syd

A question:

If you have an Aus PR visa but end up getting a job offer in NZ, then activating the visa in Aus for a day, before moving directly to NZ to take up the job, do you still have 5 years to move to Aus permanently? I would think so?

If so, do you lose any benefits being an Aus PR living and working in NZ?

I may be able to have all relocation expenses paid to move out to Auckland. I'm thinking that if this something I do for 2 years, it's another life experience, another job on my CV, some NZ/Aus experience on my CV, and all expenses are paid in the process. After 2 years I could start looking for a job in Aus and would have an easier time interviewing etc. from there as well.

What do you guys think? Doable? Crazy? Both?

I had a similar experience last year with Pepsi in the UK.

 

First interview fine. Second interview fine. Third and Final Interview - ended with we'll call you either this afternoon, or at the latest tomorrow.

 

Nothing. 2 days later I see the job has been re-advertised.

 

A week later I e-mail for an update (more to make a point thank anything else), and they try offering me another interview for a different job, at a site over 100 miles away.

 

I felt relieved I the end - if that's the kind of company they are then not sure I want to work for them.

Three interviews and they treat you like this. Man. I've only interviewed a handful of times in my career, and all of them have been genuine, so I'm not used to people being this inconsiderate and insensitive. Tough times for employees, it seems.

This has happened to us several times from Australian companies.

 

It doesn't matter how much you chase them, even after they've given you positive feedback that the job is yours! They can still ignore all contact.

It's a complete waste of time and very frustrating. There's nothing you can do but move on to the next company.

 

If they treat you this badly before you start working for them, are they really worth working for in the first place?

 

good luck

Absolutely agree. Rather a devil I know now than a devil I don't later.

You gave the a bit more credit than this? A bit more credit than not getting back to you within 24 hours? For heavens sake, your standards and self importance are really far too high!

LOL. I have to remind myself that I'm just one more applicant in the pile. I just thought that a 45 minute interview that ended with her going "I'll get back to you tomorrow because that's the next step in our standard hiring practice" actually meant that she would. I also thought that they wouldn't be the kind of company to string me along (Ken's theory, which is a decent guess at what's happened). If they really are doing so, then yes, I gave them more credit than that.

What it means is you didn't get the job and they've offered the job to someone else - but they don't want to tell you that yet in case the someone else either doesn't take the job, fails the police check or doesn't work out for some other reason. That way they can come back to you and apologies for the "unavoidable delay" and tell you that you have got the job without ever having to say they didn't want you.

Disappointingly, this is probably the best explanation I've heard of what could be going on. I gave them, their company and their 'culture' a lot more credit than this. I really hope this isn't the case. But if it is, at least I have a scenario that makes a bit of sense now.

This is directly with the company, directly with the team lead. So no agency, and no HR, which makes things a lot easier, quicker and more direct.

The only reason I expected to hear back so soon, and why I followed up twice after the thank you mail, was that she said it was company practice to get back to me within 24 hours with a reply.

Anyway, soldiering on with more applications, secretly hoping I'll hear back in a few days. What's meant to be will be.

You followed up three times in four days? :err:

 

Maybe she was ill or was just snowed under for a couple of days, but as a recruiter, I think I would be very concerned about someone chasing me up to that extent. This might be a priority for you, but she might have more pressing work related matters that is all.

 

Maybe be you will still get good news but if not then chalk this one up to expeirence and maybe tone it down a bit next time.

I can't argue with that. The first included some follow-up information that she requested, so I don't see that as a problem. But I swore I wouldn't send more than one more mail to check in. It's a great job that's worth chasing, but I think you're right. There is such a thing as coming on too strong.

You get polite and impolite people in all countries! If she hasn't got back to you, then you probably didn't get the job - but maybe she's sick?

You're right, Marisa! Trying not to read too much into it, in case it does work out. But I think I've sent enough emails at this point. If I don't hear back by mid-week next week, it's clearly not going to happen.

I wish she hadn't initiated the timeline. She should've just said, "If we'd like to move ahead, we'll let you know", instead of "we'll get back to you tomorrow".

I understand that recruitment eats into the rest of your working day, especially if it's not your full-time responsibility, but a one-line reply doesn't seem like a lot to ask for.

