[NSW]Castle Hill....OK??

[Pat82]

I used to study at UNSW and now work in the CBD.

During my uni days, I used to:
bus from David Road to PH Station (30min)
train from PH to Central (45min)
bus from central to Ranwick (20min)
This is excluding waiting time. I used to spend at least 2 hours per way travelling to/from uni. I spent 1/6 of my uni life travelling. I was an engineering student and had to do lab work at uni on weekends. Back in those days, there was only 1 train per hour on the weekends. It was very very slow and painful when I mis-timed the bus ride and missed a train.

My first full-time job was at the CBD working the standard 9 - 6 office job. Used to spend 2 hours travelling per day. The Hills Buses have small and hard seats. I am 5 foot 8 and I found the seat uncomfortable. I developed neck and back problems from those long bus rides.

Now I still work at the CBD but working 11 to 7. I drive to Cheltenham and catch the train. It’s a 10 minute drive and 45 min train ride so I still spend 2 hours per day travelling.

I will move to Marsfield next month. It's only 13 km to CBD but buses still take 1 hour so I guess 2 hours of travel per day is not so uncommon in Sydney. It amazes me that other major cities in Asia (Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc) have trains and buses running every minute during peak hours and every 5 minutes during non-peak.

 

[jaimeandrenee]

i went to a party at castle hill some years ago caught a train to pennet hills and caught a cab from the station straight down one road to my destination and it cost me $ 24 geez it was an exy night out.

cool place but costly to get home after a big night i'd say.

 

[twobobsworth]

i went to a party at castle hill some years ago caught a train to pennet hills and caught a cab from the station straight down one road to my destination and it cost me $ 24 geez it was an exy night out.

cool place but costly to get home after a big night i'd say.

Bargain. Can be triple digits from the city.

 

[kamchatsky]

If Pennant Hills parking suck, Thornleigh as much better parking. But it is a long drive from Castle Hill.

Having said that, the Northern line now goes through Chatswood instead of Eastwood/West Ryde/Strathfield, means that there are plenty of seats for everyone on the train. So instead of looking at Castle Hill, you can look at West Pennant Hills, Cherrybrook or Thornleigh/Pennant Hills to live?

But yes, I moved to Cherrybrook from Strathfield 2 years ago and loved the Hills area.

 

[stumunro]

Perhaps try Normanhurst

 

[lovecolt]

Hi

Have you considered Pennant Hills? The train goes direct to Epping via Chatswood to the city...check it out.

We would prefer PH in the first place, except the prices are higher than CH.

Perhaps try Normanhurst

We are thinking about normanhurst.....might still stand a chance there.....finger's crossed.

If Pennant Hills parking suck, Thornleigh as much better parking. But it is a long drive from Castle Hill.

Having said that, the Northern line now goes through Chatswood instead of Eastwood/West Ryde/Strathfield, means that there are plenty of seats for everyone on the train. So instead of looking at Castle Hill, you can look at West Pennant Hills, Cherrybrook or Thornleigh/Pennant Hills to live?

But yes, I moved to Cherrybrook from Strathfield 2 years ago and loved the Hills area.

Believe Cheerybrook's out of question as its higher priced than CH.

 

[Witzl]

I live right on the Baulkham Hills/Castle Hill border, VERY close to the TAFE. I've also lived in Castle hill for the past 25 years.

I have to say that the Hills is probably one of the BEST areas to have a family in, and just a lovely place to live in. Everyone knows their neighbours, everyone looks out for everyone, and all the amenities you need are in the local area.

Yes, transport is the only let-down.... HOWEVER - the M2 City bus is WAAAAAAY better now than what it used to be, even 2 years ago.
My fiancee works in St Leonards. She catches the 612 bus to and from work every day, and only about once every 1-2 weeks doesnt get a seat.
She also said that there is a 610X bus (to the city) that starts near the TAFE, which is empty so that you can get a seat (as mentioned by someone above).

Lets be honest now - how is catching a bus any WORSE than catching a train? Actaully.. the train is worse, according to my fiancee. She used to drive from Castle Hill to Waitara to catch the train (no parking at cheltnam)... and it often took her 2 hours of total travel. Now taking the bus, it takes just 1 hour.


I would honestly give it a go yourself, or talk to some people at the bus stops to get an idea of what they think of the bus service.

Its not like it was when i was going to uni in 2000-2004. It was MORE expensive then, less frequent, buses were crappier, more crowded, and less reliable.

 

[Cherry Pro]

Another Hills supporter with having lived in Cherrybrook (suburb of our choice) for the last 7 + years. Love the place and once you acquiesce to the traffic, it should not worry you.

I drive to North Ryde, hubby takes the M2 bus to the city (prefers the bus to the train even if he can get dropped off at Penno station), son takes train to Uni and really it's no big deal.

So don't sweat the small stuff ...try it out and hopefully, you can arrive at a happy medium but going into this with your eyes wide open, will enable you take a better decision. Normanhurst too is nice though the homes are older.

Good luck and hope it goes well for you !

 

[perky29]

Depending on what kind of work you do , jobs are available in the Norwest or Parramatta area.
I live in Baulkham Hills and used to commute to Darling Harbour along Victoria road at around 545 each day for a couple of years , at that time of day its a 35 min drive which is not bad..... but now working back in Norwest it takes me 5 mins to get to work.
Norwest continues to grow - Woolies up the road have some 3000 people in just that building alone. I think there are something like 30000 (projected 35000 in 2010) who work here now....

 

[farmilor]

Witzl ....... you must be very close to me then. I have water views from my front porch (Waves)