Hello Sydneysiders

[neuroticlady]

OMG had no IDEA there was an overseas 'section' (so technical) on mumsnet. Have been skulking around thinking I must be the only pom living overseas. I am nerdily excited to have discovered I am not alone .
Been living in Sydney for six years with DH after 20 years in London, 15 weeks pg with first bub. Feeling rather lost without family support. But living in fab part of Sydney (as anyone else on Northern Beaches will know)and really looking forward to some lovely warm spring weather! (Never thought I'd find an Aussie winter cold after 30-odd years of English ones, but they say your blood thins or something... .) Be lovely to say hello to other pommie Sydneysiders, and reminisce about Marks and Spencers prawn and mayo sarnies, Radio 2 some decent telly, pub gardens, having your family down the road...

All of those things sadly missed here in the eastern suburbs, but we're going home in January.

Methinks it may be time for a Sydney meet-up.

Thursdays are best for me.

I'm not in Sydney, am in Christchurch NZ, but can totally agree with reminiscing about M&S food, pub gardens, and good telly!

I listen to all the radio on the internet, I couldn't say goodbye to Radios 2 & 4

Hi neuroticlady ...
There have been mumsnetters on this side of the planet for a long time - I believe I may have been one of the first, I joined MN in June 2002 just after I moved to New Zealand from the UK.
Have recently moved to Melbourne (you think Sydney is cold? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) which is fab ...
I am in the strange situation of missing NZ rather than the UK (got over that a long time ago) and feel like a wide eyed country bumpkin just arrived in the Big Smoke
I mean, there is actual real time fashion here ... only 6 months behind Europe (NZ tends to be another whole year after that), and all the people, cars and traffic can be overwhelming ... especially the scary trams.
God knows what it would be like if we moved back to England ever ...

i joined in 2003 - but am an aussie - returned home in 2004 - mum to three girls - youngest is 4 months old - other two are 5 and almost 3. I am however in Brissy.

Well how nice to see your messages when I checked this evening. Mogwai what a shame (for me!) you're going home in Jan. Are you pleased or sad? I have a good friend in Woollahra, are you near there at all?

MrsJohnCusack, I am hopelessly non-technical and have never managed to suss listening to Radio 2 on internet. I miss Jonathan Ross! Maybe he's not Mac compatible...? I know the scenery is far better in NZ than Blighty but I hear the telly is just as dire as in Oz! I guess because the weather is so nice most of the time most Aussies are out enjoying it and not slobbing in front of the box like us...

Ghosty, I've never been brave enough to visit Melbourne in winter as I've heard it's bloody freezing. At least in England you get central heating - here they're in denial it ever gets cold. Though I do love the whole vibe in Melbourne, really very different to Sydney, esp in fashion/music/culture stakes. Especially love St. Kilda. Sounds like you'd be happy to go back to NZ, though, with all that scary traffic . A good friend of mine moved from England last year to Auckland and loves it. I wished she'd moved to Sydney though so she could see me more often, how selfish of her!

Eidsvold, did having kids add to your decision to move back home to Oz? I think the whole baby thing has brought on a massive bout of homesickness in me. I love the lifestyle out here but it feels very wrong to be going through such a special time with no family around us whatsoever, and denying future bub (if all goes well) contact with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. DH much less bothered by this than me but it's really getting to me. How did you all cope with this...?

Hi Neuroticlady,
Have been here in Sydney (Eastern suburbs) for 5 years, and also just discovered this section! But, am moving back to the UK in a week. Help!! We had 2 children out here (aged 4 and nearly 2). Not missing the UK so much as missing family and old friends, and esp having family support with the kids. Have no idea how we'll find things back in the Uk though, esp after the great way of life here, can walk to work, brilliant nursery, great surroundings. But to be honest feel quite isolated as neither of us have any relatives here, and our folks cant make the journey that often, neither can we. Going to be very sad saying goodbye to the great friends we and the kids have made out here...
Am also finding this winter cold, after feeling warm the last 4, so blood must be thinning!

Hi Neuroticlady

I'm very sad to be going home in Janaury but we're going back home to decide whether to emigrate for good.

After seven months in Sydney I'm pretty sure we won't be coming back forever, for the exact reason Dinasaur just mentioned.

Dinasaur - I'm also in the eastern suburbs (Coogee area) and would love to know how it turns out when you get home. I'm sort of writing a book and I'd like to include your persepective on the UK after so long living here. Can you CAT me??

