Fishenka Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Hi All, can someone please recommend family friendly area in reasonable commute distance from North Ryder? parks, playgrounds, soft plays, public swimming pool, sports centres, good schools and daycare are a priority. Oh and we also have a dog :biggrin: I have a short list, (. Hornsby, Carlingford, pennant hills, thornleigh, normanhurst ) but don't know much about the areas, We'll be in Sydney next week but I can't look at them all so need to choose 2 or 3 areas to visit. Budget is 900$ p/w tops. thanks a lot in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moirclan Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 when i lived in sydney my hubby also worked in north ryde so i based us as a family in concord the kids went to a lovely little school in concord west and the travel time for hubby wasnt to bad , there was also a train station in concord west which was helpful xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Why not have a look around North Ryde/Ryde itself? You may well find somewhere nice within walking distance of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seppo Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Fish, You can easily check out the burbs on your short list in one day via car, or even by train, although you won't have the range and ability to explore that a car gives you...I would add Cherrybrook to your list..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Thanks a lot! I ll check Cherrybrook, Concord and North Ryde too. As it is so far from the ocean, do these areas get any breeze from the ocean at all or is it just a sauna there in the summer and youhibernate under the air con? thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seppo Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 No sea breeze, unless you are pretending......We were in St. Ives, just east of where you are looking......I swear, there were times in summer that I stepped outside our house, it felt like the sun was maybe one mile overhead, and I was a hunk of prime rib steak sizzling on the grill....I am not kidding....that being said, the beach was about 25 mins away and all was right!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Thanks a lot! I ll check Cherrybrook, Concord and North Ryde too. As it is so far from the ocean, do these areas get any breeze from the ocean at all or is it just a sauna there in the summer and youhibernate under the air con? thx! Sea breeze? NO definitely not. We are 5 -10 minute walk from the beach and we get a pleasant breeze at times but when it is really hot even a sea breeze wont help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Thanks a lot! Also is there any website to check school ratings like locration or zoopla in the UK or how do you find out? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACDONALDO67 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Don't mind if I follow this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Google NSW schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flappers263 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Don't mind if I follow this post. ditto, this is one of the areas we are interested in also... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 http://www.myschool.edu.au It's not the greatest but it's a guide. Schools are such a personal choice as some schools (no matter how good on paper) just don't suit some kids. Best thing to do is draw up a shortlist of areas and then try and visit some of the schools to narrow down. Most schools are accommodating of visits and very friendly. You'll also want to find the catchment areas of schools, be warned this isn't easy as there's no central map - you have to ask the schools. Some have a map on their website, some describe the catchment, some you have to ask. Also of course, at primary level in particular when most lessons are in class with one teacher, your experience can vary wildly depending on who the class teacher is that year. In K (last year) mys on had a brilliant teacher and we loved the school. This year in Yr 1, his teacher has been hopeless, no interest and hardly ever there (although, bizarrely, she wrote one of the better reports I've seen) and it's been so bad we've brought forward plans to put him in the private system as a result so he's changing schools in Feb. As for family-friendly areas - you'll find most areas in this area of Sydney to be well supplied with parks etc and be pretty family oriented - Australia is quite good on this score IMO. Sports facilities are everywhere, one thing I would suggest is to find out where local clubs are and get involved with those. There are hundreds and they're all IME very open, accessible and welcoming. E.g. my son does cricket through a local club, football likewise in the winter, swimming are a local swim school, gymnastics through a youth club that's attached to the RSL. This sort of facility and club is everywhere so you don't need to make it a factor in choice of where to live Your list is quite good as a start, I presume you've used the railway as a start point in terms of commuting to North Ryde? Pennant Hills and Thornleigh suffer from having the appalling Pennant Hills Rd ripping through the middle of them, but there are good facilities and some really nice streets off the main drag. Normanhurst leafier and quieter, as are Beecroft and Cheltenham (the later a bit elderly in character IMO) so