Guest lucyisheavensent Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Hi All, My husband is in the latter stages of a visa application process after being offered a job in Sydney. We are looking to be out there within the next 6 weeks as soon as the light goes green on the visa (any day now, fingers crossed!). My husband will be working in Sydney CBD, Can anyone recommended some family friendly areas that are within a commutable distance, that also have a school nearby for my 10 yr old son to attend, any advice on how to get the ball rolling with enrollment would be gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Is this a temporary visa perchance? 457? If so then you will have to pay $4500 up front. Schools aren't obliged to take 457 visa holders who may live in their catchment area if they don't have spaces but generally they do. Just rock up to the local school with visa, evidence of residence and age and vaccinations and fill in the enrolment form. What exactly do you mean by family friendly? Anywhere is going to be pretty much like anywhere else really. Suburbs are suburbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lucyisheavensent Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Is this a temporary visa perchance? 457? If so then you will have to pay $4500 up front. Schools aren't obliged to take 457 visa holders who may live in their catchment area if they don't have spaces but generally they do. Just rock up to the local school with visa, evidence of residence and age and vaccinations and fill in the enrolment form. What exactly do you mean by family friendly? Anywhere is going to be pretty much like anywhere else really. Suburbs are suburbs. Hi, We do have some contacts in Sydney, and they have given us a list of areas to avoid, I was just looking for some confirmation of decent areas. By family friendly I obviously mean no drug usage, drinking, local parks that are safe for children to play, local schools etc. Yes you're right it is a 457, we have had some conflicting info that we can pay the fees in 2 halves, have you moved yourself, do you know if this is not the case, first hand experience would be most welcome! Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I don't know about paying the fees in halves. You could ask (it is handled by the state government) but I've not heard of it Most suburbs have plenty of parks and outside areas - Australia's good like that. Most feel generally safe too, but it's hard for me to be specific as anywhere around where I live (and hence know well) is expensive. I haven't heard of any issue where 457 visa holders don't have a right for their kids to be enrolled if they have paid the fees. Never heard of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I haven't heard of any issue where 457 visa holders don't have a right for their kids to be enrolled if they have paid the fees. Never heard of it I read that in one of their documents - cant find it at the moment - but I think it is probably a very rare occurrence and only if a school is well overprescribed (and they did say that a student would be offered a local alternative) although temporary residents cant enrol in selective HS, they are clear about that. Payment up front either by the year or by the half year (must have had a lot of people claiming they couldnt afford the full whack) http://www.detinternational.nsw.edu.au/schools/study_options/temporary_residents/temporary_residents.htm is the go to page for temporary visa holders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 There are over 650 separate suburbs in Sydney. You'd find families in most of them, they'd all have a primary school nearby. You really need to narrow it down a bit. There are only a very few suburbs that I wouldn't call family-friendly. Any suburb that has more apartments than houses is probably not going to suit kids. Those sorts of suburbs mostly surround the city itself and the other regional hubs (Chatswood, Hurstville, Bondi Junction etc). There are some areas that I wouldn't want to live in - you can usually tell the not-so-good areas by looking at the houses, shops and people walking around. Avoid Parramatta, Blacktown, Bankstown regions. They're cheap, can be iffy and not worth moving 12000 miles to live in. Any suburb east, north, north-west, inner west, and far south is perfectly fine for families. Some suburbs in the west and south-west are perfectly fine too - but you have to pick the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lucyisheavensent Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 There are over 650 separate suburbs in Sydney. You'd find families in most of them, they'd all have a primary school nearby. You really need to narrow it down a bit. There are only a very few suburbs that I wouldn't call family-friendly. Any suburb that has more apartments than houses is probably not going to suit kids. Those sorts of suburbs mostly surround the city itself and the other regional hubs (Chatswood, Hurstville, Bondi Junction etc). There are some areas that I wouldn't want to live in - you can usually tell the not-so-good areas by looking at the houses, shops and people walking around. Avoid Parramatta, Blacktown, Bankstown regions. They're cheap, can be iffy and not worth moving 12000 miles to live in. Any suburb east, north, north-west, inner west, and far south is perfectly fine for families. Some suburbs in the west and south-west are perfectly fine too - but you have to pick the area. Many thanks for your response, please bear in mind that I'm arranging this move to the other side of the world via the internet, hence I've joined this forum to gain all the 'inside' knowledge I can get, so gauging areas by people walking around isn't possible I'm afraid! I will certainly bear in mind the areas to avoid, some of which have been mentioned to me already, so that's great I'm starting to build up a picture now....! I thought by putting an hours commute in the desirables, this would help narrow it down from the 650 you mentioned! I think my best bet is to bite the bullet and start calling agents myself, I didn't want to get treated like a mug by anyone so was trying to do my research first, hence joining this forum, but, no offense to anyone who has responded in particular, I'm not finding anyone to be overly helpful, and some of the comments to be aimed at me like I'm dumb! I'm aware of the magnitude of what moving a family to the other side of the world is, I was only seeking friendly advice from those who have been there, done it, and bought the t-shirt, but all I seem to be getting is "you don't have a clue love"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 You probably dont want to start calling agents until you arrive - you are unlikely to get a rental before you arrive anyway. Most people get holiday accommodation for a month or two and suss out the suburbs in person. I didnt realize there were 650 suburbs LOL - it really does depend on where you work, transport to work, what you can afford (I'd recommend Mosman LOL but it probably isnt within your budget if the $4500 upfront is an issue) and where you can find a rental vacancy when you have narrowed it down somewhat. Sorry if you get the "you dont have a clue" message but your original question was really about as specific as how long is piece of string! