Central Coast Newbie

[Ahames]

Hi  

We have just been granted out 190 visa for NSW and hubby has a job in Alexandria, Sydney.

We are looking to live CC though (can’t afgord nearer city and rather have the surroundings of CC)

We understand the journey via train is around 1.5hr and see that lots of people do this commute daily. He’s a mechanic so no option to work from home.

We havent been to CC before so only going by online research, we like Avoca, Terrigal, Green Point.

Can anyone recommend schools in the area?

We have girl 10 and boy 6. I was hoping to get the set before the Xmas break so the can start day 1 with everyone else. 

 

Any advice is welcomed though.

Thanks

Anna 

[Tootsie]

58 minutes ago, Ahames said:

hubby has a job in Alexandria. We havent been to CC before so only going by online research, we like Avoca, Terrigal, Green Point.

Hello

Personally I would not choose the CC, if I was working in Alexandria.

I would choose to live in the South.

Somewhere like Helensburgh or even Woolangong.

But if you have your heart set on the CC, then Avoca is really nice place to live.

Terrigal is a nightmare in summer for driving or parking, due to holiday makers or day trippers.

 

[Ahames]

Hey, Thanks for replying.

Everyone says the same but im struggling to find rentals on south side. Im concerned we wont be able to buy there too.

We do plan to spend a week on each side to see thou.

I look into Helensburgh though. The Gong came up at similar train distance.

[aconcannon]

Hi [emoji1366] 

We have just been granted out 190 visa for NSW and hubby has a job in Alexandria, Sydney.

We are looking to live CC though (can’t afgord nearer city and rather have the surroundings of CC)

We understand the journey via train is around 1.5hr and see that lots of people do this commute daily. He’s a mechanic so no option to work from home.

We havent been to CC before so only going by online research, we like Avoca, Terrigal, Green Point.

Can anyone recommend schools in the area?

We have girl 10 and boy 6. I was hoping to get the set before the Xmas break so the can start day 1 with everyone else. 

 

Any advice is welcomed though.

Thanks

Anna 

 

Has your hubby been given his hours yet? Most tradies start really early over here, garages maybe as early as 6.30am. He’d be getting up pretty early for a massive train journey if that was the case. I know I wouldn’t do it! Also, unless you lived within walking distance of the train station that could be a problem timing a bus with a train really early in the morning so he’d probably need to drive to the station & leave the car. A commute like that would soon become boring I recon. I agree with the last person who commented & reckon you keep looking for something around Botany, Cronulla or the Gong. What’s your budget each week & what are you looking for? The whole of Sydney is notoriously expensive. That’s why we left after 3 years. $720 a week for a pretty average 2 bed apartment is insane! We pay much less now on the Gold Coast & have a huge 4 bed house with a pool & a 5 min walk to the beach. Central coast is the way to go if you want to save money & live in something nicer, but ive definitely never heard of anyone doing that commute to Alexandria before. The central coast is too quiet in my opinion & does have some pretty rough areas, (I’m early 30’s), so I’d recommend paying the extra rent to live in Sydney. You’d save a fortune on the train fares as I couldn’t see them being cheap either as you’re no longer within the Sydney pricing zone so I reckon it’d cost a fair wack. Good luck with it all [emoji4]

[Ahames]

2 minutes ago, aconcannon said:

 

Has your hubby been given his hours yet? Most tradies start really early over here, garages maybe as early as 6.30am. He’d be getting up pretty early for a massive train journey if that was the case. I know I wouldn’t do it! Also, unless you lived within walking distance of the train station that could be a problem timing a bus with a train really early in the morning so he’d probably need to drive to the station & leave the car. A commute like that would soon become boring I recon. I agree with the last person who commented & reckon you keep looking for something around Botany, Cronulla or the Gong. What’s your budget each week & what are you looking for? The whole of Sydney is notoriously expensive. That’s why we left after 3 years. $720 a week for a pretty average 2 bed apartment is insane! We pay much less now on the Gold Coast & have a huge 4 bed house with a pool & a 5 min walk to the beach. Central coast is the way to go if you want to save money & live in something nicer, but ive definitely never heard of anyone doing that commute to Alexandria before. The central coast is too quiet in my opinion & does have some pretty rough areas, (I’m early 30’s), so I’d recommend paying the extra rent to live in Sydney. You wouldn’t regret it. Good luck with it all

 

He'll be working 8am-4,20pm. Looking like 12-13hr day.

