Sydney suburbs: something near green and water, something villagey, something near CBD

[rozellem]

https://youtu.be/km7lNpHNkdw

Meanwhile, on the Belrose/Frenchs Forest border, disaster strikes...............

I would always recommend Forestville, Killarney Hights and the ones above.

[Mel-B]

Matt, where do you stay now? You said its the green belt area if I remember correctly? Which suburb are you in?

Yes, this is hard, we only visited Melbourne, have no reference for Sydney.

Thanks everyone!

[Stace]

Thanks for this post Mistermoose!!!!

This is the dilemma we will be facing too....we are taking our fur children with us to Sydney - two little pugs, so hopefully slightly easier to find a place - but have the same mindset as you.

I have honed in on some favourite areas, but as I've researched (and also read on this forum), I know ti will be nearly impossible to find a 3 bedroom little house with garden/outdoor space that will allow dogs, in the amazing areas we seem to like the sound of, for the price we want. EISH!!! Our biggest thing is that we want to be close to water, close to the city, easy for my hubby to cycle or short commute to Erskineville & not a mission to get to the beach (my husband surfs!) but to have the type of house we want..... Phew. I smell a tough journey to find that perfect gem

Edited September 29, 2015 by MrsSmith

[AFreshStart]

Mel-B,

We live in Waterloo, it's not in a Green Belt, but part of a new conglomerate called Green Square. Make no mistake, it's inner city living, but not how people might imagine it, yes, there are a lot of massive sky rise apartments around, but we live in a small low rise, a modern feature packed building that was built 2-years ago, with only 36 units, so more like townhouses than apartments.

As the map below shows, there are still LOADS of green spaces within a 10-minutes walk from our front door.

We have a public rugby and cricket field, a skate park, the massive Redfern Park and smaller Waterloo Park and there are a several reserves (which are smaller green spaces) and a City of Sydney Library right next door.

The blue dot is where we live, the red dot just a pin to show the walking distance to show you it is all within a 10-minute walk.

We can't beat the convenience, as shared in this/other threads it's only a 8-10 minute bus ride into the heart of the CBD, I can cycle it in 15-minutes, walk it in under 25-minutes.

We are close to the shops and have 2 Coles, a Woolworths and ALDI down the road, are a 5-minute walk to small eateries and "Mom & Pop" coffee shops and if we are feeling adventurous it's a 15-minute walk to the public pools in Prince Alfred Park, which we frequent in the summer months.

We have excellent schools, my son is in the fastest growing school in NSW and it's the Major of Sydney's 'poster child' for education (she lives in Redfern one suburb over) and we can walk there in 10-12 minutes.

We are an 8-10 minute drive from the Green Belts of Centennial & Sydney Park and a 15-20 minute drive to Bondi Beach, even closer to our local, Redleaf. So for us the location is perfect because it's in the heart of the parts of Sydney that excite us most - the iconic landmarks, culture, food etc, yet we don't feel like we are sacrificing anything because our needs for being outdoors are met by the parks, outdoor spaces and tree lined streets.

You will need to asses you needs, as I shared, we weren't city people, we lived in a middle class suburban neighbourhood in Cape Town with the 3-bedroom house, front and back yards, 2 cars etc, but we don't miss it at all, genuinely, my wife and I were racking our brains to think of what we might miss, even remotely and can't find anything.

It's all on our door step, we're done with the long commutes, my wife did it for almost 10-years, Claremont to Bellville, she gets to stay longer, we enjoy breakfast as a family and she's back for dinner most nights, something that almost never happened in South Africa.

Cheers

Matt

[Mel-B]

Thanks Matt. Sounds fantastic!

[Stace]

Always such a wealth of information Matt

This is a great post, am enjoying all the banter on it. Mistermoose, Im sure we not the only two on the same wavelegth for what we are looking for!

Matt,

Can you recommend any Syd area if we are looking for the following in a home:

• 3 bedroom house/townhouse
• Newly/"newishly" renovated
• Close to city as possible (hubby wants to possibly be able to cycle to work but not a necessity)/not a mission to the beach
• Close to some sort of water's edge and parks
• Max 800pw
• Pet friendly for two little pugs

As you mention commuting, I have always been the one to have to commute so far wherever we have lived, and I'm sooo over it.