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 It depends a bit on whether your husband will be commuting by car, bus or train. Train links in the northern suburbs are worse I believe, but buses are better. I don't live in the north, but The Hills District I think is commutable by bus in an hour to the CBD, Northern Beaches I guess about the same but I would think that driving would take longer. South of Sydney the St George area is nice as is Sutherland Shire, both an easy commute by train to the cbd, but probably not by car in rush hour traffic. To be honest, your best bet (and what we did before we came) is to get a map and use http://www.cityrail.com.au and google maps directions to get more of a feel of what is achievable. My hubby works in Hurstville and I work from home, so my knowledge of that particular commute is sketchy at best! Other useful websites for house prices are http://www.domain.com.au and http://www.realestate.com.au. You will probably find that most estate agents won't be interested in talking to you until you are here, so you will probably have to sort out temporary accommodation first. That will give you the opportunity to check out suburbs before you commit to a rental anyway. Good luck with it all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I'm sorry if you aren't finding us very helpful, but it's quite difficult to help with little to go on. At least now with an idea of budget and what counts as an acceptable commute we can make a start. Everyone with a family wants a "nice" family area, of course, and most people coming to Sydney would like in an ideal world to be close to the beach/water as well. Unfortunately you can't afford it on your budget Take a look at this map of the gross areas of Sydney: Northern Beaches = council areas of Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Lower North Shore = council areas of Mosman, North Sydney, Lane Cove and Willoughby Upper North Shore = council areas of Ku-Ring-Gai and half of Hornsby North West = council areas of Ryde, Baulkham Hills and the other half of Hornsby plus northern half of Blacktown Outer West = council areas of Penrith and the other half of Blacktown Parramatta = council areas of Parramatta, Holroyd, Auburn and Fairfield South-West = council areas of Liverpool, Campbelltown and Camden Sutherland Shire = council area of Sutherland Inner West = council areas of Bankstown, Canterbury, Marrickville, Ashfield, Burwood, Strathfield, Canada Bay and Leichhardt South Sydney = council areas of Hurstville, Rockdale, Kogarah and Botany Bay Eastern Suburbs = council areas of Waverley, Randwick and Woollahra You can't afford the Lower or Upper North Shore, Northern Beaches, Eastern Suburbs, Central Sydney or the vast majority (all the bits closest to the city) of the Inner West or Southern Sydney. Also most of the Sutherland Shire will be too expensive but you might get lucky (it gets cheaper the further away from the sea you are, roughly) Parramatta and the northern bit of the "South West" (Liverpool, Bankstown) has quite a few rough areas that you might want to avoid. Likewise the eastern end of the "Far West" (Blacktown). The western end of the "Far West" is a lot more spread out but it's a long old schlep into the city from there. Likewise the southern end of the "South West" (Campbelltown) is a long way to travel. Transport from most of the "North West" isn't that crash hot, with only one rail line (and a slow one) from Richmond through Parramatta to the CBD. Bus connections are pretty good though, the express ones along the M2 can make the journey in less than an hour, although everything gets held up on the bridge So that doesn't leave a lot of choice. I would concentrate your search on two broad areas: 1) The bit you can see on the map where the "Inner West", "Sutherland Shire" and "South Sydney" meet. These are the cheaper bits of all three of those areas, and you might get lucky 2) The western end of the Hills District - which is most of the "North West" area on the map above - Glenwood, Schofields, Stanhope Gardens, Rouse Hill and around. You'll get better value around here I think but just need to be careful with transport options (in particular check out the buses) So arm yourself with a few maps - Google maps to give you the basic geography, and the rail and bus maps available from http://www.131500.com.au/, realestate.com.au and domain.com.au and get searching. It won't be easy or quick but it might start to narrow things down If you want info on the western end of the Hills District, there was a big thread here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/new-south-wales/136569-family-4-moving-baulkham-hills-castle-hill-areas.html You might try a PM to some of the people on there who live in places like Stanhope Gardens as they will be in a better position to advise than the likes of me Don't expect too much of agents. Most aren't very helpful even if you already live here and know exactly what you want and where you want it. The rental market is pretty tight and they don't have to try too hard, so they don't. And they certainly won't arrange a long term rental if you're not in the country, you have to get something short term and then look when you're here, it's what everyone does. Hope I haven't put you off too much. I know it is daunting and the first month or two is a whirlwind, but it gets much easier. Sydney is an expensive place to live, there's no getting away from it, so make sure you are sure you won't be making a big financial mistake in coming here is all I would say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaneym Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Many thanks for your response, please bear in mind that I'm arranging this move to the other side of the world via the internet, hence I've joined this forum to gain all the 'inside' knowledge I can get, so gauging areas by people walking around isn't possible I'm afraid! I will certainly bear in mind the