Captain Roberto

It's not uncommon for people to revise their budget a bit for rent once they start looking. We came looking at paying about $600 a week, but ended up paying $1k a week (this is for a family house size). Units can be cheaper. Last time we looked around the north shore which is slightly to the east of where you are looking we didn't see many houses less than $800, but we known people in units who pay around $700 - $800 per week. It's a bit tough, but as there's not much choice, you just pay it. It kinda works out, as wages are a bit better, but unfortunately Sydney has the second most expensive property prices in the world after Hong Kong. So it's not easy to get around it! My wife used to work from Hornsby hospital, ad loads of her mates lived around the Pennant Hills area.

There's loads of places. As Northshorepom said. We live here and are never short of things to do (the main problem is getting time off work to do them... $$$) National Park to the south, Bundeena. Walk around any coastal areas, all very nice. The rocks ^^ (as said before here). The Botanical Gardens. Eastern suburbs walks (Bondi to Coogee etc) Walk Up Barrenjoey Lighthouse if you head up to Palm beach. Lane Cove National Park. Manly North head Sanctuary - http://www.harbourtrust.gov.au/visit/north-head-sanctuary-manly Cockatoo Island - http://www.sydney.com/things-to-do/nature-and-parks/sydney-harbour-islands There's a slight bias towards the North side as we live there and haven't done as much on the south of the harbour, but the coast on both sides is lovely. All about the harbour, jump on the ferry. Trains and buses and ferries are all connected, so you can pretty much get anywhere with an Opal card.

we used a good place called Golden Arrow, because they were fairly local to us. pretty old school, but did a good job of bringing our beloved dog Lola over. http://www.goldenarrowshippers.com/pet-shipping

Nice! thanks. I could take the kids for a swim early doors then we could get on the river cruise. All good suggestions! It's also easy for us to get to Palmy to get on the boat

Thanks Pom Queen - we are going to Scenic World next week, so that one's already planned. Will also look at the zoo up The Hunter Taronga is good, but there's a bit of walking about involved, so the Hunter One could be better. Thanks Matt

Agree with all comments on here. There's some real crap out there. And the nice ones get snapped up fast, people offer to over pay. It's tricky! Because costs are generally high, I don't think there's any lucky deals. We found both times we rented we looked at loads of places, which can get pretty tiresome too. You really need to see for yourself, and get a feel for lots of places to know you are getting something ok for the money.

Hey anyone who knows - maybe @Rallyman and @northshorepom My in laws are here at the moment, and we are looking at things to do. My mother in law is pretty sedentary, although she's only 65 they are quite set in their ways, so they don't like to exert themselves in hardly any ways at all. so, we wondered if the Hunter Valley would be good day trip for us? I hear it's lovely, but am not sure what actually happens there (wine? food?) We also need t keep our 3 kids sweet too, and they are active and like burning a ton of energy (the opposite of the MIL Would the Hunter work? And if so, where to go and what to do? We'd need to drive from Newport, so I would imagine it's case of heading towards Wahroonga and up the Pacific Highway/motorway right? Many big thanks in advance! Matt

I'd say that moving to the other side of the world is hard. It causes stresses which can pop up in all sorts of areas. We've been out here 18 months, and it hasn't all been plain sailing. we've had some great fun, but we've also found certain things pretty hard. I think for many people, this is normal. Accepting that things are hard makes it feel a bit less stressful in my experience. Things are hard, but extra stressing makes it a lot harder. My advice is - Decide on a timeframe, which probably should be 2 years. Then if things are bad, get gone. You'll be right.

I don't think cars here are expensive. We bought a couple of them since we moved here. There are places that sell ex gov cars, FSH etc In Sydney there lots of big car 'warehouse' type places that shift lots of cars. I'm sure it'll be the same all over.

*changed my mind* didn't want to get into politics on the internet in 2017!

Aye, it was crazy hot. had to have a cold shower at 3am

yes it is! ha ha We really should buy more fans. we only have one, and someone else had it last night

I'd say that these things take time. 2 of my kids went through a tough time when we first moved (the 1st 3 months), where it seemed to get bad, before it got better. Obviously it's maybe too generalised advice, and every school is different, but I think persevering for a year or so would be a good idea. things can't stay like this for too long. Many kids at the school may already have friends, so it's not always easy to get involved in groups that are already formed. Given time, things should work out. Things like 'going on camp' with school and any situation where they are kind of forced to engage seemed to help ours. they love it now and have great friends here, but it took 18 months to get there.

Damn, that was the hottest night we've had in the 18 months since we moved here

Maybe, but I live here, and I do like it. But I do also agree with other posters that there is a Sydney attitude. It's probably similar to a London or NYC attitude. Sydney vibes are real.

There seems to be a lot of software and tech work here, and those jobs seem to pay well.

Yes, it's pretty expensive. It's something we might have to tackle in the next year. We used to Live in North Wales, so the property here is 5 x the price! The impression I get from people I have met over the last 18 months is that people who do buy are generally glad of it a few years down the road, as they all seemed to have done ok with the increase in property prices. Most of them say that it felt 'crazy' at the time, but then they are almost always pleased after a few years when the house has increased in value. I know a few who have rented for a long time (e.g 10 years) and they feel that they have made a mistake and should have bought. (rent is still expensive too, and it's still money down the drain).

Great post. It seems like buying over here seems to really help the settling thing.

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It has been hot on and off. It doesn't bother me too much, but we have no air con in our rather old-school rental house, so I haven't bothered trying to work from home for a while. We find it's not really the temperature that defines the summer and winter, especially here. It's the amount of daylight.

Ha! that hasn't gone unnoticed... But Sydneysiders are full of bravado generally. They love it!

I have friends near Cronulla and they love it. Plenty to do, beaches, National Park, train line. I reckon she'll like it there (depending on what she is into etc)

Hey There's no easy way. Saying bye to school friends is very tough, we just did it twice in 2 years, although the 1st move was a big one from Wales to North Shore Sydney, and the second move was just a 25k move east across to the Northern beaches. Kids do get upset, and the build up is generally worse than the aftermath. Sounds like you are already into it, so just keep trucking on. They are usually fine after a while. There's no quick fixes. The hard stuff, you just get through it. If your kid likes doing stuff outdoors more she may find that life is generally better. We think there's more for our 3 to do, ways to participate in stuff and get busy. It's usually sports based, but that's no bad thing. They make friends in all those places. Nippers etc. I'm sure you know all this from your own youth so you won't need me to say! We think they spend more time outside, moving about, and less time sat about watching TV. Our experience has shown us that your lifestyle depends on where you live. Our previous neighbourhood was great for adults to make money and get in and out of the city, but less useful for kids. Where we are now it's the other way round. There's loads to do, but the bus into the CBD is a bit of an ass-pain. Good luck!

Ps - no need to reply to me. I am post Xmas drinks wine headed. And post-giving a crap about politics. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Politics is pretty much a loads of b*llocks. For the last 30 years we've had the same kind of government (whether they are called labour or Tory - the core policies were all the same). Politicians in general are oily snakes. The house always wins. As long as we all shut up and pay our taxes the wheels won't fall off the wagon. Brexit - whatever that is, will make little difference. They don't give a sh1t about the normal people. We'll just have a soldier on with our 1st world problems. It could be worse eh. Screw the lot of them. Lizards! Brexit probably isn't the answer. Because the same people run the show. They always do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk