Moving to Sydney

[crankcase76]

Crickey, ok. I hadn't given it too much thought, but obviously the details are important.

Well, my girlfriend will probably get a transfer from the Coles she works at down here to whichever is the closest to where we end up living, which I'm assuming would be in the suburbs, as a Coles wouldn't be in the middle of the city. I could be wrong there though.

I'd live in any kind of place. At this stage it could be just myself and the GF, or a group of 5 of us looking for a place. 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom kind of thing.

No longer than a 30 minute commute into the city would be preferable I guess. I won't be bringing the car up so it'll be trains and such for getting around.

Is that enough to go on?

A list of where NOT to live is as good as one of where to.

if you are looking at the CBD it is hard to find a 3-4 bedroom place, but they do exist you just have to keep checking the Real-estates. but there is alot of 1-2 bedroom units but they do come at a higher rental price. just depends on how much a week you can afford.And don't forget that the closer to the CBD the higher the Rental prices.

if you are looking at 1-2 bedroom units or 3-4 bedrooms and a yard, from your description Verno you are looking at a place around Parramatta,Ryde, to the west of Sydney, about half an hour by train. I think.( ask 1Azrael1 about that not to sure, but would be close i think.) Rental prices are fairly cheaper than the CBD but you do have the commute. like me and 1Azrael1 we live in the Penrith suburb and i pay about $250 a week for a 3 bedroom house in a complex, but the down side is that we are 1 hr from CBD.

if you were going to go North and have the same 1-2 bedroom units, 3-4 bedrooms with a yard you are looking at places like Chatswood,Epping, they would be similar in prices to, i think. but they would have to be about 1/2 hr from the CBD. not to sure.(again speak with 1Azrael1 he is our resident expert on this matter as he works for Cityrail.)

if you were to go South and find 1-2 bedroom units or 3-4 bedroom houses places like Bankstown, Hurstville.( would be your best bet i think, these would have fairly cheap rentals as well.Maybe Hursty can help you out there.)

if you have the money and want just 1-2 bedrooms to the North east and South east then places like Manly, Bondi, are the place, but be prepared for ridiculous rental prices. I work in the South east (Bondi area) of the CBD and a mate from work rents a 1 bedroom apartment for $600 a week.( but it is right next to the beach. would have to say that would be expected in the North east (Manly) area as well but not sure on that one.)

As for your GF finding a place to work there are Coles supermarkets pretty much every where in Sydney. there is not a suburb that would not have one.

Pretty much comes to this affordability, travel, moderate temperatures and lifestyle. you have to ask your self these questions. plus get on to the real estates up here and tell them what you are looking for. But don't forget to keep those things in mind.

i would love to give you a rundown on areas not to go, but i think you make what the area you live in your own perception of what it is. Plus i don't think any of our members in the areas i would list would agree.

hope that this helps a little bit and hope you find something soon.

[GoktimusPrime]

i_amtrunks is right - Sydney's public transport and road networks are complete rubbish compared to other capital cities. The problem is that our roads were built over old animal trails instead of just building grid roads over it like they did in Melbourne and Adelaide^designed by a lobotomised retarded monkey in a straitjacket with a crayon shoved up its nostril, tied to a spinning record player which in turn was strapped to the back of a drunk running cheetah with diminished vision in its left eye.

Check out Sydney's rail networks and try to live in (or near) a suburb that has a train station and is on the same line as where you're going/intending to work so you don't need to change lines. If you're not sure where you'll be working, you might want to stay near one of the "hubs" such as Central or Strathfield - the latter being cheaper, but still rather expensive compared to other suburbs. But you might be able to live in a nearby suburb like Burwood or something. Anyway...
CityRail

Once you've learnt to loathe Sydney's transport and roads, then you have become a true Sydneyite!

[Prowl]

I may be biased but the lower North Shore is the nicest place to live close to the city.

[crankcase76]

i_amtrunks is right - Sydney's public transport and road networks are complete rubbish compared to other capital cities. The problem is that our roads were built over old animal trails instead of just building grid roads over it like they did in Melbourne and Adelaide^designed by a lobotomised retarded monkey in a straitjacket with a crayon shoved up its nostril, tied to a spinning record player which in turn was strapped to the back of a drunk running cheetah with diminished vision in its left eye.

Once you've learnt to loathe Sydney's transport and roads, then you have become a true Sydneyite!

love the passion there Goki, especially the part where the roads are built over old animal trails. so true as a dude who works on roads in Sydney. i agree the roads are just CRAP.

[Trent]

Check out Sydney's rail networks and try to live in (or near) a suburb that has a train station and is on the same line as where you're going/intending to work so you don't need to change lines. If you're not sure where you'll be working, you might want to stay near one of the "hubs" such as Central or Strathfield - the latter being cheaper, but still rather expensive compared to other suburbs. But you might be able to live in a nearby suburb like Burwood or something. Anyway...
CityRail

Once you've learnt to loathe Sydney's transport and roads, then you have become a true Sydneyite!