areas to avoid, some of which have been mentioned to me already, so that's great I'm starting to build up a picture now....! I thought by putting an hours commute in the desirables, this would help narrow it down from the 650 you mentioned! I think my best bet is to bite the bullet and start calling agents myself, I didn't want to get treated like a mug by anyone so was trying to do my research first, hence joining this forum, but, no offense to anyone who has responded in particular, I'm not finding anyone to be overly helpful, and some of the comments to be aimed at me like I'm dumb! I'm aware of the magnitude of what moving a family to the other side of the world is, I was only seeking friendly advice from those who have been there, done it, and bought the t-shirt, but all I seem to be getting is "you don't have a clue love"! I am really sorry I cant help you as like you I am making the move over probably begin of September ( easier in one sense for me though as I am coming alone and leaving my grown sons behind) pm lisa crowe she is out there with a family and may be able to give you some views on the part she currently is in. I just wanted to wish you good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lucyisheavensent Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Many thanks for all your input over the past 24 hrs, it's really appreciated. I know my initial post was a bit vague, but I did that deliberately to see if anything was suggested that may have been outside of my thinking, back fired on me though, oops! Thanks for the suggestion of a holiday rental, it isn't something I'd even considered with all the other things you have to juggle whilst making a move this huge! We have done the whole google maps thing already, we just wanted to see if anyone had any comments on areas that we had picked out before we set our hearts on anything, but I have to say you've all been so helpful, thanks again! We have broken down the finances, and my husband has a very well paid job waiting for him out there, so it does add up financially, just a bit tight getting over there to start, but if somethings worth having, you can make it happen! Our rental budget does has a bit of a buffer in it we could stretch to $550 if we had to, and once I get a job over there when settled and child care can be arranged (job offer in pipeline!), then we will be a lot more comfortable. My husband would be commuting by train ideally, with a view to get a car once we have saved a bit of money once we're over (after about 6 months). So the jist of what I'm getting here is go for a temp rental, don't commit to anything, find your feet first, which I agree is sensible, I just don't want to keep uprooting the kids from school and nursery while we look for somewhere to settle. On that note, does any one know if I would have to enroll my son in school straight away, or could we wait until the beginning of the school year which I believe is end of Jan? Once again, thank you all, it's a big weight off to hear from people who have first hand experience. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 You can wait until you are settled permanently before you put your child into school - no one is going to get their knickers in a knot especially if you arrive late in the academic year. The reason for taking a short term/holiday rental is that, in reality, you arent going to get anything long term and permanent until you arrive - it's a sellers market and landlords can be as picky as they like and they arent going to let to someone they havent seen. OTOH you dont want to sign up for something without having really sussed out the neighbourhood. I venture to suggest that you are probably going to need a car well sooner than 6 months especially when you find that you have to be in several places at once (as you do with kids LOL) and the further out from the centre you go, the less comprehensive is the public transport provision. http://www.domain.com.au/?mode=rent and http://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/Rural/Rent.html are good places to start looking and http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/nsw/rent-residential/sydney/1052710 is also picking up business and expanding into wider NSW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 ^Agree with all of that You can't arrange your long-term accommodation nor enrol them in school until you are here, so don't stress over that too much. Spend your time/energy researching and making shortlists instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 You may struggle with things like food shopping if you don't have a car to be honest. I agree that you shouldn't worry too much about enrolling in school straight off. You probably won't be accepted until you have a more permanent address anyway. Just enjoy the time and think of it as a holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frankie457 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Like you, I organised a family move from other side of world... I advise get short term holiday accommodation and from there choose your location, chat to locals about schools. Enrolment might depend on address, I have 3 in different schools (primary and high school), all very settled and happy now! Children here often start mid term, I would treat first few weeks as holiday to adjust all round and visit schools in person. I live in MacArthur region of Sydney and love it, best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I love living in the inner city suburb of Surry Hills where there is a combination of mainly terraced homes, appartments, warehouse conversions, offices, warehouses, the 'rag trade' (never mind the quality, feel the width) music colleges, and about a million pubs, cafes, restaurants, bars, speciality shops. I've not got any kids so I'm not sure about the schools although I've seen plenty of young mums and dads with their charges in Shannon Reserve and Ward Park. I remember I suffered the minor embarrassment of telling a woman with her kids that she looked fulfilled and she said she was their grandmother. Crown St Public School? Bourke St Public School? I stopped for a coffee on Sat evening, on the way home from a swim at Redleaf in Paddington and went into Max Brenner. I don't really like their coffee but it's run by Israelis so The Greens hate it. Anyway, it's right next to Paddo Public school which looked nice. Paddington and Surry Hills both practically walking distance to the CBD, close to the eastern subs beaches - perfect - if you can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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