the south of Pennant Hills. I like Hornsby, it almost feels like a town although it's very much centred around the massive Westfield, you're in some spectacular bushland very quickly on the edges of town as well (eg Galston Gorge). The transport hub it offers is very useful Also consider some of the suburbs off the railway line - Westleigh, Cherrybrook etc - there are lots of buses running down to Pennant Hills in particular to pick up the railway if you need. And look at some of the places closer to North Ryde, eg Ryde, Denistone, Eastwood - slightly more urban in feel but nothing wrong with that Your budget should be fine - stay west of the Lane Cove River as it's much more expensive to the east Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 PS No, there's no sea breeze in these areas, but tbh I don't find the heat that much of a drama. It doesn't usually last very long, you'll get the odd day or two when climatic conditions mean you're dealing with 35C+, but generally a "cool change" comes in before long and sweeps it away In October we had a pretty warm start to the month with a few 30C+ days, then late Oct and most of November was cool and quite wet, December has been more settled and last week we had 3 or 4 warm days in a row (not stupid hot though, 30-32C or similar) and now it's lovely again. 26-30C in the day and cooler at night Buy a mobile aircon unit, available from $400 each, if you need to keep yourself cool on the hottest days. But it's not like it's roasting hot for months at a time, the weather just isn't like that (Actually it's a whole lot wetter than most people think it's going to be) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Ever since I started working at Penrith "way out west" (55K from the City), I have ditched my prejudices about "Westies." After all, Parramatta is the "real" centre of Sydney and most of,Sydneys population live far from the beach and even a hint of a breeze (sea or other!) My train is just arriving at Parra half an hour from Central and 40 mins from Penrith. I am told settled to.move anywhere else now, but if I had just moved to Sydney and had job in Penrith I,would probably move there. I see lots of nice homes from the train and The Blue Mts is on the doorstep to compensate for la,I if,the beach. I forgot about the Nepean River too. I guess my point is not to worry too much about all the pro and con, too hot, no breeze, AVOID SUBURB "X" AT ALL COSTS! My train has just stopped at Toongabbie, about which I know nothing. I can see a dentist and a medical centre. Homes look OK and there will be a,school not too far away. If this was where my job offer was, I would look to move here. Soon, my train will stop at some if those "X" Factor Nasty burbs, but again, when you actually go there, you get mugged! Joking JOKING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 @&&@ predictive txt ALWAYS stuffs up my posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Northshorepom, you are a star! thank you! i will def have a look at those areas! But I've noticed people here prefer southerland, dolls point. Why is that? Is it much better? Is it reasonably computable to the city from there on a daily basis? That a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Northshorepom, you are a star! thank you! i will def have a look at those areas! But I've noticed people here prefer southerland, dolls point. Why is that? Is it much better? Is it reasonably computable to the city from there on a daily basis? That a lot! People can generally only comment on what they know, and IME Sydney is like other big cities in that if you live in one end of it and work in the same end or the centre, you rarely go to the "other side". As I live on the north side (Upper North Shore) and work in various places this side of the bridge (Chatswood, St leonards, North Sydney, sometimes Pennant Hills), and go to the beach this side (Northern Beaches), that's what I can comment on and try to do it as honestly and objectively as I can, BUT an opinion from anyone is always going to be based on not much because our experience (anyone's experience) is really pretty limited. I mean, I go into the city to go to the theatre, out to dinner or drinks, occasionally shopping, and for business meetings, but I almost never go beyond the CBD unless I'm going to the airport, the SCG, or someone's house who lives over there So Sutherland, I've been *through* it three times. Twice driving through to go south, and once to a rugby league game at Cronulla. That's it, so I can't comment on the Shire as have no experience Everyone I know who does live there rates it as a family area, but I can't give an opinion myself. So when you see people on here "preferring" the Shire, I think they are commenting on what they know in the same way as I do. I expect many who live there come to the north side of the city as rarely as I go there, IYSWIM? As for commuting, it's pretty good into the city as there is a direct train, but if you're working in North Ryde that's quite a long way past the city on the other side. I think the train from North Ryde to the city, for example, takes 25 minutes or so, so if you add on to that the commute from the south side it soon mounts up In this respect I absolutely agree with MR02 and recommend to live in an area you like as close as possible to work. The biggest improvement in our quality of life from living in Oz is that I can cycle to work in half an hour, 45 mins on the odd occasion I'm