Thinking of moving to Sydney with the family and need some tips for living in Sydney? We’ve got you covered, keep reading!
This beautiful Australian city is a bustling metropolis, home to nearly five million residents, and sees more than 10 million visitors each year.
According to the latest The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index report, Sydney is the 11th most liveable city in the world with many families, professionals and students moving to Sydney and calling it home.
With its stunning beaches, weather and festivities it’s easy to see why.
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Living in Sydney: Top moving to Sydney tips for families:
1. Where are the best suburbs in Sydney?
As Sydney is Australia’s largest city you need to have an idea of what you and your family want out of a suburb. Do you want an inner-city hipster lifestyle, be by the beach, or prefer a trendy vibe?
Some of our favourite suburbs to live, buy and rent in Sydney for families are:
- In the North – Chatswood, Collaroy, Curl Curl, Dee Why, Freshwater, Hornsby, Manly, Mosman, Narrabeen and Queenscliff
- Inner City – Alexandria, Drummoyne, Five Dock, Glebe, Haberfield, Leichardt, Newtown, Petersham, Pyrmont and Surry Hills
- In the East – Bondi, Bronte, Coogee and Waverley
- In the South – Earlwood and Cronulla
- In the West – Parramatta
From here you’ve got to set yourself up. So, when you arrive you’ll need a temporary base. And, the main sources for this are below.
Stay with friends/relatives. We might be stating the obvious, but try to stay with relatives and friends. Do they have a spare bedroom/s you and the family could use for a couple of weeks? If so, this will help a lot!
Try self-service. If you have some funds and don’t like hostels then find a self-service apartment. There a number of Sydney extended stay hotel options in and around the city starting from $83 per night. One of our favourite choices is the Oaks Goldsbrough Apartments in Darling Harbour.
Priced from $129 per night they offer everything you would need and it’s central. Also, inquire directly as they often have long stay discounts.
Stay at a backpackers and set yourself up. If it’s just you then a backpackers is a good choice to house you temporarily while searching for a place for yourself and the family.
Some top-rated places include YHA Sydney Harbour, Base Sydney and Wake Up! Sydney Central. Here is a full list of other best hostels in Syndey to select depending on your situation (eg. solo, couple travel).
Not only are Sydney hostels a great way to meet people, but you can get access to cheap or FREE Wi-Fi, local tips and information from staff to help with your move to Sydney.
So once you’ve got a temporary base, next is finding a permanent rental or to buy. The main sites to do this are:
- Domain
- Realestate.com.au
- For a share house – you can find these via Gumtree and Realestate.com.au
2. How to find work in Sydney?
As Sydney is an expensive city, you’ll probably need to secure a job before moving to the city (the most ideal situation) or find a role when you arrive to support your stay. The main sites to find work in Sydney are:
Also, you can sign-up with a recruiter such as Hays, Randstad and Michael Page – they’re some of the main ones in NSW.
Otherwise, if you’re business savvy then you can freelance and find work via Upwork, Airtasker, Freelancer or Elance to name a few.
3. Getting around Sydney?
First thing when you arrive, you need to get yourself an Opal Card Sydney. It’ll make getting around Sydney much easier and cheaper. You simply tap-on and tap-off, and load your card with money. You can purchase a card online at opal.com.au or at most newsagents.
There are taxis however Uber is now most popular.
You’ll need to get familiar with the Sydney public transport system, so I highly recommend downloading the mobile app TripView. The full version is around $4AUD and the lite version is FREE.
It’s a lifesaver as it maps out your journey, lists all routes and will show up-to-date travel times. It’ll help you a lot with using public transport in Sydney.
4. How to meet people in Sydney?
This one is pretty simple – just get out and about and talk to people. Otherwise, jump on meetup.com and attend an event. There’s a bunch of them available to join, many are FREE and they cater to different interests.
Alternatively, why not join a club or fitness centre or take that course you’ve always wanted to. Also, once the kids are in daycare or school you will start meeting other parents and families.
5. Sydney adventures to experience?
What’s great about Sydney is there are so many things to do.
A top tip is to check out our Sydney travel adventures section or the Urban List and TimeOut Sydney websites. They have great listings and articles around things to do in Sydney.
From events, festivals and attractions, to trendy restaurants, cafes and bars to discover. These options will help you and the family better explore Sydney.
In the meantime, some of our top attractions for Sydney are:
Take a cruise along Sydney Harbour (eg. Manly public ferry). A breathtaking experience is to do a dinner or lunch cruise, there’s a bunch of companies offering this from Kings Street Wharf in Darling Harbour. Also, why not jump on a ferry and head to Taronga Zoo to explore this popular attraction for your family day out.
Boats cruising along Sydney Harbour.
Swim at Bondi Beach or take a Manly Surf Lesson. We love Sydney’s beaches and in particular the northern beaches where Manly is located.
In Manly be sure to visit Shelley Beach. For Australia’s most popular beach, Bondi, you must do the coastal walk to Coogee. It’ll take around two hours with incredible views and is a top activity to do with kids in Sydney.
Gordon’s Bay along Bondi to Coogee walk. Great family walking track in Sydney.
Visit Sydney Opera House. We recommend having lunch at the Opera Bar. It’s a stunning and vibrant outdoor venue boasting breathtaking views of the Harbour Bridge, and it has live music on the weekends. Also from here be sure to walk along the foreshore to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
It has perfect views of both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Plus you can enjoy the Botanical Gardens grounds where the kids can roam freely around taking in the plants and wildlife.
Enjoy some food and beverages at Opera Bar.
In terms of where to eat and drink, some key sites to help you out are Yelp, TimeOut Sydney and Zomato.
If you enjoyed this moving to Sydney blog post be sure to check out my other living in Sydney blog articles to help you explore and discover this stunning city.
WANT MORE? Check out our pros and cons of living in Sydney article for information on the advantages of living in Sydney or watch the below video where we share our living in Sydney tips.
Do you live in Sydney? What are your tips for families wishing to embark on moving to Sydney?