We cant live in an apartment, not with 2 kids. We are making the move for the better, not leaving 3 bed house with garden to live in a flat. I understand we cant afford the house like that there without living outside the area though, hence why cc came up.

On other forums and news articles it seems more are moving from city to cc for the living space but comes at a cost of travel.

We are restricted on the visa, but did prefer QLD.....maybe after our 2yr are up we can pop over the border!

I'm def struggling to find any rentals south though.....they don't seem to hang around long!!

 

Thanks for replying

 

[aconcannon]

He'll be working 8am-4,20pm. Looking like 12-13hr day.
We cant live in an apartment, not with 2 kids. We are making the move for the better, not leaving 3 bed house with garden to live in a flat. I understand we cant afford the house like that there without living outside the area though, hence why cc came up.
On other forums and news articles it seems more are moving from city to cc for the living space but comes at a cost of travel.
We are restricted on the visa, but did prefer QLD.....maybe after our 2yr are up we can pop over the border!
I'm def struggling to find any rentals south though.....they don't seem to hang around long!!
 
Thanks for replying
 

I hear you! It’s pretty tough when you first move over & get set up. We were really shocked when we first arrived in Sydney & saw the price of everything. And like you, we sacrificed our 3 bed house in the UK with big garden etc, for a 2 bed apartment. Apartment living for your average family with kids is standard in Sydney as only the wealthy can afford houses. I wouldn’t want to live in an apartment with kids though. It’s the main reason we left Sydney as we wanted a house so we can settle down & start a family. Do you specifically want to be near the beach? If you’re not fussed about that check out the western suburbs as renting a house there would probably be a similar price to the CC. Some of the suburbs have a bad rep, but they don’t have anything on a UK council estate, lol. Suburbs like Stanhope Gardens, Blacktown, Bankstown - that sort of radius on a map. There’s a lot of new properties up that way too.

[Marisawright]

9 minutes ago, Ahames said:

He'll be working 8am-4,20pm. Looking like 12-13hr day.

We cant live in an apartment, not with 2 kids. We are making the move for the better, not leaving 3 bed house with garden to live in a flat. I understand we cant afford the house like that there without living outside the area though, hence why cc came up.

On other forums and news articles it seems more are moving from city to cc for the living space but comes at a cost of travel.

We are restricted on the visa, but did prefer QLD.....maybe after our 2yr are up we can pop over the border!

I'm def struggling to find any rentals south though.....they don't seem to hang around long!

 

You'd be mad to try to get a rental before you arrive anyway - you'll end up with a dump. 

If you are coming for a better life then I'd forget Sydney altogether.    Newcastle would be a much better bet, more affordable, lovely beaches, a much better environment to bring up kids and there are reasonable job opportunities.  I know he's got the job lined up already but I'd suggest he keeps trying for something in Newcastle or Wollongong.  

[Ahames]

3 minutes ago, aconcannon said:

 

I hear you! It’s pretty tough when you first move over & get set up. We were really shocked when we first arrived in Sydney & saw the price of everything. And like you, we sacrificed our 3 bed house in the UK with big garden etc, for a 2 bed apartment. Apartment living for your average family with kids is standard in Sydney as only the wealthy can afford houses. I wouldn’t want to live in an apartment with kids though. It’s the main reason we left Sydney as we wanted a house so we can settle down & start a family. Do you specifically want to be near the beach? If you’re not fussed about that check out the western suburbs as renting a house there would probably be a similar price to the CC. Some of the suburbs have a bad rep, but they don’t have anything on a UK council estate, lol. Suburbs like Stanhope Gardens, Blacktown, Bankstown - that sort of radius on a map. There’s a lot of new properties up that way too.

 

Oh my....this is getting scary!

I’ve heard to avoid East !

The Hills comes up alot but again - struggle to afford that!!

Might get him to change jobs! Can work nearer cc!! Ha!

 

ideally near water would be nice, considering we don’t live near it here, and when you visit it’s a let down!

 

More investing I guess!

thanks for helping 

[Ahames]

1 minute ago, Marisawright said:

You'd be mad to try to get a rental before you arrive anyway - you'll end up with a dump. 

If you are coming for a better life then I'd forget Sydney altogether.    Newcastle would be a much better bet, more affordable, lovely beaches, a much better environment to bring up kids and there are reasonable job opportunities.  I know he's got the job lined up already but I'd suggest he keeps trying for something in Newcastle or Wollongong.  

