Commuting from the Central Coast to Sydney

[The Cone of Silence]

Having a bit of a rough time at the moment and I'm also at that age when I need to get some savings together and buy a house so I can retire without having to pay rent.

I live in the North Shore (Willoughby) and love my house but it's very expensive and I'm watching money go down the drain every week.

I need to be paying a lot less rent to facilitate accelerated savings and I was thinking of a move up to the Central Coast to get more bang for my buck while doing this....and when it comes to buying, find somewhere up there.

I visit the CC once every few months to visit friends and I love the idea of living so close to the water and the wilderness but I do have a coupe of concerns...


Is the commute to the CBD everyday on the train going to be a ghastly nightmare that makes me want to kill everyone in the office?
Are there high crime rates in the CC? I hear bad things sometimes about bogans and crime.
Are there any decent pubs up that way? I know it sounds silly, but I love having a beer with other locals and being part of the community.


If anyone on the forum has moved up to the coast I'd be genuinely interested to hear your thoughts on life up there.

Bobby

[Chucaro]

I used to live in Woy Woy and take the train to West Ryde in my way to work.
It was a very nice family life style of life. In summer, after work, I used to take my twins to the beach :cool:
I do not have any idea how much time and cost will be to commute from there to Sydney now.
By car used to take me 1 hour, bugger if I know how long will take now for the same trip.

[frantic]

The central coast, "the world's largest above ground cemetery ", spike milligan.:D
Just look up the train times and there is also ticket prices.
My grandparents all lived on the central coast and, my mum has a weekender, umina and Wyong and copa. One thing to remember is the clubs are bigger in number than the pubs. Bowlo, ex servos, golf etc.
Your doing a smart thing though, your rent in the north shore would be the same or possibly MORE than your home loan repayments. We have tried to get this idea through to my brother to no avail. He's renting a 2 bedroom unit with wife and 2 kids for the cost of a loan repayment on a house with a yard in Wyong.
As to crime, my grandparents had no issues, but maybe rent for 12 months to know the areas. When mum and her partner where renovating they had a few things flogged, but that is more of a weekender area so half the street is away 5 days a week.
Good luck.

[Beckford]

I moved up the Coast 7 years ago. Similar reason. We moved from a 2 bedroom unit in Hornsby to 10 acres in Ourimbah. I work in Greenwich, so do the commute every day.

1. I don't go as far as the CBD, but generally the commute is fine if I get the express trains. If you miss your train getting home is a nightmare. I worked in Homebush last year for about 6 months. That drive was terrible and public transport was not an option.

2. Not sure about bogans and crime, BUT white trash and drugs yes. I catch the train at all hours so I have seen it all. There is high unemployment on the central coast in pockets, however this is no different to any other area in the Greater Sydney area. Some areas of the Central Coast are no different to living on the Northern Beaches.

3. Tall Timbers Hotel I have heard is good. Tradies Pub. Living on acreage I prefer to have a beer at home and relax away from the hustle and bustle.

So in a nutshell you need to decide which suburb you will live in on the Central Coast as it is very large area. Distance to the beach, trains, freeway, shops, and a suburb that suits your demographic are very important factors.

I grew up in country NSW, so do not have a bias towards Sydney or the Central Coast.

[Beckford]

Just look up the train times and there is also ticket prices.

The Opal card makes commuting a lot easier.

Looking at $60 per week for the train, compaired a tank of fuel if your drive.

Driving is faster outside peak hour.

[FeatherWeightDriver]

2. Not sure about bogans and crime, BUT white trash and drugs yes. I catch the train at all hours so I have seen it all. There is high unemployment on the central coast in pockets, however this is no different to any other area in the Greater Sydney area.

Living in Sydney and having spent a lot of time abroad I too thought I had seen it all, until I went on a few nights out on the Central Coast with some mates.

I reckon I saw more drugs taken in one night by the locals than I had seen in half a lifetime in Sydney.

It didn't feel any more or less violent than Sydney, but where the kids have access to drugs crime is generally not far away...

[Discomark]

lived at Terrigal for a couple of years in mid 90's and used to commute to Sydney a couple of times a week so no hassle for me. My then girlfriend moved in with me and commuted to the CBD everyday. Her total travel time was 3.5 hours per day so after 12 months she had enough and we moved to Hornsby.
As for Bogans (they do call it North Penrith) there are plenty but lots of regular folks to so I guess you just have to pick the areas.
See some colorful characters daily as I catch the Newcastle train to Hornsby. The 'coastie's' own the front carriages and they frequent the doorways and are easily identified by the fluro vest and long necks in brown paper bags. They hang around the doors as they hop on and off to have a fag at the stops. Keep themselves to themselves normally but god forbid if you look at one the wrong way or say anything about the drinking or smoking on the train, just remember they own that part of the train ;)
The Terrigal Inn was great at the time but not sure what its like these days since they did it all up.

