Parramatta Advice

[MARYROSE02]

I wouldn't bother with the beach if I did not live close to it. When I stayed at my brother's in Picnic Point (near East Hills) I used his pool each day and would have used the public pool at Revesby if he didn't have one. His closest beach is Cronulla going via Menai, Woronora, probably 30-40 mins. If I need to get anywhere important (like work) I ALWAYS stuff myself up and allow the minimum time when I know from experience I should be adding 30 mins for safety. My closest beach in Surry Hills is Redleaf between Double and Rose Bays - 5K - but I'm going to Neilsen Park - 11K - in a minute just after 7 so should be 20 minutes (I hope.)

[Team Rennolds]

Hi All

 

Thanks for taking the time to post about my original question. We have been looking a bit further west to see what we would get out there for our budget (or cheaper). Any feedback on St Mary's and that area would be massively appreciated.

 

We are now considering a 2nd car for me to commute in so distance is not as much of an issue.

 

Thanks

Mark

[Ellie 2]

Have a look at http://www.myboot.com.au This gives pretty much everything you want to know about a suburb. Just click on NSW and you will find every suburb you want.

[Team Rennolds]

Have a look at http://www.myboot.com.au This gives pretty much everything you want to know about a suburb. Just click on NSW and you will find every suburb you want.

 

 

Thanks Ellie

 

I'd been looking for a site like this. Just had a look on site & can see some statistics on average house prices, demographics etc. If anyone reading this knows the area then please feel free to express your opinions on a good family suburb.

 

Mark

[MARYROSE02]

St Marys? People from the Eastern Subs, like ME for example, can be pretty 'sniffy' about 'The Western Subs' aka 'Westies' but people who live there are very loyal. I was friendly with a lady out near Rooty Hill and I got to like the area myself. I only moved to where I am - Surry Hills - to be close to work because I could not cope with commuting anyway.

 

My brother played a gig at St Mary's Band Club last Saturday night and he said he did not invite me because he was worried I'd be 'padding about' late at night. I understand where he's coming from. After dark, the places can seem a bit desolate and people tend to drive rather than walk. I'm not sure what the buses are like either if you are living in a far flung suburb. I think if I was moving out there I'd try to live in Penrith and close to the town centre.

[Ellie 2]

Not a fan of these suburbs myself - never lived there - but be aware that the Penrith area is the hottest area in the Sydney Metro area in summer apart from a somewhat questionable reputation.

[Team Rennolds]

Not a fan of these suburbs myself - never lived there - but be aware that the Penrith area is the hottest area in the Sydney Metro area in summer apart from a somewhat questionable reputation.

 

Thanks Ellie, was just wondering what you meant by this. Is the area unsafe? The rental properties available look very nice. We don't mind driving to get to places. Do you know of any suburbs at all in this area that would be good for a young family? Due to job commitments we have not got a lot of choice in areas initially but this will prob change after 12/18 mths. thanks in advance for any advice

[Steve n Mel]

Hi Mark we are now in st Clair which is a newer suburb south of the m4 from st Mary's, we've been here 18 months, and moved here after havin a little one for a bigger more family type of environment, we have lived eastern suburbs , and places like Mosman which have all been great depending on your priorities. But for me st Clair is family friendly and very affordable I commute to homebush, a little east of parra without any drama, I don't know st Mary's well it is a older style suburb than where we are and been told a little rough around the edges, but hey can recommend st Clair, theres a few more pommie westies here which have moved on from every night in the city bars so I'm sure you will get a few more suburbs thrown at you.

Good luck with the move.

[Team Rennolds]

Hi Mark we are now in st Clair which is a newer suburb south of the m4 from st Mary's, we've been here 18 months, and moved here after havin a little one for a bigger more family type of environment, we have lived eastern suburbs , and places like Mosman which have all been great depending on your priorities. But for me st Clair is family friendly and very affordable I commute to homebush, a little east of parra without any drama, I don't know st Mary's well it is a older style suburb than where we are and been told a little rough around the edges, but hey can recommend st Clair, theres a few more pommie westies here which have moved on from every night in the city bars so I'm sure you will get a few more suburbs thrown at you.

Good luck with the move.

 

Thanks

 

We'll do a bit of research on St Clair. Glad to hear its not all bad out West! What do you know about Glenmore Park? How does that compare to St Clair?

 

Cheers

Mark

[frostie]

Hi Tracey & Mark,

We are heading over in April and have been looking at the Hills. We have 3 kids aged 9, 7 and 3. The houses in the Hills look good. I have done a bit of research and there seems to be lots of things going on for kids & families. I have also been in contact with a few people alraedy there and they seem very positive.

