You know, you might find you don’t need a car. I lived in Sydney for almost 5 years and didn’t have a car (neither did many of the people I knew – in fact some friends sold their car because they found they never really used it).

I’m not too sure about rents now, but somewhere like Liechardt or Annandale might be in your price range. You can catch the bus and might be able to catch the light rail or train depending on your exact location.

I agree with the comment above, I’ve never had a car and I’ve never missed having one!

I also agree re inner west – it’s cheaper than the east/north. Glebe is lovely and very close to the city, or there’s Petersham/Lewisham/Marrickville etc. They’re also on the train line and handy to everything.

Renting with a dog might be difficult, but I’m sure people do it. You might need to be prepared to pay a little more, just because you’ll have fewer choices and/or may need to find somewhere with an outdoor area.

Anyway – welcome! And good luck.

I lived in Sydney from 2000-2003 and lived in Manly…so I took the the ferry into the CBD every morning. We lived just a short walk from the ferry station (and some specular beaches) and were able to find a reasonable flat fairly inexpensively (although the exchange rate was in our favor back then). It was the most relaxing commute I’ve ever experienced, and every time I headed home I felt like I was going on vacation. You can buy a Green travel pass from the ferries and have access to most public transportation throughout the metro Sydney Area for a week. If I was in a rush to get to the CBD or home, I’d spend the extra money to take th Jetcat (fast boat).

Everything in Manly is walking distance (large grocery, heaps of shops & cafes, and even nightlife)....there is even a hospital at the top of the hill. You may never need a car, since the buses and ferries can get you anywhere on the Northshore/Northern Beaches in minutes. If you get a car, Manly has decent street parking the further you get from the main corso area.

You may also want to look in Fairlight and Balgowlah. You may be able to rent a flat with a dog and even a yard. You may have to leave a larger deposit.

I miss Manly more than I miss Sydney….”7 miles from Sydney, a thousand miles from care”....it’s the town slogan…and its absolutely true. Heaven on Earth. I highly recommend you really get to know that harbour…. it’s where I’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences of my life….join a sailing club and make friends with people with boats.

If the ferry & the beach lifestyle doesn’t suit you, many towns along the North Shore have very fast bus service to the CBD….like Mosman, Cremorne, Neutral Bay…North Sydney has the train and your husband could walk or bike across the harbor bridge. These are more like apartment areas, but each neighborhood has its fair share of units with yards for rent. These area are considered high end, but if you look around, you’ll often find bargains. Every now and then I’d meet someone who got a $300/week flat in one of these areas.

Remember that rents in Sydney are listed as “per week”. If you are used to playing about $1200/month in the San Diego Area…about $300-$325/week is the range you should be looking for around Sydney…which should get you a decent one bedroom or large studio in most parts of the city….especially if look in older buildings. There are tons of vacant new condo style buildings in Pyrmont….which is a short walk to the CBD…. but this is more like city living.

Interesting that you are from the San Diego Area, where we live now. You’ll find that Sydney and Australia in general has amazing public transportation in comparison to any major city in the USA. You certainly do not need a car, and they are more expense to buy, maintain/register/insure, and fuel up than anywhere in the USA (its about $5+ a gallon). I highly recommend taking the money you have allocated for a car and renting someplace where everything is walking distance (again, strong bias towards Manly).

Good luck in the lucky country. I would move back in a heartbeat if I could….

Hi Tasmin,

Bare in mind that the further away from the city you are, the cheaper your rent will be. I wouldn’t like to pinpoint neighbourhoods as all in Sydney these days seem to have their troublesome sides. As a general rule, the inner city suburbs used to be safer, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. Also, there has been a high demand rental market in Sydney over the last 12-18 months which has seen rental rates skyrocket. So much so in fact that you have the strange situation in which people are bidding rent values to landlords. A property might go to a real estate agent to be rented out at $400 a week, someone will offer the landlord $500 a week, so they’ll end up renting the place…it’s CRAZY! As for renting with a dog…it’s a bit more lenient in Oz for renting with animals, but you still definitely need landlord approval. I’d say maybe, conservatively, around 20-25% of landlords would be okay with pets. The west and south-west of the city will be the cheaper end of the rental market. Someone suggested Manly to you, I say still too close to the city for someone on a budget. If you are looking to rent something that is around $300 a week and you are wanting a house rather than a flat (better chances for pets too), I’d suggest larger suburbs away from the city…Chatswood, Parramatta, Fairfield, Bankstown, Liverpool, all will have good amenities and if you base yourself in a central part of these suburbs, trains to the city will be easy to get.

Hope my suggestions help and good luck with everything.

Towns like Chatswood, Parramatta, Fairfield, Bankstown, Liverpool, Hornsby have their pros and cons. The rents will be less, you might find a larger place, and you’ll be more likely to find a dog friendly place. But some of the drawbacks are that the commute to the city would be 30+ minutes (plus the travel time to the train station/bus), and you’ll probably want to consider getting a car because those are truly suburban areas where everday tasks like grocery shopping or going to the Post are likely to require a car.

If you are definitely going to get a car, why not consider renting someplace like Palm Beach, Newport, or down in the coast in Coogee…. you’ll find cheaper rents, and you’ll be walking distance from a beautiful beach….but the drawback would be a bit longer commute to the city.

If you are new to Sydney or only there for a limited time, why not maximize your time by living somewhere that you’ll love. Rents in Manly and the Northshore are higher, but reap the benefits of being close to a great area that embodies what living in Sydney is steretypically about…

When you get to Sydney pickup the “local” newspaper like the Manly Daily or Mosman Daily. They will list all of the available rentals for a very specific geography….rather than what the SMH or other large newspaper will list.

Hey – I don’t have any advice on what neighborhoods to live in but I’m moving out there whenever they get around to processing my work visa. How long did it take for your husband visa to get processed?

Also, a good idea would be to use couchsurfing.com to find a free and friendly place to crash for a week while you find a place to live. You’ll find very friendly and helpful people on that site.

If you don’t mind me asking – what type of work does your husband do? I’m going to be doing web development down there. The job market is really good right now for those skills.

Thanks,

Jason