Sydney - where to live?

[Silver_Swan]

Hello,

We're currently doing some research and trying to narrow down our choice of suburbs for house searching, and would love some input!

We are a professional couple in our late 30's, no kids, pretty outdoorsy - like cycling, diving, surfing, climbing, walking etc, but equally enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Our dream property would tick all the following boxes (and I realise we'll likely have to compromise on some!)

1. Nice area which has a bit of life to it - a couple of nice places to eat and drink would be ideal
2. Within 30 minutes drive of a surf beach
3. Modern property 
4. Minimum 3 bedrooms, 4 preferred
5. Garage (for storage) and parking for two
6. Within one hour (by car or train) to work (my husband will be working right next to North Sydney Station, I work in financial services - so I expect to be near central Sydney somewhere, my husband will also be flying fairly regularly)
7. A decent sized outdoor space - we want to be able to have a barbie! 
8. Under $800/week. Could stretch to $1000 if we really had to

Which suburbs will tick the most of our boxes?!

 

[Toots]

2 hours ago, Silver_Swan said:

Hello,

We're currently doing some research and trying to narrow down our choice of suburbs for house searching, and would love some input!

We are a professional couple in our late 30's, no kids, pretty outdoorsy - like cycling, diving, surfing, climbing, walking etc, but equally enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Our dream property would tick all the following boxes (and I realise we'll likely have to compromise on some!)

1. Nice area which has a bit of life to it - a couple of nice places to eat and drink would be ideal
2. Within 30 minutes drive of a surf beach
3. Modern property 
4. Minimum 3 bedrooms, 4 preferred
5. Garage (for storage) and parking for two
6. Within one hour (by car or train) to work (my husband will be working right next to North Sydney Station, I work in financial services - so I expect to be near central Sydney somewhere, my husband will also be flying fairly regularly)
7. A decent sized outdoor space - we want to be able to have a barbie! 
8. Under $800/week. Could stretch to $1000 if we really had to

Which suburbs will tick the most of our boxes?!

 

This may be of some help to you.

https://www.sydneymovingguide.com/the-cost-of-living-in-sydney/

 

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Toots

[vickyplum]

10 hours ago, Silver_Swan said:

Hello,

We're currently doing some research and trying to narrow down our choice of suburbs for house searching, and would love some input!

We are a professional couple in our late 30's, no kids, pretty outdoorsy - like cycling, diving, surfing, climbing, walking etc, but equally enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Our dream property would tick all the following boxes (and I realise we'll likely have to compromise on some!)

1. Nice area which has a bit of life to it - a couple of nice places to eat and drink would be ideal
2. Within 30 minutes drive of a surf beach
3. Modern property 
4. Minimum 3 bedrooms, 4 preferred
5. Garage (for storage) and parking for two
6. Within one hour (by car or train) to work (my husband will be working right next to North Sydney Station, I work in financial services - so I expect to be near central Sydney somewhere, my husband will also be flying fairly regularly)
7. A decent sized outdoor space - we want to be able to have a barbie! 
8. Under $800/week. Could stretch to $1000 if we really had to

Which suburbs will tick the most of our boxes?!

 

Hi, lots of suburbs will work for you! 

Anywhere on the North Shore (look on map from Milson's Point up to Hornsby and East/West to Mosman, Balmoral Beach, Neutral Bay, Greenwich, ) - close to work for your husband, won't be much further to the CIty for you to commute and airport not too bad either (1hr-ish on train depending on exact location and connection speed!).  Around 30 mins drive to Northern Beaches for surfing.

Northern Beaches. Ticks all boxes but will be longer for the airport and no trains, only buses to North Sydney and the City.

Somewhere like Caringbah or Cronulla. Makes North Sydney into a longer journey (change trains at Redfern / Central / Town Hall) but close to beaches and airport. Plenty of cafe life.

The  only issue I see for you, is getting a 3-bed for $800pw or less (with plentiful parking and outdoor space). Check Domain.com.au or realestate.com.au for prices/slap in the face (I say this lightheartedly!)

EDIT: there are of course plenty of other places that you can look into that would match your criteria:  Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, other beach suburbs, Paddington, Alexandria) or Inner West (Balmain, Rozelle, Newtown, Marrickville etc). 

Edited October 10, 2019 by vickyplum

[Silver_Swan]

10 hours ago, vickyplum said:

The  only issue I see for you, is getting a 3-bed for $800pw or less (with plentiful parking and outdoor space). Check Domain.com.au or realestate.com.au for prices/slap in the face (I say this lightheartedly!)

Haha, yes we've been looking - we've found some places within the correct price range (mostly to the south though) and to be honest its the same price as we pay at home, so not too much of a surprise. 

