Dianne Sciulli

Could someone please recommend a good area to live in either Brisbane or Sydney. Looking for a house either in the city or just outside the city. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

graul

Think you need to give more details to get value out of replies. What do YOU mean by good. Is price a factor. Brisbane is a lot cheaper housing wise than Sydney. Also, Rents/prices vary markedly across cities. In Sydney, For a 2 bed apartment in Easten Suburbs you'll pay AUD$400weekrent/$400Kbuy to live near beaches, city centre and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Conversely, $150week/$150K will get you same in outer western suburbs in suburbia with young families, quieter lifestyles. Add half as much again as minimum for free standing house. For Brisbane, read above for a house rather than apartment. There are probably at least 15 or so areas in each city that have there own distinctive character and resident profile ... you need to specify criteria

Dianne Sciulli

Every city has it's good and bad areas, high priced housing/apartments, low rental/cost housing/apartments. We have travelled all along the east coast from the north to the south as tourists and have decided to move to Australia. We unfortunately did not have the chance to check out the residential areas while we were there. Looking to relocate to either Brisbane or Sydney to live. At this time weighing more on Brisbane as we loved Surfer's and Broadbeach and have family in Agnes Water but need to be in a city because of our line of work. The only maps we could find on Brisbane where a zoomed in area of the river/city centre. We would like to know what areas would be close to the ocean, high land possibly (we went through all the flooding last year near the areas that boarder Noosa and learned from the experience - ha!)residential-house, price range for that area and how long it would take to get to work (say downtown) from that area. Oh yes, the area must be free from highway traffic noise and planes as we experience here at our home now. Are you a real estate agent by chance? Do you live in Brisbane? Thank you for replying to my questions and for your advice on phrasing my concerns properly for maximum value in the replys received. If you happen to know if work in the construction industry in Brisbane is in demand it would be greatly appreciated (primarily in the "Commercial Finishing Carpentry" catagory). Thanks for your quick response. Have a great day

brendan

I've lived in both Brisbane and now currently live in Sydney. The areas I would choose, that are within striking distance of the city in Brisbane are the suburbs, (Breakfast Creek, Hamilton, Ascot, Hendra, kelvin Grove). These are just East of the city and take from 5-15 minutes by car. They are accessable to the city major freeways (not close enough to notice traffic). 40min to Sunshine Coast and 40min to Gold Coast. If you chose to live directly in the city look at Spring Hill, Gregory terrace. Just a few minutes away from the city to the west of the city is Paddington, Milton, and try St. Lucia. Everything is relatively cheap rent wise when you compare it to Sydney. The standard of housing and units are more modern as well. If you have any questions just e mail me. I currently live right near the city in Sydney so I could be of some help there too.

Jill

I live in Berowra Heights which is 35km out of Sydney (heading North) Of all the places I ever lived (apart from Queenstown in New Zealand) this has to be the most beautiful place. Berowra Heights is built on cliff ridges over looking a National Park. The community of Berowra Waters which forms part of Berowra & Berowra Heights, is built along the Hawksbury River (surrounded by National Park)and all of the houses are by boat access only. It is extremely beautiful. <BR>It takes about 45 minutes on the train to the CBD or about an hour to drive. <BR>House prices seem to range from $200000 up to $500000 and because of the location you either get a large garden but no view or a view with a tiny garden. We are currently renting a three bedroomed house for $260 per week. It is very peacful here and there is a good sense of community. From day one we were made to feel welcome (unlike some small places were non locals are treated with suspicion) There is decent shopping within 15 mins drive (Hornsby) or 30min (Central Coast)There are some great walks, valleys and gorges around here, the nearest beach is about a 30 min drive, there are other National parks within 15min drive. There are some lovely resturants around the area too.

Dianne Sciulli

Thank you Brendan for all your information on areas in Brisbane. It is a great help. Would you happen to know the general price ranges for homes in those areas? We would like to buy a house not rent. Thanks again. I'll e-mail you if I come up with any other questions on Brisbane or Sydney. <BR> <BR>Jill, thank you as well. I definitely hope to see the area you mentioned one day. It sounds like you found your paradise. I however at this stage in my life need to be by a city to work because of my line of work (computers). I appreciate your response and I'm sure other readers do as well.

Matt

Dianne, try some of the Real Estate web sites for ideas on housing prices. <BR>www.realestate.com.au <BR>www.property.com.au <BR>www.domain.com.au (for Sydney only) <BR> <BR>

Jill

Dianne <BR> <BR>Just to let you know (in regards to a point you raised) Most people in Berowra and surrounding areas (including the Central Coast, which is at least another 30mins North on the train / by car) work in the CBD of Sydney or another large business centre/suburb called Chatswood (about 25 mins by the train) So travel is not really a major issue. <BR> <BR>However if you want to be in the hub of things (10 mins drive/train from the city CBD) lovely suburbs on the North side (which is all I know!) would be: Greenwich, North Sydney, Neutral Bay, Kirribilli, Milsons Point

Dianne Sciulli

Thanks Matt for the webb sites. This is going to help incredibly. We have decided to focus on Sydney. <BR> <BR>Jill, now that I have read up more on Sydney, I now see how everything is close to the city. I did not realize in your first post that the area you were referring to was not too far out from the city. We have researched a bit more and found that we would probably be looking towards North Sydney for a place to live. Thanks again!

hallno

Dianne,

Are you the same Dianne I worked with at Bayer years ago?
How's Australia?

janisj

see my post on the other thread . . . Talk about dredging up ancient history . . .

(A hint since you are new, its usually a good idea to check the date of a thread)