Where a family should move in Sydney - Concord or Bella Vista?

Need help buying in Sydney please!

Hi, wondering if you can give me some advice? We are a young family with three kids and need to move from Qld to Sydney early next month (Jan 2010). We don't know Sydney very well but are concentrating on buying in Concord or Bella Vista which have been recommended to us. Does anyone know if these places are good, safe family areas? We want a place that is pretty, has great schools, good shopping areas, parks, good hospital and is a family area. Our work is in Ingleburn so we can't be too far away, no more than 50 min commute. Can you please give us some advice on these two suburbs and suggest which one is better for our needs? Are there other places as well that would suit our needs?
Thanks so much for your help.
 
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You mau want this thread in the "where to buy" section, with the title of the thread being "Concord or Bella Vista or surrounds?". ;)
 
Hi, wondering if you can help us? We are a young family with 3 kids and have to move from Qld to Syd at the end of next month (Jan 2010). We don't know Sydney very well but have been told to look around Concord and Bella Vista. We want a good family area with great schools, safe environment, good shops, cafes, hospitals. Our work is in Ingleburn so we don't want to commute more than 50 mins. Are these suburbs good for our needs and which one is better? We will spend between 1.5 to 2 million dollars on a home. Are there any other areas that are great for our needs or areas we should avoid?

Thanks so much for your help as we are getting very anxious and don't want to make a mistake.
 
I can help with Concord. There's good schools at both the Concord (Concord High) and Concord West ends (Strathfield Girls / Homebush Boys) and good shopping available at Rhodes and Westfield Burwood. It's a good, family oriented middle class area, and closer than Bella Vista to Ingleburn, but still a fair distance. Homebush Bay Drive / Roberts Rd / King Georges Rd (the roads that get you to the M4/M5) are very busy during peak periods and you'll cop it in both directions.
 
Concord is an older area, Bella Vista is very new. Quite different feel to both.
If I was you I would rent a home for 6 months while you investigate areas that would suit you, $1.5-2m is alot of money to spend on a house if you find out you don't like the area after all.

There are plenty of places to rent in Bella Vista/Castle Hill/Hills district, I live in this area and can recommend the schools, shopping, hospitals, leisure facilities. Commuting to the city from here in peak hour is a drag, can take 1-1.5hours each way. But commuting to Ingleburn is via the M7 and should take 30 minutes at the most (you will travel against the traffic). $1.5m will buy you a designer home in Bella Vista Waters, but be careful, the prices in this area astound me, it is basically sandwiched into the industrial areas, surrounded by office blocks, warehouses, Hillsong church - an amazing piece of marketing really. The homes look lovely and the location is certainly convenient. Prices in immediate area would be around $600-$900k for a very nice home.
Castle Hill and West Pennant Hills are more established areas with consistently high property values, a bit further north of Bella Vista.

For the money, you might also consider Denham Court, a delightful area with stately homes on huge parcels of land, very close to Ingleburn, and handy to shopping and facilities in Campbelltown, Liverpool.

Hope this helps - not as familiar with Concord, although I did live in Strathfield for a while, now we have kids I find the Hills suit us better :)
 
Traffic in Sydney is a killer. getting to Ingleburn from either Concord or Bella Vista every day will do your head in. Places like Oatley and Lugarno are pretty good - they're due east of Ingleburn. You'd be able to get onto the freeway pretty easily from there and you would be travelling against much of the traffic but even the freeways can block up. There will be people here with mich more knowledge of those areas than me, though.
 
Acreage in bargo or Tahmoor might work well

Where do you live on the GC so I can give you some "comparative" idea.

I grew up around Concord

ta
rolf
 
Oh my goodness, the areas are so different.

If you want something prettier and newer then definately Bella Vista but Monty Python makes some good points.

There are also some great places in Concord, which I think has alot more character and "depth."

Prepare for traffic either way.

Regards JO
 
Traffic in Sydney is a killer. getting to Ingleburn from either Concord or Bella Vista every day will do your head in.

Yep, I agree.

I used to live next to Bella Vista. I suppose now you could commute down the M7 to Ingleburn every day. On a good run it will take 45 minutes one way + tolls there and tolls back. But at nearly 100kms every day round trip think seriously about being a bit closer.
 
Thanks for all the comments. If we were to go closer to Ingleburn where would be a safe, great area for a family, with things like good schools, etc?
 
At least with Bella Vista you can jump straight on the M7. Concord will probably be the M4 then M7.

New hospital has just opened at norwest, a panodol for junior just cost me $300.
 
I think it would be quicker in peak time from Bella Vista rather than Concord, but it will be expensive either way with tolls. So you'll need to factor that into your costs.
I would aim to get somewhere where you can quickly and easily get onto the M2/M7. If you liked the feel of Concord, but wanted somewhere closer to the motorways, then perhaps Beecroft or West Pennant Hills would also work.

There are lots of good private and public schools in the Bella Vista area and surrounds. lots of good shopping centres. I'm not sure if you could say it was a "pretty" area, but it will depend what you are looking for. The older parts of Baulkham Hills, and North Rocks have more trees and larger blocks, so I prefer them.

As someone else suggested, I would rent for a few months before you make a decision either way. Its a big move, and that gives you more time to sort out exactly what you want.

Actually, I think the traffic in Sydney is alot better than Brisbane, so you might not find the commute so difficult! :D

Pen
 
and if you don't want to pay $300 for panadol, its a quick trip from Bella Vista down to Westmead and Westmead Kids Hospital!!

Pen
 
If your looking to spend that kind of doh and work in Ingleburn. I'd look around camden area, beautiful acreages around the area for 1.5 to 2mil.
 
We will spend between 1.5 to 2 million dollars on a home.

Don't think you'll find anything near that price range within a 30 minute radius of Ingleburn, unless you go acreage or waterfront on the Georges River / Botany Bay. Anywhere east of Ingleburn along the M5 would be a smooth commute each direction. Oatley and Dolls Point might be worth looking into.
 
Don't think you'll find anything near that price range within a 30 minute radius of Ingleburn, unless you go acreage or waterfront on the Georges River / Botany Bay. Anywhere east of Ingleburn along the M5 would be a smooth commute each direction. Oatley and Dolls Point might be worth looking into.
That's the crux of the problem right there...

Nal, you do realise that Ingleburn is in the middle of nowhere don't you? With the sort of budget you're talking about you can buy something really nice pretty much anywhere in Sydney yet your hubbie will be working in the middle of nowhere. He's not military is he? A large military presence out around Ingleburn and Holsworthy. If you want a QLD comparison then I'd call Ipswich the nearest equivelant. There's nothing like Coomera for 30km from Ingleburn. I used to parade out at 10Fd Bty, 23 Fd Regt in Ingleburn in my military days and can speak with some authority when I say its not the prettiest part of the world.

I'd suggest acreage if you're dead set on spending that much. Sorry, I wish I could be more upbeat and offer some positive suggestions but its best you go in eyes open.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Michael
 
Living in Minto, I can say the whole south-west area isnt the greatest place to live but one of the best places to invest. For someone who works in the city, the train journey is very convenient.

With your price range and taking into account schools for your kids, it could be best to live waterfront along the Georges river in areas such as Pleasure Point or even as far as Lugarno.

I have a few friends who live in Denham Court and the acreage properties are beautiful, but you will struggle with public transport and with good schools in that area.
 
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