Hey Folks,
It looks like I may have an opportunity to take a job in Sydney (a locale I have not yet visited). I currently live in San Diego, but the wife, born in Orange county, CA, is nervous about the possibility of a move. PMs with any insights about the relative culture would be appreciated.
look into yourself; find out what you want to do. It sounds like a great opportunity, and cool if you can get work visa or temp citizenship or what not. . . .
You have to be sure this is really what you want to do go Sydney. But also you’re a family guy and didn’t mention anything about kids, but kids . . . its cooler to be stable; have someplace stable where the kids can grow up.
nervous wife, well she is going away from family and her friends, no support group. She has to rebuilt her friends network. Also there could be other factors . . . she’ll want to lean on you for support, and if you’re not 100% of this idea, you gotta act to her as if.
If it was my opinion, my situation (no family) go for it. Based off all the fun the Aussies here on Sways are, it’d be a blast.
Sydney is a beautiful city - the harbour is spectacular!
One of the best features of Sydney is the beaches!!!
So hopefully this job opportunity is means you can live close to the beach.
That way you have a laid back lifestyle and all the benifits of being close to a city.
Just check out coastalwatch.com.au or aquabumps.com.au for some pics of sydney beaches!!
I’ve only been to New York and San Francisco so not much to compare, but I felt the vibe in SF similar to Sydney…tho’ I’d say it’d be more relaxed here!!
I’ve lived and shaped in both cities. Sydney is huge (6+Mill?) and is very Cosmopolitan, truly
a world hub by comparison. My GF at the time was teaching and I taught so I checked out
the public schools and Uni’s. Public schools have more discipline and at the coast, much
more ocean-awareness. Universities seemed on par however maybe a bit more relaxed WRT
to sticking to curriculum.
As for raising kids, the place is unreal. No guns, friendly worldly people and BEAUTIFUL beaches.
Cost of living is on par with San Diego, housing is a bit lower but fuel is quite high. Public transport
is great and is used by many. Scenic areas, the bush is nearby. Overall a healthy lifestyle.
Many beach breaks which are fun (I lived on the Northern Beaches) during morning sessions.
Lots of water-sports going on at any beach. People Paragliding over the residential cliffside
homes, Iron Man practice, Surf/Lifesaving Clubs, Dorys, BlueBottles, BYO.
What we have in San Diego is access to everything. I found that I could get great materials
in Sydney however, but on the norm, Stateside has more “stuff”. Americans seemed to own
more “stuff” and Ozzies seemed to own less stuff but had things of more quality…
PM me if you have any specific questions…
Best Regards,
George
Do your maths and leap at the opportunity…
You’ll never regret it, Sydney is fantastic…
Perth is better though, but don’t tell anyone…
Just make sure you get paid in US $…
Depends where you live in Sydney.
If your not going to live on the beach. dont go there. the city for work and looking at the harbour. the beaches are the place to be anywhere else in sydney is torture…!!!
dont go west.
come on over!
we’ll be gentle!
but seriously, I have lived in Sydney all my life and love it, I am on the northern beaches (curl curl beach) and believe that this is the pick of the spots in sydney, a friend of my dads lives close by and does immense amounts of travel for his work, I once heard him say “I have been all around the world and seen many places, but I think the northern beaches is the best place I have ever been”
nuff said?
Thanks all, and given the agreement here will definitely check out the northern beaches. The wife has in 24 hours come around to the point where she is doing interested research into where we might live.
Looks like we will be visiting towards the end of next month to check things out.
I appreciate the inputs.
