Any Mums in Sydney (North Shore)?

[Emmis]

We're moving to Sydney in just under 4 weeks and I'd love to know if there are any other mums in the the North Shore area of Sydney.

We're looking at Manly but will probably end up in Mosman as it's a bit closer/easier to get to my husband's work in Nth Sydney.

I have a 6 year old daughter and a 3 year old son, and we're on the move, once again, this time from Italy.

We are sooooooooo excited to be moving back to Australia (we lived in Melbourne about 9 years ago) but I am desperate for company as it's one thing that I've been seriously lacking in over the last 2 years here in Italy, despite being of Italian origin and bilingual!! I miss having young (both age-wise and mentally!!) friends, the pubs, parks, the beach and the surf.

If there's anyone out there who'd like to meet up, please get in touch!

[sunnydelight]

We're North Shore but further inland (DH insisted on the train line). I think you also post on BE? If you do, no doubt we will come across each other at some point! I also have a 6 year old DD but my boys are older so they are all at school and I don't do the pre-school thing any more Very happy to meet up for a glass of wine in the city though.

[Emmis]

Thanks Sunnydelight! Yep, for my sins, I did post on BE. To be honest I do find it a tiny bit "moany" though it can be helpful! That's why I wanted to try Mumsnet as people seem a bit more upbeat on here, even if they do have questions/worries etc. We've had a pretty tough time in Italy so I'm really up for meeting some positive types!!

Hopefully some more Sydneysiders will get in touch as it would be good to have someone to meet up with in the first few weeks.

I think I need to find some kind of playgroup/ mums group for my little man and me too!

Thanks again and hopefully we'll meet soon xxx

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[sunnydelight]

Congrats bloss, glad it's all working out well. We bought a house in Turramurra in Feb, kids all happy at school etc. etc. life is good here!

Emmis, yes BE can be a funny place. It's invaluable for practical advice and I have made some great friends through it (as have my kids) but a lot of people seem to define themselves totally as expats and constantly compare things to "back home". We came knowing that there was "no going back" and are just about to apply for citizenship (did our tests last week) so this IS home.

Manly is fab, but I would never do it as a family personally. I know a few families who started off there but quickly moved on. You could probably just about get away with it as a couple with one small child when you're still doing the "baby comes too" thing, but to me, and people who have lived there, it's more single heaven. (There is one major pita on BE who will sing it's praises but I reckon if he lives there it's a good enough reason to avoid it }.

I'm guessing you know that Military Road (the route from Mosman to North Sydney) is basically a car park at peak hours? Sticking to the train line would make life a lot more pleasant for your DH unless he truly loves his car (though of course Mosman is a gorgeous, if very expensive, area of course). CAT me or PM me via BE when you arrive if you want to catch up, I'm in Ireland 1-15 Sept though.

[oceana]

Hi Emmis,
We live in Mosman and have done for about 18 months now. I have a 2 year old son and a 7 week old daughter. We love it here. I completely agree with what sunnydelight said about Manly. We were thinking of living there but I am glad we didn't. It is a fun, vibrant place and would have suited us if we didn't have kids.
Mosman is beautiful and there are kids and families everywhere! It has a gorgeous, very child friendly beach (Balmoral) and some nice shops and cafes. Military Road does get a bit busy (although coming from London I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as people said!) but it isn't the only option to get in to town. My husband takes the ferry and he loves it.
Anyway, I hope the move goes well. Let me know if you'd like any more information.

[thumbwitch]

minor hijack - I am too far north of Sydney to be much use, have just moved out to Newcastle area with Aussie DH and DS -
is it useful joining a Brit Expats website/forum? And has anyone tried the PomsinOz one, or just BE? If both, which is better/do you prefer?
Ta

[PeppaPigsMum]

hi Emmis. i live on the Northern Beaches with dh and our 2 dd's (5 yrs and 2 yrs). there are some more family-friendly suburbs close to Manly (Freshwater, Curl Curl, North Manly, Balgowlah) if you're keen on the area. agree Manly is a bit more single-orientated, although i do know families who live there very happily. Mosman is very nice though.

once you know where you're going to be you can look for playgroups nearby here

i'd be very happy to meet up for coffee when you arrive and have found your feet (you can contact me on peppapigsmum @ hotmail dot com). good luck with the move!

[Emmis]

Being completely useless at this, I had totally forgotten to check Mumsnet for ages and now I that I have, I have a very large smile on my face!

Very happy to hear from some lovely types and even more excited (if that's possible!) to be moving back to the land of kangaroos and large things in less than 2 weeks... arghhhhhh!!!!

SunnyDelight, Oceana and PeppaPigsMum - am very grateful for the advice. My heart lies by the surf but I really do have a feeling that we need to be a bit closer to my husband's work. And of course Manly may be a bit un-family friendly. Also, to be honest, just one look at the kind of accommodation we'd get in Manly in comparison to Mosman/Cremorne/Neutral Bay does put me off. I think I'd have to go further North to Curl Curl... and then we'd be too far!!!

