Tychen

I agree - bring everything you can. Especially if you have anything good quality and/or made in UK/Europe, whether that be clothes, linen, crockery or appliances. Unless it's an Australian or Chinese product, it will probably be more expensive and/or impossible to replace at the same quality.  If you bring appliances,  I suggest investing in multi extension leads on the UK end - then you only need one converter for multiple appliances. For the TV, you can get a set-top box here to get it working.

You are probably not in the market for nappies, but we found that it wasn't possible to get nappies of the same quality in supermarkets here. (We eventually found importers of the same brand of nappies, but made in Japan.)

1 hour ago, richselina said:

I have looked at the line up to Hornsby but again don't know that area well so any suggestions would be more than appreciated.

I'd say with a $2.5m budget you can get a reasonable house in Hornsby or nearby, like Waitara or Normanhurst? I quite like Waitara - it's a bit built up around the station but it's probably quieter than Hornsby, and has all the useful shops nearby. Plenty of nature in the surrounds, and there are excellent schools in that area. Waitara is on the North Shore line through North Sydney, and Normanhurst is on the other line, which is express between Strathfield and the City - so both of them would give you an easy commute. 

If you follow the same train line further south towards Strathfield, places like Ryde should also be within your price range. There are some nice patches of nature around east Ryde, around Field of Mars and Buffalo Creek. Perhaps worth considering?

It's a healthy budget in the current market, I'm sure you'll find something in a nice-enough area.

2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Also worth noting that the Cronulla race riots were in 2005, nearly 20 years ago! Just goes to prove that a lot of the perceptions Sydneysiders have about other suburbs and other cities/towns is outdated.

I met a highly educated professional who grew up in the Shire in that era and still feels very strongly in support of the local rioters...  I think the undercurrent hasn't disappeared. That said, I agree it's much less insular than it used to be - it helps that it's a more diverse area now. I doubt the racists can whip up a riot now - the insularity is more likely to show up as garden variety NIMBYism these days rather than actual xenophobia. 

For most working people the isolation transport-wise is the big issue. You can see it in the price difference between Como (Shire) and Oatley (St George), which are one stop apart on the train and otherwise fairly identical.

Take into account, though, a consequence of distance and geography is that the Shire is culturally insulated. This is much less pronounced than it used to be, but there are still a lot of people who live and socialise only in the shire, tradies who only work in the shire, etc. Basically, unlike most of Sydney, the Shire is its own little place, long term residents are keenly aware of that and proud of it, much like the hobbits. Most of the time that's charming, every once in a while the ugly edge comes out - most dramatically in the Cronulla race riots. Granted the Northern Beaches is also called the "insular peninsula" for a reason, but they don't have race riots.

If you are happy to get on board with that culture, it offers a great lifestyle, especially for families and retirees. It's got surf beaches facing the ocean and calm lagoons facing Port Hacking, forests and glens with wildlife, local cafes and also a shiny Westfield. Some excellent public schools as well.

On 27/01/2023 at 20:46, Marisawright said:

Remember that Sydney covers a vast area.   All of those suburbs I mentioned are nowhere near "dire areas".  Most of the rough areas are much further west or much further south. 

The downside of Avalon Beach is transport.  You'll have to drive everywhere, as there's only the bus, no trains. Go to Google Maps and see how long it takes to get from Avalon Beach to the city in rush hour. Consider where your work is likely to be and check the transport times, remembering you may be working shifts. 

Yes a lot of the Sydney suburbs that traditionally people would avoid - say Marrickville - are now some of the trendiest. As @Maisawright has pointed out the inner west is perfectly civilised. Once upon a time there was a sort of bastion of poshness in Strathfield and otherwise everything between Strathfield and the City was industrial/working class, but it's very different now, the inner west is now almost entirely leafy suburbs with done up houses and nice cafes (etc). The south is also nicer than it used to be - even the Sutherland Shire is not the backwater it used to be. Things have changed a lot in recent decades!

