LSD trip - Suburbs to visit and When to go...

[TjaartvdW]

Hello All

As mentioned, I'm planning a LSD trip in Feb.

Can someone pls assist me with clarifying the following:

1) I've heard somewhere that Feb-Apr is still a fairly expensive time to go ? (would assume it is not HIGH season though...)

2) Most importantly, if those of you already residing in Aus could let me know which suburbs in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane (especially Brisbane) is comparable to the EAST of Pta (Erasmuskloof/Constantia Park/Morelete park/Irene) I would really appreciate it.

What I plan to do then, is to find a hotel in or near such a suburb, check out all the schools, shops, transport, housing, etc these places have to offer and also commute to the city to do the 'tourist thing'. I think this would be a good exercise to see what 'life in Aus' is like and also to test the public transport to/from the CBD as this is probably where one would work and the public transport would be the thing you'd use to commute to work and back...

Any other suggestions, of course, would be most welcome

Thank you

Tjaart

[Mara]

Hi Tjaart

The favourite suburbs for SA's in Melbourne, is probably Doncaster, Doncaster East, and Templestowe. These suburbs are all in the North Eastern area of Melbourne. We live in a small village called Sunbury, which is on the North West side of Melbourne, to me pretty similar to Irene and other visitors have agreed with me. It takes about 35mins by train into the city. If you wish to know more, or wish to meet with us whilst you are here, you can PM me if you like.

[Sam]

I second that. South Africans like to concentrate in Doncaster / Templestowe. There is also a small community in Sanctuary lakes in Point Cook (west of Mel) and also a lot of them scattered in the South Eastern parts.

Edited January 1, 2007 by Sam

[anchen]

Hello Tjaart.

Inverband met die vlieg seisoene wil ek net sê, dat ek dink as mens voor 14 Maart vertrek dit nog baie goedkoop is. Ons het Sondag geboek. Dit was R8 210 vir 'n kaartjie Sydney toe. Direkte vlug met SAA (Quantas). Alles ingesluit. Vertrek die 4e Maart kom die 21e Maart terug. Vir dieselfde tyd kan jy ook vir R7900 'n kaartjie, alles ingesluit, met Emirates vlieg. Ons het egter gedink dat die verskil min genoeg is om maar eerder 'n direkte vlug te vat.

Ek het direk op SAA

http://ww4.flysaa.com/saa_home.html

en Emirates

http://www.emirates.com/za/

se sites gekyk/geboek. Dit is baie goedkoper as wat ek dit op enige ander travel site kon kry.

Ons is verskriklik opgewonde! Uiteindelik is ons besig om die bal aan die rol te kry.

[sonnetjie]

Tjaart

Good North Shore family areas in my opinion in Sydney are: Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra, Wahroonga and St Ives

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/roseville/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/lindfield/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/killara/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/gordon/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/pymble/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/turramurra/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/wahroonga/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/st+ives/

http://www.stivesvillage.com.au/history.htm

Good North West family areas in my opinion in Sydney are: Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, West Pennant Hills

You could also consider Frenchs Forest

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/syd...baulkham+hills/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/castle+hill/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/cherrybrook/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/syd...+pennant+hills/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/syd...frenchs+forest/

Good unit areas on the North Shore in Sydney in my opinion: Wollstonecraft, St Leonards , Artarmon, Chatswood, Hornsby

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/syd...wollstonecraft/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/st+leonards/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/artarmon/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/chatswood/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/hornsby/

Other unit areas to consider is Lane Cove ( you need a car), North Ryde ( you need a car the train station will only be completed by 2008)

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/lane+cove/

http://www.zoomin.com.au/australia/nsw/sydney/north+ryde/

Edited January 2, 2007 by sonnetjie

[TjaartvdW]

Hi All

Thanks so much for your comments thus far. They'll certainly help me a lot.

Tjaart

[WannaB Ozzie]

Tjaart,

I'm not going to do a LSD trip, and would therefor be grateful if you can share some info after your trip. I have a friend that stays in Springfield Park, 30 min. from Brisbane CBD. It's a new area, and I have only a little info on it. PM me your e-mail address, and I'll send you what I have.

[sa2auz]

Hi there

I agree with Sonnetjie the North Shore is a great place to start and Gordon, Lindfield Killara, Turrumurra all have train stations. Places like St Ives are about a 5 min drive to the station.

I would suggest you hire a car for a day in each state. Book appointments for say 5 or 6 schools in an area and drive through the suburbs and check out the schools. The public transport is great but you could do alot more and find out more about normal day to day living and pop in at local village shops etc. If you do a little drive on a Wednesday you could look at a few open houses at the same time (but on second thoughts the prices will scare you to death).

There are tons of SAffers in the areas mentioned which helps to settle one quicker. The northern beaches is also lovely but transport to the city is a little trickier. I think you should make appointments with a few recruitment agents also that way you will get a feel for the market also.