# Which Sydney Suburb for our Little Family??



## Nickynoo (Mar 2, 2009)

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum, wanted to join you all now that the process is starting to get under way for our dream move to Auz!!

We now know that we will be moving to Sydney as we will be moving on a State Sponsored Visa.

I had done loads of research on Perth as that was the location we first wanted as we have friends living there but Sydney was high on our list as well but I know nothing about the area/suburbs and where to go.

My husband will no doubt be working in the City Centre and will need to commute so this is something we will need to take in to consideration.

I must make a confession, I am probably a bit of a self confessed snob and so want to move to a nice area, with call schools and a friendly community feel. My son will be 3/4 when we move. We currently live in a semi rural location so don't want anything too built up. As near to the beach as possible would be good but I don't mind a drive as cost will be important in those first years whilst we get settled. 

I hope you experts can help shed some light on the areas that I should start to research in preparation for our move and a possible visit towards the end of the year.

Thanks so very much guys 

Nicky


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## spekegirl (Jan 14, 2009)

We moved to Ettalong Beach last September. It is located on the Central Coast, about 1 hr from Sydney. My partner works in Sydney and commutes via train. He works in the city centre, it takes about 1 hr 15 mins. each way. 

Ettalong Beach allows us to live in a small town right on the beach for a fraction of the cost of living in the city. We are loving it here!


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## Joleyn (Jul 10, 2007)

spekegirl said:


> We moved to Ettalong Beach last September. It is located on the Central Coast, about 1 hr from Sydney. My partner works in Sydney and commutes via train. He works in the city centre, it takes about 1 hr 15 mins. each way.
> 
> Ettalong Beach allows us to live in a small town right on the beach for a fraction of the cost of living in the city. We are loving it here!


Yes many people do that commute and many do from Bulli and the South coast. 
Manly is a great place also. I know many places to keep away from that where great places 30 years ago but not anymore! 
Do you have any idea what kind of commute your husband is looking at? I have a friends at Toronto on Lake Macquarie, he commutes to Sydney.It seems to have good schools. Just out of interest Wollongong as some great schools too.


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## spekegirl (Jan 14, 2009)

Joleyn said:


> Yes many people do that commute and many do from Bulli and the South coast.
> Manly is a great place also. I know many places to keep away from that where great places 30 years ago but not anymore!
> Do you have any idea what kind of commute your husband is looking at? I have a friends at Toronto on Lake Macquarie, he commutes to Sydney.It seems to have good schools. Just out of interest Wollongong as some great schools too.



My partner catches a train to Woy Woy (about 15 minutes) and then the train from Woy Woy to Central (about 50 minutes) and then a city train to work (about 10 mins). As far as I know Toronto would be a much longer commute. 

Manly is a great place, but much more expensive to live. The same for the south coast. There is no comparison for rent. We live in a fairly new 3 bedroom apartment overlooking Broken Bay and the Brisbane Waterways. We pay $380 a week. For the same rent you can get a house with no water view, but it is likely to have a pool. You will be looking at way higher rents in Manly or the South Coast. 

I don't really know much about the schools around here because I do not have school age children. I do know there is a good private (catholic) school in the area, but I don't know much about the public schools. I do have a friend that lives in Sydney who has been considering the move, they seemed fairly happy with the schools in the area!


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## Joleyn (Jul 10, 2007)

spekegirl said:


> My partner catches a train to Woy Woy (about 15 minutes) and then the train from Woy Woy to Central (about 50 minutes) and then a city train to work (about 10 mins). As far as I know Toronto would be a much longer commute.
> 
> Manly is a great place, but much more expensive to live. The same for the south coast. There is no comparison for rent. We live in a fairly new 3 bedroom apartment overlooking Broken Bay and the Brisbane Waterways. We pay $380 a week. For the same rent you can get a house with no water view, but it is likely to have a pool. You will be looking at way higher rents in Manly or the South Coast.
> 
> I don't really know much about the schools around here because I do not have school age children. I do know there is a good private (catholic) school in the area, but I don't know much about the public schools. I do have a friend that lives in Sydney who has been considering the move, they seemed fairly happy with the schools in the area!


 I think you may be right about Manly,Toronto my friend really likes it but I couldn't live there. Woy Woy happydays used to go there a lot as a teenager! I thought the commute would have been the same as Toronto but obviously not . It sounds really good and may be a good choice for the OP. $380.00 is very good as is Broken Bay and Brisbane Waterways. The Southcoast isn't to bad rent wise but just recently i have begun to wonder about the level of crime etc. I move in 3 weeks and i am very much looking forward to it.


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## spekegirl (Jan 14, 2009)

Joleyn said:


> I think you may be right about Manly,Toronto my friend really likes it but I couldn't live there. Woy Woy happydays used to go there a lot as a teenager! I thought the commute would have been the same as Toronto but obviously not . It sounds really good and may be a good choice for the OP. $380.00 is very good as is Broken Bay and Brisbane Waterways. The Southcoast isn't to bad rent wise but just recently i have begun to wonder about the level of crime etc. I move in 3 weeks and i am very much looking forward to it.



Toronto is quite far from Sydney for commuting. I like Woy Woy, but I don't love it there. I really like places like Empire Bay, Ettalong Beach, Daley's Point, Orange Grove, Booker Bay. Some parts of Woy Woy are better than others.

I am not sure if the level of crime here is any better than the South Coast. I guess it depends on where you are looking specifically. 

Where are you moving from? Have you lived here before? You seem to know the area well. Are you going to be renting?


