Prairie Girl

Hi there, we are currently living in North Ryde. My husband takes 40 minutes door to door to get to the CBD, he takes a bus which, after it leaves North Ryde goes directly to the city. We take our kids to two great parks here, Blenheim Park which has a racing track for radio controlled cars which the kids and husband think is great fun. Also, Livvi's Place playground is absolutely fantastic for kids, it has a flying fox and all sorts of good stuff. I can't say anything about the schools as we don't attend the ones in North Ryde but I'm sure they are fine. There is a nice little town centre with IGA, post office etc. It is nice to be so close to Macquarie Mall as well. It is easy to get out of the city quickly too. I think you should be fine to get a decent rental for that price, we have been paying $650 a week for a cute 3 bedroom house, although our lease has been terminated unfortunately. I think it is pretty good for families around here, although still expensive to buy a house, so make sure you think about the fact that your kids will get attached to their school . Also, there is nothing preventing landlords from terminating your lease after just one year and I think it happens a lot in Sydney because two of my friends and myself have had that happen. A word of warning, I am an ice skater myself, and we avoid going to Macquarie Ice Rink. It is busy, and the ice is just terrible(thin with ruts and melting). We always drive to Baulkham Hills Ice Rink, which is drastically better, and cheaper. You may be disappointed in Macquarie ice rink.

Hi, we've decided to return to Canada from Sydney, and just gave up our cat. I cried much more than I thought I would. Same thing, hubby didn't want to spend the $2400 to send her. I couldn't blame him. It's a logic vs emotion thing. Logic won in our case, and we found a lovely family to take her, so I don't think it was selfish to give her up, more like selfLESS! We are going to get new pets when we return. I guess the other thing we thought was how would we feel if 3 months after getting back she ran away and we spent $2400 for nothing. But still upsetting. Heart vs head, so take your pick! :-(

I am really pleased to hear this. I think you handled it incredibly well and now your son can move on with his life knowing what he is not missing out on. I hope you and your son will feel at peace now.

Hi yes I have been there once but won't go back. We go to the ice rink at Baulkham Hills which is much better. Being Canadian, I am rather choosy about where I skate and the Macquarie ice doesn't cut it. The ice is terrible, with ruts and bumps, they just don't take care of it. Plus it is over-priced and very busy there. I can't think of a single good thing to say about Macquarie ice rink so will leave it at that!!

Hi there, I live in North Ryde and drive the kids to school every day to Artarmon which is right next to Chatswood. I take Epping Road and avoid the tunnel (cost). It takes about 40 minutes on a good traffic day to drive there. Epping Rd has some bottle necks, but generally moves along, just need to allow an extra 10 minutes in case of a traffic jam. You can take the train but I don't have any experience with that. I like living in North Ryde because it is quieter and less crowded than the Artarmon/Chatswood area, but some people might not care for the suburban feel here compared to Chatswood. We needed more space and cheaper rent so North Ryde was a great choice. Plus it is super quick to go to Macquarie mall.

Hi, can I buy your Billy bookcases? Can you pm me about location and price etc?

Hi, we have been living in Artarmon on Milner Road for the last year and I am looking forward to getting out. There is so much traffic and we get some sort of industrial noise at 5 in the morning...I think it comes from the other side of the M1 and it seems to really echo in here. i can't say I will miss Artarmon when we leave it this week for a quieter suburb...not really sure why Artarmon would seem better than Willoughby, I don't love it here at all, noisy and busy. Artarmon town centre (Hampden Rd) also is a bit shabby and there are some low income subsidised housing here that makes it feel less safe...sorry, probably not what you want to hear.

