Life in Sydney

[Big-ted]

Hi to one and all!

Some opinions needed. I'm in the process of applying to a few graduate programmes, and Sydney University is fairly high on my list. That is, they have some interesting work going on, and have been very positive in my conversations with them. Thing is, I'm not sure how much I'll like Sydney. I spent three years at uni in London, and didn't really enjoy it. It took ages to get out the city, and you couldn't move anywhere for the crowds of people everywhere. Now I'm sure Sydney is a great place, but I'm intrigued to hear the opinions of some more local people.

Basically, how easy is it to get in and out the city? How expensive is it living there? etc etc...

A search on here suggests the decent riding is 2-3 hours away, but it can't take that long to get to the blue mountains, can it? Or is there just not much going on riding wise there?

Any information greatly appreciated!

[lotec]

train from central takes 50 minutes to hit penrith (base of the mountains) a further 50 to hit woodford (if your a xcer and wanna do the woodford to glenbrook) or like 10 to blaxland (if your a downhiller and wanna do train runs) from what ive heard about london, sydneys the cheapest place on earth to live by comparison, although as ive never been there i dont know. the CBD in sydney is busy, especially at lunch time or peakhour, but once you get out, there are a lot of nice quiet spots not too far away, theres lots of beaches parks, stuff like that within short distance of the cbd, and public transport is pretty good... (i cant believe i just said that) ok so maybe not reliable, but it will get you from one point to another, USUALLY pretty quickly. Sydney really is a cool place to live, im doing everything i can to get back down there at the moment (im living in the blue mtns now) if your a street rider i think the usual wednesday night rides still go on? (havent checked the watering hole in aaaaaaages) and theres a great group of guys that go on them. thats about all i can think of off the top of my head, i just woke up ill probably edit this later...

[RCOH]

Sydney is very expensive (7th most expensive place on earth according to latest survey) but it is a great city.


As lotec pointed out the mountains are about 1 hour away by train, 1.5 hours to some good XC/Trail rides & about 1hr10mins to the DH tracks.

On the northen beaches (across Sydney harbour bridge from Sydney CBD) the is some fantastic XC/DH/Trail/Freeride courses. There are no trains to these rides so you have to drive or get a ferry & ride. Manly Dam is a excelent XC loop & the areas of Oxford Falls & Red Hill have some great dh/freeride trails, as well as some nice loops linking all 3 areas.

As forliving in sydney, I really love it but i have never lived anywhere else. For the most part people are friendly & unpretentious. There is great food, entertainment, arts, pubs & shopping.Every major bands comes here when they get to australia & most minor/underground bands. The live music scene is getting stronger. There are really good beaches within 1/2 hour drive of majority of sydney, usually a lot closer.

The only real bummer is cost of living (rent etc), but it no worse than London!

[Binaural]

Here are the things I'd like to know about Sydney as an outsider who likes riding and avoiding being overcrowded:

1. Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world. However, in a country with a low population overall the vast majority of the country has hardly any people in it.

2. It is very possible to study @ Sydney uni and live on the edges of the city adjacent to the bush + trails. I went to there for a year while living in Hornsby, which is on the northern edge of the city. It took me about 30min on the train plus a 10min walk at each end, but you can study and read on the train :) and er, do the assignments you have been dodging. Going for a ride after uni was no trouble at all really, and the train passes through a number of places to ride on the way home if you are so inclined.

Similar distances to the south of the city. Moving out west will take a bit longer to get to uni as described by Lotec. However, living in the blue moutains means you are near lots of awesome trails and climbing etc. I guess it depends on how many days a week you have to attend uni as to how close you choose to live to uni. If you are doing a PHd or a postgraduate fellowship then living closer might be better, anything else and living away should be fine.

2. Salaries are a LOT lower than in London, but cost of living is also a lot lower. I found London expensive and pretty cramped (as well as a bit intimidatingly huge). Sydney is more sprawling, so once you are out of the inner city you get more space.

3. Public transport is pretty good, but not as good as London or Europe. Trains are the only way to go if you want to get around by bike, but there is usually heaps of space outside rush hour.

What are you studying? I have done undergraduate courses at Sydney and UTS and I know people doing postgraduate studies at all the major Sydney universities and I could give you some information on local reputation etc. Likewise if DH is your thing then the blue mountains may be a better choice, etc etc. Tell us what you like and we can give a better answer!

[ScottD]

if you want to go to the bluemountains a fair bit you could stay on the northern beaches if you want the beach. Collaroy to mona vale is your best bet because you can a forest coachlines bus to chatswood and then a train to blue mountains. The forest coachlines buses are always quiet, usually no more than 10 people and thats crowded! The bus drivers are normally nice about bikes as long as there clean and depends on if there a nice driver. There are good FR, DH and XC trails all within ridiing distance of collaroy to mona vale.

to get into the city its easy with the one bus going from palm beach all the way into the city.

[enjoi]

Well I've lived in Sydney for all my life and can't really say I enjoy it.

I find that in my area (Hornsby) there isn't really anywhere local to ride, I think only 1 trail that isn't crap and that is such a trek to get back from.


If you want to go somewhere decent to ride, then I find that you've got to travel a fair way.

If you are into street, its great, but other than that I wouldn't really recommen it. Of course others would have different opinions, but thats just what i think....