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## Joleyn (Jul 10, 2007)

spekegirl said:


> Toronto is quite far from Sydney for commuting. I like Woy Woy, but I don't love it there. I really like places like Empire Bay, Ettalong Beach, Daley's Point, Orange Grove, Booker Bay. Some parts of Woy Woy are better than others.
> 
> I am not sure if the level of crime here is any better than the South Coast. I guess it depends on where you are looking specifically.
> 
> Where are you moving from? Have you lived here before? You seem to know the area well. Are you going to be renting?


Hi, I came to Australia as the child of a ten pound pom and lived in Sydney for years and Queensland. I was recently in Toronto and have friends in Wyong and Newcastle. i spent ,much of the school holidays there. I am moving to Singleton. One aspect of my life here as been that I have done nothing but move. I have been home a few times and stayed for about 5years in the late nineties and early seventies. I wanted to show my Australian born children their parents home country. Crime is everywhere but I have seen quite a bit of it over the years and been a victim. Just like the UK it depends where you live but you may have more chance to get away from it or not see it because of the population. I do like the South Coast but the central Coast was always a favourite.
I will be renting in Singleton and I am renting here. we own a house but rent it out at the moment. I do not want to go back to Queensland to live.It as a beautiful coast line but the place gives me the irates How long have you been here? Does your husband find the commute easy to handle? Sorry to OP if I have taken this off topic.


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## lambstew (Feb 18, 2009)

Gosford...


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## spekegirl (Jan 14, 2009)

Joleyn said:


> Hi, I came to Australia as the child of a ten pound pom and lived in Sydney for years and Queensland. I was recently in Toronto and have friends in Wyong and Newcastle. i spent ,much of the school holidays there. I am moving to Singleton. One aspect of my life here as been that I have done nothing but move. I have been home a few times and stayed for about 5years in the late nineties and early seventies. I wanted to show my Australian born children their parents home country. Crime is everywhere but I have seen quite a bit of it over the years and been a victim. Just like the UK it depends where you live but you may have more chance to get away from it or not see it because of the population. I do like the South Coast but the central Coast was always a favourite.
> I will be renting in Singleton and I am renting here. we own a house but rent it out at the moment. I do not want to go back to Queensland to live.It as a beautiful coast line but the place gives me the irates How long have you been here? Does your husband find the commute easy to handle? Sorry to OP if I have taken this off topic.



I am from Canada. I have been here since last July so Oz is still quite new to me. I met my partner in Canada as he worked there for almost 5 years. I returned with him when his stint in Canada was up. 

Are you going to commute from Singleton to Sydney? My partner finds the commute quite long by the end of the week, but he still prefers the lifestyle we have here as opposed to living in the burbs or right in sydney. We have 2 apartments in Sydney that we rent out. We rent here in Ettalong.


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## Joleyn (Jul 10, 2007)

spekegirl said:


> I am from Canada. I have been here since last July so Oz is still quite new to me. I met my partner in Canada as he worked there for almost 5 years. I returned with him when his stint in Canada was up.
> 
> Are you going to commute from Singleton to Sydney? My partner finds the commute quite long by the end of the week, but he still prefers the lifestyle we have here as opposed to living in the burbs or right in sydney. We have 2 apartments in Sydney that we rent out. We rent here in Ettalong.


No my husband is already working up there. he works in the mines up there.
I used to love Sydney but I am fond of very little there these days. Places that were fine are now a hot bed of litter graffiti and crime, not all of course but like many places you need to be careful . I think places like the Central Coast do offer a great life style and with children so much can be had for very little money wise or even free.


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## Joleyn (Jul 10, 2007)

bizventures15 said:


> Gosford...[/QUOTE
> 
> gosford is also a great place


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## Nickynoo (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies so far. I will take a look at the areas you have mentioned. I have also been looking at North Ryde as I had heard a bit about that area??

On another note, we are considering taking our two cats as I see them as part of my family. One of the problems I can see with this though is that many of the nice rentals are apartments and so wouldn't be suitable. Do you think that we would still be able to find a suitable property or should we really consider leaving our boys here in England?

Also, can anyone recommend some good websites for us to look at to help make our decision on area? Any websites that give views of schools like our Ofsted reports?

Thanks again guys.

Nicky


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## spekegirl (Jan 14, 2009)

Joleyn said:


> No my husband is already working up there. he works in the mines up there.
> I used to love Sydney but I am fond of very little there these days. Places that were fine are now a hot bed of litter graffiti and crime, not all of course but like many places you need to be careful . I think places like the Central Coast do offer a great life style and with children so much can be had for very little money wise or even free.



i enjoy visiting Sydney, but that is about it for me. One thing I love about the Central Coast is that we can go to something in the city and still come home the same night. The trains run so late! It's great.


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## Beth_anne_o (Mar 6, 2009)

Nickynoo said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I am new to this forum, wanted to join you all now that the process is starting to get under way for our dream move to Auz!!
> 
> ...



Hi Nicky,
If your husband is going to be working in the city, you want to try to be as close for him as possible as Sydney traffic can be horrific. 
These suburbs are worth a look: Wahroonga, Drummoyne, Hunters Hill, Gladesville, Neutral Bay, Seaforth. 
Good luck.


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## crazyleggedcrane (Apr 14, 2009)

Hi there

I am new to this forum )

We live in Booker Bay on the Central Coast (near Ettalong), we have been here 5 months and really enjoying the lifestyle. We have been in Australia for about 9 years and have moved around a bit ! The central coast is very much slower than the city but that is part of the charm and its perfect for little ones. Housing is cheaper here than Sydney, so that will keep us here ! Its not too far away from the city so you can still get a fix when needed !! We pay 420 a week for a 4 bed place with a lovely swimming pool. I'm not sure about schools as i am currently looking into it all for my DS who will start in January.
Hope that gives you a little insight and BTW the beaches are beautiful here, Pearl Beach is my fav )


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