I’m not trying to get a rental before we arrive- I’m just searching to see what’s available and prices in areas!

 

yes Newcastle looks lush but too far to commute, job has contract signed and it’s a starting point for us. Otherwise we’d have stress of finding job on top of everything else involved in moving 

[Marisawright]

17 minutes ago, Ahames said:

I’m not trying to get a rental before we arrive- I’m just searching to see what’s available and prices in areas!

 

yes Newcastle looks lush but too far to commute, job has contract signed and it’s a starting point for us. Otherwise we’d have stress of finding job on top of everything else involved in moving 

Lots of people commute to Newcastle from the Central Coast, but they drive.  From The Entrance to Newcastle is about an hour.  

The good news is that if you're only renting, he could start the job in Alexandria then look for a job in Newcastle, and he'd be able to commute up there in the short term until you find a place closer to his work.  Whereas if you focus on Sydney, he'll have that commute forever.

I had colleagues in Sydney who had been transferred from our Newcastle office.  They refused to move their families from Newcastle and commuted the three hours on the train every day (while looking for other jobs!).  They felt Newcastle was so much better for bringing up their children.  That has always stuck with me.  

The Eastern Suburbs are the posh part of Sydney.   Most families live out West, but it's a very long way from the beach and it gets very hot and sticky, unless you go all the way up to the Blue Mountains - in which case he'll have an even longer commute.  

I'm from Sydney - actually Scottish, but lived there for over thirty years.  We sold up and went to the UK thinking we might retire there, then changed our minds.  Sydney is now so expensive, we can't afford to live in a respectable suburb - so we've moved to Melbourne.

Edited October 7, 2018 by Marisawright

[Ahames]

11 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Lots of people commute to Newcastle from the Central Coast, but they drive.  From The Entrance to Newcastle is about an hour.  

The good news is that if you're only renting, he could start the job in Alexandria then look for a job in Newcastle, and he'd be able to commute up there in the short term until you find a place closer to his work.  Whereas if you focus on Sydney, he'll have that commute forever.

I had colleagues in Sydney who had been transferred from our Newcastle office.  They refused to move their families from Newcastle and commuted the three hours on the train every day (while looking for other jobs!).  They felt Newcastle was so much better for bringing up their children.  That has always stuck with me.  

The Eastern Suburbs are the posh part of Sydney.   Most families live out West, but it's a very long way from the beach and it gets very hot and sticky, unless you go all the way up to the Blue Mountains - in which case he'll have an even longer commute.  

I'm from Sydney - actually Scottish, but lived there for over thirty years.  We sold up and went to the UK thinking we might retire there, then changed our minds.  Sydney is now so expensive, we can't afford to live in a respectable suburb - so we've moved to Melbourne.

Our thoughts are to just get there with a good job offer and try - if not definitely move jobs. As our eldest will be in high school after a year of being in Oz. I’d rather not be moving schools.

think hubby is set on cc - I think he’ll be ok with travel but I couldn’t do it.

time will tell!

 

Ha! Didn’t like uk ... don’t blame you!

david has family in Kew, I however didn’t like the rainfall in Melbourne!! Felt too much like home. Glad you’ve settled thou.

 

thanks for helping 

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, Ahames said:

Our thoughts are to just get there with a good job offer and try - if not definitely move jobs.

I don't know if your hubby would contemplate it, but I'd be starting the job hunt within a month or two of arriving, so with a bit of luck, you'll be able to move before your eldest starts high school.

The good thing is that Australian companies won't judge him for wanting to change jobs so quickly, because everyone understands how expensive Sydney is, and they will probably have a little laugh at the naive migrant who thought commuting from the Central Coast every day would be fine.

If you hankered to move up to Queensland, you could even consider looking for jobs further up the coast - Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Ballina.  They are all small places so work is not plentiful, but it's much easier for a tradie to find work there than an office worker.

[Tootsie]

On 07/10/2018 at 22:25, Ahames said:

I look into Helensburgh though. The Gong came up at similar train distance.

Or rather than the CC, you could try Berowra. You can rent a really nice family house, with a garden and pool there, fairly cheaply (well cheap for Sydney anyway) and it is a nice safe place - very popular for young families. And it is about 30 - 45 mins less time on the train than the CC. Good schools in area too.

