Returning to Australia / Sydney advice

[NYCaussie]

Hi

We are an Australian family who has been living overseas in the US for almost 10 years who are now contemplating returning home.

My husband is in discussions for a role in Sydney, but his office would be based all the way in Bella Vista. While we are both familiar with Sydney it’s been almost two decades since either of us lived there, and we now have two kids (11 and 6) who we also need to account for.

Neither of us are necessarily ecstatic about the idea of living in the north-west, but also realize that some of the suburbs we would have picked as 20-somethings (Bondi, Coogee, Manly, Balmain, Paddington) would involve a very rough commute for my husband on the days when he had to go into the office (likely 3-4 days a week).

Any advice from fellow mums here in terms of suburbs to consider, also bearing in mind that our eldest would also likely be starting high school in just over a year so proximity to quality schools is also a factor?

Thankyou!

I have a couple of colleagues that live in Hornsby and St Ives which are lovely, but I’m not overall familiar with those suburbs or the school options myself. You could try asking on the Sydney Mums Group on Facebook.

There are loads of lovely places in the north east and west, and the opening of the North Connex tunnel has made getting there SO easy. I would look at Hornsby, Wahroonga, Beecroft, Thornleigh, Westleigh. Cherrybrook is great as it’s on the new metro line which gets you to the heart of the city in half an hour. There are good schools all through these areas and they’re nice in their own right. Easy to get to the city too on the train even if you’re not on the metro line.

Epping is another good area to look at.

I grew up in Sydney (last century!!) and when I went to visit recently I was blown away by the changes that public transport improvements have made.
When I was at school Castle Hill (just next to Bella Vista) was the absolute middle of nowhere. Now, as @Ozgirl75 says, the new metro line gets you to the CBD in half an hour.
It felt really different to me this time, even than on my last visit (pre COVID, I guess).

I’ve lived here 18 years and it’s like a different city since 2006 because of the road and rail network! So handy! It used to take an hour and a half from the airport to where I am near Hornsby, now it’s possible to do it in 45 minutes and it’s the other side of the city.

The Hills District is gorgeous. All close to Bella Vista and in the same council area. Schools and access to metro are great in the north west. Depends on how much space you want and how much you want to spend but Kenthurst, Glenwood, Glenorie, Dural and of course Castle Hill are all gorgeous suburbs and quite well to do!

As others have said, Catle hill is the nearest decent place around Bella Vista, but consider that it is quite normal to have long commute in Australia. Forget the South shore and look at the North Shore. The Northern Beaches would be a 45 min commute. It is nice to live near the beaches. Schools do surf as school sports, plenty of green and sports. Dreadful public transport, which is why it is still so gorgeous.

As already mentioned, Bella Vista is on the metro line, so you could be living on the lower north north shore or inner west, and your husband can still get to work easily on public transport.