The biggest issue is trying to understand which area will have the nicest "vibe" for us...!

[vickyplum]

8 hours ago, Silver_Swan said:

Haha, yes we've been looking - we've found some places within the correct price range (mostly to the south though) and to be honest its the same price as we pay at home, so not too much of a surprise. 

The biggest issue is trying to understand which area will have the nicest "vibe" for us...!

Are you in Aus or the UK at the moment?

Very hard to analyse "vibe" without checking out various areas first. Are you looking to secure a rental immediately or you have hotel/holiday accommodation to  start with?

[Quoll]

Book holiday accommodation for a month then take your time with the eyeball test, visit local coffee shops, drive around a bit and see what takes your fancy. Your vibe might not be anyone else's vibe. Doing it remotely is probably a recipe for disaster, you don't know about  the drunken orgies, the broken down holdens in the yard, the pooing pooches from afar but you soon get the gist if you go for a look.

Edited October 11, 2019 by Quoll

[Silver_Swan]

19 hours ago, vickyplum said:

Are you in Aus or the UK at the moment?

Very hard to analyse "vibe" without checking out various areas first. Are you looking to secure a rental immediately or you have hotel/holiday accommodation to  start with?

We're in the UK at the moment, we'll use AirBnb to begin with - but wanted to narrow it down and book AirBnb in the place we 'think' is right - to try it out before committing. 

[Silver_Swan]

11 hours ago, Quoll said:

Book holiday accommodation for a month then take your time with the eyeball test, visit local coffee shops, drive around a bit and see what takes your fancy. Your vibe might not be anyone else's vibe. Doing it remotely is probably a recipe for disaster, you don't know about  the drunken orgies, the broken down holdens in the yard, the pooing pooches from afar but you soon get the gist if you go for a look.

Yes thats exactly our plan - we just wanted a shortlist so we can make sure our Airbnb is at least in an area we are considering...

[NickyNook]

Will your husband get parking provided at his North Sydney office? 

If not, forget driving to work as parking is impossible so you should be looking at places handy for the train or other public transport to North Sydney. 

Try the top of the North Shore line - Wahroonga, Hornsby.  Though I suspect your budget is a bit low for a family-sized house around there. And you might need to review the 'modern' house requirement. How modern does it need to be? Newish houses are mostly many, many miles from the city - and not in the direction of the surf beaches. If you really want a new house, check out the Hills District.

 

[Collie]

Hi there,

I think the right vibe for you is inner Sydney and probably inner west or eastern suburbs, although not great for north Sydney travel depending on where you are (2 trains).

The north shore is beautiful but very quiet.  North Sydney is ok during business hours but pretty quiet at night & weekends.  Crows nest has a bit of life to it and may be an option that direction or Neutral bay/Cremorne.  North of St Leonards is pretty much suburbia.  Manly has it's own vibe going on but awkward for North Sydney, better for the city with the ferries.

TBH, my recommendation would be Balmain/Rozelle, close to the city but has it's own village vibe going on.  Although a lot quieter than it used to be, still lots of good pubs, cafe's restaurants and has a really good community.  Close to the bay walk/run for a bit of exercise.  About 1/2 hour to Eastern suburbs beaches and to the airport also.

Easy access to the city via bus or ferry and your husband can commute to work by ferry to McMahon's point.  Commuting by ferry never gets old, only issue is that the journey is too short.   

I live in Perth now but lived in Sydney for over a decade, mostly in the Balmain/Rozelle/Drummoyne areas (so may be a bit biased)

Forgot about driving in Sydney, traffic is a nightmare as is parking but public transport in inner Sydney is quite good and ubers are cheapish.  I would recommend getting a motor bike or moped as it's an easy way to get around (can use the bus lanes and free parking) .

May want to re-consider your budget or requirements.  Why do you need/want 3-4 bedrooms and a garage for 2 cars for a couple?  If you live inner Sydney, you won't need 2 cars (or barely 1) as you will commute by public transport.  There are some great car share schemes in Sydney where you can rent a local car by the hour (About $6 ph) on an app.  Have a look at goget.com.au  A much better & cheaper option for occasional drivers.

You should get a nice 2 bed apartment in Balmain for your budget, 3 at a push.  check out domain.com.au for a browse.

Feel free to pm if you want more info, I know Balmain pretty well.

[Silver_Swan]

On 12/10/2019 at 02:11, NickyNook said:

Will your husband get parking provided at his North Sydney office? 

If not, forget driving to work as parking is impossible so you should be looking at places handy for the train or other public transport to North Sydney. 

