I am planning to move to Sydney for work purposes. I work in Pennant Hills. Just wondering which suburbs are safe and affordable(less than $450 weekly rent). I am moving with my family and 3 year son (3 people).
I do have to drive to work as pubic transport access is bit limited.
Appreciate any advice on this
safe or affordable
Pick one. Not many places are safe and affordable.
"Not many places are safe and affordable."
Isn't that exactly what OP is asking, which ones are?
You're talking about Sydney here. Rent/Housing prices are astronomical.
If you want safe - Anything east of Carlingford & anything north of Strathfield
If you want affordable - Anything west of Carlingford & south of Strathfield
You can pick one but not both. That's the reality of things.
Carlingford might be a solution then..
@wuds: Carlingford is great IMO. It's relatively safe, not sure about rent prices. The shopping centre (Carlingford Court) has a Coles and Woolies. Carlingford primary school is pretty good and if you're staying long term, there's some elite high schools close by (e.g Ruse and Baulko).
Bad thing about Carlingford are trains. They run about hourly and are always the tin can ones. Not very reliable. But if you're up for it, you can bus it to Epping or Parramatta. ~20 minutes each way, very reliable metrobuses. Then you can take a train to the city in a little over half an hour.
Otherwise, Rent is a little cheaper in Lidcombe and Auburn. Not as safe as Carlingford but transport is very reliable there. And if you're up for it, Paddy's markets are close by and you can get sucked into it for hours.
Succinctly, safety and affordability are mutually exclusive in Sydney.
@Scrooge McDuck: That's not true. Besides Mt Druitt/Blacktown and if you broadly write off SW Sydney, you can safely say the rest is safe. So there are places that are obviously both safe and affordable. Unfortunately, many of those places just aren't very convenient.
@fossilfuel: Thanks for the advice. I also thought Carlingford has this transport issue. I will be driving to work mostly but my wife needs to catch the pubic transport. In any case we won't be travelling to city.
I found some units around 450, not sure how good they are.
I will look for Lidcombe and Auburn too.
@wuds: No worries. It's very convenient to get to and from places if you live in Carlingford. You'd take at most 15-20 minutes to get to Pennant Hills in peak hour traffic, 10 minutes in off-peak.
I've copied some info regarding public transport in Carlingford:
Bus Services
Bus route M54 travels between Epping station and/or Parramatta station. This is a pre-paid service arriving every 10-15 min in peak times, 15-20 min outside peak times and drops off on Carlingford Rd near the shopping centre. Bus route M54 leaves Carlingford Station (Parramatta to Macquarie Park service) and drops off at Carlingford Road near Rembrandt Street.
Bus route 513 travels between Meadowbank Wharf to Carlingford Court, including some areas of Telopea and Dundas.
Bus route 546/549 from Epping Station.
Bus route 625 travels between Parramatta and Pennant Hills, stopping at stops along Pennant Hills Road near Carlingford Court.
Bus route 630 travels between Blacktown through to Macquarie Park, stopping at stops along Pennant Hills Road near Carlingford Court.
Limited services operate on weekends and public holidays. The bus services may vary from time to time.
For more information call the transport infoline on 131 500 or click here to visit the transport infoline website.
Train Services
City Rail provides a train service to Epping Station. The above bus services can provide transfers to Carlingford Court. Alternatively, it is approximately a 45 minute walk from Epping Station to the Centre.
City Rail also provides a train service to Carlingford station. This station is a 15 minute walk to Carlingford Court.
For more information call the infoline on 131 500 or click here to visit the transport infoline website.
Rent is a little cheaper in Lidcombe and Auburn. Not as safe as Carlingford.
Auburn is consistently near the top of the list for gun crime and murders:
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=auburn+number+one+gun+cri…
I never really felt unsafe there, but I don't think it's a big enough drop in price compared to some significantly safer areas.
@ItsMeAgro: I grew up with Turks very nice people and very hospitable Auburn is fine its usually not the locals that cause trouble.
@wuds: Steer clear of Auburn. I would not consider that place safe. Lidcombe is better but still not great. Especially certain areas.
capt to the rescue. not many are both. Mt druit is affordable is it safe? watsons bay is safe but is it affordable?
What does the op consider affordable? need a figure
the other question op needs to ask themselves, will my preschooler get into a decent school in the feeder area i've chosen to live which is affordable and maybe safe
Just looking a unit to rent below $450 per week. I haven't thought about schools yet. I do not have any idea about the suburbs in sydney and which schools are best.
@wuds: find the school you want your kid to be in and live next to it. make sure you are in the right feeder zone.
Just thought of moving first without considering about schools. I am planning to move again after a year considering the schools. By that time i should have some idea about the schools.
@wuds: Do your research now for the best school, then move. do it the first time. Will save you money and headaches in the long run. Unless you are going to leave town completely then i suppose it doesnt matter.
also define family? Just you, partner and child? 3 people?
Define 'affordable'?
How much do you earn? How much does your partner earn? How much does your daughter earn? What are your monthly expenses? How much savings do you have? How secure is your job? Any other loans? How often do you eat out?
No-one can tell you what you can afford, only you know your own financial situation.
Maximum rent i can go is $450
Put this info in your post, that way people know you're price range. And they know you're renting.
Done
I grew up in this area and I think your best bet would be Beecroft, Thornleigh, Westleigh, Cheltenham or Hornsby. All five of these suburbs are 'safe' and $450 will still get you a two bedroom unit in an older block.
All these suburbs are pretty expensive. More than $550 :(
Have a look at realestate.com.au and look at Hornsby especially. Quite a few 2 beds for $450.
yeah. Hornsby was the only option. I'm considering it at the moment. My other option is Carlingford. Only worry about carlingford is the train.
@wuds: TBH Carlingford will not be an option. It will be way too expensive because of its proximity to Macquarie University and the M2 not to mention the popular primary schools in the area such as Murray Farm.
@fiza1981: Thanks.. those units will sold like hot cakes i guess.. I have a month contract where i live at the moment..
There should be a reasonable selection of units in Hornsby/Waitara in your budget. Even a few small houses/townhouse/granny flats available - eg https://m.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-hornsby-42073…
Most areas around Pennant Hills are pretty safe comparatively to Sydney on a whole.
Hornsby or Epping for apartments. If you're after a house, maybe Berowra which is just 15 mins past Hornsby, but just look online and see what comes up nearby, it's a good area.
Where are you moving from? Brisbane? Dubbo? Tokyo? Detroit?
No part of Sydney is anywhere near as dangerous as the more dangerous parts of the US, nor as safe as most of Japan.
But if you just mean you want to avoid bogans yelling at you and slightly rougher schools and so on, you might be able to find something in that price range.
Can you give us some idea what you are comparing too or what you care about? Is it more just neighbours who aren't poor? Violence? Racial problems? (There are some parts of Sydney where it's tough to be a white teenage boy, and others where it's still tough not to be white, for example).
from Melbourne.
If we can have a walk in the night without getting into a fight. Decent neighbours without any trouble. People not yelling at you.. Just normal stuff
Thats 95% of Sydney…
What you should be concern about is what is actually rare random violence…
Which would mostly be poor anglo saxon areas
I would avoid Northern Line train stops at all costs, it's a pain having to change trains to get to certain destinations and at times trains simply terminate at Epping or Chatswood FORCING you to waste time. If you don't mind apartments I would go with Hornsby for the ease of access to Public Transport (which is a stop for almost all train lines) and Westfield. If you get an apartment in Waitara (around Romsey Street) it's only a stroll (10 min) to walk to Hornsby station and you also have access to Waitara station which is a North Shore line. Good location for schools etc and very safe. Good luck!
I would avoid Northern Line train stops at all costs, it's a pain having to change trains to get to certain destinations and at times trains simply terminate at Epping or Chatswood FORCING you to waste time.
Some trains on North Shore line only go to (and start from) Gordon - so it's not exempt! ;)
I wouldn't write Northern Line suburbs off - it's not too bad having to change - anyhow he has said he'd probably need to drive as PT not convenient at his work - so he won't need the train. Finding something in budget will be more the worry - and agree Hornsby/Waitara good choice.
