Where should we live in sydney?

Hi All,

I was wondering if some of you could offer some advice as to where is best to live in Sydney.

We decided on Sydney after getting some great advice on this forum months ago but now we are not sure where in Sydney (suburb) is best to live for a youngish couple such as ourselves. We have heard manly is good but may be too expensive so looking for alternatives. We reckon we can afford $500 a week for rent but that is an absolute max!

About us:

• I'm 29 and a Computer Programmer but have yet to secure a job

• My girlfriend is 24 and has got a job as a midwife at Royal North Shore Hospital so will need easy commute access.
  

We both enjoy going out for nice meals and the usual couple type stuff. Would like to have a nice beach nearby (or at least an easy bus / tram ride away) and we enjoy hitting decent bars / nightclubs at the weekends. I suppose we like the typical stuff for people of our age.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

That hospital is in St. Leonards, right? I'd probably try and stick with trying to find a place also on the North shore in that case. I'm not too sure of price, but St. Leonards itself can't be too bad. Alternatively, the St Leonards railway station is on the North Shore Line of the City Rail network. I have taken the train across before, and that's relatively quick from most CBD locations. But finding a place to live in the CBD is rather difficult (and they're typically not that great, as well as it being a rather boring part of Sydney to live in). Somewhere like Glebe (I'd probably try and get a place here if I was moving back to Sydney any time soon) or Ultimo might work out, which would mean getting on the train at Central then.

I have lived Strathfield for a year and found it the perfect base to explore the city.

Rent is generally a bit cheaper than somewhere like Glebe but just as accessible from the city. Strathfield Station is a major interchange with city and countryrail trains running all over the place. Both the North shore and Northern lines stop there and go to St Leonards.

You are probably about 10mins away from the CBD too.