If I don't hear back at all, then I'm glad to have had his experience as early in the relationship as possible. Rather now than once I'm in the job!

... after a first interview, four days later, and three follow-up emails, I've heard nothing.

Is this something that happens in Aus particularly, or just as random as any other country's hiring practices?

I don't get why they wouldn't reply. If they wanted me, they would've surely replied. If they don't, why not just say - thanks for interviewing, but it's not going to work out.

And if they're still deciding, or interviewing other candidates, surely they realise it's not the best start to a relationship with a potential employee.

Whichever way I look at it, I can't understand it.

:arghh:

Hey mate,

 

Best village type suburbs are inner west IMO. I'm biased but I love living in Balmain (Rozelle, Lilyfield are neighbouring suburbs). Close to the city (5kms), a real village with good cafes, restaurants and pubs and generally a bit of life. You do generally sacrifice space though but there are plenty of parks close by including Callan park and the Bay run. Totally worth it for the 20min commute to the city (by bus or ferry). You can even walk it in about 45mins.

 

Drummoyne, Russell Lea are close by if you want a bit of a bigger property. Leichhardt is ok but on the flight path. A good suggestion is rent somewhere for 6/12 months and maybe do a few weekend trips to different suburb to check them out, you could even do airbnb for a weekend. i know a couple who are doing this before deciding on where they want to buy for the longterm.

 

Good luck,

Col

Thanks Col! I'm definitely partial to Balmain and surrounds, and it helps to have your description of all the benefits nearby. Hadn't looked at Drummoyne and co, so will have a bit of an exploration online and start to draw a new circle around that side of the map. Thanks very much!

That's a mighty fine checklist of features there, Jilly! Thanks for the heads up on the area - I'm going to have a look through maps, rentals and areas and see what our money can get us out there.

And thanks Marisa/Mary. Trust me, I'm going into anything that's NOT in the city with my eyes wide open ... not a fan of commuting, but I have to keep an open mind, especially with dogs, and maybe just for the first year while we settle.

The Garden Route is incredible! Agree, the poor old country is not in good shape at all.

When I had my stop over in Johannesberg, I thought 'This is just like Sydney,' except there is no razor wire along the tops of fences and walls, and you can go for a walk after dark in most parts of Sydney, and you do not need to look over your shoulder when you are stopped at a red light and wonder if you should ignore the light and carry on.

 

I wish South African would swap places with Australia so it would be a ten hour flight across two time zones. I like South Africans, finding them very similar in outlook to Aussies, but I would be afraid to live in South Africa.

Have you ever been to Cape Town? Beautiful, beautiful city. It's sad that our exchange rate is plummeting, our government is (on the whole) corrupt, and we have limited job opportunities (affirmative action, which is needed, leaves many of us unemployable). It's an awesome country but it needs new management. And that, unfortunately, is not coming anytime soon.

Aha, South Africa! You'll find many similarities with Australia, depending where in particular you're from. I lived in Swaziland for three years and travelled a lot in SA, that was 30 years ago though.

 

You won't find anything like Sevenoaks or Kingston in Australia, either. I wonder if you're assuming Australian cities are like British ones - they're not, in fact they're far more like South African ones.

 

In Britain, cities started out fairly dense and small, and as they grew they swallowed up surrounding villages and even small towns. Many of those villages/towns manage to retain some village vibe when they're swallowed. Also, since many of those villages are long-established, they have quaint old centres which (if they're lucky) have been preserved.

 

Australia did not develop like that. Because of the hostile terrain, settlers started in the city and stayed in the city. A few outposts were created - in Sydney, they are Parramatta, Windsor and Richmond - but otherwise, growth started in the centre and grew outwards. Until the mid 20th century, Australians didn't value their old architecture - after all, very little was more than 100 years old - and as the city grew, it was simply knocked down to build grander houses. The only reason lovely suburbs like Paddington survived is because they were slums at the time and no one wanted to live there! (Paddington today is a highly sought-after suburb, with lovely terraced houses covered in wrought iron - but it's out of your budget).

 

By the way if you want to feel at home, you'll find a large South African population (mostly Jewish), around the St Ives area. Again, it's a quiet family-oriented area so maybe not what you're looking for.

