Kerry1 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hi,My husband and I will hopefully be moving to Sydney by September, but I have no idea as to where we should live.My brother-in-law was recently there for an interview and stayed in Avalon Beach, he says that it is the place to live, somthing like knysna, but unfortunately the houses are extreamly expensive and not that great (by SA standards).My husband would like to live near water, either by the sea, river or dam. Are there any areas that anyone knows of that are nice by SA standards with these specifications Kerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilana & Desmond Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hi,My husband and I will hopefully be moving to Sydney by September, but I have no idea as to where we should live.My brother-in-law was recently there for an interview and stayed in Avalon Beach, he says that it is the place to live, somthing like knysna, but unfortunately the houses are extreamly expensive and not that great (by SA standards).My husband would like to live near water, either by the sea, river or dam. Are there any areas that anyone knows of that are nice by SA standards with these specifications KerryHI Kerry,Well it really depends how much you want to spend monthly (weekly) and where you are going to be working. I would also suggest renting for now to get an idea of the suburb you move into. The place that we have found where the houses are new "SA Standards" would be out in the Hills district which are affordable but also further out. I know some people might tell you that there are lots of areas to SA standards but the problem comes in that you might find the perfect house but your neighbours or the houses in the next street are still old and need to be refurbished as there are no high walls here so if the house looks old you see it also the closer to Sydney the more you pay. There is no sea or dam near that area it would mean you would have to drive there. We stayed in Ryde for a year and have just bought a place in Newbury Estate (Stanhope Gardens) it also seems to be more family friendly out that way. So you need to decide on your budget and then it would be easirer to decide. you can mail me on desmond@sanborn.co.za if you have any queries I will be glad to help where I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diveup Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hi Kerry,I am in the process of being transferred from Cairns to Sydney. I am presently looking at the Sunderland Shire. There are a lot of South Africans in Menai, Barden Ridge, Bangor, Illawong and Alfords Point. Houses are still new and affordable.Diveup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matman Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hi,My husband and I will hopefully be moving to Sydney by September, but I have no idea as to where we should live.My brother-in-law was recently there for an interview and stayed in Avalon Beach, he says that it is the place to live, somthing like knysna, but unfortunately the houses are extreamly expensive and not that great (by SA standards).My husband would like to live near water, either by the sea, river or dam. Are there any areas that anyone knows of that are nice by SA standards with these specifications KerryKerryMy suggestion is that you look to find something as close as you can to work initially. Depending on where you work - traffic can be a shocker and you dont want to be living in a great place/location but it is taking you hours to get to and fro from work.First try find some temp accomodation for 4-6weeks when you first arrive and do a drive around the suburbs - time the distance from each suburb you like to the office during peak traffic times.Then make a decision where you want to live, becuase when you sign that lease agreement - not always easy to break it and trust me - nothing puts more pressure on top of having just done an International move/migration- than having to spend hours in a car or traffic getting to and fro from work. What should be a great adventure can turn sour very quickly and make you and the family unhappy.RgdsMatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilana & Desmond Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 HI,It is 38 km's from City Centre to Sydney, this would be travelling on the M5, I am not sure of traffic going out that way. But I agree with Matman rather stay closer to work and drive around looking at various suburbs and then decide before you lock yourself into a long lease and regret the move. Will you be working in the City or one of the surrounding suburbs. 38km's does not sound long in SA terms as it would be a 15 min drive but in Aus it could be an hours drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry1 Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 HI Kerry,Well it really depends how much you want to spend monthly (weekly) and where you are going to be working. I would also suggest renting for now to get an idea of the suburb you move into. The place that we have found where the houses are new "SA Standards" would be out in the Hills district which are affordable but also further out. I know some people might tell you that there are lots of areas to SA standards but the problem comes in that you might find the perfect house but your neighbours or the houses in the next street are still old and need to be refurbished as there are no high walls here so if the house looks old you see it also the closer to Sydney the more you pay. There is no sea or dam near that area it would mean you would have to drive there. We stayed in Ryde for a year and have just bought a place in Newbury Estate (Stanhope Gardens) it also seems to be more family friendly out that way. So you need to decide on your budget and then it would be easirer to decide. you can mail me on desmond@sanborn.co.za if you have any queries I will be glad to help where I can.Hi Desmond,We dont know yet where we are going to be working, my husband is an IT consultant, so I dont think he will have a specific base, I would prefer to use the train into work if possible, which is why we were looking at Rhodes to rent initially as they have a train station right there, I have to admit that I am not into spending hours in the traffic.We were given some advise on places from Australians, but they dont have the same standards as us, which is why I wanted South Africans opinions.I will definitely have a look at the Newbury estate.Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry1 Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Hi Kerry,I am in the process of being transferred from Cairns to Sydney. I am presently looking at the Sunderland Shire. There are a lot of South Africans in Menai, Barden Ridge, Bangor, Illawong and Alfords Point. Houses are still new and affordable.DiveupHi Diveup,I will look into the areas that you meantioned, I hadnt even heard of half of them, so it will be interesting to see what I can find out.You have given me food for thought!Kerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa2auz Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Tricky one, you might have to get used to the fact that Sydney is expensive and you might have to take a stepback from SA Standards. There are lots of lovely areas along the northern beaches, keep your eyes open for an apartment around there, I gather you don't have children. If you want to be on the train line then have a look at Pymble, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Gordon, Lindfield etc. There are some amazing brand new apartments in Wahroonga and Pymble and you would have about a 30 minute commute into the city on the train. You could also look at Cremorne, North Sydney, etc if you want to be closer to the city and on the water. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilana & Desmond Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 We stay in Ryde which is 2km's from Rhodes. Rhodes is very nice as there are new apartments everywhere and the shopping centre with IKEA is right there, you also have the train line and ferry just down the road. If you want an apartment and are alos looking to stay near South African then you can always look at St Ives there are new apartment there built by Meriton, they have a bus that would shuttle you in to the city and it is about a 15min drive to the ocean. Sadly you are not going to get SA standards easily with everything you want around you, I must say i never knew of those areas you had previously mentioned and will be niskuurig and go have a look at the area.I am not sure if this would help and where your hubby would look for work but IBM have offices in Norwest business park and have loads of jobs advertised there and in other areas. Then in North Ryde there are loads of IT companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa2auz Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 There are tons of jobs in North Sydney and the City. My hubby will always have to work in the main finance area even though he is in IT so he will probably be city bound, for us the trains are essential.I have stayed in St Ives, Turramurra and Gordon all great areas although you do get a mix of old and new houses we have grown to realise that we would rather stay in these good areas with good schools and live in a little shack although alot of houses look like shacks on the outside but are actually pretty nice inside. We love the fact that we are 20 minutes away from the sea and the kids often go for a surf after school or after sport on the weekends and if we need to go into the city we can be there within 35 mins.Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry1 Posted June 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 There are tons of jobs in North Sydney and the City. My hubby will always have to work in the main finance area even though he is in IT so he will probably be city bound, for us the trains are essential.I have stayed in St Ives, Turramurra and Gordon all great areas although you do get a mix of old and new houses we have grown to realise that we would rather stay in these good areas with good schools and live in a little shack although alot of houses look like shacks on the outside but are actually pretty nice inside. We love the fact that we are 20 minutes away from the sea and the kids often go for a surf after school or after sport on the weekends and if we need to go into the city we can be there within 35 mins.Good LuckHi,Thanks for the ideas, I will be sure to check out St Ives, Turramurra and Gordon. I am coming to realise that we will need to give up something, so like you I think we will give up the pretty house for a good neighbourhood and the ones you gave me sound like they are ideally situated.Thanks again.Kerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTFamily Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 We had exactly the same dilema - Hubby doesn't know where he is going to be working (he still needs to find a job). I work in Milsons point but my clients can be anywhere, I just spent a week in Singapore!! We decided to try live in a small house near the sea rather than anything we were more used to further out. We have just signed an agreement for a small 3 bed in Balgowlah. Good Schools, decent transport but not on train line. I catch bus to Manly Wharf and go to work by Ferry, takes about 40mins. We are 15 mins walk from the beach and have Warringah Mall not too far away.Really good idea to find a 'base' for a year or so and then look at areas from there. Good Luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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