^^That.

Here is the network map. http://www.cityrail.info/stations/pd...etwork_map.pdf

The southern line that heads down to waterfall would be my pick. Waterfall is about an hour from central on an all stops train. I reckon if you were working in the city somewhere like Sutherland would be a good bet.

HTH

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, Parramatta is pretty good value - I've lived there twice. It's more bogan (chav) than the CBD though. Newtown has mad Thai food!

[UltraMarginal]

what Crankcase76 said is pretty right. to add from personal experiance:

living in the eastern suburbs makes it pretty easy to get to some of the beaches by PT (Buses)

Around the East and the inner west, the only way to really save much on rent is to rent a house with a bunch of people, and it'll be an old place too (50 to 80 odd years). 2 bedroom apartments below about $400 or $500 a week are starting to get rather old and poorly kept.

My Wife and I lived in a nice fairly large 2 bedroom apartment near chatswood for just over $500 a week. Chatswood is about 20 to 30 minutes out of the city by train.

South of the city there is a lot of new apartment block development, I'm not sure what the prices are like but there has been a masive boom in the area.

Newtown is expensive and kind of bohemian (a bit). also the best coffee shop in sydney.

there are express bus lanes along many of the major roads into the city. Parramatta road, Anzac Parade, and over the bridge from lane cove road. These really cut down travel time into the city.


Traditionally spring and autumn in sydney are beautiful and temperate, winter can get very cold at night, especially in older brick buildings from early last century. and summer can be hot for the same reasons.
lately though it's been cold and wet for the last 4 months. .

Major shopping centres that I am at least a bit familiar with are: Eastgardens, Chatswood (westfield and the chase), Macquarie, Bondi Junction, Parramatta, Miranda and the CBD. there are plenty of others but they are the larger ones that come to mind.

if you're researching public transport times from place to place the cityrail website is very good.
www.131500.com.au

Randwick, Kingsford, Bondi Junction, Chatswood, are all about a 30 minute commute into the city. main stations in the city are Town Hall, Wynyard and Central.

The older suburbs tend to be a bit more tightly packed, especially the inner west, north of the bridge is a little more leafy, as is the western and southern suburbs. Most areas of sydney have parks and sports fields not too far apart.

Where Not to live really depends on what you like in an environment. ie: maroubra is the best swimming beach, Coogee is the sunbathing beach , and Bondi is the shopping beach. Bronte Beach isn't much of a beach but there is good snorkelling/Diving I think. descriptions like that cover all of Sydney.

Parramatta is considered the geographical centre of the city but it's a solid hour from the CBD>
Hope that helps a bit.

[Prowl]

My Wife and I lived in a nice fairly large 2 bedroom apartment near chatswood for just over $500 a week. Chatswood is about 20 to 30 minutes out of the city by train.

Chatswood is nice. Lived there for two years & in Lane Cove for five. Lived in Forestville for 20 years so yeah the North shore/beaches is where it is at

there are express bus lanes along many of the major roads into the city. Parramatta road, Anzac Parade, and over the bridge from lane cove road. These really cut down travel time into the city.

I drove across that bloody bridge nearly every day for years. What a nightmare anywhere from 30-90 minutes travel time from the Cove to Mascot. My worst trip was 3 hours on a Friday night

[i_amtrunks]

It should be noted to take everything we all say with a grain of salt, each Sydneysider has soft spots for certain areas, and (generally) unreasonable / very reasonable hate for others!

Living nearish to a train station is a very good point if you need to live further out from the city.

With the half an hour restriction, that rules out everything further west than Parramatta (Parra is probably 40 minutes but is a good cut-off point), All the Hills district is out (nice area, but expensive and probably the worst to get into the city from). Anything north of Chatswood is out and South of Mascot through to Canterbury.

Suburbs in that Goldilocks zone to avoid: I'll leave my personal bias out as best I can!
- Lakemba, Campsie (And areas in the Yagoona-Punchbowl area which is further out) as that is the current drive by shooting capital of the city. Not a true reflection on the suburbs but best to avoid.
- Mascot and the general Botany Bay area due to the airport.
- Glebe, Annandale and Camperdown. Great places to visit, good food but crazy priced for what you get.
And depending on your feelings towards Uni students you my want to avoid the Randwick area!

I'd suggest doing some real estate searches for the inner city and surrounds and see what areas strike you and then maybe ask us for the lowdown on them.

[UltraMarginal]

I drove across that bloody bridge nearly every day for years. What a nightmare anywhere from 30-90 minutes travel time from the Cove to Mascot. My worst trip was 3 hours on a Friday night

I only said it was good if you were on an express bus in the bus lane
or on the train, as long as the train doesn't break...