This makes a lot of sense, and helps put things in proper perspective. I think because I think of it as first world, I put UK and Aus in the same boat, which isn't reality at all - it's like comparing San Francisco and Paris. I'm sure that it will all become even clearer when I step off the plane and start exploring.

I've heard a lot of SA peeps heading out St Ives way, but I'm not looking to congregate with any particular people. I just want to live somewhere that's comfortable, beautiful and convenient to get to and from

I've also travelled, and know both Sevenoaks and Kingston extremely well. There's nothing that compares to them in South Africa, where I live.

Thanks for the additional feedback. I think you're right - the distances on the map don't do the real distances justice.

For the record, I'm not in or from the UK, so I can't 'stay in the UK ', Bungo. I've referred to spots in the UK because this is the PomsInOz forum and I thought using those reference points would be useful to illustrate what I was after.

Agree about them being outliers, but the ease of travel into the city balanced with the look and feel of the neighbourhood is something similar to what I'm hoping to find. I know it's not just a matter of copying and pasting, because it's an entirely different country. Just trying to give an idea of the context of what would tick all the boxes for me. Not that I'm expecting ALL of them, just giving a comparison that might make more sense than trying to describe things in abstract terms.

But it's still outside the M25, and a 45 minute commute to the CBD! It's in Kent, not in London or even Greater London. All the places everyone has mentioned are still in Greater Sydney, just like Catford or Peckham or Kensington are in Greater London. Can you name anywhere IN London that has the villagey feel you're after?

 

I feel like you're imagining Sydney as a much smaller place than it actually is.

You're probably quite right about the last part. I'm starting to come around, though, as we continue the discussion (and I continue the search - never looked at so many maps in such a short space of time).

As for something within London itself, how about Kingston or Richmond?

I've never been. Busy with plans to move over before Feb. But let's talk Sevenoaks then, rather than Canterbury. Bigger than a village, for sure, but still extremely leafy, spacious and tranquil, with some really affordable pockets, and not all that far from the city.

I recommended Oatley, not Oakley! Huge difference, but it sounds like you're determined to be very close to the CBD.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by a village atmosphere now. I'd pictured it as everyone-knows-everybody-else, friendly shopkeepers, sense of community, tranquil setting - which is something you don't get in the inner suburbs of Sydney.

 

I honestly don't think you can get a "feel" for anywhere from photos. I lived in Paddington and Edgecliff for several years and while I like Woollahra, I would never call it a village - unless you think places like Chelsea or Knightsbridge have a village feel. Lots of inner city suburbs have exactly the same architecture and leafy streets shown in those photos, that's typical old Sydney.

Apologies, Oatley it is. Tranquil setting is exactly what I'm after. Think Canterbury (Kent), but closer to the city. I'm going to have a much closer look at Oatley now, because it seems I may have judged it too quickly.

When you say 'old Sydney', what suburbs would that include? Perhaps that's a good ring fence for me to be looking at.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really do appreciate it very much.

Ah, now I'm getting a clearer picture. When you said you wanted village-y and mentioned Camden, I was picturing a tranquil English-village-style place - but it sounds like what you really like isn't a quiet village at all, it's a buzzy, trendy, leafy, upmarket inner-city suburb with cafes, restaurants, a boutique butcher and an artisanal baker!

 

Woollahra is lovely but it is very ritzy and therefore a bit stuck-up. Also out of your price range of course. Lilyfield, Annandale, parts of Glebe could work. Be aware that parts of Leichhardt and Stanmore are directly under the flight path for Sydney airport - if you find anything affordable in those areas, that's probably why. People who can't afford those suburbs are moving out to Dulwich Hill and Marrickville - grungy but becoming popular with the hipster set.

 

On the North side, Neutral Bay or Crow's Nest. Could be a challenge on your budget. Not Lane Cove or Greenwich though - if you were my age (60's) I'd say yes, but if you're not ready for the blue-rinse set then I'd say no.

Thanks for the blue rinse alert - that could've been a close call! LOL.

I'm still after a village atmosphere, but one that feels like history in a heritage sense more than a 70s sense. I get the 70s vibe from the pics I've been able to find of Oakley, but of course very difficult to tell simply from photos. Woollahra looks like it has the makings of a village feel in terms of its architecture, and really the butcher, baker and candlestick maker are nice extras that I'm not too fussed about, though being able to choose the thickness of lamb chops wouldn't be a bad thing Seriously though, the only reason for looking at Leichhardt and others are because of their proximity to the CBD and somewhat of a leafy existence - and Centennial Park isn't far either.

