Hi I lived in north sydney for a while which is nice but a business distrct so busy during the week then dead at weekends, I'm now living at Cremorne. I think Neutral bay and Cremorne are nice places to live, plenty if shops, cafés and restaurants around and only 15-20 mins from Balmoral Beach which is one if the nicer beaches especially for children's as it has calm waters. Hope you find this useful
amanda