My girlfriend and I are moving to Sydney in January. What can we expect weatherwise and is it better to live on a bus line or train line?

Also, we hear there is a rent shortage. Is that true? Will we still be able to afford to live near the city centre?

Hi Marko,

Yes there is a rent shortage in Sydney because not enough houses or flats are being built to cater for the growth in people moving to Sydney. But it's not that bad. You should be able to find a good one bedroom flat or apartment near the city. It all depends on where you want to live but expect to pay anything from $300 to $450 for a decent one bedroom place. That's assuming you end up near the city centre. The thing you should know about lots of flats in Sydney is many of the older flats were built with thin walls so you can hear your neighbours. I have a neighbour upstairs who has a tile floor and he rises early. He is always dropping something on that floor or dragging things across at 6am. So, be wary of that. Try to get a flat on the top floor, or go for a house if you can afford it. You'll get a better night's sleep. Otherwise invest in ear plugs.

As for the weather - January is horrible. it's very humid. The humidity kicks in in December and goes to about February so make sure you find a place where you can create a breeze in your flat with windows at either end. Try to avoid ground floor flats that are built right on the ground. They tend to be damp.

Bus or train? I think being on a train line is much better but sometimes you don't have a choice. the best option is to find a place that has both a train service and buses. Sydney has lots of buses that service the inner city areas.

Places like Bondi Junction and Chatswood have plenty of transport options.

If you want to find out where the train stations are, go to www.cityrail.info

Good luck.

Thanks Jonop, we'll take your advice on board. How reliable is the public transport in Sydney?

Geez, that question can open up a whole can of worms. There was a newspaper story today that said Sydneysiders are wedded to their cars because they think the public transport system sucks. If you work in the city and live in Manly, it will take you about 30minutes door to door by car. Compare that to public transport with a train and ferry and that will be anywhere between 60 and 90minutes.

I'm not sure where you are moving to Sydney from, but if you are moving here from Europe or UK, you may think our system does suck.

I don't think it's too bad but it all depends on where you live. I agree with Jonop that it's better to be on a train line. But if you can't, then as long as you are near a bus route you will be fine. (Even the ferries are pretty good.) Just check that the buses come regularly. For that to happen, you probably need to live close to the city centre. As long as you are within say a 15km radius of the city centre you should be fine.

OK. Sounds like it's all relative. Thanks.

Hi Marko,

The closer you are to the city centre, and the more fashionable the suburb, the higher the rent.
The beach suburbs have higher rent too.

I met a Canadian couple who were moved to Sydney and were told to head to Coogee. They went to check it out and found it wasn't quite right for them. They thought it was a bit too expensive and a bit too noisey especially with the backpackers. They ended up in Cremorne on the lower north shore. That was probably too quiet for them, but they said it was cheaper, and that's why they stayed.