That said, personally I wouldn't live further west than around Ryde/Concord/Strathfield. There's a sort of 'no man's land' of uninhabited land between the inner and outer west (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_West) and it's a completely different feel once you cross that divide. The northwest (beyond Ryde/Parramatta) also has transport issues - permanent traffic jams.

If you need a mortgage, be aware that the length of your expected working life will play a part in how much you can borrow as well.

Not sure if this applies to credit cards but I've found that banks with cross border operations (eg HSBC) are generally friendlier to the fact that you might have income / assets overseas, compared to local Australian banks who always seem shocked that anyone might have money outside Australia.

I used to fly with them between Aus and UK occasionally but stopped (this was even before the missing/downed planes) because: (1) after sale customer service was atrocious;  and (2) I had my phone stolen in KL airport in transit. 

The northern part of Oatley and the southern side of Mortdale (and Penshurst) all shade into each other and are pretty similar. Things start looking different when you go further north, to Forest Road and beyond. Mortdale has a more traditional looking high street, but Oatley's village centre (especially the western stretch) should still give you most of the same amenities. 

Is school catchment a consideration for you? Both public primary schools in Oatley are excellent, so houses in those catchment areas attract a lot of family buyers.

On 18/11/2022 at 19:53, JetBlast said:

@Tychen What parent documents did you submit please?

I can't remember exactly how it worked out in the flow chart and it varies according to when the parents were born and how each parent proves your entitlement. In our case, one of us is a British citizen by naturalisation and so had a naturalisation certificate (the other was a British citizen by descent born overseas). So our passports + the naturalisation certificate were sufficient, I think. 

We've just applied for the first British passport for our child born in Australia. Confirming what's been said above: the full document list is overbroad and seems to be meant to cover every conceivable eventually. We only submitted the docs necessary to establish the child's entitlement to British citizenship by descent - in our case, just our (parents') docs, not the grandparents' docs. And the passport was duly issued.

On 16/10/2022 at 12:38, Tootsie said:

Hello

I really like Lane Cove - which is a northern suburb

It has got a really fast direct Express bus service into the CBD. I know because I caught it by accident - takes 15 mins.

It is in your house price range.

 

Lane Cove is very lovely, but the OP would have to be very lucky for get a reasonable 4 bed house for $2.5m. Anything like that within walking of the village is going to be more like $3-3.5m I think. But maybe if the market keeps falling for another year...

$2-2.5m is a healthy budget in today's market. You'll definitely find places that tick all of the boxes. Within the range of possibilities, the trade off will be between commute and coast. One question is, does "coast" mean ocean only, or can it include river/harbour to you? 

To give you a concrete example: the northern end of the Inner West, close to the river/harbour, is popular with British migrants / returning expats because they tick many of the same boxes you have. Prices vary, but $2.5m can probably get you a reasonable house with a garden, though on a small plot (<500sqm), around Concord / North Strathfield / Homebush South, all of which are reasonably leafy areas with neat villages, local cafes etc etc - this is the far end of the Inner West per MarisaWright's formulation, before it shades into (proper) Western Sydney. Your commute into the City will be around 15 minutes from Strathfield station (which is a major interchange about 10-15 minute walk from Homebush South), or 5 minutes longer if you use Concord West / North Strathfield stations. You may or may not get a seat, but it won't matter for such a short trip. Strathfield has express trains about every 2-3 minutes at peak hour. Where this area might fall down for you is beach proximity. The nearest ocean beaches are the ones on Botany Bay, such as Ramsgate Beach, which is about 30 minutes drive away on a typical weekend, but the other side of this bay is the airport and oil refineries, not the prettiest scenery. To get to any other reasonable ocean beach, let's say Bondi Beach or Balmoral Beach, you will only make it within 30 minutes when traffic is quiet (and realistically it'll be more like 45 minutes on say a Saturday morning). The consolation prize is that you are only a few minutes drive from reasonably pretty bay/harbour front areas, including a few river beaches, such as around Hen & Chicken Bay, Cabarita Beach or Abbotsford.

