Commuting times from Northern Beaches to SYdney CBD
Discussion
Contemplating joining the rat race down under & commuting from Avalon or another desirable location to the rocks/CBD area.
I am told Cronulla is another nice place to base the family whilst still commutable to the city?
Wouldn't mind commuting on two wheels if big time gains could be had.
Lived in Manly in the early 90's and hopped on the ferry, but with a young family a nice village feel would be preferred.
Or if I was really brave I might try the sunshine coast.
Would be able to live mortgage free in either location providing I was sensible so just need to put a little bread on the table for lifestyle / hols etc.
Work in the fit out / commercial side of construction.
Any advice appreciated from those in the know.
Ps- same comments for Brisbane
I am told Cronulla is another nice place to base the family whilst still commutable to the city?
Wouldn't mind commuting on two wheels if big time gains could be had.
Lived in Manly in the early 90's and hopped on the ferry, but with a young family a nice village feel would be preferred.
Or if I was really brave I might try the sunshine coast.
Would be able to live mortgage free in either location providing I was sensible so just need to put a little bread on the table for lifestyle / hols etc.
Work in the fit out / commercial side of construction.
Any advice appreciated from those in the know.
Ps- same comments for Brisbane
I do a similar but opposite commute, from the Willoughby area to Dee Why. Depending on the time I do it, I see lots of people sitting in heavy traffic through Frenchs Forest.
Two wheels may save you some time, but there are two things to bear in mind:
1 - A rainstorm will make a two wheeled commute less fun and more dangerous. Not sure if this summer is typical, but it's rained a lot.
2 - Sydney motorcyclists seem generally well behaved, with not much lane splitting. I've not ridden a motorbike in Sydney though; I expect somebody who has will add a more meaningful contribution on this point.
James
Two wheels may save you some time, but there are two things to bear in mind:
1 - A rainstorm will make a two wheeled commute less fun and more dangerous. Not sure if this summer is typical, but it's rained a lot.
2 - Sydney motorcyclists seem generally well behaved, with not much lane splitting. I've not ridden a motorbike in Sydney though; I expect somebody who has will add a more meaningful contribution on this point.
James
I live in Cronulla and drive to North Ryde everyday, traffic to the city is pretty busy most of the time and it's busy in the evenings, on a good day it'll take me 40 mins to get to the city from Cronulla during the week, Im tight though and go through Surry Hills to avoid paying the tolls!
Manly's gone a tad mental as far as prices go - you should've bought when you were here last, you'd be laughing!
If you're after the Northern Beaches another thought might be Freshwater (you may well remember it as Harbord), as it's just over the hill from Manly, still has some bargains and is an easy bike ride to Manly wharf. Go too much further north than that and cycling starts getting a bit trickier (it all depends, in my opinion, whether or not your future employer has shower facilities at the workplace - or there's a gym nearby), as far north as Avalon you start running into heavy traffic problems, namely the Bilgola Bends.
Driving from the NB's and parking in Manly for the ferry is getting hard/more expensive as well - something to consider. There are buses from up there to Wynyard and Central quite regularly as well.
If you really want a cruisy lifestyle with a village atmosphere have you considered Scotland Island? The commute-by-boat to the mainland puts a lot of people off but if that's not an issue then the lifestyle is amazing, prices are ridiculous ($1.3mil gets you a 5-bed water frontage!!!) and you can be in the city in well under an hour (depending upon what time you leave admittedly - a mate of mine on the island leaves a bit later than normal, drops the kids at school and is at his desk by 9:30ish.)
A motorbike however would solve a lot of time problems from further up the beaches.
If you're after the Northern Beaches another thought might be Freshwater (you may well remember it as Harbord), as it's just over the hill from Manly, still has some bargains and is an easy bike ride to Manly wharf. Go too much further north than that and cycling starts getting a bit trickier (it all depends, in my opinion, whether or not your future employer has shower facilities at the workplace - or there's a gym nearby), as far north as Avalon you start running into heavy traffic problems, namely the Bilgola Bends.
Driving from the NB's and parking in Manly for the ferry is getting hard/more expensive as well - something to consider. There are buses from up there to Wynyard and Central quite regularly as well.
If you really want a cruisy lifestyle with a village atmosphere have you considered Scotland Island? The commute-by-boat to the mainland puts a lot of people off but if that's not an issue then the lifestyle is amazing, prices are ridiculous ($1.3mil gets you a 5-bed water frontage!!!) and you can be in the city in well under an hour (depending upon what time you leave admittedly - a mate of mine on the island leaves a bit later than normal, drops the kids at school and is at his desk by 9:30ish.)
A motorbike however would solve a lot of time problems from further up the beaches.
Used to live on NB's in Collaroy and only rarely would drive into city during commute. I also work in the road traffic info business and can tell you that the average commute time from Dee Why to CBD (25K's) at 07:30 is 55 minutes. Add an extra 30 mins of you are around Mona Vale, and forget anywhere that involves the Twisties (Barrenjoey Rd)
Thanks for the feedback.
From my limited knowledge around Avalon, Northern Beaches seems pretty hard to beat, apart from the commute.
What other lifestyle areas would people recommend with a reasonable commute ( less than an hour bike or car ) assuming a hypothetical budget of 1.5m aus, for a 4 bed house & space for some metal!
From my limited knowledge around Avalon, Northern Beaches seems pretty hard to beat, apart from the commute.
What other lifestyle areas would people recommend with a reasonable commute ( less than an hour bike or car ) assuming a hypothetical budget of 1.5m aus, for a 4 bed house & space for some metal!
Frenchs Forest and Belrose are a bit further from the beach but still in easy reach. North Balgowlah/Seaforth would be a lot closer and you've got Manly Dam on your doorstep. Colloroy Plateau and other suburbs just back from the beach seem to be good value, but all will have the commute.
We have quite a few in our office, based in the city, that commute from between Manly and Avalon. With your budget and what you're after, you should do OK south of Narrabeen.
I regularly catch the bus in from Seaforth (have to do the kindy run) and it takes about 25mins at 7.30 in the morning, leaving at the same time a bus from Manly takes about 30-40mins. Cycling from Manly takes about 40mins. Fast Ferry takes 18mins to CQ, slow boat takes at least 30mins.
By bus, leaving after that time takes exponentially longer to get into the city as the major holdups are at Mosman and getting to a bus stop at Wynyard. Motorbikes should be quicker, but remember the lanes here are narrower and there are fewer gaps to squeeze through.
We have quite a few in our office, based in the city, that commute from between Manly and Avalon. With your budget and what you're after, you should do OK south of Narrabeen.
I regularly catch the bus in from Seaforth (have to do the kindy run) and it takes about 25mins at 7.30 in the morning, leaving at the same time a bus from Manly takes about 30-40mins. Cycling from Manly takes about 40mins. Fast Ferry takes 18mins to CQ, slow boat takes at least 30mins.
By bus, leaving after that time takes exponentially longer to get into the city as the major holdups are at Mosman and getting to a bus stop at Wynyard. Motorbikes should be quicker, but remember the lanes here are narrower and there are fewer gaps to squeeze through.
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