Not even sure if the above is realistic....and even if living in the suburbs, don't want to have to travel long. That being said, I have no idea where my work will be based (will search for something once we arrive) but Nick will be based in Erskineville. Can't wait to explore and find the spots we will like the most.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Stace

[AFreshStart]

Stace,

There is an old adage that says you can have fast, cheap or good, pick two of them. Sadly that is pretty much what the property market is like in Sydney. To have anything close to the city for your budget you are going to be looking at fast and cheap, for $800 a week you'll be getting an old terrace, unrenovated, 3-bed, 1 bathroom or a renovated 2-bed, 1-bathroom. $900 will get you a newish 2-bed, 2-bathroom, $1000+ gets you a 3-bedroom, 1, maybe 2-bathroom renovated terrace.

When we started out in Surry Hills our rent was $1,000 a week, which was average in the area, friends in Paddington are paying $1300+ a week, that is what you'll expect to pay if you want a free standing house in the City.

Cheers

Matt

Edited October 1, 2015 by AFreshStart

[Stace]

Crikey moses that's pretty hair raising But kinda what I expected after reading these posts. Sigh.

So if we wanted a nice house, what would be the "closest" (to the city) nicest areas to be looking at, if it wasn't inner city...but I suppose, anything that is not inner city or close, is a wonderful mission to commute in.

[rozellem]

Again sadly, the dog thing is your joy killer here. Have a look if you cant find something on domain.com.au in the Inner West thats suitable. Try Drummoyne, Lilyfield and even Five Dock, Gladesville, Haberfield,Abbotsford, Concord. Google "Cafe Bones Leichhardt". Its a dog/human cafe just off Iron Cove (the 7km Bay Run). If you could live anywhere near the water and parks there, you life with the dogs will be great. Dogs in Aus is your ticket to a very cool social life.

[qwerty]

Dogs make it difficult to find rentals, but it is not impossible. Took us a while, but found a place that allows us to keep one dog. It has a nice sized backyard for our daughter and our now almost 17 week Golden Retriever pup to play in.

[LeighM]

I really appreciate the thoughtful amount of effort that goes into the replies in this thread (and similar in the past), it really does give context to a lot of us that are blissfully unaware on the other side of the water.

I think I may have walked Sydney on Google Streetview from one end to the other I'm not aware of any suburbs that I haven't researched, based on the feedback on this forum. My needs however are unique to my circumstances, so the suburb we've zeroed in on seems to meet these requirements. We have two sons, one a teenager and the other about to be one shortly, and our requirements were (1) school, (2) suburbia and (3) access to good facilities (medical, shopping, recreational etc.). There are a lot of suburbs that meet these criteria in spades, but there were two things that made us seriously consider the Hills area: Cherrybrook Tech and the feel we got Streetview-walking through Castle Hill and Cherrybrook. I personally love the city and the idea of proximity to work and the beach, but I would like to give my boys a sense of familiarity when coming home. I'm not sure how they will take to city living.

We've decided then to break our preliminary temp accommodation in Jan'16 up into two, two weeks near the city and two weeks in the Hills. We will need to decide after this period which of the two suits us better, and make a more long term decision from there. There hasn't been a time in my life when it took me less than an hour to get to work, so I think I'll survive on public transport and podcasts The plan however is to have my wife located as close to home as possible, to pick up on any emergencies.

[Stace]

Again sadly, the dog thing is your joy killer here. Have a look if you cant find something on domain.com.au in the Inner West thats suitable. Try Drummoyne, Lilyfield and even Five Dock, Gladesville, Haberfield,Abbotsford, Concord. Google "Cafe Bones Leichhardt". Its a dog/human cafe just off Iron Cove (the 7km Bay Run). If you could live anywhere near the water and parks there, you life with the dogs will be great. Dogs in Aus is your ticket to a very cool social life.

Thanks so much Rozelle, these suggestions have been a great help! Had a look on Domain and many options. Really appreciate it!

Cafe Bones looks SO cool, our pugs will love exploring with us.