in North Sydney. Which means I get my exercise without having to go to the gym or use up valuable weekend time, and I can get home for my kids every night, whereas in the UK I used to commute 90+ minutes e/w in and out of London and was therefore knackered in weekday evenings and only saw my kids at the weekend. It was very much a conscious decision to do that though, there are loads of people here doing the same long commutes as there are in London, but I'm over that. Best advice is that personal experience is more valuable than anything else - an awful lot of it is about feel. Visit a few suburbs, get out of the car and walk around, see what's there, look in estate agent's windows, have a coffee, see what the local shops are like etc. It's not a quick process but no better way of seeing where you might want to live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 90 mins,each way to London. I was thinking "awful" but I leave home in Surry Hills to walk to Central for 1240/45 train to Penrith, and get to work just before start time of 2pm. Finish at six, get 634 fast train to Central 720 home at 730. My young workmate Lesen is dozing beside me. He livres at Woolahra and gets train from Edgcliff. I said "if you got a permanent full time job at ATO, you could buy a place with your parents in Penrith to stay in Mon to Thur nights.. (I don't think he liked that idea n not part of Chinese culture to move from home but also very Western not wanting to cook and clean when Mum does it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 90 mins,each way to London. You get inured to it I think It started when I came back from overseas to the UK 12 years ago. I was PM of a project in a rough area of E London, didn't want to live anywhere near there so thought I may as well live back in Cambridge (where I had a lot of mates, and which is a lovely place) as it was a straight shot down the M11 and therefore only 45-50 minutes to work. A few years later with wife in tow, we tired of the city life a bit and wanted to move to the country, out in W Suffolk. Well, it was only an extra 15 minutes each way so manageable. Then I changed work location which added another 10 minutes. Then changed work location again and added another 15 minutes. And then before you know how it happened, you're wasting 15 hours a week on travelling to and from work It creeps up on you. I didn't actually mind it, I'm an early morning sort of person anyway and I used to love driving across Suffolk countryside on the back lanes seeing hares, badgers, owls etc in the dawn light, especially in summer with a fantastic light and a lovely smell. I know I used to leave home at 5.45am every day as I got addicted to "Farming Diary" on R4. And I didn't mind so much getting back at 7.30 in the evening It's my family who suffered, really. Realised something had to change when I overheard my son saying to someone "Daddy only lives with us at weekends, in the week he lives down in London" because he never saw me. Commuting is such a waste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Northshorepom, you are a star! thank you! i will def have a look at those areas! But I've noticed people here prefer southerland, dolls point. Why is that? Is it much better? Is it reasonably computable to the city from there on a daily basis? That a lot! I sometimes recommend people look at Sutherland when they mention that they have a tight budget, say less than $600 per week, but want a house. Because it is cheaper down there without becoming crime ridden. But I hope my posts are not taken as recommending it, because I have been through it once, but have no practical experience of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you, so far we are seriously considering Ryde and have decided to stick with the north shore Another silly question, how long is the drive from Ryde to Manly? Is it doable as a wkend trip to the beach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you very much for all your replies guys and sorry for being quiet 8) got caught up with jet lag our baby's caught a cold on a plane as well etc... well, I def like north shore and Ryde but after closer look at Sydney prices and doing online shops etc I think our rental budget has sharply fallen into the 650-700$ pw bracket...:err: I mean seriously, For example I still can't get over the fact that nappies are more than double the price than in London (and you use loads of those for years...) ouch...:nah: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Concord would be a lovely idea as it gets you into the inner west (which I think has a livelier vibe) while still an easy commute to North Ryde. I lived in Five Dock and worked there, and it was a painless drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 For example I still can't get over the fact that nappies are more than double the price than in London (and you use loads of those for years...) ouch...:nah: Yeah, but you can't use the exchange rate to compare prices - it fluctuates every day. Since the dollar has dropped in value nappies haven't got 20% more expensive in London... Only the dollar price has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishenka Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you, that's a good point... But that's exactly why it's so hard for me to to assess the difference in the cost of living... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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