Questions about moving to Sydney (house, living, vs)

[stevechang103]

Hello,

I will soon be moving from New York City to Sydney to be with my wife to be. As a New Yorker (who also has lived from time to time in Honolulu, Hawaii), I have the following questions:

1. I was in Sydney during the cooler seasons, but not during the peak summer months. Compared to New York City, how bad are normal Sydney summers and how do people cope?

2. How often and how bad are the heat waves that do occur in Sydney and how do people cope?

3. How hard and fast is it to get from the CBD to Manly or Bondi during the summer via public transportation?

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or insights.

Thanks very much

[BCC_1]

Originally Posted by stevechang103

Hello,

I will soon be moving from New York City to Sydney to be with my wife to be. As a New Yorker (who also has lived from time to time in Honolulu, Hawaii), I have the following questions:

1. I was in Sydney during the cooler seasons, but not during the peak summer months. Compared to New York City, how bad are normal Sydney summers and how do people cope?

Sydney summers are usually not too bad. Usually daytime temps are around the high 20s to low 30s. They are higher in the Western Suburbs, but as you mentioned Manly and Bondi I'm assuming you'll be living by the coast.

Originally Posted by stevechang103

2. How often and how bad are the heat waves that do occur in Sydney and how do people cope?

Usually once/summer there will be a heatwave 40+ degrees for a few days. Trying to get to a beach on one of these days can be PITA, no parking and absolutely packed. Find a friend with a boat or a pool.

Originally Posted by stevechang103

3. How hard and fast is it to get from the CBD to Manly or Bondi during the summer via public transportation?

They're both about 40-45 minutes, although to Manly you take the one ferry, whereas to Bondi you either take a single bus, or take the train from Martin Place to Bondi Junction, then take the bus.

[FraserBurns]

summer in Australia is not that bad,...generally it remains between 25-30 c.but sometimes it can be rude,there is a record of heat wave as the temperature hit 43.8 degree c at the end of 2008(Melbourne)...so it depends

[izbelle]

Your going to have a great time in sydney! I lived there for 6 months, and I loved it! I wish I could fly back over there now! The summer temperatures over there are perfect! Don't worry about it getting too hot, there is some lovely beaches to cool down at. I recommend Coogie Beach!

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by FraserBurns

summer in Australia is not that bad,...generally it remains between 25-30 c.but sometimes it can be rude,there is a record of heat wave as the temperature hit 43.8 degree c at the end of 2008(Melbourne)...so it depends

Depends where in Australia, of course.

New York summers are hotter on average than Sydney's (20-29C vs 19-26C on average) but like NYC Sydney can be humid and is cloudier in summer than NYC. Torrential rain and heatwaves are not unknown.

[koyaanisqatsi1]

Originally Posted by stevechang103

Hello,

I will soon be moving from New York City to Sydney to be with my wife to be. As a New Yorker (who also has lived from time to time in Honolulu, Hawaii), I have the following questions:

1. I was in Sydney during the cooler seasons, but not during the peak summer months. Compared to New York City, how bad are normal Sydney summers and how do people cope?

2. How often and how bad are the heat waves that do occur in Sydney and how do people cope?

3. How hard and fast is it to get from the CBD to Manly or Bondi during the summer via public transportation?

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or insights.

Thanks very much

Summers aren't too bad here (on the coast) though the humidity can be quite trying at times. February is usually cloudy & torrential rain can last a few days. If living on the coast, it's ok due to the frequent seabreezes. Minimums on the coast can linger in the low 20s for nights on end. It would pay to get a house or flat with A/C.

We had that heatwave in the first week of February including the hottest night on record (27C), 5 consecutive nights above 24C and the hottest February day (41C) in 80 years. Western suburbs had it worst with 6 consecutive days exceeding 38C. The fact that it came with well above average humidity made it quite awful. The A/C in our house ran over 140 hours nonstop. Also that NY day in 2006 reached 44C in the city, 45C at the airport and 46-48C out in the western suburbs. However heatwaves doesn't occur here very often and not annually. The last heatwave before the Feb. one was in January 1960 when the temperature exceeded 38C on 4 consecutive days.

Buses (R380 and 333) from the CBD to Bondi and return runs 24/7 and trains (to Bondi Junction) about 10 minutes from 5am to 1am.
Bondi Junction is the busiest suburban transport interchange as a very large number of buses covering a lot of eastern suburbs start and finish their routes here. Buses also runs to the North Shore/inner west direct (Chatswood, Newtown, Marrackville etc) and the airport as well.

Be aware that buses to/from Bondi Beach can be hideously overcrowded in the summers and often won't stop after reaching the PO, there has been occasions where 3 or 4 buses have driven by without stopping, full to the brim, and us locals sometimes walk to the train station as its only 10 minutes from where I live.

Car parking (for those without garages/driveways) is extremely difficult. There are other great beaches nearby - Tamarama and Bronte - they're not as busy as Bondi Beach and has buses (R378 and 361) running direct routes from BJ.

As for Manly - best/fast direct route is ferry from Circular Quay.