Sydney traffic is crap at the best of times. Pennant Hills Road on a weekend - avoid!!! Actually it's most likely crap on weekdays too, but I only drive on weekends.
So given that you have to drive to work, and traffic is crap, then I would look for areas in and around Pennant Hills itself.
For that price you are most likely going to be limited to a 2 bedroom older style (70's) apartment. Or maybe a crappy old fibro house.
Start by looking on realestate.com.au and use the "Surrounding suburbs" search until you find a neighbouring suburb within your price range. Possibly towards Carlingford & Epping for units, and northwards towards Berowra (maybe Mt Colah?) for houses.
EDIT: As an afterthought, if you want a safe suburb, where you can have nice walks along the Parramatta river, plenty of parks and good shopping facilities (Rhodes/Top Ryde) - investigate Meadowbank. The cheaper side, not the new side. You'll definitely secure an old 2br unit in that suburb. I know that for a fact because I own one of those units and rent it out. Sure it's going to be a bit of a drive to and from work, but for $450, you are going to have to compromise on something. Ferries to and from the city as an added bonus. Plenty of young families living on the Meadow Cres / Bank St loop and rentals are always coming up.
Thanks for the comment.
I looked around Meadowbank in realestate, as you said there are units from 390-450 range. If i get something fro 390 i will save $60 which could be used for travel expenses.This might be a better option.
Carlingford and epping have some units for 450.
But given ease to public transport, I might look around Meadowbank bit more. I don't mind driving for half an hour to work.
what do you think about West Ryde ?
Haha, well I actually live in West Ryde now - moved from Meadowbank! It is not quite as nice as Meadowbank, in my opinion anyway, because in Meadowbank you are on the water, with the ferry service, and have all the parks & sporting fields with childrens play areas etc. However, West Ryde is fine, and has better shops. They are very close to each other anyway.
We moved to West Ryde because we wanted something a bit bigger, and West Ryde has a lot more houses compared to Meadowbank which is mostly units.
A lot comes down to your lifestyle choices, for example if you are someone who likes to spend a lot of time at the pub, you probably wouldn't live in Meadowbank because there are no pubs around. But if you are into sport/running/cycling, or just being active outdoors with kids, then Meadowbank is fantastic. For example its a nice walk over the bridge to Rhodes for lunch or a visit to Ikea. Or some great 10-20km cycling loops through Sydney Olympic Park without hardly having to ride on a road at all.
Thanks.. not much into pubs :)
I love the outdoors and it is nice to have parks around since the kid is there.. But i need to find time for it though.
I'll consider both options..
Honestly, $450/week rent is not a lot in Sydney. For the purposes of comparison, such a property is probably selling for $550k. Let's get fair dinkum here, "safe" suburbs are typically more expensive then others. I assume given your family situation you are looking for a two bedroom flat. In many "safe" suburbs that property simply doesn't exist at that price point. I'm sure there are suburbs out there that strike the "happy medium" between the two, but be aware these will likely have other compromises including (perhaps) not being convenient to your work, a lack of transport options, a lack of lifestyle amenities, etc.
Wow this post amazes me, trying to find a "safe" suburb in Sydney. I life in Perth, and yes there are less than desirable areas to live in, I would still live in them if I it was convenient to work etc. There is crime everywhere ! I must be living in a bubble to have not realised there were suburbs in other states that people wouldn't live in due to fears of their safety.
I think you will find there is a similar range in perth crime stats between safest and least safe suburbs.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/new-perth-…
Midvale looks a nice place to live.
Considering you are working in Pennant Hills, the Hills District is a good option. I've lived here (almost) all my life - no burglaries, vandalism, etc. Not sure about the rental rates for different suburbs, but that's what real estate website searches are for. Hills District is roughly bounded by M2, Berowra Creek and Old Windsor Road.
As for the "east of Carlingford" requirement for safety, which just sounds like the usual snobbery and/or ignorance, you will find you have to pay for that snobbery…
what about Quakers Hill? Any comments ?
best postcode is 2770