Thumbwitch, BE is good but do take it with one very large pinch of salt, and do remember that almost everyone on there is British (so all the aspects of British-ness you might have thought you'd escaped, do tend to haunt the site a bit!!!). I find it useful but also a tiny bit depressing sometimes... and probably not my own personal cup of green tea if you like!

However, there's not much else out there to beat it for the sheer volume of information you can get from it.... though this site beats it hands down for friendly advice!

[Emmis]

Sorry, just one more question!

Do any of you know anything about Neutral Bay, Mosman, Beauty Point or Middle Harbour Public Primay Schools?

I've heard Neutral Bay is very good and I've been in touch with Beauty Point as well. The Headmaster of the latter has been incredibly helpful which is a real selling point, but I'd love to know if anyone has any suggestions, or knows anyone whose children attend any of the public primary schools in the lower Nth Shore area.

Thanks in advance!!

[PeppaPigsMum]

hi again. glad the advice has been useful. yes, rental in Manly is expensive (there is a huge shortage of houses for rent and a lot of demand). the commute over to North Sydney could be horrible as well - i know that Spit Bridge is a real bottleneck at rush hour, and as sunnydelight says, Military Road isn't good either at that time. lovely ocean beaches up north though.

dh and i lived in Neutral Bay as backpackers 10 years ago and loved it. afraid i don't know anything about public schools in the area though. saying that, my gut feeling is they can't be bad as the North Shore is pretty wealthy overall. sorry i can't be of more help here.

we're having some beautiful weather at the moment, so hopefully the sunshine will still be here when you arrive in 2 weeks.

[thumbwitch]

Thanks Emmis for the response re BE - might join it anyway, despite the level of whinging I am likely to encounter!

No one tried PomsinOz then? Might join that one too, just for variety.

[Emmis]

Well, we leave the day after tomorrow and to add the excitement levels I've just found out that my good chum from NZ is coming over to see us in October. Ooooh cannot wait!!

One more small question before I melt into a mess of over-excited beans:

Playgroups for my 3 year old little man - Is it difficult finding a place and are there any attached to the primary schools? Can't find anything online so I'm obviously looking in the wrong places!!

Thanks for the great advice so far and hope to meet up soon xxx

[MrsWatson]

Hi, I'm new around here. My husband and I are considering a move to Sydney next year, not sure of the area yet, we'll still in the visa application stages.

I've one child of school age and a toddler. I'd really like to chat to mums in the same boat.

I've previously posted on www.embraceaustralia.com as they have a community too and I've appealed for mums to start a discussion with me. I didn't know that mumsnet had an overseas section so I'm very pleased to find this thread.

Any advice you could give me on primary schools, toddler groups and just what to expect would be great.

[MrsWatson]

Oh I just noticed you mentioned Poms in Oz, I tried them but there aren't many mums on there really.

I also wanted a bit of information about visas, city guides and advice from experts, that kind of thing. I've found embrace australia very good for that, but I don't know what their community section is like. I've started a discussion but feel a bit lonely at the moment, it's not as fast paced as this site. Perhaps someone could join and reply to my discussion so I don't feel as sad!

[thumbwitch]

oh dear, poor you! I haven't had much time to join Pomsinoz and hadn't heard of the other one you mention but you can always chat on here - start a thread in Living Overseas and put Australia in the thread title - there are several MNers in Australia already who will likely come and help you out.

[Tigurr]

Hi
I'm in Cremorne, which is right next to Mosman (it's basically Mosman, Cremorne, Neutral Bay and then North Sydney).

Re playgroup - do you mean preschool or playgroups-where-you-stay-with-them? There are heaps of both of them - if you look on www.mosman.nsw.gov.au and www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au (the council sites for Mosman & Nth Syd) there should be a "childrens services" section with loads of info.

Preschools don't tend to feed into primary schools at all but you may find that a lot of kids from a particular preschool will feed into a certain primary school.

DD went to a great preschool in North Sydney called KU Grandstand. About 8 (of the 20) kids in her group went to Neutral Bay with her. Some went to North Sydney Demonstration School. A couple went to Cammeray (which is also nearby) and a couple went private.

Re public schools - my DD (6 next month) is at Neutral Bay and LOVES it. Very very good school. Mosman public is good too. They tend to be a bit more strict on catchment areas here than elsewhere. For Neutral Bay, if you aren't in the catchment area then you won't get in. Simple as that. Also, if you ARE in area but are on a temporary visa (like the godawful 457 - we were on that until July 2008) then they won't take you either. Mosman are a bit more flexible. There is also Middle Harbour which is v good and Beauty Point (although Beauty Point is a tiny school, it's around Mosman/Spit Junction, and only takes kids for within a street or two)

Also, if you're coming over on the 457 visa (and possibly other temp visas) be aware that you will have to pay an extra $4500 per year per child to attend public school. On top of the $300+ general fees charged to everyone. This $4500 is because the school doesn't get funding from the state government for non-PR kids. At least that's the case in NSW. I think other states are OK about it.