Should be an interesting place when China's disneyland is built!
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/chappypie-china-time-chinese-theme-park-coming-to-nsw-central-coast/story-fnjpja3r-1227023096713

[DBT]

I lived on The Coast for a few years as part of my tectonic migration from Sydney to The Hunter. Sold my house in Tuggerah 11 years ago next month.

As mentioned already, there are great family suburbs as well as the seedy ones. Generally the newer estates in greater Wyong area are choc full of young "middle-class" families.

For the best commute, early start / finish is the go. On the trains, the first and last carriages are "quiet carriages". No noise is tolerated - the regular commuters self-police this quite assertively. These are the pick for stress free commuting (if you keep quiet).

[Redback]

South Coast is cheaper;)

Baz.

[PAT303]

I was born at Gosford,grew up at Tumbi Umbi and Erina Heights,my sister drives to Sydney every day in a 10 year old Excel she bought new,it had 480,000km's on it last time I saw her,trouble free.Crap roads,crowds,and no room IMHO,I'd look south also,I lived at Helensbourgh and the 'Gong,they are also worth a look,the 'Gong thanks to the Greek and Italian migrants that arrived after the war has an excellent food/Cafe' lifestyle. Pat

[Redback]

I was born at Gosford,grew up at Tumbi Umbi and Erina Heights,my sister drives to Sydney every day in a 10 year old Excel she bought new,it had 480,000km's on it last time I saw her,trouble free.Crap roads,crowds,and no room IMHO,I'd look south also,I lived at Helensbourgh and the 'Gong,they are also worth a look,the 'Gong thanks to the Greek and Italian migrants that arrived after the war has an excellent food/Cafe' lifestyle. Pat

Pronounced correctly, I rode through Helensburgh in Scotland and it is pronounced the same as Edinburgh;)

Yes housing prices and rents down the south coast haven't reached the prices on the north as yet, much of the south coast is under developed, which has kept the price down.

Baz.

[frantic]

Pronounced correctly, I rode through Helensburgh in Scotland and it is pronounced the same as Edinburgh;)

Yes housing prices and rents down the south coast haven't reached the prices on the north as yet, much of the south coast is under developed, which has kept the price down.

Baz.

Shhhh!:D
Seriously though, my father was in real estate, new homes sales , for 40 years in both Sydney and Illawarra, and north of corrimal 60% of sales are to people from Sydney, it gets higher the further north you go.
The train is a similar time, 1.5-2 hours depending upon the burb and it's a lot easier to get around the illawarra compared to the central coast.
We have less retiree's and very few weekenders, if you ignore kiama;).
Anywhere from shellharbour , dapto to the northern burbs, your looking at 5-10min to a train station and the same time to a beach( which are better and less crowded than central coast) or shops.
So if you want to widen your scoop have a look south as well.

[Beckford]

The 'coastie's' own the front carriages

And the last 4 if they live near a short platform;)

[The Cone of Silence]

What irks me slightly is that the train timetable doesn't really support those who work outside of the 9-5 schedule. I frequently finish work at about 6 and by then, there are no express trains, so I'd be facing a change at Hornsby and a much longer journey home.

Seems a bit daft; I'm sure there are plenty of people who would appreciate a few more direct/ express services through to 6:30pm....it's not as though it wouldn't be a financially viable service.

I thought Gladys Berejiklian had promised more fast CC services last year?

[Beckford]

What irks me slightly is that the train timetable doesn't really support those who work outside of the 9-5 schedule. I frequently finish work at about 6 and by then, there are no express trains, so I'd be facing a change at Hornsby and a much longer journey home.

Seems a bit daft; I'm sure there are plenty of people who would appreciate a few more direct/ express services through to 6:30pm....it's not as though it wouldn't be a financially viable service.

I thought Gladys Berejiklian had promised more fast CC services last year?

Some promise. They cancelled the first express train into town!!!

[Bigbjorn]

When I lived in Sydney in the 70's the central coast was known as the grey coast. Was joked that you had to be 65 to get a Gosford visa.

Hervey Bay and Port Macquarie are now known as the grey coasts.

[frantic]

Illawarra line has a 6:40pm express ;).
But on either line that will be the Friday, Thursday, public holiday Eve , drunk train. 9-5 workers gone for 1-2 hours of power at the pub, nursing a longneck on the way home.
Another option, my brother in law and I did, is to drive up the freeway to Sutherland and jump on the first domestic train to your stop. This cuts journey almost in half! Not sure if you could or would bother doing the same from central coast.