Hi mogwai,
I am living near Centennial Park, Paddington side (a lovely spot, must be nice to live at Coogee too)
I can CAT you, but dont know what it is?!(newcomer to mumsnet!). Let me know how? I too am very interested to see how I find the UK after this long (only 2 trips back and last one was over 2 years ago)... I am expecting some culture shock, but also can't wait to have the family close by to give us a chance to be a little bit "off duty" now and then!

Mogs - you ended up in Coogee? How did I not know this? Good god woman. We could have been enjoying lunch time wine at the Beach Palace Hotel for months.

Dinasaur - I'm in Coogee but DD's pre-school is in Bondi Junction, so v near you. We were up at Fox studios just this last weekend.

Neuroticlady - I'm a Brit in Sydney, have been here for 2 years. Quite agree about M&S. I flew back home recently and I practically got on my hands and knees and kissed the floor when I got into the M&S at Heathrow. I have a couple of huge M&S cool bags and shopping backs and I keep being stopped by people saying 'Ooooh! Is that an M&S bag - Are they HERE?! TELL ME WHERE!!'.

Oooh. Prawn and Mayo. I always liked their prawn/egg/mayo sandwiches.

There are quite a few of us about, with the timezones we also manage to post at around the same time as the US.

Congrats on your pg! Welcome to our very exclusive clique.

My sister in the Uk was telling me that a latte at Cafe Nero is now 2.90 which in dollars is a frightening amount- so I guess you will find the cost of things in the UK a little scary!

Do you know RobinP I thought I'd have the vapours at buying anything when I went back home in May. Oddly enough I just snapped straight back into sterling and irrationally felt that spending GBP30 was much less than spending $80.

What shocked me more was the greyness of the sky and the fact that I couldn't get a smoothie anywhere. And the size of the supermarkets. I was like a wide eyed yokel. Our local woolies is about the size of the bread aisles of Sainsbos.

I did enjoy being able to buy Chablis for GBP5 instead of $40 though. Because I'm shallow like that.

Dinasaur, lots of luck with the move back. Must be exciting, sad, daunting - stressful! All sorts of mixed emotions for you, I'm sure. Well I hope it goes well and that you settle back into the swing of things easily. I never realised when I moved to Oz how complicated I was about to make my life - constantly weighing up lifestyle here versus family back home (guilt, guilt) but I have a feeling if anything is going to tip the balance it's having a child, as you, Mogwai and others have mentioned.

Arfishy, you did make me laugh: a fellow worshiper at the door of M&S. Yes I used to love those triple pack thingys (greedy guts) of sandwiches they did: egg and cress, prawn and mayo, ham and cheese. All the lite options, as you can tell. (And a bag of crisps to go with, of course.)

Robinpud I nearly fell off my chair at the cost of a latte in UK. It's four years since I've been back so I'd be in for a real shock. But it'd kind of be worth it just to wheel my trolley dreamily around the booze aisle in Waitrose or the ready meals in M&S...

Hi neuroticlady (and all other Sydneysiders), firstly congratulations on your pregnancy. I have an 11 week old baby and we are moving to Sydney at the start of December. I am feeling a bit nervous about it as I know no one over there and am a little apprehensive about how I will feel without any family or friends around. My DH and I are thinking we will probably live in the Northern Beaches as well (any advice you may have regarding good areas to live would be SO gratefully received!). I would love to meet up with you (and any other mumsnetters) in Sydney.
x

Hello Aquasea, and congratulations to you, too, on the birth of your baby. Can totally understand how you feel, especially if you don't know anyone and so close to Christmas. Well I'm more than happy to help with info etc and it would be great to meet you when you get over here. I will be pretty big by then, if all goes well, so just look out for the blob...!

Are you coming here temporarily or are you seeing it as a permanent move? I think the Northern Beaches is the most beautiful part of Sydney but then I'm biased! It's not an obvious choice for English people; I'm curious as to why you're thinking of this area and how you know about it. If anyone in your family is going to have to commute into Sydney city centre (the CBD) I'd say go for Manly as you can then get the ferry to work, quite the most beautiful approach to Sydney and you avoid the traffic queues! I guess you'll rent to start with? I can give you a couple of web links etc if you need them.

As for arriving in December, well yes it's a bit sad as it's the approach to Christmas but the weather is so beautiful and the beaches are on your doorstep and you will just feel like you have stepped off the plane and landed in paradise. And the Aussies are generally a very friendly and welcoming lot. It really felt like a holiday for us for ages. You can have an Aussie-style barbie on the beach instead for Christmas! And they're still big on Christmas trees etc. here. It's just it's a bit hot for roast turkey...

Keep in touch and all the best with your little one. Hope it's going well.