[rozellem]

Stace, as I said, dogs can be your foot in the door to a great social life here. Google combinations of "Sydney Pug Owners" and look if you cant find a club or some informal social group for pug people. A friend of mine in Sydney was considering a sausage dog and went to meet their "group" in a park and had a chat to the owners, before she ended up buying two Dashies. Ok, I see there is a facebook group called The pug dog club of NSW- rescue pugs. Go join and see if anything they do looks interesting. Remember, its at these wacky/random meetings where you might find employment or meet an old lady with lots of rental houses looking for a nice couple with two pugs.........

[Stace]

Oooooo now you're on to something Rozelle, that's such a great idea, never know who you may meet!

I joined The pug dog club of NSW and Sydney Hills Pug Meetup group.Thanks for this, such a great tip.

Apologies for kinda hijacking your thread Mistermoose

[AFreshStart]

Again sadly, the dog thing is your joy killer here. Have a look if you cant find something on domain.com.au in the Inner West thats suitable. Try Drummoyne, Lilyfield and even Five Dock, Gladesville, Haberfield,Abbotsford, Concord. Google "Cafe Bones Leichhardt". Its a dog/human cafe just off Iron Cove (the 7km Bay Run). If you could live anywhere near the water and parks there, you life with the dogs will be great. Dogs in Aus is your ticket to a very cool social life.

Yip, pretty much this, though Concord can be a nightmare with the interchange, but yes, all of those are lovely. I love the Inner West, as do many families, though STILL finding a newly renovated/modern freestanding home for $800 a week is going to be a stretch, more like an older 70's unit, 2-3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. It's also such a highly competitive market you can be sure if there IS a new house with all your requirements, it's going to get snapped up quickly!

I'd suggest you take a 6-month lease, year max to start out, if you break lease there is a fee attached, normally a weeks rent PLUS you pay until they find someone to take over the lease, so don't over commit yourself, maybe do a week or 3 in a furnished rental while you get the lay of the land.

Cheers

Matt

[monsta]

Just a thought.. Aussie accommodation is a lot like what's available in the UK size wise. The old houses in the suburbs have been turned into row apon row of tiny apartments by developers.

The news showed the stats on a block the other day. The developer could stand to gain millions just by cramming in a few extra units into the block he is building.

The blocks aren't Japan tiny but they are often way smaller than a South African would expect.

But as AfreshStart said, its all about where you make your trade offs. If you are happy with a smaller place that cuts your commute in half, then go for it!

And always think about what the traffic will be like in a few years. On the north shore I would hate to live near Chatswood, Epping or Carlingford. There is already traffic chaos and they are still building tons more apartments. It's heading for daily gridlock in those areas.

[Stace]

Thanks Matt & Monsta, a lot to think about ! So good to have so much inside info

We will be provided accommodation in Bondi Junction for the first month,and then was thinking of getting a small little fully furnished apartment on Air BnB for the two of us, as our dogs will only join us in the beginning of Feb.

So say we get to Sydney in the first week of November, we move to an Air Bnb/short let place in December till beginning Feb, that gives us a couple months to really explore and look for the perfect spot, hopefully !!

Edited October 1, 2015 by Stace

[elleneo]

Nice leafy suburb 1 hour commute to CBD, for around $700 a week rental..try Thornleigh...known as pleasantville by the locals and noted as "the leafy north shore without the snobbery" we have a few of pur daughters classmates who live there are recommended we look there when househunting.

 

you should be able to pick up a rental around that price ( house with a garden) and might be walk to station if you lucky!

[JoVincent]

Wow so great I stumbled onto this thread, has made for very good reading! We have been going through the exact same process the past 2 weeks - trying to figure out where rent in Sydney! It is so big and the possibilities seem endless, which makes it difficult when you are new here. This thread has comforted me quite a bit - we have actually just signed a lease for a place in Concord. We had the same needs as a few on this thread - we have 1 dog joining us in a month's time and a family of 4 so we were looking at pet friendly, 3 bed home with a yard/garden. We managed to find a lovely one in Concord - newly refurbished so everything new (hopefully all in working order!!), great back garden, plenty of space. It is $860 a week. I wonder if there is something I'm missing as there seemed to be quite a few on the market for that price range, and they all looked modern inside (although some ads do have some trick photography/photoshop going on! ). It is a 20 minute drive to the CBD, I've driven from there via the city to our Airbnb in Bondi Junction and it's been traffic free and quick (that has been during the day of course and not peak hours). Our place is 1,2km from a train station and my husband is going to use public transport, we're doing the 1 car for the family thing for a while and would like to make that work.