These are the photos that made me think Woollahra ticked the village boxes:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woollahra+NSW,+Australia/@-33.888384,151.23724,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s117640486!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fstatic.panoramio.com%2Fphotos%2Fsmall%2F117640486.jpg!7i5760!8i3840!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12add9dcc19089:0x5017d681632d0d0!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woollahra+NSW,+Australia/@-33.886858,151.252803,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s1946741!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fstatic.panoramio.com%2Fphotos%2Fsmall%2F1946741.jpg!7i2304!8i1728!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12add9dcc19089:0x5017d681632d0d0!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woollahra+NSW,+Australia/@-33.8839792,151.2388179,3a,75y,32h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slc0C5CfGNhoGzPTfggvsrw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dlc0C5CfGNhoGzPTfggvsrw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D32.140976%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12add9dcc19089:0x5017d681632d0d0!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woollahra+NSW,+Australia/@-33.8889773,151.251105,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s-SpRhYAA3mlg%2FVJyqts1qkdI%2FAAAAAAAAHck%2F5eocvlcFBOE!2e4!3e12!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-SpRhYAA3mlg%2FVJyqts1qkdI%2FAAAAAAAAHck%2F5eocvlcFBOE%2Fs203-k-no%2F!7i4128!8i2322!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12add9dcc19089:0x5017d681632d0d0!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woollahra+NSW,+Australia/@-33.887995,151.238235,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s-JtGPMji3UmI%2FVHadDBTNvlI%2FAAAAAAAAwJ4%2FUGD2NgXeEjk!2e4!3e12!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-JtGPMji3UmI%2FVHadDBTNvlI%2FAAAAAAAAwJ4%2FUGD2NgXeEjk%2Fs203-k-no%2F!7i2592!8i1936!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12add9dcc19089:0x5017d681632d0d0!6m1!1e1

So please help point me in the right direction with this in mind. Villagey is still on my list!

P.S. Thanks for the flight path heads up. Definitely something I don't want to be lumped with, especially when first moving to a new country!

I think I am probably back to recommending you narrow down to one of the wider areas rather than suburb first of all. North, South, East or West? And then hone in on one of the regions. I daresay Eastern Suburbs is out of the question (unless an apartment is ok) and like wise the CBD suburbs due to budget. You might get something on Northern Beaches or North Shore in budget, easily Sutherland or Hills District. If you use domain, you can search on these wider areas and start to narrow down the options.

After taking a closer look at suburbs, I'm thinking Inner West and Hills are probably the closest match.

Another nice suburb close to the CBD is Greenwich though not sure about cost of rentals - could be expensive.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich,_New_South_Wales

 

 

Here is a link to rental properties - most of them may be flats though.

 

http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/in-greenwich,+nsw+2065/list-1

You're right - again! It looks awesome. Have a look at this little gem: http://www.domain.com.au/for-rent/10-carlotta-street-greenwich-nsw-2065-10038826?sp=5

 

Alternatively for water and greenery, there are plenty of places on the Nepean River and Hawkesbury, but most of them are rural villages. I'm sure people do commute into the CBD from their, but driving you are looking at 1 hour on a good day, 2-3 hours on a bad day.

 

You also have some great places in the Blue Mountains, and if you are willing to commute by train, the Blue Mountains train runs regularly into the city and takes about an hour from Glenbrook. We live in Leonay which is at the bottom of the Blue Mountains, and on the Nepean River, it's a beautiful little village, although for some it's a little too close to places like Penrith which is notoriously bogan.

Thanks for the pointers. I'll have to do some digging into these. Haven't considered this properly yet.

 

Having said that, I'd nominate Oatley as the most village-y Sydney suburb I've ever seen. Before meeting my oh, I had lived in trendy inner-city Sydney for 20 years and was very reluctant to move to the burbs, which I saw as uniformly depressing! I was instantly charmed by Oatley's vast village green, clock tower, cafes and shops. There is even a pond with ducks, a river with a picturesque pedestrian bridge leading to a pub high over the water - and a train station to take you to the CBD in 40 minutes. It's also a short train ride to the beach at Cronulla. Your budget should be adequate there, but do avoid areas near the railway line (that's good advice in all Sydney burbs actually - the lines carry goods trains at night which are very noisy).

