informations/tips about family life in Sydney pls!

[VALFR59]

Hi

After almost 5 amazing yrs in London/Dulwich, I have soon to decide if we go or not for another move (from FR), in Sydney this time! ....

Hubby has been offered a very exciting mission by the french company he is working for here, and the futur oceanian's headquarter of it will be located in Sydney ... I am medium enthousiastic as it is sooo far away!! but quite tempting by the idea of sun and beaches lifestyle for 2-4 yrs! :)....on another hand, it is perhaps the chance of another great cultural experience for our family.

We are both french at home but I am not looking to put my child into the french school of Sydney, "lyc?e Concordet" as we prefer to live in an English speaking area as we chose when we moved in the UK , to provide him an international/ british education for the time we are leaving away from France. I found it is a good way to be more open minded to other cultures and I like the fact that he is totally bilingual although none of us are british.

I read that state school are very good in Sydney but I am more thinking of a good private as it is paid by my husband's employer there in the package, so I'll go for it. but will see on site. My son is currently in a boys school in the area.

I have a discovery travel to plan for mid-October , and my husband is asked to start from January there. (which apparently correspond to the beginning of a shcool year for Australian kids)

I am looking for tips from Australian people living here/anyone who has lived in Sydney with a family, about family Life there such as:

- What are the greatest schools ? ( prep boys or co-ed too) with cool spirit and quite international twist( with families from various nationalities if possible).

- Areas to live? maybe similar of Dulwich/Crystal palace area spirit ... if it exist!!!

ideally close to a family friendly beach.

So looking for a family friendly, residential,but not showing off/pretentious, cosmopolitan, not inner central Sydney ideally (I prefer a house with space than a spot location flat for a good outdoor life with the kids)

I saw online Mosman, northern beaches , Bellevue hill...(but want to avoid to live in a touristic spot)

Are there some Areas to avoid?

- Any Ideas of which part of Sydney to stay to connect easily to all the areas/suburbs during our "discovery trip " in Ocotber? (we'll probably hire a car to be able to travel and visits outside Sydney suburbs too)

- Is it as difficult as it is sometimes in Dulwich to find a space in popular nurseries/ waiting list for schools?

nanny as expensive as in the UK? easy to find an Australian babysitter? Australian students good with kids? etc

- informations about Australian culture and people (i.e compare Londonners/English culture) to try to integrate ourselves and to adapt to the new environement in the respect of the locals habits, in the best way!

you can kindly contact me via pm if you find a bit of time.

As I know that writting message can be time consuming, I would be also happy to invite you to have an informal chat around a coffee or glass of wine in the area, if you are up to.

Thanks in advance for your help

cheers

Val

[Bonfire2010]

Hi Val

We moved to Sydney from ED five months ago and are really enjoying it. The weather is lovely, we are just out of winter, which was like a UK spring for most of the time - we have even been at the beach a few times.

There are lots of lovely areas in Sydney, and we have settled in Crows Nest which is on the Lower North Shore. It was recommended to us as having something of an ED feel and we really like it - lots of cafes, restaurants, quirky shops, plus it is very family friendly. It is also only 15 minutes commute to the CBD (central Business District) and the public transport system is good (although Sydney-siders disagree, but I guess they have never battled into Central London!) There are lots of other nice suburbs locally - Mosman is really lovely, but very, very expensive (one of the most expensive areas to live in Aus in fact!), but East Lindfield, Gordon, Pymble, Waverton are a others and all the Public Schools in the area are very good. The Inner West is also very popular with the hipsters and families, we have friends in Balmain and they love it.

If you are in the catchment zone for a public school you are guaranteed a place - there is none of the worry that you will not get in. There are lots of very good private schools, but it seems this is where the kids here go for High School, not primary (not sure the ages of your children). There are waiting lists for nurseries which are either 'long day care' which is like nursery in the UK, or 'family day care' which is like a childminder, or nannies/au pairs. However, even with the amount of families with young children in our area (which would rival East Dulwich!) we still got places straight away for both our children (4 and 1 years) at our local, first choice daycare/preschool centre).

In terms of culture, sometimes you can forget you are in Sydney - there are so many English/Europeans living here! It's a very multicultural city and my sons friends are a mix of backgrounds such as UK, Japanese, German, U.S., French (and some antipodeans!)

Now for the downside! It is very expensive here! Housing costs (renting or buying) are the main concern for most Sydney residents. The cost of living is generally higher than the UK as well, plus day to day things like choice for shopping is not great. There are only two main supermarkets chains here (Coles and Woolworths) so there isn't the competition for customers (although Aldi is becoming massive here which putting some pressure on the big 2). Travel is also quite expensive (flying anywhere isn't cheap), but you can be in the mountains in 90 minutes by car, or a beach (of which there are many) in 15.

Sorry, this is a bit rambling! I had a LOT of doubts about leaving London, and I do miss it (I still have a look at the EDF occasionally to see what's happening) but I do think we have done the right thing. Happy to answer more questions so PM me if you like.

[Bonfire2010]

Ps - a lot of the suburbs have their own Facebook groups aimed at mums and they are very active. I am a member of one for the North Shore and it's been very useful (like an EDF Family Room section), but I know there are other forums for different areas. If you have a look for areas you are interested in you will probably be able to get more information from local mums.

[VALFR59]

thanks so much Bonfire 2010!!!

very precious informations. I'll definitely have a look at the areas you mentioned and visit them during my october trip in Sydney.

ah ah I see now why I found on website such as "Domain" (seems to be a kind of right move) very cool designed houses in Mosman :)

will pm

as well thanks to the 2others people who kindly pm me to share some experience

people's experience are better that any expat or touristic guides!

Val