Try the top of the North Shore line - Wahroonga, Hornsby.  Though I suspect your budget is a bit low for a family-sized house around there. And you might need to review the 'modern' house requirement. How modern does it need to be? Newish houses are mostly many, many miles from the city - and not in the direction of the surf beaches. If you really want a new house, check out the Hills District.

 

Yeah he has parking at his office - although we're open to travelling by public transport as well.

I'll take a look at those areas... in terms of modern, I guess we'd like something that has a newish kitchen and bathroom and is brick built, not timber. Where is the 'hills district'?

 

[Silver_Swan]

9 hours ago, Collie said:

Hi there,

I think the right vibe for you is inner Sydney and probably inner west or eastern suburbs, although not great for north Sydney travel depending on where you are (2 trains).

The north shore is beautiful but very quiet.  North Sydney is ok during business hours but pretty quiet at night & weekends.  Crows nest has a bit of life to it and may be an option that direction or Neutral bay/Cremorne.  North of St Leonards is pretty much suburbia.  Manly has it's own vibe going on but awkward for North Sydney, better for the city with the ferries.

TBH, my recommendation would be Balmain/Rozelle, close to the city but has it's own village vibe going on.  Although a lot quieter than it used to be, still lots of good pubs, cafe's restaurants and has a really good community.  Close to the bay walk/run for a bit of exercise.  About 1/2 hour to Eastern suburbs beaches and to the airport also.

Easy access to the city via bus or ferry and your husband can commute to work by ferry to McMahon's point.  Commuting by ferry never gets old, only issue is that the journey is too short.   

I live in Perth now but lived in Sydney for over a decade, mostly in the Balmain/Rozelle/Drummoyne areas (so may be a bit biased)

Forgot about driving in Sydney, traffic is a nightmare as is parking but public transport in inner Sydney is quite good and ubers are cheapish.  I would recommend getting a motor bike or moped as it's an easy way to get around (can use the bus lanes and free parking) .

May want to re-consider your budget or requirements.  Why do you need/want 3-4 bedrooms and a garage for 2 cars for a couple?  If you live inner Sydney, you won't need 2 cars (or barely 1) as you will commute by public transport.  There are some great car share schemes in Sydney where you can rent a local car by the hour (About $6 ph) on an app.  Have a look at goget.com.au  A much better & cheaper option for occasional drivers.

You should get a nice 2 bed apartment in Balmain for your budget, 3 at a push.  check out domain.com.au for a browse.

Feel free to pm if you want more info, I know Balmain pretty well.

Thank you! I will check out these areas...

My husband will likely have to drive quite a bit since his job will be visiting lots of different areas. Moped sounds great - but we don't have a bike license!

In terms of our requirements well the garage isn't for cars, its for our toys - bikes, surfboards, diving gear, climbing gear, camping gear, skiing gear, etc etc... and we'd like a small city car plus we intend to get a camper, hence wanting parking for two. And bedroom-wise we do a lot of work from home hence we'd like the 3rd bedroom to use as a study. We're used to living in a large 4-bed house with study, I don't think we're quite ready to downsize to a 2 bed!

 

 

 

[Collie]

12 hours ago, Silver_Swan said:

Thank you! I will check out these areas...

My husband will likely have to drive quite a bit since his job will be visiting lots of different areas. Moped sounds great - but we don't have a bike license!

In terms of our requirements well the garage isn't for cars, its for our toys - bikes, surfboards, diving gear, climbing gear, camping gear, skiing gear, etc etc... and we'd like a small city car plus we intend to get a camper, hence wanting parking for two. And bedroom-wise we do a lot of work from home hence we'd like the 3rd bedroom to use as a study. We're used to living in a large 4-bed house with study, I don't think we're quite ready to downsize to a 2 bed!

 

 

 

Ok, so it sounds like you have the classic dilemma of property size v ideal location v budget, join the club :).  TBH, something will probably have to give.

I'm not sure where you live now but Sydney is a large international city (and not very well planned) and space is at a premium in the inner suburbs.  You may need to go through a bit of a prioritisation process to decide on what constraint is the one you are most willing to compromise on.

If it's location, prepare to live in a quieter suburb (15-20 + kms out) where you probably need to drive to the attractions you listed above and longer commutes.  The upper north shore may be more suitable for this but it is quiet suburbia.

If it's property size, you could look at renting a storage unit close by for your toys which is cheaper than the additional rent needed for a bigger property in the inner city.  Shorter commutes, walking distance to attractions etc. 

