Where to Live in Sydney with a family

[ronelgouws84]

Hi All...

We are considering a move to Sydney - depending the outcome of an interview... we are a family of 5, children are aged 1, 3 & 6. So now I have a couple of questions:

1. Where to live in Sydney - we need a suburb which is affordable yet safe for a family... any help here will be appreciated!!

2. Is the public transport sufficient or is it adviseable to get a car when you get to Aus?

3. Is the public schools a good option, especially for Afrikaans children that might struggle a bit with English although they know the basics?

The suburb should most probably be close to schools and daycare.

Any answers here will be a huge help and appreciated!!

[Mara]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

I am afraid that your questions do not really give anyone the ability to answer, with good answers!

You need to state how much rent in $'s you would be prepared to pay per week.

You need to tell us what size property you would want.

You need to state where you would be working, city, out of city, on the outskirts of Sydney.

You need to state how long a commute you would be happy to take from home to work.

You see "what is affordable" is like asking the length of a piece of string... what is affordable for us may not fit in your budget.

I think in Sydney most government schools are zoned, so unless you live in their catchment area, you will not get your kids into the school.

From what I have heard, childcare can sometimes be difficult to come by, especially closer to the city.

I am sure when Matt sees your question you will give you valuable advice, he is a fountain of information about Sydney.

[AFreshStart]

Hi Ronelgouws84,

Firstly, welcome!

RE your questions, there is so much we don't know and so much will be dictated by your budget/salary and VISA conditions.

I've covered this topic at length, each of us have our own views and preferences and so I'll try keep it broad.

Off the bat, Sydney is expensive, in particular childcare and rent.

Having TWO children under 6 is going to be tough, if you are planning on both working you'll need an aupair which means you'll need an extra room to accommodate them and well as cover food and stipend. The average cost of daycare in The City Of Sydney (Sydney has over 600 suburbs, what you see on TV and the iconic landmarks largely fall into this municipality) is around $30,000+ per child per year, which is why many, myself included, choose to be stay-at-home parents and (maybe) budget for a day or 2 a week at a local childcare, in my case $125 a day. I know some paying $80, others paying $160, all depends on the suburb you choose/can afford to live in.

We live in the city, in the suburb of Waterloo, my wife works in the CBD and she is only 8-minutes away by bus to her office downtown and 10-15 minutes from Circular Quay. We've grown to LOVE city living, even with 2-kids (5 and 3 years old), we live in an apartment, but are surrounded by beautiful, safe green parks, sport fields, libraries & and aquatics center all within walking distance from our front door as well as a fantastic public schools, our son is at the fastest growing in NSW. We are a rarity though, most family's here commute in from surrounding suburbs.

It's a total mind shift, it's expensive here, rent/childcare being the biggest part of your salary, within the city limits you'd be hard pressed to find a 3-bedroom terraced house for under $1,000 a week in rent, 3 bedroom apartments around $750+

We wanted to be closer to work and family. You quickly learn that your family is your immediate unit here, there isn't a childminder (for many people) to fetch the kids if they are sick, or there is an accident at school, or one of you comes down with an illness. No mother or father-in-law to take the kids for a few hours or a regular date-night, a cleaner costs around $25 an hour, so many, if not most do that, as well as cooking, gardening etc.

Being close to home and flexible-hours makes this a lot easier on us and gives us a better work/life balance, better than we ever had in Cape Town.

At the end of the day it's going to come down to what and where you can afford to live. Sadly, as expected, the quality schools are in suburbs that demand higher prices as Public School are 'zoned' by catchment area (As Mara mentioned), so those that own property there often demand higher prices.

Our son's school is great and has a very active P&C committee, parents come in weekly to run reading programs and offer extra training help for those kids that might be falling behind. His class is incredibly diverse, many speak English as second language with Vietnamese, Indonesian and Chinese (Mandarin) being their home languages.

What will further impact you is the VISA you have, if it is a 457 work VISA, then even even public schools are going to cost you, at the moment it's $5,000 a year and you'll also need to pay for your own private healthcare, as you won't be covered by Medicare.

RE transport, we own a car, but for the most part use public transport. We've taken the car into the city TWICE in a year, parking is horribly expensive, even if you can find it, and public transport is reliable and safe. We use the car to largely get OUT of the city, we go camping, do farm stays and have been down the coast several times, are regulars in the Hunter Valley and are off to the Central Coast for the weekend, so that's why we have a car.

I hope that's somewhat helpful?