Howzit tigermeat, While waiting at the Kona airport for a flight back to Kauai I had a nice chat with an Austrailian couple. The wife told me about their government health insurance program there and it is a good one. This is a plus and you should consider it as far as making the move. Aloha,Kokua
Howzit tigermeat, While waiting at the Kona airport for a flight back to Kauai I had a nice chat with an Austrailian couple. The wife told me about their government health insurance program there and it is a good one. This is a plus and you should consider it as far as making the move. Aloha,Kokua
Good point on the health care Kokua. San Diego could do better on health care. If you need heart surgery or something super specialized, then its great. UCSD Medical Center has some of the best research doctors in the world. However, if you need to go to the emergency room… forget about it. I have had the pleasure of making two trips to the ER this year (not for myself, luckily). The amount of time that you have to wait to get treated is amazing. There is a poster on the wall of the ER that explains why wait times are so long now. Apparently, in the last ten years Sand Diego has lost five ER locations. The bottom line is that emergency rooms are not profitable, and hospitals can’t afford to keep them open. I will say, that once we got treated, the care was excellent. It shouldn’t have taken so long though. Something needs to be done.
I’d be all over that if I was you. Spent some time around narabeen and it was awesome. Did I mention epic surf just a short drive up the coast…San diego is out of control with people. Do it!
I dont know about San Diego but you can be Surfing world class waves with a handful of people a couple of hours either side of Sydney.
The Northern beaches area of Sydney is the best spot in the whole city ( I have lived or worked in all compass points of the city) and is the only place that I would go back to if I had to live there again.
But there are some good breaks around Parramatta and Liverpool, and the peir at Homebush bay cranks!! If you buy a house at Mt Druitt you’ll have all your bases covered;)
Daren
But there are some good breaks around Parramatta and Liverpool, and the peir at Homebush bay cranks!! If you buy a house at Mt Druitt you’ll have all your bases covered;)
He he he - evil bastard!!!
Check your PMs.
Born ‘n bred on Sydney’s Northern Beaches so I’m somewhat biased! Never been to San Diego but lived and worked in Santa Cruz and their not worlds apart. My partner is American and we go back every 6mths and she’s the one who can’t wait to get back to Sydney! Give it a try, water is warm ‘n the crowds can be crazy but I love the place!
But there are some good breaks around Parramatta and Liverpool, and the peir at Homebush bay cranks!! If you buy a house at Mt Druitt you’ll have all your bases covered;)
He he he - evil bastard!!!
The Warragamba spillway goes off this time of year too…
Evil man…
Should be easy to find houses for sale in Parramatta, Liverpool and Mt Druitt. Seems like most of the people there moved to the Sunshine Coast in Qld. Must be pretty empty by now.
If you ride a longboard you’ve got to “drop in” to Maroubra as well. Apparently they all only ride shortboards so you’ll be able to sit out the back and pick of all the sets.
Yeah I wish! - take it from me there’s plenty of longboarders all going on about their prostate ops and other old man talk. We also have a regular goat boat crew too…
Thankfully goat boats are just about non existent up here now.
I lived in Bondi for a few years back in 81-84. Still remember getting royally hassled by a cop everyone knew called Stevo on the way back from a surf at the Bra. He really hated surfers.
Also plenty of great nights at the Seals club. The Oils, Cold Chisel, Angels, Radiators, Sunny Boys.
Must echo the beauty of Australia, and Sydney bro.
I lived in San Diego for 3 years after growing up on the Northern Beaches of sydeny, and SD out of all the cities ive seen in the States, it reminds me of sydney the most. Probably a mix between the strong beach culture, great harbour, and a more relaxed attitude had something to do with it.
But what the guys have said is true - depends where in sydney. if you look at a map, the stretch from south (Manly) to north (Palm Beach) is the northern beaches. Its a classic set up of expensive real estate and classic waves. It would have to be the pick of any area in sydney to live. but it all depends on your tastes. the working class areas of Marroubra (spell?) and Cronulla have great waves and cheaper real estate. Sydney has everything - casinos, huge sporting events, concerts, good hospitals, reasonable roads, and it is only 2 hours drive to the North & South Coasts which hold beautiful hidden beaches. Its like your trips to Baja, 2 hours away and less crowds and better waves.
The laid back attitude of the average Australian is why i enjoy being back in sydney. Probably the people here is the best reason to come. Sydney is a pretty safe place to raise kids, and some great public schools.
Let us know if you want some other info on certin aspects, and i’ll see what i can find.
Cheers - Grant