Guest Hamz Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Hi Everyone Just a quick question - which area of sydney do you all prefer - the north shore or the eastern suburbs? and which is better for families. now i know these two areas are huge so im going to narrow it down to the coast - by the north shore i mean coastal areas such as Palm beach, dee why, curl curl. And by the eastern suburbs i mean clovelly, bondi, bronte and coogee - also on the coast. Im currently living in clovelly and have been here for three months and have a further three months to go on my rental lease. Im looking at exploring sydney a bit more and a few people have mentioned the north shore. I still want to be near the beach tho. so any indication on what area most people prefer would be helpful. thanks hamz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaddyO Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hamz, Best bet is to get the ferry over to Manly and start there!! If you have a car then take a drive and start at Manly and work your way up. Any further than narrabeen then your commute into CBD is gonna be problematic. Palm Beach is exclusive because of that issue, less blue collar workers. Then compare your rental in Clovelly to what you can get on the Northern Beaches. When we arrived we did just that and found the Northern Beaches preferable, however, public transport (unless you are close to the Manly ferry) can be a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Coffee Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 When we arrived we did just that and found the Northern Beaches preferable, however, public transport (unless you are close to the Manly ferry) can be a pain. Public Transport/commute is possibly the main issue of the Northern Beaches. It is really up to your priorities. If you want to live right on the beach (front) the areas mentioned by PaddyO are second to none. If you want it a bit more balanced (commute, amenities, beaches) the Eastern Suburbs might be a better choice. But also dearer... I have been living in Mosman (Lower North Shore) for 3 months and I absolutely love it. It represents the best of both worlds to me. Balmoral Beach is about 5mins away, the ferry to CQ takes around 25mins and along Militiary Road you find a huge selection of shops, restaurants, cafes etc. But my priority is commute and area rather than beach. Balmoral is a kind of icing on the cake for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hamz Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hi Guys Thanks for the replies. I went up to palm beach - all the way from little clovelly. Went with some mates so went straight to the beach - didnt manage to see some residential areas in the northern beaches - but what i did see was lovely. Im mainly looking for a picturesque area close to the beach with a supermarket and other chains within a 15mins (by car) area. In England - i used to commute 3hours a day on the train - so dont mind commuting if when i go back home i go to a great place where my family is safe and happy. But what could swing it towards the eastern suburbs is the transport. The closer we got to palm beach I didnt see any buses when driving there or back. From the looks of things the transport services are limited the more north you go. So that may narrow my choice of suburbs in the northern beaches to areas very close to manly - where i can ferry in. If there was a direct train or bus to areas around palm beach - then i would consider living around there. I just wanted to guage from this post on which areas people prefer, especially if theyve lived in both areas - and what were the differences. thanks again hamz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hamz Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hi Guys Sorry Paddy Ive had a long day. Just read your post again and youve suggested looking at areas around manly - thats just what i will do. Cheers mate Cheers Coffee for your advice too - havent been to balmoral beach yet but heard its great. hamz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaddyO Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Public Transport/commute is possibly the main issue of the Northern Beaches. It is really up to your priorities. If you want to live right on the beach (front) the areas mentioned by PaddyO are second to none. If you want it a bit more balanced (commute, amenities, beaches) the Eastern Suburbs might be a better choice. But also dearer... I have been living in Mosman (Lower North Shore) for 3 months and I absolutely love it. It represents the best of both worlds to me. Balmoral Beach is about 5mins away, the ferry to CQ takes around 25mins and along Militiary Road you find a huge selection of shops, restaurants, cafes etc. But my priority is commute and area rather than beach. Balmoral is a kind of icing on the cake for me. Balmoral is a top place, have dome sunday brunch there and also attended the Mudgee wine festival there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaddyO Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hi Guys Sorry Paddy Ive had a long day. Just read your post again and youve suggested looking at areas around manly - thats just what i will do. Cheers mate Cheers Coffee for your advice too - havent been to balmoral beach yet but heard its great. hamz No worries mate, Palm Beach does have buses into CBD, not sure how long they take but check the 131500 site for that. Going by what you say, have a look at Narrabeen, great beach, lovely islet between lagoon and beach and has decent transport links. One other thing, if you used to 3 hours commute in UK, try looking at the southern beaches down towards Kiama, took a great drive down the Ocean Highway today all the way to Jervis Bay and it was all good, well, apart from Nowra!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Coffee Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 No worries mate, Palm Beach does have buses into CBD, not sure how long they take but check the 131500 site for that. Going by what you say, have a look at Narrabeen, great beach, lovely islet between lagoon and beach and has decent transport links. Hamz, I don't know whether your 3hr commute was in total or either way. Palm Beach has the L90 bus direct to Wynyard/Railway Sq. with 2 buses per hour in the AM peak. BUT: unless you live next to the bus stop and work next to Wynyard station, the journey in the morning will cost you a minimum of 2 hours. That is if you can get on the first bus and have a smooth run. You will have to cross Spit Bridge, ride along Military Road and then get onto the Freeway across Harbour Bridge. I cross Military Road every morning on my way to work and it is usually stop&go. So it is a minimum of 2 hours which can easily become 2.5 or 3 hours. Nevertheless, people are commuting from Palm Beach so it is an option. It's about $50 per week. Places like Narrabeen are about 30 minutes closer to the City and have more regular services. But also more passengers. A colleague of mine lives in Beacon Hill and our office is in St Leonards. His commute can take anything between 60 and 120 minutes. The unpredictable journey time is the biggest issue for him as he always has to come in early just in case it is a slow run. With regards to Kiama and South Coast: I am just doing a study for RailCorp on the Kiama to Unanderra line so I have recently been down there. Kiama to Central is 2:15hrs on the train or 2:00 by car (plus time to find a parking space...). My study area is Flinders (near Shellharbour). McMansions is what that is called. Big houses on small plots in the middle of nowhere... (Admittedly, I'm not one for the rural life so I might be biased...):biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hamz Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Thanks guys for the replies. Youve given me something to think about - and places to explore. Im sure sydney and the surrounding areas are nice enough - and close enough to the beach that i dont have to commute hours each day. Thanks again Hamz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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