At the other end of the trade-off between commute and beach, I second Oatley - also Penshurst and Mortdale (in between). These are popular areas for British migrants / returning expats, because they tick most of the same boxes you have. You can get a reasonable to nice house with a garden - possibly even on a fairly large plot. It's not as trendy as the inner west, but there are leafy parts (especially in the heritage conservation areas). The part of Oatley closer to the water is "leafy" in a different sense: it essentially shades into wilderness here. You are around 35-40 minutes from the City by train. Trains are frequent at peak hour - maybe every 5 minutes. You are only a few minutes from the riverfront (Georges River, not Parramatta River) or Ramsgate Beach, and you will easily get to the excellent beaches around the Cronulla peninsula in sub 30 minutes. The Royal National Park is also sub 30 minutes from this area.

2 hours ago, can1983 said:

Ok, just don't expect too much here that's what I'm saying. I first moved to Sydney in 2008 you could virtually hear me ranting from the plane about how awful the UK was and how I wasn't ever coming back. I lasted 3 months before I crawled home and faced up to all my family and friends!

I was overwhelmed by how big a disappointment it all was: rubbish place to live, 3 hour a day commute. I had this expectation that Australia would solve all my problems and it didn't it was even worse.

Just please don't expect it to be better than the UK it isn't

The OP's question is relevant here: for me, the most surprising downside of moving to Aus has been the poor salary-to-cost of everything ratio. I thought if a £x salary in London was quite comfortable, $x in Sydney would be just as comfortable. (In my case the same jobs happened to have about the same figure in salary - just different currencies.) It isn't - it's much more of a struggle in Aus. A big part of this is the inflated cost of housing: locals who bought property astutely won't feel it, because they've been riding the rising tide of property prices.

To live in Sydney on 100k a year with a baby would be quite a struggle if you need to cover rent. I think you can do it if you really try hard to be frugal - eg shop only at Flemington markets, forego eating out or entertainment, don't buy a car, etc. You may struggle to fund any unexpected purchases. We lived for about half a year a couple of years ago (also post baby) on about 150k pre tax and just about managed to break even each month.

If your housing budget is 600k, my suggestion is to look at garden flats in the periphery of the inner west. There are a few suburbs which are pleasant enough that people will pay $2m or more for the houses, but the apartments are much cheaper - especially if they are older and not shiny - which may not be a bad thing, as older apartment blocks tend to be solidly built and not afflicted by the structural issues that are a problem with newbuilds in Sydney. For example, you could have bought this 2 bedroom apartment in Enfield for just over $600k: https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-nsw-enfield-138385647 . Enfield is not the trendiest suburb but it's by no means the worst: median house price is $1.9m. Closer to the railway line, you could have bought this 2 bedroom apartment in Homebush for $575k: https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-unit-nsw-homebush-139226451 . Homebush is a more expensive suburb than Enfield (median house price is $2.7m), so you get slightly less for your money in apartments too. 

The nice thing about buying an apartment in a suburb that's expensive for houses is that, while you don't get the space of the multi million dollar houses nearby, you have access to the same good quality schools, village shops and transport facilities as the house dwellers. In that sense, it's a very good value buy - especially if it's also convenient for your commute.

On 17/05/2022 at 08:43, beketamun said:

if you're coming on PR and bringing a container, I would seriously consider getting some good European stuff and bringing it with you as it's a one off opportunity to import tax free as personal possessions, if you can be bothered.  Cars are a good option, Audi, BMW or Mercs are far more expensive here than Europe, you can make $30k.  Meile goods as well.  Good curtain material is hard to get here at a reasonable price too...it sticks with me haviing to pay high labour costs for people to use junk material they supply.   If you're only here for a short while it's not worth the hassle.

Ironically we brought an IKEA oak coffee table that's now about 30 yrs old, and some bespoke oversized sofa chairs we got specially made in the UK, some Brabantia kitchen stuff that costs a fortune here. 