My husband will be working from home & commuting to North Sydney 2 times a week so think we are decided on the Hills or maybe the shire. But now been looking at wollongong. Guess when we all land and look we will know which suburbs are going to be best for our needs.

Our shipping quote was about £4200 and that was for a full 20ft container.

Mandy

[Guest jtrd]

Hi Mandy,

i think my main concern is schools, our son is 11 and as we arrive next week, I will have about a week to find a suburb we like, with a school we like that will take our son despite the fact that haven't yet got a rental property in the area before the school year starts....not to sure when this stress stops, but I'm slightly over it now.

oh, mark I forgot to say our shipping came in at 4017 and we chose them because they did a great job when they came around and every question we asked was answered immediately, even before we had booked with them.

Tracey

[frostie]

Hi tracey, just noticed your from Arundel, we are also from West sussex (crawley) and was down your way at the weekend. What year is you son going into? My eldest will be turning 10 the week before we leave and i belive he will start primary school year 4, which is good in a way as over here i would be looking into senior schools soon but wont have that worry there yet.

By looking at many different schools the reports seem to be really good in the hills areas which is the main reason we are looking at those areas.

Is your son looking forward to it? Mine were upset to start with but seem very keen now.

Hope your move goes smoothly

Mandy

[Team Rennolds]

Hi Tracey & Mark,

We are heading over in April and have been looking at the Hills. We have 3 kids aged 9, 7 and 3. The houses in the Hills look good. I have done a bit of research and there seems to be lots of things going on for kids & families. I have also been in contact with a few people alraedy there and they seem very positive.

My husband will be working from home & commuting to North Sydney 2 times a week so think we are decided on the Hills or maybe the shire. But now been looking at wollongong. Guess when we all land and look we will know which suburbs are going to be best for our needs.

Our shipping quote was about £4200 and that was for a full 20ft container.

Mandy

 

Hi Mandy

 

We looked at Wollongong ourselves but my new employer wanted me west of Sydney. From whet we researched it looks nice. Sutherland shire looks really good as well.

 

It's not easy trying to choose from this side of the world is it?! Like you say I'm sure it will all fall into place when we arrive. You'll have to let us know where you end up. When do you fly in April? We plan on flying out first week if possible.

 

Who did you use for removals? We are in middle of seeing a few now - big difference in prices so far!

 

Speak soon

Mark

 

 

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.197750,-2.868122

[frostie]

Hi Mandy

 

We looked at Wollongong ourselves but my new employer wanted me west of Sydney. From whet we researched it looks nice. Sutherland shire looks really good as well.

 

It's not easy trying to choose from this side of the world is it?! Like you say I'm sure it will all fall into place when we arrive. You'll have to let us know where you end up. When do you fly in April? We plan on flying out first week if possible.

 

Who did you use for removals? We are in middle of seeing a few now - big difference in prices so far!

 

Speak soon

Mark

 

 

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.197750,-2.868122

 

Hi Mark,

We got two quotes ( ours is being paid for by employer so only needed 2) First with Bishops move and one with John mason who I belive gave the best service and were the cheapest. I am also going to now get a quote from the firm Tracey has used.

We are flying mid April. We plan to stop in Singapore for 4 days as a mini holiday. Before the stress and mayhem of finding a long term rental commences

We will be given 6 weeks temporary accomodation so I am hoping to find a rental in that time, but we plan on spending a couple of weeks checking out the different areas befre deciding. I spend hours on real estate and domian looking at houses

Hope it all goes smoothly your end.

Mandy

[pintpot]

Hi Mandy,

i think my main concern is schools, our son is 11 and as we arrive next week, I will have about a week to find a suburb we like, with a school we like that will take our son despite the fact that haven't yet got a rental property in the area before the school year starts....not to sure when this stress stops, but I'm slightly over it now

 

I think just accept he'll miss a week or two at the start of term is the only way to deal with the stress

 

It's highly unlikely any government school will enrol you without an address, so you'll stress yourself out more by trying. On the other hand, once you have a permanent address in a catchment area, they have to take you even if term has already started

 

Concentrate on researching the possible schools in the areas you've short/long listed and work out what their catchment areas are - then use that in your house search. Once you have found your house, the school comes automatically

[lesleyneil]

We moved over here in Oct and have settled really well in the Hills District (Rouse Hill) we had the luxury though of been over in August which is when we secured the house and kids school. Its right that the schools wont speak to you untill you have an address but once you have found the house the process is not too bad.

