path to Sydney airport and they come in real low! Other things you might want to consider, will you be driving to work or catching public transport? Have a look at this, it might help you find a suburb on the rail line to Kogarah Network map - CityRail .

Bob

Hi there,

I reckon what you should do first is post what sort of budget you have, do you want to rent or buy? Coogee is far from cheap and if your are near the centre or the beach front its noisy, it is also directly under the flight path to Sydney airport and they come in real low! Other things you might want to consider, will you be driving to work or catching public transport? Have a look at this, it might help you find a suburb on the rail line to Kogarah Network map - CityRail .

 

Bob

Thanks Bob, obviously a couple of missed details here from me.

we are looking to rent a 2 bed place (the cheaper end of the market) I’ve been having a look and there seems to be a little bit of choice in the $400 pw bracket.

Public transport would be great but is not the be all as we will have a car she can use (and will face the parking challenge later )

sounds like Coogee won't suit us thanks for the advice as you can't get this from the real estate places. thanks for the link.

Steve, Cath and Maddie

Would agree coogee not really family friendly - have stayed there with my husband on business a few times, if you are on the beach looking out it's lovely, turn around and it's like Brighton with a lot less charm! Same with Cronulla - busy holiday place, soulless (IMO). Oyster/Bonnet bay and other "riverfront" suburbs nice and less expensive than beachside. Bundeena, further south, is a beautiful spot to live (but only accessible through National Park or ferry from Cronulla). Would be a long commute but so worth it lol

I would definitely recommend somewhere in Sutherland Shire. My hubby works in Hurstville which is a bit further north than Kogarah, and we live in Woronora Heights. We used to rent in Yowie Bay, which is further towards Cronulla, but to be honest it was mega expensive and very noisy. Anywhere over that way is on the flight path to the airport, when you are on the beach at Cronulla, the planes go right over. I also agree with Jooby about Cronulla. I don't like it at all. It is okay to visit occasionally, but to be honest there are better (and quieter) beaches nearby that seem to get overlooked. Cronulla always seems a bit tired and faded to me, but then I don't like busy places.

Bundeena is lovely, and we looked at moving there too. However, we decided that it was a step too far. It would have taken dh about an hour and a half to travel to work, either driving or on the ferry/train. It is very isolated, there is a small supermarket (think milk, bread and newspapers) but anything else you have to travel to get. The other two reasons that we decided not to move there, is that the road out to Bundeena is very twisty and turny and we frequently see accidents or evidence of accidents when we go over that way (quite often because we love the beaches there), and we felt that as it can be dark from about 4.30pm in the winter, we didn't want hubby to do that drive in the dark/cold/wet. There is of course the bush fire element, in that it is right out in the bush. Also, there is a causeway at Audley that often floods, so you have to go the long way round. It is beautiful though, so if you are happy with the things I have mentioned then it might be worth thinking about.

Oyster Bay/Bonnet Bay/Como are lovely. We looked at several houses in these areas. However, in the end we decided on Woronora Heights because it is sufficiently out of the way to be quiet, only seven minutes to Engadine for schools, post office, shops, supermarket etc, and only about 20 minutes to Miranda for the Westfield centre for shopping (shoes, clothes, books, cafes, cinema etc). We are on the doorstep of the Royal National Park, which we spend a huge amount of time in, having picnics and also on the beaches which are beautiful and quiet. I have put a couple of pics of the beaches. The first is Bundeena, the second is Wattamolla, the third is Garie (excuse the family members - they always seem to get in the way of the pictures of beaches!). All within 30 minutes drive.

There are lots of families in the area, one of the things that attracted us to it. We come from rural Suffolk and found Yowie Bay and over that way far too noisy and busy for us. It is far quieter over here, although I suppose it might be too quiet for some!

If you need any more help/info let me know and I'll try to be of assistance!

I'm originally from the UK, been in Oz for 20 years and Bundeena for more than 10. Bundeena is as close to perfect as it gets - close enough to the city for all those benefits but isolated enough to avoid all the bad bits! It's a real old-fashioned community where people know each other and look out for each other. It's also perfect for kids: we have our own primary schol and pre-school. Add in the four beaches and Royal National Park and we reckon it's unbeatable.

Thanks so much for all the advice

Bundeena certianly looks beautiful but the comute looks a challange. We have now had our visa confirmed and will be flying over in late July. Stoping in serviced acom to begin with so we can explore the areas you have suggested.

Steve, Cath and Maddie