For furniture, definitely buy the best European furniture that you can afford and ship it. If you are shipping by container, the shipping cost won't be that much per piece. Furniture in Australia tends to be either bad quality or very very expensive. Expect to add a 30-50% mark-up for any European or American designer furniture. Plus, being at the end of the global distribution chain, it's hit and miss whether popular stock even makes it here on a particular shipment, and even if it does you often have to wait months.

On 28/08/2022 at 07:42, pob said:

 

I thought that UGG was only a brand outside of Australia and inside Australia it is just a term for the Ugly boots. But I could be wrong.

While not being the best looking things they would be worn happily around the house, keeping my feet warm.

I was wondering if anyone knew a good sheepskin store in Sydney that made their own?

Yes, UGG (apparently, officially pronounced Yew-Gee-Gee) is a trade mark owned by a US company but only in certain countries and not Australia. In Australia "ugg" is a generic term for sheepskin boots.

I've been converted by family here to these people: https://www.goldenrams.com.au/ . Properly Australian ugg boots made with Australian sheepskin locally in Sydney. They have a shop in Miranda Westfield, but the more "authentic" experience is to go to their factory shop in St Peters.

On 24/01/2022 at 14:33, Loopylu said:

As a dual qualified lawyer (admitted in England & Wales first and then admitted in NSW but practising in Qld), if your son plans to return to Australia to practice law then he should do his degree and PLT and get admitted in Australia.  It is far easier to take the conversion exams to be admitted in the UK than to do the onerous exams to be admitted in Australia. I was lucky as I converted in 2008 but not long after this it became so much harder for a foreign lawyer to get admitted in Australia. I would have had to take nearly all subjects again!  

As I specialised in a niche area of law (energy and utilities) I was sponsored over by a Top Tier law firm which covered my exam costs (and relocation). However, the flow in lawyers is definitely out of Australia rather than in at the moment. London and New York have poached nearly all of the 1-4 year PQE members of one Brisbane Top Tier's M&A team as they offer much higher salaries (even relative to living costs) and the youngsters are sick of being locked up for 2 years due to Covid. 

Just noting that the conversion process for Australian-qualified lawyers intending to practise England & Wales has also gotten harder (I think around 2009-10?) - the new "QLTS" scheme requires taking written and oral exams in a much wider range of subjects than it was in the 'good old days' of the "QLTT" scheme (two exams only, guaranteed pass if you do the course at the right institution). In any case, I second/third the views expressed above that he should study in the country where he intends to practise in future - taking into account of course whether the other offering is an institution that is so prestigious that it will 'open doors' in the other jurisdiction. 

On 04/06/2022 at 19:42, Ausvisitor said:

It sounds like a good school my only reservation is that hillsong is close to being a cult.

I'm not sure I would have been happy with my kids going to a school associated to an organisation with a well publicised sexual abuse problem, but as others have said people are free to make their own choice on the experience they want for their kids.

Second that. If a prospective parent is not familiar with the reputation of the Hillsong organisation in Australia, I would recommend doing some research before choosing a Hillsong school, to ensure that you are making an informed choice for your children.

On 18/05/2022 at 13:18, Marisawright said:

No, Australian landlords hate long leases.  

We had the opposite experience. We were upfront about only wanting to rent for a year as we were intending to buy, thinking that would be attractive for landlords who similarly wanted flexibility. That turned out to be a turn-off for a lot of landlords. What we found is that the rental market for suburban houses was quite different to inner city flats: often the suburban house was the owners' biggest asset and they were really emotionally invested in it. They didn't want the stress of finding new tenants. They want stability and a family tenant who would keep renewing year after year for at least a couple of years and preferably indefinitely. So I think if the OP is renting a family home, definitely err on the side of overstating how long you intend to rent for.

We were in work-provided service apartments for a month and found it barely enough to find a house to rent.