Hi neuroticlady. I only just saw that you had replied! Thank you so much for your lovely message. My DH and I are actually Australian (however I have lived in the UK for over 20 years so I don't really feel Australian at all! My brother and sister and all my friends are here). DH is from Perth and I lived in Melbourne as a young child so neither of us know Sydney at all. I guess it's probably a permanent move (assuming all goes well with DH's job) and I am sure it will be a much better lifestyle for my little one but it's all a bit scary right now!
We are thinking of the Northern Beaches only because that's where people have told us to go. We are entirely dependent on people giving us information at this stage. What is Manly like? The plan is to rent for 6 months and then, once we know Sydney a bit better and have an idea where we want to settle, to buy.
Any helpful web links you have would be great. I would really love to meet up with you when we get out there.
I hope all is going well with your pregnancy. I wish I had chilled out and enjoyed mine more. I hope you are enjoying it. Are you finding out whether you are having a boy or a girl? We didn't but both of us knew it was a boy for some reason. We would have been totally shocked if it had been a girl!
Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon.
Take care of yourself and your bump!
xx

Hi Aquasea, great to hear back from you. Well clearly I don't need to preach to you about beach barbies and great weather - you already know it all! I'd say northern beaches is an even better choice if you're Australian. It's very community based, family-oriented whereas most Brits tend to head straight for the Bondi area and although it has its nice points it has a totally different feel.

Manly is the most cosmopolitan and lively of all the northern beaches suburbs. It's a 15 min jetcat or 30 min ferry ride into circular quay so it's really handy for the city, it has a load of great beaches right on the doorstep from surfy ones to sheltered kiddie friendly ones, loads of cafes, shops, bars etc. Only negative is it attracts a lot of backpackers (mainly English!) and it has a reputation for getting pretty rowdy at night, but I would imagine that's around the central Corso area where the big hotels/pubs are.

Have a look at www.manlydaily.com.au which is our excellent free daily newspaper - it'll give you a real feel for what's happening on the northern beaches plus on Saturday there's a great property and rental section.

Also try www.realestate.com.au to get an idea of properties in the area. Only word of caution (and again I probably don't need to tell an Aussie this) is that properties are like hotcakes in this area in December as everyone wants holiday rentals, so to get yourself something half decent try and get sorted before then (by early November?) if you possibly can. Rents also shoot up in December so it really could pay to try to sort it a bit sooner.

Have to dash now but will write more a bit later - anything specific you want to ask in the meantime, fire away!

Hello there! I'm not in Sydney, but moved to Canberra from the UK a week ago. I'm freezing!!! It would seem that there are no other MNers in Canberra so I'm just going to have to attach myself to the Sydneysiders for the time being.....
A question for Aussies in general - am I likely to find mother and baby type groups and where can I find out about them? It's all well and good for dh, he has work to provide an instant social network but I'm a sahm and although I love being with ds, at 14 months he's a little lacking in the lively debate area (although he is trying, bless him!)

Yes, I heard Manly had lots of 18 year old backpacking Brits! I'm not sure myself and my baby boy will fit in so well with them. The beaches and the commute to the city sounds appealing though. Are you in Manly? Thanks so much for the links (and please don't worry that you are giving information about Australia to an Aussie... I am Aussie in passport only! I literally know nothing about life over there so any info and advice is greatly appreciated!)

Bamamama - so why Canberra? How did the move go? Are you renting? I am going to be in your situation when I arrive in Sydney - 6 month old baby, no friends and probably being a SAHM (it's the first time I have written that!).

bamamama have you tried looking on the Bub Hub - its like the Aussie Mumsnet. I think its www.bubhub.com.au It has a section for mums living in different areas so bound to be one for Canberra. I've joined as DH and I and 3 kids are heading to Brisbane in January (DH is an Aussie) so I'm looking for info before I get out there!

Aquasea - Canberra due to dh's job and almost everyone I told I was moving to Canberra said "well, it's near interesting places....!" Harrogatemum - thanks for the link, I'll check it out. Things are ok so far, we're renting a place through dh's work and am pretty central in the city. I just need to get my arse into gear and get meeting people! It's tricky as we're only here for a year but if I don't get organised it will be Christmas and my poor son still won't have anyone to play with (and I'll have noone to drink coffee with!)

Bamama, Canberra? BRRR! It's bloody cold in Sydney - coldest winter for years - but I know it's nothing compared to the temperature in Canberra. They don't tell you Australia gets cold in the tourism ads, do they! I hope you're settling in ok and starting to meet some nice people

Aquasea, sorry for silence. Only just discovered mumsnet and got a tad obsessed, so had to 'switch it off' for a while in order to get some work done!! No, I don't live in Manly. I'm at the other end of the northern beaches in Avalon. About 30-40 mins north of Manly. Not many people bother commuting into the city from here as in peak hour it can take an hour and a half or more, eek. I did it for a while but now I work from home so it's not a problem. It's much quieter than Manly but it still has a nice little hub with plenty of cafes etc. And virtually every other doorway leads to a yoga studio so I'll have no excuse not to be nice and bendy by the time bub arrives...