[NCR600]

Go live in Bondi. Apart from the weather, you'll never know you've left the UK. :)

[Wattsy]

Sydney is very expensive (7th most expensive place on earth according to latest survey) but it is a great city.



The only real bummer is cost of living (rent etc), but it no worse than London!

Sydney's accually the 2nd most expensive place to live for real estate next to LA.

[Daver]

Well I've lived in Sydney for all my life and can't really say I enjoy it.

I find that in my area (Hornsby) there isn't really anywhere local to ride, I think only 1 trail that isn't crap and that is such a trek to get back from.


If you want to go somewhere decent to ride, then I find that you've got to travel a fair way.

If you are into street, its great, but other than that I wouldn't really recommen it. Of course others would have different opinions, but thats just what i think....

Dude you're missing out big time. Lots of decent riding areas around hornsby.

[enjoi]

Would you be able to give me any direction as to where these decent places are?

[Big-ted]

Hi again. Thanks for all your comments. I guess I'm a downhiller these days, but that's not to say I don't appreciate an epic day out every now and again, it's just it usually involves my DH bike, hence actual mileage covered tends to be fairly limited!

Binaural, I'm looking at doing a PhD in optics. I've already had conversations with a group at USyd, and they've been very encouraging. I know the group there are doing some excellent work, hence my applying in the first place! Right now I'm doing a PhD here in the UK, but in a perverse link-up scheme with industry, and it isn't working out. I've also applied to UBC, Vancouver and I'm told my application is being considered favourably. I think it's just a case of getting my head around these decisions. I'd be taking a huge cut in pay wherever I go, but as you point out, cost of living in London is horrendous, and I think the quality of life is pretty poor for someone like myself. I figured I'd look for quality departments in places where I'm likely to have fun at the same time. There's other stuff too, like I'd have to sell my apartment here (the buying of which was incredibly stressful) and go back to student communal living. I think that would take a lot of getting used to again!

[Cave Dweller]

Hi again. Thanks for all your comments. I guess I'm a downhiller these days, but that's not to say I don't appreciate an epic day out every now and again, it's just it usually involves my DH bike, hence actual mileage covered tends to be fairly limited!

Binaural, I'm looking at doing a PhD in optics. I've already had conversations with a group at USyd, and they've been very encouraging. I know the group there are doing some excellent work, hence my applying in the first place! Right now I'm doing a PhD here in the UK, but in a perverse link-up scheme with industry, and it isn't working out. I've also applied to UBC, Vancouver and I'm told my application is being considered favourably. I think it's just a case of getting my head around these decisions. I'd be taking a huge cut in pay wherever I go, but as you point out, cost of living in London is horrendous, and I think the quality of life is pretty poor for someone like myself. I figured I'd look for quality departments in places where I'm likely to have fun at the same time. There's other stuff too, like I'd have to sell my apartment here (the buying of which was incredibly stressful) and go back to student communal living. I think that would take a lot of getting used to again!

Hi there,

Im doing a PhD in engineering at UTS uni, also into DH. Most DH rides will require access to a vehicle, that said i have been DH'ing in sydney for 5 years without my own car, but it is hard.

While the cost of accomidation in London is high, so is the pay. Relative speaking, Sydney is not alot cheaper to live if your getting paid in aussie dollars.

For example, if you want to live in a share house expect to pay upwards of $120 for a room. Living right in sydney is expensive, you would be looking at upwards of $160 for a room in the close city areas. Move out 15mins and prices go down to around $120 like i said, this is where most students live.

If you wanted your own studio / 1 bedroom apartment expect to pay upwards of $300 per week.

All the unis have student accommodation facilities but i have found them to be more expensive, and you might end up living with first year students which would bug me. I know UTS has postgraduate accommodation, not sure about Usyd.

So, you can reasonably expect to pay up to 1/3 of your scholarship in rent sharing, and around 2/3++ living on your own.

To travel in and out of the city by bus or train costs around $3-$4 a day for students (you would probably have to pay full fare seeing you are overseas $6-$8). I ride a mountain bike hardtail with slicks and it costs me nothing. Problem is sydney drivers are ass hoels and will run you over without a second glance. Need to be alert at all times.

The weather here is alot warmer then London, and mostly sunny. That said i hate warm weather, it is no fun going DH'ing in 35deg+ weather. I actually liked the cool weather in London.

Another thing to consider is mountain bike gear is very very expensive in Australia. Maybe look at getting some new rigs before you leave and bring them with you.

I don't particularly like Sydney myself. I find Melbourne, adelaide, canberra and anywhere else to be a much more friendly city, i find alot of people in Sydney to be snooby and self absorbed in their own lifes to care about anyone else. You will see what i mean when you get here :)

[Cave Dweller]

Perfect. This article sums up inner city sydney fairly well.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/welcome-to-the-angstridden-inner-west/2006/02/12/1139679480760.html

[bdeightyone]

Although Sydney is expensive you really cannot beat it for buzz. It has the beaches and harbour and all the natural sites and sounds that make it the best city in Australia. There are of course drawbacks with every location but on a whole i reckon you really cant beat Sydney. In terms of riding as others point out you are pretty much stuffed without a car in Sydney, unless you live on the doorstep of a reasonable riding location. The Northshore is a nice area and if you can get a set up close to public transport thats your best bet to be close to the decent riding terrain and the city.

Cheers
BD