I second Oatley, it's lovely and really popular with expats/returnees for good reason. The schools are great, and you have easy access to water and greenery. I wouldn't live any further south though - south of the river the commute is longer and it's much harder to get to the rest of Sydney by road.

OP, I would suggest considering the Inner West as well, for transportational convenience. There are some lovely spots. If waterfront access is important to you, areas such as Mortlake, Russell Lea and Rodd Point are great for families. Several of our friends who moved from the UK live in this area. If you don't mind being further from water, places like Croydon, Concord, Homebush South, Summer Hill, Petersham or northern Marrickville are also great family-friendly areas. 

If you are intending to use the local public school, you really need to mind the catchment lines. https://www.schoolcatchment.com.au/ is an invaluable resource for that. We were looking at Concord West at one stage, and realised that the new school in that suburb (Victoria Avenue) performed far worse than all of the surrounding, established schools. And you could easily end up there if you lived on the wrong side of a particular street. The good thing though is you are guaranteed a place if you are within catchment, any time of the year.

5 months for shipping sounds about right. I would suggest spending a bit of your budget on shipping essential-but-not-too-essential things by air, to manage the risk of things being delayed even further.

I think it depends a lot on whether you will regularly commute to the City or work from home. Traffic in the northwest is terrible, and even if you buy near a train station, the peak hour commute into and out of the CBD from the Epping will probably get annoying. Unfortunately, you won't be getting a comfortable four bedroom family home in the lower North Shore, or somewhere like Paddington.

Below are some ideas in other parts of Sydney, if you are looking for a four bedroom family home on the $2.5m budget.

- Oatley and surrounds. Oatley station gets relatively frequent and relatively fast trains into the City. It's a southern suburb with lots of green spaces and excellent schools. $2.5m will get you a comfortable four bedroom house with front and back yards, but no water views or wharf access. Very popular with British expats or returnees: when we were looking to buy in Oatley a couple of years ago, it felt like every second person at the open house had a similar story of having just moved from London and have a $2m budget etc etc...

- Croydon, Homebush South, Concord West, North Strathfield, etc. Strathfield itself is all mansions on grand boulevards and premium private schools - unfortunately that's why it is the 13th most expensive suburb in the country and $2.5m won't get you anything reasonable in Strathfield itself, but it can get you a comfortable four bedroom house in some of the nearby suburbs. They are not as flash as Strathfield but can still be very comfortable, with excellent schools. Strathfield is a major station with express trains to the city (15 minutes to Central) every 1-2 minutes in peak hour. So if you are close enough to walk there, or can easily change there, it will keep your commute short. I haven't included Burwood because it's full of tower blocks now, not a great place to live.

- Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Earlwood. Not traditionally a premium area -- long term residents might look at you in horror -- but this pocket of south-western Sydney near the Cooks River has really gentrified. Marrickville itself is a curious blend of very trendy industrial chic cafes and very leafy streets with Victorian/Edwardian houses. And of course now the Prime Minister is a Marrickville local. Dulwich Hill has both the train and the light rail. The light rail is great if you work in Pyrmont or the southern CBD. The train is being converted to metro which will be a direct service to Martin Place - great if you work in the financial district/northern CBD.

On 05/05/2022 at 04:30, AliG said:

Hi, Im currently in London planning a move to Aus, but have considered relocating within London at various points in my life.

Here are a few things to think about:

1. STAMP DUTY - This is relevant given the size of your budget: They changed how UK stamp duty is structured a few years back - it is now particularly steep on expensive homes. Its tapered but the rate goes up to 12% for the bit above £1.5million, so £2m works out at over £150k. Also, I think im right in saying that you'd have to add 3% if you kept your Aus property (as your UK property would be classed as a 2nd home). Stamp duty calculator here: https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates

2. COMMUTE - 'reasonable commute' can mean different things to different people...

- Do you want inner city hustle and bustle, outer ring leafy suburbs, or a commuter belt country retreat? 

