Re-locating to Sydney from Los Angeles

[Sawyers mom]

Hello, my husband, myself and our 2 year old daughter are moving to Sydney for approximately 4-6 months. I am very excited about this. We have always been world travelers and now it will be exciting to live in a new city and a new country! We are looking at an apt. in Cremorne Point. We did have someone in my husband's office take a look at it and she said it was a really good apartment and we should take it. I am happy because it's not a highrise. I was a little concerned about that with a 2 year old. I know people have little kids in highrises in New York City etc., but it just made me nervous. Can anyone tell me about getting around the city etc. We may try to just have one car. I was thinking I could drop my husband at work, he's in Artarmon and then take the car during the day. I will not be working and this is a first for me. I have always had a career and worked in advertising with a high pressure job. I actually have hated my work for the last 10 years, so this is will be a great break for me. I am heartbroken because my dog and cat will not be coming with us. They will be staying with my husband's family until we return to the States. They are like my children! I also wanted to find out about daycare or preschools for my 2 year old. She attends a great little school here in Los Angeles and they do a great job of teaching them. I would like for her to also be able to make some friends her own age and maybe I would be able to meet some moms that way too! I don't know anyone in Sydney!! Any info, advice etc. will be helpful. What is the weather like there from end of Nov. to May? I have heard it's hot and humid. LA is pretty nice year round and not humid at all. Sorry for the long posting...lots of questions when moving halfway around the world in less than a month!!

[Ashleigh<3]

Oh how exciting! :D
Australia is happy to have you all-Welcome!

I consider myself Australian but I was born in America and lived there for ten years- dual citizenship.
I live approximately an hour out of the city but enjoy meeting with friends down that way.
(I love the city!).
Cremorne is a great area too. Wow, what a wonderful change for you all, I really hope you all enjoy it.

It will be sad missing your dog and cat, if you ever decide to reside permanently here in Aus, quarantine is always an option. :thumbsup:

I have a two year old Daughter as well.

It will be quite hot but the suburb you will considering is near the water, which would be very nice. Hopefully your apartment has air con. ;)

The train system is great for commuters and also helps financially considering the cost of gas these days, (is coming down though which is great!). Petrol over here goes by the litre which I believe works out to be an equivalence of 3 1/2 litres to a gallon? So, around $4.50 a gallon- $1.30 a litre (roughly!).:o

Anyways, wishing you all the very best, feel free to pm me any time if you have any other questions- Australia is a lovely country in so many different aspects. :)

[kiwibird27]

Cremorne point is brillant... I lived in the area for years and was a nanny in Mosman... theres brillant walkways all around the harbour foreshore... and it's a quick ferry ride into the city and the botanical gardens... lots of lovely parks around, good shops and Warringah mall is just a 15 min drive for all your huge mall shopping, Balmoral beach is just a hop skip and a jump, and it's really safe to go swimming with the kids there as it's a harbour beach so no waves. Really expensive area... but good access to everything.. I would love to live there but $400 a week for a tiny 2 bdrm apartment with no lift just doesn't do it for me!!! Please PM me if u need more details. All of the schools around there are good!!!

[jaq]

Hi there,

Welcome to the Hub, and soon, Australia! I used to live in Mosman (next suburb over) many years ago, so I can give you a general gist of the place.

Firstly, Cremorne generally has excellent public transport links, there are two ferries servicing the Point (Milson Road and Green St) so you'll likely be walking distance from one of those. And the ferry across to Circular Quay is one of the the best "commutes" in the world ... I used to fantasise about it when I was stuck on the Tube in London!

The drive to Artarmon won't be too arduous, but I wouldn't like to do it everyday, myself. You might find you can cope most days without the car, and then just borrow it for one or two days when you are going further afield or to do the shopping for example. It's more about planning than anything else. You won't want it to go across into the city or anything like that - traffic in Sydney is awful. Honestly, you wouldn't believe that such a small city (by your standards) could have such bad traffic. Something to do with the geography, I think.

The area is wonderful around there - it's one of the poshest neighbourhoods in Sydney, and a lot of your everyday fun will be up on Military Road - lots of cafes, delis, restaurants and services like playgroups and the like. Cremorne, Mosman and Neutral Bay are really well served for sporting clubs, particularly tennis etc, and there is the beach, of course.

Balmoral Beach is relatively close by (as Ashleigh mentioned), but you'd have to take a bus from Military Road - quite a long walk with a toddler. And VERY uphill on the way home :) Or you could go over to Manly for the day where there is a nice surf beach, esplanade etc. One of my favourite spots is North Head, where there are lots of walks, Aboriginal carvings and the like ... very windswept coastal scrub, but you really know you are alive!