I think the children will have a tough time being uprooted for only a year. Depending on the social style of your kids, especially the 8year old, it could be very upsetting to have to say goodbye to their UK friends, be lonely and miss them as well as their grandmother for the first 6-9 months, then just as they start to make some nice new friends here, leave them all and go back. My 9 year old grieved for her old friends, and at 9months has just started to get really attached to her new friends here. I think if you want to come just for a year it would be better not to ship anything. Best to just buy new mattresses, cheap IKEA dressers and tables, chairs, and round it out with some dishes from Target and used items from Gumtree, such as an iron, lamps, desk, car etc. The first few months you need these items right away and have to buy them anyways before your shipment arrives. Although in inner Sydney you could skip the car and use public transport. I find the Sydney rental situation kind of awful, especially when you have to rent a 3 bedroom place. There is a big jump in cost to go from 2 bedrooms to 3. We are paying $800 a week for a 3 bedroom townhouse. It isn't that nice. After moving here 3 times over the last 15 years, twice with kids, my advice is to listen to your doubts. It could be harder emotionally than you expect, and harder financially also. This time we rented out our house, got rid of old furniture, and bought cheap used car, IKEA furniture, stuff on Gumtree. We didn't have grandparents or cousins etc living close by that we would miss, and it's still been hard missing the old friends. It is so challenging to watch your kids grieve for people and know you caused it, and sometimes in the first few months you feel desparate to run straight home. However lots of people do it, just know how much money you can tolerate saying goodbye to. It's like an extremely expensive holiday with pain thrown in!!! ( am aware this might be a little negative)

Hi, we live in Artarmon. Wikipedia says Artarmon was named by William Gore after his family estate in Ireland.

I recently met someone whose children went to Killarney Heights High School and they were really happy with it and recommended it. I think that is close to your target area.

Hi, we had OSS here in Sydney and the guys were polite and careful, so no complaints. I used Kent once and wasn't happy at all.

Surely there must be some streets somewhere in Australia that have kids playing free range? I sure hope so. Our street in Canada was terrific for that not just with the kids but the adults visiting ( maybe drinking a bit too much). I can't believe how in our townhouse complex here in inner Sydney (with safe inner courtyard) all the kids go inside after school and you never see them again, and with this beautiful weather! I refuse to cave in and go home though, at least not yet. I am in the same boat of trying to arrange play dates, but it is not as good as spontaneous playing outside. I am even wondering about renting on another street. Personally I think caving in and going home for that one reason is a mistake, because there is always something not great about every place, and to spend all the energy and money coming and leaving just because of that will lead to regrets. But to each his own, so good luck.

I have been thinking about responding and my opinion has changed since your initial post. Initially I though maybe you should let him go, but with the history of abuse I believe it is not in his best interests. I grew up with a similar rage prone father, and it still affects me negatively to this day. The consequences of living with an unpredictable parent who your son might be afraid of does not disappear the minute he moves out at 18. Perhaps you can promise an extended visit of 2 months. He does need time with his male relatives. But to live with someone like that, unless his father has had therapy and showed a real change, would be damaging to your son.

Hi, we just took our 4 and 8 year old to the Shoalhaven Zoo a few hours drive south of Sydney last weekend and the kids loved it. They got to hold a wombat, and enjoyed seeing the koalas, monkeys, dingos and lizards. It was good for kids, not too big, and there is a big slide there. The drive through Kangaroo Valley is beautiful. On the way back we stopped at Bowral which had a lovely shopping street with cafes. I would recommend it. We stayed one night in a motel.

Hi, as a Canadian living in Australia, I would just like remind you that Canadian houses have central heating. The winter is an indoor life, going from heated house to heated car and heated malls and offices. Toronto is a modern, large city. If you can find a winter sport you enjoy you will like it better. :-). With the right coats, gloves etc you will be fine. I think Toronto won't be as expensive as Sydney, and there are lots of travel opportunities to New York etc. Too bad about the mayor though...!!!

Hi, I have experienced this at times too, during my multiple stints here. I would strongly suggest getting involved in an activity or job that you are really excited about. For myself I will be starting a Masters degree in Fine Art which I am passionate about. it could be a job, or a course of some kind that you love. Is there something you love to do? Something where you can really get absorbed, not just a once a week class. I don't know what you like but some ideas are to join a pottery studio, a gardening club, start a university degree, or volunteer at a pet rescue organisation. You have to find something that really excites you. I am going nuts waiting for my masters class to begin, 2 months to go and I will be a much happier person. A new city cannot possibly fulfill all your needs. Get time away from your family to do something you can get totally passionate about and forget your homesickness. I know for myself when I get doing art I become so happy I don't care where I am. Good luck.