Sorry my reply's disjointed - hope it helps a bit.

Oh also, cost of living (as well as rental prices) is very very high on the Lower North Shore. Apparently the Woolworths supermarket in Neutral Bay is the priciest one in the whole of the state - but it's good! Oh, and the IGA in Cremorne stocks a fair few UK foods - Marmite (buy the Our Mate though - it's the same, even same jar - but it's only $4.79 whereas the Marmite-import is $9-something), Ambrosia rice pudding & custard. And you can get "British Style" Heinz baked beans in most supermarkets.

And if you're partial to proper UK cadburys I can let you know where you can stock up LOL

[sunnydelight]

Oooh, proper cadbury's, where can you get it Tigurr? I brought some back from a trip to the UK last week (but not enough according to my kids!). I'm rationing it now!

Hope the move's gone well Emmis. I haven't been on here for a while as I've been away. Let us know how you're settling in.

[ben5]

hows it going with your sand storm thing? the pictures looked great today on the news. at long last the sun is shining in perth!!!!!!!

[Emmis]

We are here!!!!!! We've been here a week and we feel so happy and relieved and content and, and, and.... bubbling over!!!

We've checked out Neutral Bay school and Beauty Point. I was really impressed with Neutral Bay and as long as we're in the catchment area we could enrol even on the evil 457!!

We do, however, have a huge, huge love affair going on with Manly. We saw an apartment for rent there today and fell completely and utterly in love. We're going to check out Manly Village school tomorrow or Monday and see how we feel. It's slowly coming together.

All I need now is meet-ups with other mad funky mums and we'll be truly at home. It all feels just right. Even bad moments don't feel so scary. I'm probably feeling like this due to our previous location/experience. But, hey, it's coming together and even the red glow the night before last made it feel special!... just got a lot of dusting to do on the terrace!!

We're in a gorgeous temp holiday let on Cremorne Point. Lovely house but area's a wee bit quiet for me. I do think it's gorgeous though. And the VIEW!!!! Wow!!!!!!

Here for 3 weeks then we must move into something long term. Eekkk. Decision time!!!

lots of smiles
Emmis xxx

[ninedragons]

Before you sign a lease, it's not a bad idea to visit the area at night. There are a few mega-pubs on the North Shore. They're basically drunk factories, and if you're near one it can be quite unpleasant. I think the Oaks in Neutral Bay has that reputation, and the Corso in Manly used to be quite rough at night (might be still - haven't been out at night in Manly for years).

[Emmis]

Thanks for those words of warning!

We're having a crazy evening as we've just spoken to friends who have also recommended the Balmain area. We haven't been back there since arriving here a week ago but I do remember it as being pretty and quite "cool". We're gonna check it out this weekend as there are a couple of open viewings on houses... but my heart does still lie by the surf... ho hum. Decisions, decisions! But it's all fun!

Any advice/opinions to add to the confusion will be greatly appreciated!!!

love xxx

[PeppaPigsMum]

hello again, and welcome to Sydney! glad its all going well for you.

i've heard Manly Village School has a good reputation, although some people I've spoken to don't like the fact its right in the middle of town. if i was living in Manly i'd have happily sent my dd there though. where is the unit you've looked at? it could get pretty noisy along the seafront and in roads around the Corso in the evening, so would be good to get an idea. and yes, the Corso does still have a reputation for being rough late in the evening - i guess anywhere with so many pubs and clubs in close proximity is going to be the same. its fine during the day and early evening though.

i love Manly and the surrounding area too though - lovely ferry ride right to Circular Quay, beautiful beaches at your doorstep, great schools and lots of space. there are loads of families around too, so lots for kids to do as well.

good luck with the house-hunting, and let us know how you get on. i'd be a very near neighbour if you end up in Manly!

[Eralc]

Hi, am new to mumsnet - was directed here by a friend. We are moving out to Sydney for 2 years next March. I have a 22 month son. We've never been to Australia before, and so have no idea where to begin with finding a good area to live. Have searched around the internet a bit, but it's all a bit overwhelming! Would love to be able to talk to some people who have done it before!

[VFemme]

We've just moved to Hornsby from Lower North Shore. We loved LNS but we'd have been bankrupt and in a tiny pad if we bought there!

Eralc, there are many many family friendly suburbs in Sydney. I'd say a good start is where you/your dp are going to work. Do you want to live close to work? Do you want to be near the coast? Do you want to be close to a train line? Then you need to factor in your budget! Good luck with planning the move - it's fab out here!

VF

[KTeeD]

Hi
We also are expats and arrived in Melbourne nearly 6 years ago now. I found www.pomsinoz.com to be a valuable source of information and they also have monthly get togethers as well as weekly coffee mornings for mums who are left at home whilst their partners work. My friend moved to Brisbane and she joined a group called Brits in Brisbane www.britsinbrisbane.com and also found it to be a great source of information as well as making lots of friends.
I would love to know what your thoughts are on Sydney compared to Melbourne, where did you live when you were here for 9 years?
KT