 

You'll find plenty of villages in the Blue Mountains but it's a long commute - well over an hour.

 

Look on domain.com.au and realestate.com.au to get an idea of rentals.

Checked out Oatley and it seems decent, though not quite Woollahra

I'd never heard of Melrose Park either - I thought it was an American 'soapie'! Just goes to show that there are still 'burbs with names I've never heard of, even after all this time living in Sydney. Now I've Googled it, I can picture the general area, and looking at the surrounding suburbs it might be OK. Some of those suburbs have stations and others have buses to the city. There's a ferry service isn't there, from Parramatta to Sydney? If it means commuting along Victoria Road, it means heavy traffic seven days a week.

 

Someone mentioned Breakfast Point, which I think may be over the Parramatta River from Meadowbank? (I have put a few '?'s' because I have not researched these places. I've been to Breakfast Point as I have a friend who lives there. It's one of the 'brand-new' suburbs?

 

Marisa mentioned Oatley which, as she says, has a 'village' like atmosphere, and has a railway station, which I think is vital. Camden is very pleasant, will every amenity EXCEPT a railway station! There's a huge amount of development going on out there too, new roads, new housing estates. My brother moved to Mt Annan so I have got to know the area a little better. Before he moved there, he lived at Picnic Point, which is a very leafy area, not really 'village-like', but pleasant, and with trains to the city from Panania and Revesby and East Hills.

 

I don't know where to recommend to live, close to the CBD, with that 'village' atmosphere. Surry Hills, my own suburb, perhaps, no green belt, but some nice parks which are also 'dog-friendly', if you can afford to rent a terrace house. somewhere in the Inner West? Leichhardt? Lilyfield? Or perhaps further north in Lane Cove?

 

Thanks for the extra options! Funnily enough, I've been looking at inner west in those three L-areas. Some very nice options on the Lane Cove and Lilyfield side. One or two options in Leichhardt too

Breakfast Point looks beautiful - will have to investigate how long it'll take into the CBD though. Looks a little far at a glance.

JockinTas, you hit the nail on the head with Woollahra. The historical architecture, the trees, Cooper Park, near to the CBD. Aargh ... is there a slightly more affordable version of Woollahra that you know of?

Will check out the area search on Domain, didn't know that was possible - thanks!

How about areas like Annandale (http://www.domain.com.au/for-rent/112-trafalgar-st-annandale-nsw-2038-9996617?sp=9)

or Lilyfield (http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-lilyfield-405154559#). Are these decent suburbs?

Very good points raised. I just had a look at the top twenty or so in Sydney and it is an absurd listing. I know the northern beach suburbs best, there is one at position 8 which is definitely one of the least desirable on the northern beaches, not least for being nowhere near the beach. But then at position 19 there is one of the most gorgeous northern beach suburbs. I looked up the neighbouring suburb to the gorgeous one to see where it came and it is 188! These two are right next to each other, the position 188 suburb being slightly closer to the city, having slightly more amenities but not much difference in house price.

 

I also looked to see to see where a particularly crime ridden and undesirable suburb ranked and it was not much below Bondi. Now

Bondi is not my personal cup of tea but it is one of the prestigious Eastern Suburbs, near beach and near City. No rhyme or reason that I can see to these rankings.

 

Honestly OP, you need a truck of salt.

Wow. At this point I'm considering investing in a salt mine! Seems that besides the nice pics and sweet reviews from residents, the site offers absolutely no value for what I'm needing here. Thanks for the heads up.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

I've edited your post as all the links you included were very broken. I must admit, when I first saw them I thought it was spam because of the amount of links to the same page so checked them and all broken and going nowhere.

 

Anyways, I've removed them and I'd think people who know the suburbs you are asking about will reply and not really need the links to go on.

Not sure what went wrong, but thanks for saving my post - and the welcome

To be honest, these are not places I have really heard people talk about despite five years in Sydney. Looking at them on a map and none are places I would go near, they might be nice pockets but those general areas are not what most people would be moving half way round the world too. Melrose Park probably the best location.