[Anolo Lohgun]

OP, the commute from CC to Alexandria will be epic. I know people who do it and for them, it's working. But YMMV. 1.5 hr travel time from CC to Alexandria is optimistic and it depends where you are in CC. Parking near the major train stations is very competitive and Gosford is full by 7 AM. So you need to take all of this into considerations.

CC is a beautiful place to live but the nicest parts of CC (that you've discovered like Terrigal and Avoca) are not cheap and they can be more expensive than many areas of Sydney. Avoca is further out so that will add a few more minutes in the total journey time. There are some parts of Green Point that you'd want to avoid. There are many nice places in CC beyond Avoca & Terrigal that will give you much better value for money. In general, the most expensive housing in CCs are the coastal areas (from Copacabana to Bateau Bay and beyond), the areas surrounding Brisbane Waters and semi-rural areas, i.e. Matcham, Holgate.

The peninsula (Woy Woy, Ettalong Beach, Umina) is popular with commuters due to location and cost, but even there housing is not "cheap", just cheaper. There's a reason why it's cheaper though so you need to be careful which part of the peninsula to live.

School-wise it's different here than U.K. If you live in the school catchment they have to take you. The problem with the peninsula is the high schools are not that great.

Check this website: http://www.heatmaps.com.au/ change the layer to "schools" and it maps most schools based on their NAPLAN result. Please note that NAPLAN result is not the only measure how "good" a school is, far from it in fact. However, you can see the that taken from a macro level it very quickly shows the socio-economic demographics of the area.

HTH

[Ahames]

On 13/10/2018 at 06:49, Tootsie said:

Or rather than the CC, you could try Berowra. You can rent a really nice family house, with a garden and pool there, fairly cheaply (well cheap for Sydney anyway) and it is a nice safe place - very popular for young families. And it is about 30 - 45 mins less time on the train than the CC. Good schools in area too.

Thank you. I’ve hsd a quick look, it looks very nice. Schools seem good too.

[aconcannon]

Thank you. I’ve hsd a quick look, it looks very nice. Schools seem good too.

It’s nice there but it’s very quiet, pretty much in the middle of nowhere by Sydney standards & a fair trek to the city or nearest beach etc

[Ahames]

7 hours ago, Anolo Lohgun said:

OP, the commute from CC to Alexandria will be epic. I know people who do it and for them, it's working. But YMMV. 1.5 hr travel time from CC to Alexandria is optimistic and it depends where you are in CC. Parking near the major train stations is very competitive and Gosford is full by 7 AM. So you need to take all of this into considerations.

CC is a beautiful place to live but the nicest parts of CC (that you've discovered like Terrigal and Avoca) are not cheap and they can be more expensive than many areas of Sydney. Avoca is further out so that will add a few more minutes in the total journey time. There are some parts of Green Point that you'd want to avoid. There are many nice places in CC beyond Avoca & Terrigal that will give you much better value for money. In general, the most expensive housing in CCs are the coastal areas (from Copacabana to Bateau Bay and beyond), the areas surrounding Brisbane Waters and semi-rural areas, i.e. Matcham, Holgate.

The peninsula (Woy Woy, Ettalong Beach, Umina) is popular with commuters due to location and cost, but even there housing is not "cheap", just cheaper. There's a reason why it's cheaper though so you need to be careful which part of the peninsula to live.

School-wise it's different here than U.K. If you live in the school catchment they have to take you. The problem with the peninsula is the high schools are not that great.

Check this website: http://www.heatmaps.com.au/ change the layer to "schools" and it maps most schools based on their NAPLAN result. Please note that NAPLAN result is not the only measure how "good" a school is, far from it in fact. However, you can see the that taken from a macro level it very quickly shows the socio-economic demographics of the area.

HTH

Massive thanks for your reply. That link is very good...seems like lots of orange/red spots

 

im struggling here! Where can we live that’s affordable but far enough from city?!

 

[aconcannon]

Massive thanks for your reply. That link is very good...seems like lots of orange/red spots [emoji31]
 
im struggling here! Where can we live that’s affordable but far enough from city?!
 

West of Sydney - Blacktown, Stanhope gardens sort of area perhaps? Or further south into Woolongong

[Ahames]

1 minute ago, aconcannon said:

 

It’s nice there but it’s very quiet, pretty much in the middle of nowhere by Sydney standards & a fair trek to the city or nearest beach etc

 

How far would a decent beach be? 