What do you reckon to this idea: you could tell me what sort of area you'd like to live in (quiet, peaceful, lively, cosmopolitan, lots of green space versus more of a city life) and I'll try to give you an idea of the right sort of area on the northern beaches, or possibly elsewhere in Sydney..? Eastern Suburbs is very central and very popular with Brits (and returning Aussies!), for example. Anyway, happy to help if I can. x

Oops, sorry got your name wrong Bamamama.

And hi to Harrogatemum - good luck with your plans for Brisbane. My parents are just down the road from you in York..!

Hi Neuroticlady, thank you so much for your suggestion. I have been thinking about it (and discussing with DH) and I think these are the things we are looking for...

Has to have a reasonable commute to the CBD as DH will be working there
There, that's him sorted! Now as for what I would like... I could list a thousand things but I think these are the most important.
Preferably not too far from a beach, Quietish but with some shops, cafes etc not too far away, lots of young families around. I think they're the main issues I am interested in. I have lived in West London for the past 20 years but we recently moved further out (to just inside surrey) but it's such a difference, so much more peaceful, lots of families, lots of green space, a real little village but only 30 mins to Waterloo. I always thought I was a city girl but since being preg and having the bub I realise that I don't need so many bars/clubs/people around! How life changes!
Anyway, what do you think? Do any areas spring to mind?
Thanks again so much for your help with this. I feel so much better having your help. I don't feel quite so alone!

Righto Aquasea, as far as the northern beaches goes I think you need to stick to the lower end (the southern end, nearest to the city) and that way your DH can commute in either by the Manly ferry or by bus/car. One major disadvantage of n. beaches is terrible public transport, no train service etc. So you need to stay within 15-20 mins of Manly I'd say. That means (in order of how the beaches go up the coast from Manly and away from the city - Manly is closest - Queenscliff, Harbord, Curl Curl. Lots more lovely areas beyond here but I think it would be too much of a headache commute-wise. The whole of the n. beaches is very family friendly TBH so I don't think you'd have any worries there, though I only properly know about the top (northern) end of the n. beaches.

Those are the suburbs that are actually on the beach.

Then there's an area called Middle Harbour (get your hands on a map so all this makes more sense if you can) which is absolutely beautiful, lots of sheltered waterways and protected coves and beaches. Seaforth is very nice and so is Balmoral - overlooking inland waterways, very tranquil, lots of families, but also quite posh so you'd need a nice big budget for there .

If you can persuade DH further up the n. beaches Collaroy and Narabeen are worth considering. Quieter, but lots of cafes, very surfy lifestyle, lots of families. Basically the further north you go the quieter and more green it all gets, though wherever you are in this area you're so near a beach or water you never feel too hemmed in or surrounded by suburbia.

I hope this isn't too bamboozling and that it's a bit of a help. Don't rule Manly out, by the way, there are plenty of little villagey enclaves within Manly itself such as Manly Cove and Shelley Beach, which are family friendly with sheltered beaches and away from the hubub of the Corso.

One final suggestion completely out of n. beaches would be Watsons Bay, which sort of looks back at Manly from the south. Beautiful sheltered beaches, lots of cafes, direct jetcat access to city (15 mins?) and gorgeous houses. Could be a bit of a budget buster but thought I'd throw that one in there...

hi there. i've just seen this message and had to reply quickly. i found this site last year when i moved to Sydney, but dropped off shortly after introducing myself as things got rather hectic. it seems like there are loads of people in Sydney now! i'm in the Northern Beaches too (Harbord), and agree its a lovely part of Sydney.

neuroticlady - know what you mean about feeling a bit lost when pregnant and so far from family. part of the reason i've been away from Mumsnet is i was pregnant and very homesick. i ended up having to put a lot of energy into building up a social network here and didn't have a lot of time for anything else.

aquasea - i've got an 11 week old baby too (as well as a 3 year old)! have you had any further thoughts on where you'd like to live. the Northern Beaches is a great place for families, as NL has already said. the North Shore is also very family orientated and closer to the City from the commuting point of view. it doesn't have the lovely ocean beaches we have here though (my dh goes surfing in his lunch hour - couldn't do that in London...).

anyway, got to head off to bed before the evening feeding sessions. will catch up again soon...