Re the car, if you need one every day, it is worth buying one but if it is just for weekend stuff, really do look at the car share schemes, it works out far cheaper (owning involves, rego, tolls, parking, insurance, fuel, maintainance etc, it adds up) and just as convenient.  I moved back to Sydney in 2011 and was going to buy a car until a friend put me onto go get.  I happily lived without a car for 4 years (I had a choice of at least 10 within a 5 minute walk whenever I needed one) in Balmain and I was similar age to yourselves.  It worked for me but may not do for you (btw I had plenty of toys too).

If you want the inner city vibe and a larger property, it exists but you will pay for it.  Balmain is an old suburb which has been gentrified in the last 20 years or so.  There are a lot of old workers cottages etc.  Larger properties are pricey, you could also look at Drummoyne or Lilyfield which is close to Balmain/Rozelle but has larger properties.  You can still get the ferry from Drummoyne to North Sydney and the city.

BTW, If you are into your skiing, look up the Sydney skiers and Snowboarders group on meetup.com, a really well run group of fellow snow enthusiasts of all levels (mostly 30's and 40's).  If you are going to ski often it is worth buying a season pass (about 6 days is the break-even).  Most of that group ski Perisher and there are people who go down most weekends between June and October.

Hope this helps.

PS - worth investing the time for a bike license, it's not difficult, I wished I did mine years earlier.

 

[MARYROSE02]

You can rent this two bedroom flat with a security car space for $800 per week. It caught my eye because it is in my own apartment block in Surry Hills:

https://www.homely.com.au/homes/24-2-goodlet-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010/6236336

As it is my own block I know that Central station is a ten minute walk and then one to three stops to Sydney CBD (one to Town Hall and Museum, two to Wynyard, Martin Place, St James, and three to Circular Quay), four stops to North Sydney (Town Hall, Wynyard, Milsons Point, North Sydney), and three stops to Domestic terminal and four to International terminal. I Googled the Sydney Airport link - Green Square, Mascot, Domestic, International.

https://www.airportlink.com.au/

Buses are outside my door to a number of suburbs including two with beaches - Coogee and Maroubra. You can do most of the Eastern Suburbs beaches in 30 minutes drive, or less, depending upon the traffic. Bondi, Tamarama, Bronte (my present favourite) Clovelly and Coogee are all around 7 or 8 km from Surry Hills.

Everything you want is in Surry Hills and mostly walking distance - pubs, restaurants, cafes, etc. I shall go for a coffee in a minute and two cafes are outside my door. I don't own a car now and use Go Get cars whenever I need one, e.g. a swim at Bronte when I rent one for 2-3 hours.

I only put that flat down as an example and my block is 30 years old now. There are new ones going up all the time. Harder and dearer to get the three or four bedrooms although some of the terrace houses will have them.

[Tootsie]

Hello

Anywhere on the Northern Beaches (stretching from Manly up to Avalon) will fulfil your needs, except # 6.

If you need to be near the airport, then down south near the beach (Maroubra) would be better.

Surry Hills or Paddington or Glebe are nice for inner city living

It really depends what lifestyle you like. Inner city living would personally drive me insane with all the noise, pollution and crowds, but some people thrive on that environment.

 

 

 

 

[MARYROSE02]

It's true what Collie says about the car share schemes, Go Get in my case. I mentioned Go Get in my post on Nov 13th since when I have used Go Get once to drive to Leichhardt for a regular appointment (Leichhardt might fit your requirements too, 5km from the city, plenty of pubs and restaurants, known as "Little Italy" but also under the flight path in some parts.)

I shall book Go Get again on Friday to go to Leichhardt but I've been to lots of other appointments either using public transport or walking. I've been to Bondi Junction four times on the train. It's as quick as driving and parking in Westfield is vile as is driving through Bondi Jn. I've had three dental appointments in Redfern and I get the bus outside my door and walk home in 15 minutes.

The thing that stood out about Go Get cars is that when you have your own car, unless you are out every day for many hours of driving, then the car is just sitting in the garage for most of the time, which is why so many people in the inner city, both for business and pleasure, use them.

[Captain Roberto]

On 16/10/2019 at 03:08, Silver_Swan said:

Thank you! I will check out these areas...

My husband will likely have to drive quite a bit since his job will be visiting lots of different areas. Moped sounds great - but we don't have a bike license!

In terms of our requirements well the garage isn't for cars, its for our toys - bikes, surfboards, diving gear, climbing gear, camping gear, skiing gear, etc etc... and we'd like a small city car plus we intend to get a camper, hence wanting parking for two. And bedroom-wise we do a lot of work from home hence we'd like the 3rd bedroom to use as a study. We're used to living in a large 4-bed house with study, I don't think we're quite ready to downsize to a 2 bed!