Here we are hours and the beach is rubbish in uk...I appreciate we won’t be there every day but like to visit semi often 

[Ahames]

Just now, aconcannon said:

 

West of Sydney - Blacktown, Stanhope gardens sort of area perhaps? Or further south into Woolongong

 

I was told to avoid west?! Haven’t even looked there.

The Gong looks nice thou 

[aconcannon]

How far would a decent beach be? 
Here we are hours and the beach is rubbish in uk...I appreciate we won’t be there every day but like to visit semi often 

Look, everybody is different, but for us when we made the move we wanted to be living that whole Aussie beach lifestyle & thats what we did & we’ve never looked back! You need the sea breeze too. I wouldn’t fancy living inland where it’s hotter & there is no breeze, especially during the humid summer months! I’d say Mona Vale would be the closest beach & you’re looking at around an hour depending on traffic. You might even be closer to some of the central coast beaches maybe?

[aconcannon]

I was told to avoid west?! Haven’t even looked there.
The Gong looks nice thou 

Everybody says to avoid the west but it’s really not that bad. Yes some suburbs are worse than others, but when you compare them to your average UK council estate they really aren’t rough at all. You’ll be a fair trek to th beach again though if you’re out west! If you don’t mind me asking what’s your budget & what you looking for? I could probably help you a bit better then.

[Ahames]

25 minutes ago, aconcannon said:

 

Everybody says to avoid the west but it’s really not that bad. Yes some suburbs are worse than others, but when you compare them to your average UK council estate they really aren’t rough at all. You’ll be a fair trek to th beach again though if you’re out west! If you don’t mind me asking what’s your budget & what you looking for? I could probably help you a bit better then.

 

Budget wise we are guessing around $550 per week. 3 bed house. Rather not be inland but get we won’t be buy the sea on our budget.

hubby commuting to Alexandria and decent schools

[Marisawright]

41 minutes ago, Ahames said:

Massive thanks for your reply. That link is very good...seems like lots of orange/red spots

 

im struggling here! Where can we live that’s affordable but far enough from city?!

 

An awful lot of people are finding that they can't.  Even people born in Sydney are moving elsewhere because they can't afford it.  Look at @aconcannon - their experience is exactly why most of us tend to tell potential migrants to go elsewhere.

I think I read something similar about Cambridge in the UK (or was it Oxford?).  It's so expensive, it's got to the point where no ordinary person can afford to live there, so they can't get nurses or tradies any more because no matter how far out they go, they can't afford a place to live. That's where Sydney is now.

Did you know that the average Sydney resident lives at least an hour from the beach?  You're trying to move to Sydney and live on millionaire's row from day 1, and that's not realistic. Most Australians do not have the beach lifestyle depicted in Home and Away (which is filmed in a part of Sydney where even modest houses cost millions).  Most of Sydney's population lives out around Parramatta.  They live there because they can't afford to live by the coast.  

There are plenty of respectable suburbs out west.  The problem with the Western suburbs is that they all tend to be faceless places, just row after row of houses.  They don't have pubs, and some don't even have a supermarket.  They might have a Chinese or Lebanese takeaway, a convenience store and a launderette, and that's your lot.  Everyone drives to the big Westfield malls for their shopping now.  Then there's the heat.  Summer is stinking hot, humid and airless and temperatures are 2 or 3 degrees higher than the coast.  It's manageable because you'll have air conditioning and the shopping malls are cool too, but it means you don't get the outdoor lifestyle you're probably hoping for. 

Honestly, in your shoes I would be sacrificing the job and starting out in Newcastle instead. Yes, it's scary to go without a job lined up, but that's what most people do.  Ask yourself what's going to cost you more in the end - a few months without a salary at the start, or paying twice as much rent/mortgage for the rest of your life?

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Marisawright

[aconcannon]

Budget wise we are guessing around $550 per week. 3 bed house. Rather not be inland but get we won’t be buy the sea on our budget.
hubby commuting to Alexandria and decent schools [emoji16]

Honestly, I think you’d even struggle to get a 2 bed house really far inland for that price. The cost of living in & around Sydney is crazy! That’s why we left. You might get something out West but I doubt it. Is the central coast coming up in your budget? We used to pay $720 in Sydney for a small & fairly outdated 2 bed flat with no facilities. We live in the GC now & are paying $650 for a huge 4 bed home with pool & large garden.