 

Your criteria is just a bit too vague to suggest anything else though, although the budget will determind it quite a lot. Your £800 per week is decent but not fabulous for Sydney and will rule out the really good suburbs and you are not going to be central, but it will lift you out of the dodgier ones.

 

But I don't reallly understand what architecture you are looking for, Australian architecture is quite different to the UK, can you be a bit clearer on what architectural features you are seeking? And I don't think Sydney suburbs are villagey, not in the UK sense again. In the UK you might get a village, drive through nothing in particular and then hit another village, Sydney isn't like that, the suburbs just all roll into one with no clear separation. There is plenty of greenery all over Sydney though.

Very good to know. I know absolutely nothing about the good areas vs bad, so the pockets look amazing on Google Images, sound great when reviewed by residents, and tick lots of boxes in terms of features. You're right about villagey meaning different things to different people. I'm not looking for the village-nothing-village isolation, I'm looking for the small town feel, feeding ducks at the local pond or strolling along a river without thousands of others, a big church, loads of green space, local milkman, a pharmacy that knows your name, wider streets, fewer homes, more space between them, that kind of thing. Of all my criteria, it's really the most flexible of course, but it would be very nice to have if it is possible.

Where will you be working? Commuting in Sydney is a pain.

I don't know at this stage. I realise it's a bit of a cart-before-the-horse scenario, but I'm guessing that my budget will dictate area regardless of where I work in the CBD. But yes, I'd like to avoid long commutes if at all possible while ticking other boxes within my budget.

I think Camden is quite quaint. Concord is rather dull, it's on the water but I don't rate it as a particularly nice part of the harbour. I've never heard of Melrose Park.

 

As previously mentioned, I'm surprised a potential migrant would be focussing on these areas!

Only found them because I was looking for something unexpected and came across the site I referenced, that weirdly put Surry Hills at somewhere like 324th on the list. I was hoping to find a few not-so-obvious options, which I think I did ... but from the sound of things, in all the wrong ways.

Woollahra is my favourite villagey suburb in Sydney but unfortunately it is also one of the most expensive. It's a lovely suburb, near the water and near the CBD.

Brilliant! Adding it to the list and will be off to explore after this. Thank you

We have family living in Engadine in the Sutherland Shire. They commute to the city daily and are about 25 mins drive to beach. It's a green and leafy area, not quite a village feel but it has its own town centre and train station. They are very happy there but it's horses for courses :-)

Beautiful, thank you. I was hoping to be closer to the CBD than this, but will have a browse of the area to see what it has to offer!

I think at this stage, there is no need to narrow it down to a specific suburb, especially as they do sort of roll together. When you arrive and are driving around, you probably won't even be able to tell when you leave one suburb and enter the next one.

 

For that reason, it might be better to think about the area more widely for now. Sydney suburbs are grouped together, for example; Northern Beaches, Upper North Shore, Lower North Shore, Sutherland, Easter Suburbs, Inner West, Paramatta etc.

 

Maybe research the wider area first and then when you arrive look around all the suburbs in that area.

This is where I kinda started, but tried (not so successfully) to zoom in on suburbs to be able to search for rentals to see what I could get for my money, and what kind of area I'd be living in with the budget. I have a general idea that the beaches are to expensive, Sutherland is (at this point) a bit further than I was hoping for, and the rest are good (and bad, if you look at my list), so I'm trying to get a little closer to the suburbs I might be choosing between.

I'd take these "rankings" with a huge bucket of salt. I hadn't heard of Homely before but have just had a squizz. The rankings are based on the comments of a very small sample and are, naturally, very subjective.

 

I checked them out for my own city and the results are laughable. The most disadvantaged, socio economic problem suburb is ranked one place ahead of and one place behind, the two most prestigious (based on property prices) suburbs. Actually, when I read your criteria, Hunters Hill is the suburb I thought of...but unaffordable.

 

Transport links to your place of employment are going to be very important when searching for your ideal location.

LOL. Yes, I've come to agree, unfortunately. But thanks to you guys, I now know that I was on the wrong track. Decent transport links are crucial, which I'm kinda taking for granted in areas somewhat close to the CBD.