 

 

 

You could look somewhere like Forestville or Frenchs forest or Surrounds (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Cromer) if you want to be nearer to work and also close enough to beaches. There's buses that go along Warringah Road towards Chatswood then loads of trains into North Syd.

Have a look o Google Maps - you can track the kind of places and get an idea. Once you cross the Roseville bridge (between Forestville and Roseville) it's not too far a drive to North Sydney or the harbour bridge (although there's a lot of traffic). And there's a lot of transport options on buses and trains from Chatswood.

 

Sydney is zoned up by the landscape, so you will find things like the harbour and areas of bush/national parks tend to carve up the landscape a bit. So there's not many eas ways to get east to west, and that can slow down the commute.

Vibes wise, there's quite a bit of difference between different areas, and there's a different feel nearer the beaches compared to the upper North Shore. It depends what you like, but you can't really be told by other people what will suit you. We lived on the upper north shore for 1 year when we first moved out, but found that we spent every weekend travelling to the beaches. So, after the 1st 12 months was up we just moved to the beaches! In hindsight it would have been better to just move to the beaches so it would be less disruptive for the kids. But hindsight is useful like that hey...

Further up the beaches (maybe from Collaroy onwards, and especially north of Mona vale) is a bit more of a hassle to commute to and out of most places and it's a little bit easier lower down. Lots of people love Freshwater but it's maybe a bit more expensive, but it does have a lot of good stuff going for it. It's more expensive by the beach, and a bit cheaper a little inland (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Brookvale, Cromer etc) if that helps.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Captain Roberto
added a map

[Silver_Swan]

On 07/01/2020 at 02:19, Captain Roberto said:

You could look somewhere like Forestville or Frenchs forest or Surrounds (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Cromer) if you want to be nearer to work and also close enough to beaches. There's buses that go along Warringah Road towards Chatswood then loads of trains into North Syd.

Have a look o Google Maps - you can track the kind of places and get an idea. Once you cross the Roseville bridge (between Forestville and Roseville) it's not too far a drive to North Sydney or the harbour bridge (although there's a lot of traffic). And there's a lot of transport options on buses and trains from Chatswood.

 

Sydney is zoned up by the landscape, so you will find things like the harbour and areas of bush/national parks tend to carve up the landscape a bit. So there's not many eas ways to get east to west, and that can slow down the commute.

Vibes wise, there's quite a bit of difference between different areas, and there's a different feel nearer the beaches compared to the upper North Shore. It depends what you like, but you can't really be told by other people what will suit you. We lived on the upper north shore for 1 year when we first moved out, but found that we spent every weekend travelling to the beaches. So, after the 1st 12 months was up we just moved to the beaches! In hindsight it would have been better to just move to the beaches so it would be less disruptive for the kids. But hindsight is useful like that hey...

Further up the beaches (maybe from Collaroy onwards, and especially north of Mona vale) is a bit more of a hassle to commute to and out of most places and it's a little bit easier lower down. Lots of people love Freshwater but it's maybe a bit more expensive, but it does have a lot of good stuff going for it. It's more expensive by the beach, and a bit cheaper a little inland (Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Brookvale, Cromer etc) if that helps.

Thanks... having done a lot more searching online we've decided to focus on the hills area, although it doesn't hit our beach requirement, we realised we just couldn't afford the kind of property we wanted anywhere near the beach

[Tychen]

Hi, I realise this is an old thread and you've already made your decision, so this response is more for the benefit of anyone else researching the same topic who is in a similar situation. So, I would actually recommend thinking about Strathfield and surrounds. Because it's a major hub station, you are about 20 minutes by train from the city centre and only 5 minutes more to North Sydney. It's also near the intersection of a few A-roads, so you are also close to other centres by train or by car if you end up working in say Parramatta or Macquarie Park. Surf-wise, it looks inland but you are actually only about 30-40 minutes drive away from the southeastern beaches like Coogee or Maroubra. Lots of other sporting facilities in the suburb and nearby - multiple golf courses, tennis courts and bike tracks, and Sydney Olympic Park and Bicentennial Park are only a couple of minutes drive away, and there are little bays and beaches on the Parramatta River. Strathfield town centre itself is very Korean, but there are a variety of cuisines and nice cafes in nearby suburbs like Homebush. 

Budget-wise, the grand houses in the "Golden Mile" of Strathfield are going to be beyond your budget, but you should be able to get a house that ticks your boxes in the surrounding areas at that price - say the south end of Strathfield, or next-door suburbs like Homebush, Strathfield South or Enfield - where you are still only a 15 minute walk or short bus ride from Strathfield station.