Sydney North / Upper North shore - choosing a suitable suburb for young family

[FionaS]

Hello there

 

I need advice on choosing a suitable Sydney suburb to settle in. I realize this is a very broad topic with different strokes for difference folks, but would appreciate any input provided as we really know very little about the various Sydney suburbs and how they 'compare' to our current home set-up with regard to space, access to amenities, commute time, general quality of lifestyle, sense of community etc. so that we can have the best chance of happiness at home AND to avoid the expense and hassle of having to move again after our first 12 months (if at all possible).

 

We are moving over on 22 August and would like to sign a long-lease for a suitable, unfurnished home somewhere suitable in the Upper Northern suburbs of Sydney. We have been to Sydney once, in May this year (and we stayed in an Air BnB in Bondi - a rather random choice but the location served us well as holiday'ers).

OUR 'PROFILE':

• We are a family of three (me, my husband - in our mid-30's + our baby daughter).
• My husband will commute to the CBD for work (daily) using public transport (well, that's the plan anyway). We would like live close to train line / express bus / ferry. 
• I will initially be a stay-at-home mom to our little daughter, and an overall home-maker. I will need to build a support system of my own (new friends, public amenities etc).
• We will initially have one car (which will mostly stay at home for me to use).
• We currently live in JHB North (Morningside) in an 3-bed duplex in a complex, with our own small patch of lawn (access to communal gardens and a shared pool). We have a double garage and an outside utility room (great for storage). We don't have pets.

• We would like to continue living in a 3 / 4 bed home that offers a bit of outdoor space (i.e. a free-standing home / semi-detached with a garden). 

• We enjoy a bit of hustle and bustle every now and then, but tend to spend most weekends catching up with friends (picnics, braai'ing, walks, cycling).
• Right now, access to / enrollment at school is not a priority (our daughter only just turned 1 year) 

 

We would like to live in a suburb and home that 'supports' our profile / lifestyle described above as much as possible. :-)

 

MY QUESTIONS:

• We have been advised by some friends and acquaintances that we are likely to get 'more house for your buck' in several suburbs in and around Upper North Shore (vs. the housing stock closer to the CBD and Eastern beaches, for example, which are pokier and more expensive). Is this statement generally true?
• Bearing in mind our profile above, what suburbs would you recommend we look at, and why? 
• How far out of the CBD do you think we can live (+ suburb names please) before the daily work commute on public transport starts to exceed an hour (each way)?
• Are the trains / express buses jam-packed? i.e. on a scale of 1 - 10, how pleasant (or unpleasant) might the average commute be? Is it do-able? 
• Do you think there is anything I can do (administration wise) from SA side now to speed up the rental / lease-signing once when we arrive? Time will be of the essence.
• We have been told that having the bond + three months rent up-front can increase our chances of securing a property (sometimes before official show-day). Is this pie in the sky? Or is it maybe essential?
• Apart from the domain.com.au and realestate.com.au, are there any specific agents / websites that service the North / Upper North?

 

A big thank you in advance to those of you who take precious time out to read these posts and to comment. This forum has been very helpful (and comforting) so far. 

[KnoxFamily]

Hi FionaS,

 

• We have been advised by some friends and acquaintances that we are likely to get 'more house for your buck' in several suburbs in and around Upper North Shore (vs. the housing stock closer to the CBD and Eastern beaches, for example, which are pokier and more expensive). Is this statement generally true? VERY TRUE
• Bearing in mind our profile above, what suburbs would you recommend we look at, and why? Epping, Hornsby, Beecroft, (we are in Epping have no shortage of parks. 5 in walking distance, tennis courts and soccer fields). we are in an older 3 bedroom house with a huge back yard. garage and off street parking (a huge must in sydney). our road is very wide, we have played with remote control cars. riding bikes. i have seen kids playing soccer in the road. everybody slows down and waves as they go by. 
• How far out of the CBD do you think we can live (+ suburb names please) before the daily work commute on public transport starts to exceed an hour (each way)? See the attachment it is the train map from Transport nsw. i have highlighted the area you should look if you want ease of access to trains and life style. if i need to see a client in sydney. it takes me just over 35 mins on the train to central. on a normal line.
• Are the trains / express buses jam-packed? i.e. on a scale of 1 - 10, how pleasant (or unpleasant) might the average commute be? Is it do-able? during the commute time yes buses and trains are packed. less so in the suburb leaving for work but coming home from cbd can be a bit packed. just have to get to your train early so you have your space to stand and wait. 
• Do you think there is anything I can do (administration wise) from SA side now to speed up the rental / lease-signing once when we arrive? Time will be of the essence. have statements from your current rental or estate agent saying your lived clean and there were no issues with the house. 
• We have been told that having the bond + three months rent up-front can increase our chances of securing a property (sometimes before official show-day). Is this pie in the sky? Or is it maybe essential? you have to pay the bond there is no two ways about it. with regards to paying a couple months rent upfront. sometimes people just need the regular income so it may not work but increasing your rent a couple dollars might. i asked for monthly rental payments and my landlord said she wanted rental every 2 weeks. I have also attached a typical rental agreement. most places will want 100 points of ID. try make sure you have enough or more than what is stated. but each place has different points value for the different items
• Apart from the domain.com.au and realestate.com.au, are there any specific agents / websites that service the North / Upper North? i used real estate and domain to look. get the domain app on your phone. while you are scrolling through the map it shows you houses to rent in that area according to your spec.

