Sydney - choosing an area

[Binkybix]

Ok, further to my last post, I think a move to Sydney is going to happen! I’ve never been there.

Can anyone help me with areas?

We’d be using state schools for a 6 year old and pre-school I think for a 4 year old. Good ones would be great!

Working in CBD and not open to a long commute. Ideally walkable/cycling but if on public transport nothing over 30 mins. Apart from maybe Manly.

Budget is max 1400 Aus dollars per week and we’d ideally like 4 beds, but 3 is possible.

Eek!

Very easy with a budget like yours: Lower North Shore near a train or ferry. Waverton, Wollstonecraft, Greenwich, Lindfield or Roseville, Neutral Bay public school also well regarded. All great for young families, with great public schools (although oversubscribed). Or lovely Kirribilli: www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-kirribilli-424619854
Cremorne with a ferry to work: www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-cremorne+point-423086742
Sorry, I haven't read your other thread, but if you think you might stay and buy later, then my advice is to move further out so that you might be able to buy in the same area later. I wish we had done that, but we are renting in a lovely area now and I can't bring myself to move further out in order to buy.

Most important thing is what visa are you on? Unless you have PR or you are a citizen you will have to pay for public schools and, more importantly, if your local public school is oversubscribed they don't have to accept you. Pre-school is expensive.

It might be cheaper to go private (and some schools go from pre-school to Y12 which would make your life easier). Technically you should still pay the government levy but I think most private schools don't enforce that.

I usually spend ages giving advice on these threads then OP never returns so if you come back and have specific questions I will try and help 😊

Thanks both.

I should have said that we’ll probably be out there for 2 or 4 years, so don’t need to think about buying later. Likewise schools won’t need to go to the higher years, but would like good friendly ones to help ease transition for the kids.

We’d have a diplomatic visa, so not sure what that means for state school fees. Work might pick that up so would need to check. They would not do private school fees, but may pay for nursery.

Can I check: does it go pre-school/nursery then kindergarten then start school proper?

In terms of area, I’ve found Kirribilli but thought it would be out of budget. I’ll do some more digging on that if you think not and look at some of the others.

Someone at work mentioned Millers point, Potts point and Balmain. Loads of places look good on paper but it’s so hard to tell!

Are there any beaches near the harbour areas or coastal ones only?

So many questions!

In New South Wales kindergarten is the first year of proper schooling. It’s quite confusing here as different states have different terms and different points where formal schooling commences.

So either preschool (9-3 type hours) or daycare (usually 7-6) and then start at a primary school where Kindergarten is the first formal year of school.

As for beaches, depends what you are into. LOTS of harbour beaches around but these are obviously not surf beaches. I like them, many don’t, different strokes and all that.

Harbour beaches are fine to walk around but when it comes to swimming you have to stay in the caged areas because of the sharks.
I would go for Manly. It is very international, very friendly, lovely beach, you go the beach after school, great library, plenty is on.
If you are in Australia for 2 years only go for the full Australian way of life, beach and surf. Today ferry doesn’t run because of huge swell, so commute via military road takes longer, but it is with it. In most suburbs everything is dead after 7 pm.

Make the most of your stay, live on a beach or close by.
Manly is flat, you can go around with a bike, there is new pool, plenty of sport facilities and it has a vibe.

I agree if it's definitely short term make the most of your time and go for the beach lifestyle Manly etc. Keep in mind the school year runs Jan -Dec so the transition is a little tricky. Many parents wait and don't start children in kindy until a little older if they are on the cusp.

Agree with PP that if you can get a beach location it's worth to really make the most of your time here so Manly would work or maybe the Eastern Suburbs (Bondi/Coogee) could be good options.

Places like Lane Cove, Willoughby & Artarmon are quite nice for families, 20 minute drive to the beach and direct buses into the CBD.

For a short commute look at Paddington. Annandale is lovely with a very family vibe, there's a tram into the cbd. Avoid Potts Point.

Padding is great but avoid Paddington public school - awful. Glenmore Road better but if you're in a visa unlikely they will accept you.

If you're on a diplomatic visa, they really should have appointed an immigration agent to help with info about state school fees. Check this out.

I can give you info on specific suburbs if you want to get a feel for what an area is like.

My one addition would be that I think traffic and parking is terrible in Sydney, so if you can live somewhere that is walkable to the amenities you need I would highly recommend that. The suburbs mentioned above all have completely different vibes/pros/cons. Different ‘types’ of people in different suburbs. Manly is lovely but I personally wouldn’t do it if I worked in the city. Not being able to catch the ferry when the waves are too big would annoy me a lot, as the bus trip up there during bad weather would be unpleasant for me.

Stick to eastern suburbs or lower north shore. Good transport into town, better than average public schools (at least at primary level) as there is still a very strong correlation between living in a high socio-economic area full of anglos and school rankings. Eastern suburbs full of brits. North shore more aussies/asians. Both great.

Be aware transport changes have fucked up the eastern suburbs a bit (for instance requiring 2 modes of public transport instead of one etc), light rail opening that carries a third of current capacity...lower northern suburbs generally better public transport as they are liberal voter heartland and reigning pollies tend to look after their own seats!

To be honest, if you are in a 5 mile radius of the cbd or go along the northern beaches or eastern suburbs you'll love wherever you end up. Each suburb has it's own vibe. Everyone pretty loves the first suburb that they move to.

Although having said that, to split hairs about the good spots, it's about trade offs. We live in the inner west (leichhardt). Good public transport. Very pretty streets, safe as anything, lovely community buzz, you can rent good family house for not insane prices, good public. But we have to travel 30-45 mins to get to the beach (horror!).

The lower north shore area is beautiful and closer to the northern beaches, but harder to find a family house to live in at a sensible price as it is pretty over developed with a lot of apartment blocks.

The northern beaches and eastern suburbs would offer the proper aussie beach lifestyle experience, but the traffic would be too awful for me. Also the northern beaches are more laid back than the eastern suburbs but the commute to the cbd could be tough. The eastern suburbs have a more upmarket (snotty) vibe. Also much more expensive.

Regarding schools - all are okay at primary level. At senior level, most parents move their kids to selective or private schools and public secondary schools in well-to-do areas have pretty bad reputations.

To get a rental place takes a couple of weeks really. Is there any chance you can go out there for a couple of weeks and just get a feel for the different areas?

Broadsheet do area guides which can give you a feel for the different suburbs

www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/guides/best-restaurants-surry-hills

Sorry that was the wrong link

www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/surry-hills

Thank you all so much for the advice. I’m absolutely gutted because there’s been a reorganisation meaning Sydney’s off the table and it’s more likely to be somewhere in SE Asia. Not so sure that works for us, so we may pass it up.

Oh what a shame Binky Sydney is such a fab place to live, most people love a few years here even if it's not their forever home.