 

I see the negative that's come up for Concord is the bad traffic on M4 - am hoping because my hubby will be walking/cycling to train station and no driving, we'll be ok? Anything else I should watch out for? Suppose it's too late now as we've signed the lease, we loved the place so much and there are just parks everywhere a 5 minutes drive away (Bicentennial park, bay views and walks, and a playground with huge field 200m away around the corner). So we are thrilled and think we should settle there fine. It's a starting point and we see how we go from there! I like that it meets our rental requirements but is still relatively close to the action of the city centre. So excited - there just seems to be unlimited ideas of things to do here!

[monsta]

Concord is of the worst traffic hot spots in Sydney.  The stretch on the A3 between the M4 and Top Ryde is just horrific in the mornings. Then think about the westconnex upgrades on the M4!

 

Also, $860 per week is quite a steep rental. Ideally, to rent there you and your hubby should be earning a combined take home salary of over $10 000 per month (i.e. rental should be less than a 1/3rd of your take home). That salary would put you in the wealthiest 20-30% of people in Australia.  A 3 bed home in corcord sells for $1.8million... thats a lot... even by Sydney standards.

 

https://www.realestate.com.au/neighbourhoods/concord-2137-nsw

 

But Sydney will never stop surprising me..  If you play around on  http://www.peoplelikeu.com.au  you will see that most of the people in concord own their properties. realestate.com.au describes them as "established couples and famalies". I see from peoplelikeu that most people in concord don't earn very well. Thats a sign that many of the residents bought in many years ago when it was a cheap suburb.  It just shows what urban sprawl does... most of the home owners in Concord could not afford to pay the current rentals in the area... Thats probably because in the last 8 years, house prices have gone from $838 000 to $1.915 million!  Oh and concord locals are mostly 60+. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by monsta

[JoVincent]

My husbands job is near the airport, using public transport (train) schedules the commute door to door is 1 hour, so think we will be ok? I figured that was decent by Sydney standards . His work is close to the train station (as is our rental) so that enables the use of public transport. 

[Yuvi]

@JoVincent, concord is a nice area and convenient bar the traffic, but its not too bad and you get used to it. I find the area quite convenient and as you say not too far from the city.

We not to far away, in Rhodes. Give us a shout if you need anything.

[monsta]

@JoVincent If your husband works at the airport, I would live somewhere further south...  What are you really gaining by being close to the city? Most people only live close to the city because they work there or they want to go party in the city.

 

For the people who work out of the CBD at places like Parammata, Norwest Business Park, Macquarie Park, etc..  the single biggest perk is that you can live out in the suburbs and drive to work.

 

You could live in  Kograh, save $800 pm on rent  and hubby has a 20 minute drive to work...  https://www.realestate.com.au/neighbourhoods/kogarah-2217-nsw.

 

The bus is ok, until you have to catch two busses. The first one is late, so you have to wait 20 minutes in the rain because you missed the 2nd bus.

 

 

 

[JoVincent]

Well too late now @monsta as we've already signed lease, put deposits down etc last week, haha so concord it is. I looked at places down south and considered the shire, it does look beautiful. But it just felt too far away, by this I mean from most of our friends who are either central or north. So our balance was the Inner West. 

 

In terms of what we're really gaining? Well I suppose being new to Sydney we would really love to see the sights, explore the city, beaches (though I realize it's still a fair drive from concord to beach, half an hour to Balmain is the closest), and see some of our friends. It's our first year and it's a start, we can always explore other areas for longer term. We like that it's very green, loads to do locally, and has what we need for our family. To know that it's a 5 minute walk to both a local playground, and the concord library is also a huge plus, a mom's dream ?. And you know what they say, "happy wife, happy life"! 

 

Thanks for the advice though, appreciate it.

 

[Rhazo32]

Hi

 

I found this map of Sydney suburbs that highlights demographic info, schools and average house prices . It is potentially a good starting point for the suburb hunt. It will even show where the good schools are located and crime rates in the different areas. hope it helps.

 

http://www.checkmyproperty.com.au/content/heatmaps/nsw-heat-maps