Or Maybe North

I've pretty much been priced out of the rental market in Sydney, it seems.  It's not that I don't earn a decent hourly rate, but I'm only working three or four days a week (I spend the other days on mee.nu) and I also have a lot of mee.nu-related expenses.

So, since my boss has agreed to me only going into the office two days a week, the plan is to move outwards.  I'm already near the northern edge of Sydney; where I live now, Hornsby, is the last major shopping centre as you head north.  Used to be quite inexpensive, but that has changed in a major way lately.

I have a few choices:

Move out to the western edge of Sydney, where there's lots of flat, cheap land.  Since I don't drive, that means Richmond or Penrith.  Richmond is quieter and cheaper, Penrith has a much larger shopping centre, a better selection of rental properties, and better transport, but isn't really laid out for pedestrians.

Move south-west, to the Campbelltown area.  I don't really know what it's like out there these days, but it's a long way away, and very spread out.

Move further south-west, right out of Sydney and into the Southern Highlands.  This is a beautiful area, though it gets cold in winter.  Mittagong and Bowral are the two major towns; Moss Vale is also very nice, but small.  The problem here is transport; trains run every two hours, and most of them stop at Campbelltown, and you have to change trains.  There's a convenient train in the morning that takes me straight to Sydney, though.

Move west, past Penrith, out to the Blue Mountains.  Doesn't seem to be much in the way of rentals out there, though I did find a gorgeous stone cottage in Leura.

Move south, towards (or to) Wollongong. Which, frankly, looks pretty blah.  Though there are some nice beaches.

Or finally, move north, past the Hawkesbury River, up towards Gosford or Wyong - the Central Coast.  I found some nice, cheap and extremely well-located properties in Tuggerah.  Still no ADSL2 there, though.

I'm planning to scout out the Southern Highlands this Saturday, then zip up north on Sunday.  And then sleep all day Monday.  Or at least find out how well I sleep on those train trips, which will be useful knowledge.

Update: Or maybe Woy Woy.  Not as cheap as Tuggerah, but closer to the city, and they have ADSL2.  A choice of 12 providers, including Exetel and Internode.  Hmm, decisions.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:32 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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