Hope this helps PM me if you are looking for more specifics

[vitchie]

Wow that is some very helpgul information there from @KnoxFamily

[Geite]

@KnoxFamily,

 

Apologies for the silly question....how far is the beach more or less from these areas?  I am a surfer, but know it is most probably impossible to get something close to the ocean at a decent price.

 

We are also think about Upper North shore area. My wife loves to walk with my son(10 months old) and it would be nice if there are parks around. What did you Google to get this map?

 

Thanks 

 

G

[KnoxFamily]

I just edited. 

 

We are paying $500 a week. And we stay 1.5 km from the epping station and 4km from ryde hospital. Been there twice now with the kids.

 

Epping has a library with kids activities on certain days and an aquatic centre a couple roads down. 

 

Oh and Opal cards have a $60 spend limit a week. Not matter how much you travel. 

[KnoxFamily]

21 minutes ago, Geite said:

@KnoxFamily,

 

Apologies for the silly question....how far is the beach more or less from these areas?  I am a surfer, but know it is most probably impossible to get something close to the ocean at a decent price.

 

We are also think about Upper North shore area. My wife loves to walk with my son(10 months old) and it would be nice if there are parks around. What did you Google to get this map?

 

Thanks 

 

G

 

 

I got it from http://www.transportnsw.info/en/maps-and-timetables/index.page?

 

Not close but not far. it is a drive or train ride away. but if you plan on spending the day at the beach and dont mind a little distance the the best would be Avoca beach and macmasters beach. a whole lot less busy. 

 

the drive to manly and dee why is pretty. 40mins from epping Bondi beach is 45 mins on a good day

 

 

[rozellem]

Check out Belrose, Frenchs Forest, Forestville, Killarney Hights. We're 10-15 mins from surfing beaches and not a bad commute in to the CBD. My husband surfs (by car, free parking with our council sticker) and mountain bikes (from our front door). 

[Geite]

Awesome thanks @rozellem

[monsta]

 

23 hours ago, rozellem said:

Check out Belrose, Frenchs Forest, Forestville, Killarney Hights. We're 10-15 mins from surfing beaches and not a bad commute in to the CBD. My husband surfs (by car, free parking with our council sticker) and mountain bikes (from our front door). 

 

That "not a bad commute into the CBD" means well over an hour on the bus.  In Sydney any commute under 1.5 hours door to door is "not bad".

 

Also, be careful about Macquarie Park or Epping. Both areas are being built up FAST.

 

There are 1000s of apartments being built in Macquarie park right now in several apartment blocks that are over 20 stories.. Macquarie Park is only +- 6 square kilometres. One single development, Lachlan's Line is 2700 apartments. Then add Macquarie Park Villiage and the proposal to build apartment towers on Macquarie Shops. Pretty soon, living in Macquarie Park will mean living 25 stories up in an apartment and catching a buss or train everywhere. There are plans for trains to leave the station every 2 minutes  (its currently ever 15 minutes)

 

Epping is also getting its fair share of apartments, although not as bad as Macquarie Park. They are building 100s of apartments, not 1000s. But the traffic is bad! It takes 3 - 4 traffic light changes to get back onto Epping Road from the shops. Macquarie park has much better roads. There are no good straight 3 lane roads through Epping. But you do get onto the train before you hit Macquarie Park (which means you might get a seat).

 

I know it sounds scary.. but the Sydney population will explode in the next few years.

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by monsta

[elleneo]

If you like the leafy north shore have you considered Normanhurst and Thornleigh? Good public transport, lots of nearby schools to choose from without the high price tag? Love the proximity to hornsby Westfield .....love the walk to stations and bus two houses down from us...cast your net wider ..there are many beautiful,commutable suburbs on he north shore.

 

ps. Love Epping and beecroft! ( I attend tafe in Ryde and take the backroad through Epping often) would have loved to buy in becroft but prices shot up last year.

 

apartments going up up all along the pacific highway between castle hill and Chatswood, check turramurra ,waitara,warrawee,even Pymble! The busy north shore is set to get even busier. Try not to rent in main arterial roads and you will be fine.