Cheers

Matt

Edited November 5, 2015 by AFreshStart

[Mara]

@ Matt, thank you, I knew you would give a great answer....

[ronelgouws84]

Thanks @Mara & @Matt, I appreciate your inputs.

It is a lot to digest, and I realise we still have a lot to find from the employer in terms of VISA, becuase I have no idea...

Think my husband's salary - if everything works out will be in the range of $72K p/a - his place of work will be in the CBD, I thought of working part time just to substitute... my husband does not mind commuting to work, but for practicality - if I have to work I will have to preferebly work close to the kid's schools.

At least I have a starting point now - thak you!

[rozellem]

Ronel, its none of my business, and I dont know what line of work your husband is in, but that figure is very, very tight for Sydney. Please have your eyes wide open in regards to reading all the fine print and being 100% aware of what perks (if any) is included in the deal. Is that before or after tax, super included or not, school fees paid, visa paid, car, house, PR application in how many years, etc, etc? On the immigration front line we come across bosses who get people out on 457 visas and pay them less than a local would take and treat them poorly. Not saying this is the case. I just want you to be very awake in this matter. You can always run a few questions by us to see where you stand. Good luck.

[harm01]

Hi Matt and Mara, and all reading the post,

Let me first introduce myself, my name is Quintin. At the moment me and my wife Marizanne is very busy with our research for our move to Oz. My wife is a Chief Radiographer and also the main applicant for our 190 Visa. Our EOI with NSW was lodged in the last week of Oct 15 and hopefully will have an answer by the end of Nov 15, from there on you all know the process.

Just for your interest we have done our IELTS test and my wife passed her skills assesment with the australia radiographer board with flying colours!!!!!

Thus if if all goes well from here on we will be moving to NSW Sydney.

Hope you will be able to help with the following:

Area's out side sydney to live in for a family of 4 with good schools?? High and primary school. My son will be in Gr 10 and daughter in Gr 6 next year. At present they are both in schools in Brackenfell.

Also area with good public transport system shuch as train and busses?

I have googles area shuch as Castle Hill ex...........

Our budget will allow for rent up to $600 per week.

regards,

Quintin

[AFreshStart]

Ronelgouws84,

It is a lot to digest, but hopefully our input aides you in weighing it all up.

To be honest I think you'll struggle on a single salary of $72k p/a a year, as Rozelle just pointed out, as a family of 5, living in Sydney.

The median family wage across Australia is $150k p/a, that wouldn't be considered wealthy, but 'middle class'. On $72k p/a with 3 children, 2 under 6 (the school going age here in NSW) you'll struggle. $50,000 a year for a FAMILY of 2 adults/2 children would be considered living in poverty (half the median family income in 2012), and for many of those in poverty they still have access to state benefits.

My guess if they are offering a VISA it will be a 457, a temporary work visa, rather than a skilled work visa, which if you have the points, qualifications and experience you could on your own, though rather costly, but would grant you PR status giving you FREE Medicare, Public Education and Centerlink benefits like Family Tax and Childcare rebates, which make life A LOT easier. If that has to come out of your own pocket, you'll be living VERY far from the City to try bring your costs down and probably living in or near poverty.

I'm not sure how much part-time work you'll get done with a 1 + 3 year old, without putting them in daycare and as I shared, that's going to be $80 - $150 a day and if you are on a 457, NO REBATES.

It' s expensive to live here, we ALL feel it, some more than others, our stories are all unique, but moving here is a step-down for many in material possessions, but the well being of living a healthy, carefree life with great health care and schooling make the trade offs worth it, for us and I'm sure most others.

The Legatum Institute just released their findings yesterday on the 2015 Global Prosperity Index, they rank 142 countries based on various criterion.

Australia came #1 in education out of 142 countries, overall coming in at #7 - #4 for social capital, #9 for personal freedom, #12 in economy, #14 in entrepreneurship and opportunity, #15 in health and #15 in safety and security.

By contrast South Africa came in at #75 overall with scores of #83 for education, #61 for social capital, #54 for personal freedom, #95 in economy, #37 in entrepreneurship and opportunity, #109 in health and #112 in safety and security.

For more details results and info you can read the report here

Immigrating is HARD, emotionally, often physically, certainly mentally and then there are all these practical things you need to consider. If it's something you are seriously entertaining, PLEASE consider all the things we've pointed out before making that commitment.