And of course .... drumroll! ... there is Taronga Zoo, right on the foreshore just a few blocks over. It's a fabulous spot, and I'll expect you'll become VERY familiar with it if your daughter has a say :goodvibes:

Sorry I can't offer more practical info, but you'll have a fabulous time and sort it all out quickly enough. The only problem you'll have is that you'll soon be thinking 6 months is too short! :flowerz:

[Sawyers mom]

I really appreciate the advice. It's so hard to figure things out from the other side of the world. I am really excited about the move and I can finally concentrate on getting things done. I was working up until last week and the job was alot of pressure and not enjoyable.
I am glad that seems to be a good area. I am hoping we get the apartment. We own our home in Los Angeles and rent that out furnished when we're gone. We just spent ten months living in San Francisco, it's a great city although it is pretty chilly year round. I really feel like I didn't get much of a summer, so I'm looking forward to having warm weather in Sydney! The apartment we're looking at does have air conditioning. This seems like a pretty good sight to find information too! Does anyone know about the daycare situation in Sydney? I would like my daughter to go maybe a couple of days a week so she could make friends her own age. Here in LA she attends a school where they are very good at teaching them all kinds of things. They have a different theme each month and that's the area of focus. Last month was all about where you live and the people in your neighborhood. They learned about the postman, the grocery store, crossing the street with a grown-up etc. Really good things!!

[jaq]

Um - I forgot about the weather. Sydney is actually relatively similar to LA. I wouldn't call it humid, but then, I grew up in the tropics.

Here's (http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN10064.shtml) the daily weather report for Sydney. You'll have to come to grips with Celcius at some point :D To give you some idea - below 10 is cold, 15-20 is coolish, 25 is comfortable, 30 is warm, 33 plus is HOT.

Re daycare, I can't help you there. But hopefully someone can, because places can be hard to get - especially in the good daycare places with proper educational programmes.

Happy packing!

[Sawyers mom]

I am so disappointed! The apartment in Cremorne Point fell through, apparently the owners had 2nd thoughts about renting to a family with a 2 year old!! Ugh! Oh well! Now I think we do have a deposit on one in Neutral Bay on Kurraba Road. It looks very nice, so we will see. I think it might be a little easier to get around as far as public transportation. It has a little courtyard which will be nice for my daughter. I happy it's not a highrise. I was a little nervous about that!! We arrive on the 30th of November and i am looking forward to the time there. If anyone has any ideas about preschools or daycare I would appreciate it!!
Thanks,
Christine

[Larski]

Hiya, bugger about the Cremorne Point place! But Kurraba rd is very close, I grew up in the next street over and know the whole area well even though I dont live there anymore.

Transport is probably a bit better than Cremorne Point - still have the ferry and there is a bus to Neutral Bay Junction which has buses to everywhere. Milsons Point is the nearest train station and is on the same line as Artarmon, so your hubby may be able to catch the train. From where I lived it used to take 20 mins to walk to the station.

The only potential problem with this location is that one section of Kurraba rd is very busy, a main thoroughfare, while the next section is very quiet, local traffic only. I wonder which section your apartment will be? If you can get back to me quickly, pm me the address and I can check it out for you.

Re. daycare, I'm sorry to say that I dont like your chances much. Waiting lists are very long and places are very hard to get, and no amount of money can fix it! Your best chance would be family daycare, usually run through the local council (North Sydney). Otherwise your next best chance would be to use Occasional Care which wouldnt give you a regular day (so is no good if you are working) but find if you want it for social reasons. Try googling family day care around North Sydney and get back to us with any questions.

Finally, its sad to be leaving your pets... I'm sure they will be well taken care of though and delighted when you return. I have an absolutely gorgeous dog so if you ever feel like a walk/play/pat then just let me know, and I enjoy walks and coffees too!

[Sawyers mom]

Thank you for the info. I do know the apartment is on the busier portion of the road which is a bit unfortunate, but it was the nicest apartment they saw and I think the bigger one of the group. I am sorry the other apartment fell through...oh well!

I have been very busy getting ready for this move. We are trying to rent out our house in LA and pack up our belongings.

I am sure I will have many questions once we get to Sydney! This is the first time in my adult life that I will not be working...not sure how I will feel about this. I think I will be able to find lots of fun things for my 2 year old and I to do! I think I will likely need an occasional center for my sanity! How are the family daycare situations? Do you think I would be able to find something for a couple of days a week? Any info on finding a reliable baby sitter?

Thank you!
Christine

[Lastcenturymum]

Just one thing that might help (related to a comment you made) googlearth and the new google where you can look at streets is really helpful. My hubby took pics when he was over here then pinned them on a google earth map and I could play around with that kinda get a feel for what things would look like. It must be so hard when you are doing everything from the other side of the world, at least he got our apartment before I moved over.

You may find a starting point is a church playgroup in your neighbourhood when you move...it would at least be a contact with other mums and a resource to find out more about care etc. And of course just chatting to others in playgrounds and parks.

All the best with the move...how long now?

(oh and I miss my cats so much too...:()

[Sawyers mom]

We leave soon! Friday night 28/11 at 1030p from Los Angeles and arrive in Sydney on Sunday morning. I did look at google earth and the area looks like a nice neighborhood (Kurraba St.) , lots of trees and nice sidewalks etc. Hopefully we will have everything figured out fairly quickly. We are going to rent a car for the time we are there, just easier than trying to buy one, worry about repairs, insurance etc. Someone from my husband's office will meet us at our new home...should be interesting.
I am sure I will have lots of questions when I get there!!
Christine