Hi there, just wanted to say I went through a similar time, had a baby in Sydney and was not coping and was homesick so we went home (Canada) after just one year here. I am so glad now that we flipped back so quickly, because 3 1/2 years later before our PR ran out we came back again. I am glad we had a solid length of time to be home and think about what to do for a while. If you are so unhappy and have time remaining on your visa, go back for your sanity and to enjoy your baby at home! It was the best thing I could have done! Now we have made a pact to live here 3-5 years to get citizenship and I feel much more balanced about it, not having hormones and cabin fever running wild. I can actually enjoy it here, plus we kept our house there so I feel no rush to go back. It certainly wasn't the way we planned it but that's life and sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling. Doesn't have to be forever. It might seem crazy to outsiders but you have to do what is right for you.

I would like to jump in with a different perspective. I made the move to Australia when pregnant, and being stuck at home after moving across the world and having a baby was really hard. I think moving with your youngest ready to start school will make a huge difference to your wife and it will be a totally different experience this time. We are back in Au with our youngest (and he will remain our youngest!) about to start kindergarten and I am much less worried about being away from friends and family. We've come for a 3-5 year period and I can handle it because I know I can get working soon and have more flexibility to get out, meet people and have fun. So if you can cope with the idea of being away from family for a few years then go for it. It doesn't have to be forever but come and get your citizenship if you can! I realized after going home there was no way I could live with the outcome of our PR expiring and all hope lost to live here again, especially with one child an Australian citizen. For me, being on our third time, this is the easiest it's been to adjust, am a bit people-sick but it almost feels like home, I know the good and bad, and am under no illusions. I think for your wife it will be VERY different this time.

Just bumping up my question if it would be realistic to buy a 3 bedroom unit or townhouse in Summer Hill or Lane Cove for 700K?

Thanks but we aren't coming until 2014, and we are in Canada.

Thanks for your responses everyone. Sounds like prices are basically similar to what we saw in 2010 but I realise the market could change any time. The news and real estate websites don't make it easy to figure out the true situation. My use of the term over-valued only refers to our own standard, someone else may have a totally different standard. I am not even that convinced 1 and 2 bedrooms are over-priced, it did seem like 3 bedrooms were pricey. The Hills is actually a nice area, but it's not for us and we might think about renting inner-city and just keeping our house here to rent out. One of our main reasons for moving back would be to enjoy the arts and culture scene as much as possible and if we just move to the burbs then we will wonder why we are there (speaking from previous existence in the burbs). There's nothing wrong here and we could stay in Calgary, but Sydney has gotten under our skin. We just want to enjoy all those fabulous cafes and cultural events and like the inner city of Sydney. Is it at all realistic to buy a 3 bedroom unit or townhouse in Summer Hill or Lane Cove for 700K?

We are considering returning to Sydney in April 2014 after living there for a year in 2009-2010. At the time the real estate market seemed very competitive and over-valued, especially because we needed a three bedroom place. Can anyone shed some light on what it is like now compared to 2009-2010? Wondering about rental costs as well as the cost to buy 3 bedroom units or townhouses. Have prices increased, held steady, or decreased? Thanks.

I've had similar thoughts and feelings both times we've lived in Australia. The only thing that prevented me from fully enjoying living there was all my guilt and worries about whether we should stay permanently, guilt about family, pressure from feeling we are wrong to go home...just enjoy it and let go of the worry of what you will do in the future. Letting go completely of the outcome will mean you can fully enjoy your experience! Have fun!

And I think it's criminal that this huge stamp duty is charged on the purchase of a home which probably gets turned into personal debt in a lot of cases!

Hi I am feeling a bit wishy washy too, we've been back home for 5 months and you're right that the honeymoon period is wearing off. Everyday I remind myself of how much more of a full life I have here compared to Sydney. But I also remind myself that in 10 years who knows maybe we can have another adventure. I sometimes fall into extreme thinking that I will never live anywhere different again and remind myself there may be other adventures in the future but Australia isn't all it's cracked up to be anyways.