Cheers

Matt

Edited November 5, 2015 by AFreshStart

[ronelgouws84]

Hi All,

A huge thank you again for all your inputs, it is really nice that everyone is so willing to offer advice and share your stories, based on all your comments we will most probably no take up the offer this at this stage, would not give up comfortable living in SA for struggling by with a family to take care of in another country!!

Thanks again! You have been a great help!!

Keep well!

[AFreshStart]

Hi Matt and Mara, and all reading the post,

Let me first introduce myself, my name is Quintin. At the moment me and my wife Marizanne is very busy with our research for our move to Oz. My wife is a Chief Radiographer and also the main applicant for our 190 Visa. Our EOI with NSW was lodged in the last week of Oct 15 and hopefully will have an answer by the end of Nov 15, from there on you all know the process.

Just for your interest we have done our IELTS test and my wife passed her skills assesment with the australia radiographer board with flying colours!!!!!

Thus if if all goes well from here on we will be moving to NSW Sydney.

Hope you will be able to help with the following:

Area's out side sydney to live in for a family of 4 with good schools?? High and primary school. My son will be in Gr 10 and daughter in Gr 6 next year. At present they are both in schools in Brackenfell.

Also area with good public transport system shuch as train and busses?

I have googles area shuch as Castle Hill ex...........

Our budget will allow for rent up to $600 per week.

regards,

Quintin

Hi Quintin,

At $600 a week if you are shooting for house/terrace/duplex you'll be looking further afield I'm afraid, Castle Hill & Baulkham Hills. If you are willing to 'downsize' to an apartment you might be able to find a 2-bedroom over in parts of the Inner West - Leichhardt, Annadale, Petersham etc or Rozelle.

As shared we live in apartment, 2-bed/2-bath with a loft as a family of 4, 89m2 and pay +- $750 a month, if we wanted to live in a house in this area it would be $1000+

It's always going to be a compromise, ours was a smaller space, but close to the city, good schools we zoned for Bourke St Public (one of the fastest growing schools in NSW, 6-years ago they had 65 students, by 2017 there will be 410 enrollments) as well as Sydney Boys and Girls High Schools. My wife gets to leave the house at 8.15am every morning and is back by 5.30-6.00pm. We get to eat meals together as a family, enjoy the parks and outdoors right on our door step, we pay more for the space, but these benefits make it all worth it for us and we'd be paying in other ways if we lived further afield.

All the places mentioned are accessible by public transport, you may need to walk a bit to bus stop on the route, or even catch 2 buses to station and train it in etc, but the point is public transport is pretty good overall.

Sadly since I'm not living in the suburbs I listed, though have spent a fair bit of time in many of them, I'm not in the know about specific schools. Once you narrow it down to one or two suburbs I'd suggest asking if anyone with more insight in those specific areas can shed some light on the different schools.

Hope that helps!

Matt

[harm01]

Hi Matt,

Thank you for the good info!

Regards,

Quintin

[rozellem]

Quintin, once you start needing specific local info, joining a facebook group is probably the way forward. I can think of two brilliant ones, South Africans in Sydney (the Hills) and South African who love to live in Sydney.

Ronel, I am not suggesting you shelve the whole immigration thing, because in the long run its so beneficial for you and definitely for the kids. I am just saying, find out why they are offering such a low wage, see if your skills are on the list and get a visa providing you with PR off the bat, etc. A 457 visa is the entry point for a lot of people arriving, but they change it as soon as they can and move forward. Can I be cheeky and ask what profession this is for? You dont have to name names of companies.

[monsta]

Hey guys,

Let me put it this way. I earn +-1.5x the salary of your job offer. My wife works 3 days a week. We have one kid and live in a 2 bedroom apartment 45mins from the CBD. We are certanly not super well off.

As Matt and others have pointed out. It's not about your salary, but your expenses. If you are single, live in a shared apartment with some mates in Crows Nest, then earning $72 000 in the CBD is a great salary.

Edited November 5, 2015 by monsta

[harm01]

hi rozellem,

thank you for the info, my wife has done what you said on facebook, so we can take it from there.

regards,

quintin

[SJVH]

When we were considering pursuing offers to move our family of four to Sydney, our cut-off mark in terms of salary was $125,000 (including super). Since accepting an offer for slightly more, and doing some budgets (with great help from Matt), we realised than even at this rate expenses are going to be extremely tight. If you were both making $72,000 - fine. But a family of 5 on that salary seems impossible to me (although I'm writing this from Cape Town and have no actual experience of Sydney). You would have to make some considerable sacrifices to survive, especially as your husband works in the city.