Picking an area to live has been a balance between being as close to the city as possible without making my commute a nightmare. Because Woolworths are based to the north west of the city, we always knew we had to live somewhere in the Inner West or the lower North Shore - basically these areas are close to the harbour and to the west / north west / north of the city centre. Our search centred around Pyrmont, Balmain, McMahon's Point, Milson's Point and Kirribilli. We did a lot of research before we came on various property websites and read as much as we could about the various suburbs. Woolworths employed a relocation company to help us, and on our second day here we had an orientation tour which showed us the areas we had selected. We also looked at a few properties. We dismissed Milson's Point immediately as there is a lot of road noise from the Bradfield Highway, and all the properties were quite high rise. During my pre-work week we visited all the areas and got a good idea of them - Kirribilli has great views of the opera house and bridge but is ridiculously expensive - it is where the Australian PM lives. McMahons's just doesn't have much available.
We liked both Balmain - where we are currently in temporary accomodation - and Pyrmont, which is closer to the city centre. Balmain is trendy in a yummy mummy kind of way - and at times it's a bit knit your own organic tofu. Great cafes and restaurants and shops that stock stuff that no-one actually needs. Suits us perfectly. The main issue is the traffic - all those yummy mummies drive huge 4x4's - the Aussie equivalent of Chelsea tractors - and Balmain just wasn't built for them. In fact Balmain used to be the working class housing for all the dockworkers, so there is not much parking at all. Most of the properties don't have driveways or garages - and I am too old to be on the street!!!! Pyrmont used to be the wharves where the Balmain inhabitants worked - it's now an up and coming area with new apartment buildings. So we've picked Pyrmont - and have agreed a rental on a place in Point Street. It's what the real estate agents describe as a 3/2/2 - that's 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 car park spaces. It's a five minute walk to Star City, and 15 mins to Darling Harbour - very convenient for the city and all its attractions. And the view from the balcony is wonderful. We're open now for bookings through to end 2010.
We liked both Balmain - where we are currently in temporary accomodation - and Pyrmont, which is closer to the city centre. Balmain is trendy in a yummy mummy kind of way - and at times it's a bit knit your own organic tofu. Great cafes and restaurants and shops that stock stuff that no-one actually needs. Suits us perfectly. The main issue is the traffic - all those yummy mummies drive huge 4x4's - the Aussie equivalent of Chelsea tractors - and Balmain just wasn't built for them. In fact Balmain used to be the working class housing for all the dockworkers, so there is not much parking at all. Most of the properties don't have driveways or garages - and I am too old to be on the street!!!! Pyrmont used to be the wharves where the Balmain inhabitants worked - it's now an up and coming area with new apartment buildings. So we've picked Pyrmont - and have agreed a rental on a place in Point Street. It's what the real estate agents describe as a 3/2/2 - that's 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 car park spaces. It's a five minute walk to Star City, and 15 mins to Darling Harbour - very convenient for the city and all its attractions. And the view from the balcony is wonderful. We're open now for bookings through to end 2010.
We move in next weekend.
5 weeks before our furniture arrives.........................
5 weeks before our furniture arrives.........................
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