 

Good luck to all of you on the move and try not to stress to much :biggrin:

[Ginginu]

Hi

 

I won't be much help as we only moved to sydney on the 16th of December. We were looking at Dural, annagrove, rouse hill originally and have actually ended up in rouse hill ( just the right rental came up) , so far so good. We are on a rural type street but minutes away from shops,services etc. just in the process of trying to find preschools, kinder, other kids activities. So far though it seems pretty good,

 

Good luck with your searching

[Guest dazzler62]

I spent some time in Parra this year (3 months) as my girlfriend lived there for 9months as a primary school teacher.... its not such a bad area some of the best restaurants in the whole of Sydney i reckon, great public pool, CBD is 40 mins train and all the big shops are close to hand.... I think Parramatta has a high population of Lebonese, the schools have hardly any White children in them and the classes arn't as well behaved as the schools here in England according to her. Hope that helps you some bit. If i get the chance of a Visa in the future i wouldnt hesitate living there as i quite enjoyed it and believe me there are worse places in Sydney...!

[lesleyneil]

Hi welcome to rouse hill hope your settling well

Hi

 

I won't be much help as we only moved to sydney on the 16th of December. We were looking at Dural, annagrove, rouse hill originally and have actually ended up in rouse hill ( just the right rental came up) , so far so good. We are on a rural type street but minutes away from shops,services etc. just in the process of trying to find preschools, kinder, other kids activities. So far though it seems pretty good,

 

Good luck with your searching

[Ginginu]

Hi welcome to rouse hill hope your settling well

 

Hi, thanks for the welcome. So far it's going ok . Now that the Christmas holidays are over it's time to start looking for things

for the kids like pre-school, possibly kinder for belle and other activities. Any suggestions on which schools to consider? Or any other pearls of wisdom?

[lesleyneil]

Mmmm sorry my kids go to rouse hill high school as they are 15 and 12 they stared Nov ands far I have nothing but praise for the school. It may be an idea to try the community centre they are sure to have mother and toddler groups. Sorry I couldn't be more help but I'm still a newbie myself.

[Guest jtrd]

So starting school at the beginning of the school year which is why we have been in such a rush just isn't going to happen, is it?

[MARYROSE02]

There was a nasty incident out Parra way the other week I think - a bloke ran out of petrol and a gang ambushed him. I don't like to think of things like this happening but I guess there are localities in every city that you want to avoid, especially late at night. I hate those gangs too, running their bit of 'turf.' Where's Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down' when you need him?

 

But Parramatta itself, yes, like Dazzler up above says, that's more or less what I think about the place.

[Steve n Mel]

There was a nasty incident out Parra way the other week I think - a bloke ran out of petrol and a gang ambushed him. I don't like to think of things like this happening but I guess there are localities in every city that you want to avoid, especially late at night. I hate those gangs too, running their bit of 'turf.' Where's Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down' when you need him?

 

But Parramatta itself, yes, like Dazzler up above says, that's more or less what I think about the place.

 

Hi Maryrose,

 

I've never lived in Parra so cant say I know it that well, but I think we can have a horror story for every suburb, be it a bomb strapped to you in money Mosman (I lived here very nice no bombs for me), King hit into a coma in sunny sandy Bondi (nice here but too many drunk backpackers for me), after this ruffed up in Parra don't sound so bad LOL, ps some good places to eat in parra.

Don't take this seriously I just wanted to say that s#!t happens everywhere and although places like eastern suburbs are very nice they do in fact have problems too, not only that for a family they are some what expensive for a 4-5 bed house that most growing families seem to need nowadays, (particularly when you get half the family visiting from the UK for there free boarding in summer lol.)

 

Where ever you all end up east west or in the middle just get out and enjoy all of Oz, its a great place to be, and ya don't have to rent in one place for ever.

[MARYROSE02]

I just let a group of young people into my block - they rang my buzzer - still waiting to get a security key for the main door. Five of them I think, or was it six? That's the only way you can often afford to live in a decent unit/house in the inner city. $500-600 a week for a two bed in this block but divided by five or six becomes very affordable. What does it cost for a bunk in a hostel in Sydney? When I first moved back into my unit I wondered why I kept hearing the door buzzer. I guess you only get one or maybe two security keys although you can get as many cut as you like for the front door of your unit.

 

Surry Hills, like anywhere has its share of trouble and I'm always a bit wary. A drunk Irish bloke came up to me as I was putting air into my tyres in a servo on Cleveland St late last night, wanting me to take him to the airport. Offered to pay me too but he'd obviously been turned away by the cabs that use the servo.

 

There used to be a time when you could be sure that a bloke waving his arms around and shouting was someone to avoid & cross the road but now they're all just on their mobile phones. You just end up zig-zagging from one side of the road to the other, there's so many!