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Help with suburbs pls?


sualg

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 Looking at places to rent remotely as we are moving to Sydney from the U.K. next month. We are desperate to have the beach lifestyle for the first twelve months at least but my wife’s job is based in the Olympic Park 3 days a week and in the CBD for the other two. Is the commute from the northern beaches going to be too much every day especially to the Olympic Park or should I look south to Coogee down to little bay?

PS is there a reason why the rentals appear to be so much better value in little Bay Area, is there something I should know ?

cheers

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I used to work 2k from Olympic Park. Both areas will result in a murderous commute to Olympic park, as will Northern Beaches to CBD.  A few people commuted from the NB and it took about 90 minutes to drive, OP woukd be15 or 20 minutes longer.  The bus from the Northern Beaches to CBD will be a bit better but still a long journey and they are packed. Coogee to CBD is OK. Your best bet is the Inner west but that's  not Beach lifestyle.  Manly to tbe CBD is a 20 minute ride to the CBD but then you have to get to OP and trains only stop when events are on. Trains to Rhodes take 30 minutes fom Wynyard which js a 15 minute walk from the Ferry,. Depends where your wifes office is, Lived in Sydney for 17 years and don't  know where Little Bay is.

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Little Bay is rather a nice place.  I've only been a couple of times but I did like it.  Downside is it's a bit of a drag into the city.  There are buses but will probably take a while to get right into the CBD.  I think I got the bus from Elizabeth Street in Sydney.

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I live in Coogee. It's an easy commute to the city from here - it would take me 20-25 minutes on the express bus even in peak hour. I think the Light Rail works is slowing the trip down a bit at the moment, but that will improve. No idea about the trip from the city to Olympic Park - trip planner https://transportnsw.info/trip#/ will help with that. 

Little Bay is a lot further south than Coogee. It's almost all brand new - a huge development built on the extensive grounds of the old Prince Henry Hospital. It has a fab little beach all to itself which is quite lovely, but it is only small. Nothing like Maroubra, Coogee or Bondi beaches. The cheaper prices in Little Bay probably reflect the distance from the city, possibly a result of a glut of apartments in the area and - maybe - it's proximity to a rather large jail? The surrounding suburbs - Matraville, Chifley are the cheapest in the Eastern suburbs.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all and thanks for the reply’s. we have just arrived in Sydney and are in a Air BnB in Narrabeen. It’s beautiful here! I’d love to stay but wondering what the commute to the Olympic Park will be like for my wife when she starts her new job? I’ve tried the express bus to the CBD and it wasn’t that bad

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1 hour ago, sualg said:

Hi all and thanks for the reply’s. we have just arrived in Sydney and are in a Air BnB in Narrabeen. It’s beautiful here! I’d love to stay but wondering what the commute to the Olympic Park will be like for my wife when she starts her new job? I’ve tried the express bus to the CBD and it wasn’t that bad

it's around 35-40km from Narrabeen to Olympic Park. Add that to the Sydney traffic, and personally I'd give it a miss! 

Unless you are going to be at the beach every day or have reason to be near it, it would probably be worth your while (and your wife's sanity) to move closer to her work. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Narrabeen to the CBD is practical and lots do it - express bus, shortly to be augmented by the B Line dedicated bus rapid transit that will save a few minutes

Narrabeen to SOP will be horrible though I’m afraid. A bus and two trains, or maybe 1.5 hours driving in peak hour. 

SOP is a pretty rubbish place for anyone to get to unless you live in the Inner West or around Parramatta or Ryde. Public transport isn’t great (there’s a dedicated station but it means a change at Lidcombe) and the A3 and M4 are very busy. Sorry

if you love the beachside life, gird your loins for the nasty commute. If you decide a better commute is needed, try the Inner West or Ryde depending on budget

I love the coast but a reasonable commute is more important at this time in my life, got youngish kids I want to get back for. So live somewhere I can cycle or train to work in a sensible timescale and save the beach for the weekends

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Thanks for all the reply’s guys.

we have settled on staying in Narrabeen, the commute is a long 1 1/4 hours to the SOP but worth it to live in such a fantastic place. Just looking for a permanent rental now so we can move out of our expensive holiday rental. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd have suggested Bondi Junction.  The beaches in the eastern suburbs are beautiful (if a little busy) and the commute to Olympic Park is less than an hour on the train (or 40mins in the car). It's also only 10mins to the cbd on the train.

It's a tad bit expensive rent wise but it's got the best of both worlds so certainly worth looking at if you decide to leave Narrabeen.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/15/2017 at 16:54, sualg said:

We are desperate to have the beach lifestyle for the first twelve months at least but my wife’s job is based in the Olympic Park 3 days a week and in the CBD for the other two. Is the commute from the northern beaches going to be too much every day

 

Difficult to say. I live in Bilgola on the Northern Beaches and work in the CBD. I absolutely love Bilgola and could not imagine living anywhere else. I am within walking distance to the beach and can see the sea from my house. Yes the daily commute can get a bit boring. But that is the sacrifice I am happy to make. I start work at 7.30am, so I always beat the traffic to and from work. I do a combination of driving and train. A friend of mine catches the bus from Mona Vale to the CBD every day and either sleeps, or catches up with his emails (he is a solicitor, so has a lot of emails). Growing up in London I always dreamed of living by the beach, and now having the beach lifestyle is beyond brilliant. Honestly I cannot even begin to tell you how great it is. If you are that desperate for a beach lifestyle, then you will find ways to make it work. And if the commute gets too much, then move closer to work.

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On 11/7/2017 at 13:20, ytboy said:

We moved just up the road to Mona Vale .... Beaches are beautiful up here too!!!

Got that right. And so many beaches to choose from. It is almost overwhelming deciding which one to go to. I do all my shopping in Mona Vale. It is a fantastic little suburb. MV beach is one of my favourites too. Love the rockpool for swimming. Saw a humpback whale from MV beach last year too. Just fantastic. Do I miss living in London. Well that would be a big fat NO.

 

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