- Lots of recent rail upgrades: 'Crossrail' is about to open to the public within this month or so running east to west. Thameslink has recently been upgraded for north/south link (incl Brighton). The 'Overground' is a big section or inner city rail taken over by the mayor and running with frequent metro style services...

- Train fare rises are linked to inflation so long (distance) commutes can be pretty steep. You can get to Ashford (60 miles from London) in 37 mins but you'll pay for it.

- Cycling becoming much more popular - some parts have much better infrastructure than others...

3. SCHOOLS - Im generalising but these days its actually hard to find an area of london without a good primary school - but catchments can be quite small which might matter if you have your heart set on a specific school. Secondary schools much more variance in quality. Private schools are more frequent in the other suburbs but there are still plenty closer in. Grammar schools are in high demand but only certain boroughs have them: https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/choosing-a-school/grammar-schools/local-authorities  

4. CRIME - Crime map here: https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/london-crime-map-shows-londons-19654472 but I'd take the crime stats with a pinch of salt. With a healthy budget you'll probably buy somewhere reasonably affluent and crime stats will probably relatively low. The exception are busy inner city places (like islington) where you can get a bit more street crime - but its still pretty rare: eg Westminster is Londons most 'dangerous' borough but it also one of the most affluent and I've never felt unsafe...

5. BUILDING WORKS - I don't know how long it will last, but post pandemic and Brexit builders costs and wait times have gone sky high. Perhaps something to bear in mind if you might have fancied a dooer-upper. It can still be done but it might take longer and be less profitable than it once was.

Good luck!

 

Thank you, those are great tips. The stamp duty is ridiculous, it's essentially throwing a whole mortgage deposit in the water (although in the equivalent price range it's also ridiculous in Australia...)

May I ask if you ever considered any particular areas in the "outer ring" or "commuter belt" categories? 

1 hour ago, Nemesis said:

I have many friends in Islington and Camden. Prior to COVID I used t go back there for a couple of weeks once or twice a year. I have never come across anyone who fell prey to mobile snatchers, not anyone who knows anyone! Its a crime that can (and does) happen anywhere in the world.

Perhaps your friends have a better sense of self preservation than my circle, I don't know. It happened to me once, and I've seen it happen several times. Worst in the more central parts of Islington and Camden close to the City I think. It is (or at least, was) a much worse problem at least in those parts than say, in Sydney, where people seem to just pull out their phones on street corners without any fear of a moped mounting the kerb and snatching it.

23 hours ago, DIG85 said:

If you're looking somewhere closer to town than Kingston or Norbiton, then maybe look at somewhere like Battersea, which is close to Clapham Junction which has trains to both Victoria (for Westminster) and Waterloo (for the City via the W&C line). Should (just about) be able to get a terrace there for sub GBP2m.

If there are moped phone snatchers in Islington then there could be moped phone snatchers anywhere in London tbh.

Ah thanks for the idea. Hadn't thought about that part of town, but yes there are lovely parts of Battersea, will look into it.

There was a news report (this would have been around 2018) that Islington and Camden were by far the top boroughs for phone snatchers. Will need to check whether that's changed...

On 02/05/2022 at 16:05, Quoll said:

Not quite on the Liverpool St/Westminster lines but my son and his wife have a very nice house in Kingston on Thames for well less than that.  Train to Waterloo - quick link then to the City and not too far to Westminster (my son loved to cycle that route, took him about 45 minutes through Richmond Park, my daughter in law gets the train also to Westminster), Trains seem to be OK and reasonably regular.  Norbiton is the next suburb in and it seems pretty nice too.  Schools seem to be very good if my grandson's school is anything to go by. May not be the side of town you are thinking of but if you dont mind half an hour on the train it's not too bad.

Thank you - those sound like great options, will look into them.

I diligently filled out the shipping forms listing everything that was bought within the last 12 months (as the form requested), but was then told by the shipping agent not to do that because, essentially, no-one cares unless you are actually trying to ship new goods for commercial gain.