Working in Sydney and living in Central Coast?

SlavOz on 26/07/2019 - 20:39

Who's done it? Is it worth it?

I used to live with a friend down at Central Coast and it's amazing. Close to the beaches and bays, great family community, plenty of places to go out and enjoy, and the people are generally much nicer.

Being in the property market for a while I just can't believe the prices there. They're too good to pass up given what you're getting.

It's only a 95 minute drive to Sydney, which is currently where I live and work. Take away my current commute to work which is 45 minutes on average, sometimes up to an hour, and that means I'd really only be losing an extra hour or two per day at the most if I lived in Central Coast. Seems like a small price for earning Sydney wages and living in a beautiful place that avoids everything wrong with Sydney.

Who's done it before?

Education & Work

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2019 - 20:45
    +10

    95 minutes commute is a hell of a long drive twice a day. If you had high speed rail it could be doable, but for me, 3hrs commute per day is way too much.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2019 - 21:02

    Lol used to do it 38 years ago from Terrigal, saw the light and moved to the north coast. Would be a nightmare now. I have family that live there but not for me, was great back then.

  • HighAndDry on 26/07/2019 - 22:00

    It's only a 95 minute drive to Sydney, which is currently where I live and work. Take away my current commute to work which is 45 minutes on average, sometimes up to an hour, and that means I'd really only be losing an extra hour or two per day at the most if I lived in Central Coast.

    While considering only the additional time spent is valid, a 50 minute drive is very different from an EXTRA 50 minutes of driving after already having driven 45 minutes. At the end of the day, a 95 minute drive is a 95 minute drive, and the added risks of an accident, etc, will add up over time.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2019 - 22:32
    +3

    I know how you feel.

    I decided to become self employed when I could no longer stand city living nor justify 3 hours of life per day.

    Remember, 3 hours is not 1/8 of your day. If you work a nine hour day, sleep eight hours, two hours of meal prep, cleanup and shower, you really only have five hours to divide amongst things you have control over. Most people lose about an hour for travel. Losing three is triple, or worse, you have halved your remaining free time.

    • SlavOz on 26/07/2019 - 23:22

      Quality beats quantity. Coming home and being able to take a stroll to the beach, or relax on a sunny terrace in a quiet neighborhood with clean air and minimal congestion makes the little time you have to yourself much more enjoyable than the extra time you'd have elsewhere. For me at least.

      • Quantumcat on 27/07/2019 - 01:23
        +6

        But you're not likely to have enough time to do that. By the time you get home it will be dark and you'll be exhausted, plus you have to get up even earlier in the morning so have to go to bed earlier. You won't be enjoying anything the coast has to offer, you'll just be having dinner, collapsing in front of the TV for a short time and going to bed.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2019 - 22:33

    Somebody tried to rob me within 10 minutes of getting off the train when I went there. :) Nice enough places but so many ferals.

  • Findo on 26/07/2019 - 22:43
    +2

    Quite a few people at work travel from the Central Coast to the office, they look more awake than those who live close by.

  • onetwothreefour on 26/07/2019 - 23:20

    I do it every day, Tuggerah to Chatswood. It's not too bad when the trains are on time but when there are delays, even just 10 mins, you really feel it.

    • SlavOz on 26/07/2019 - 23:24

      Never even explored the trains tbh, I've always been a driving guy.

      How long is the train ride? Tuggerah/Wyong is right around where I'm looking.

      • onetwothreefour on 27/07/2019 - 07:33
        +1

        It depends on what train you get but it's about 1 hour 20 mins. For me I'd rather get the train because at least you can relax by reading a book, watching Netflix, playing games, sleeping etc.

        You'll get a lot of people saying they wouldn't do it but there are a lot of people who do, once you get in a routine it's not that bad.

        It's also a nice part of the world, great beaches only 10 minutes away, 1.5hrs to the hunter and the people are generally nicer up here than in Sydney.

        • SlavOz on 27/07/2019 - 09:56

          I just checked the train schedules…looks like NSW has upped the game!

          Tuggerah to anywhere in Sydney (West, East, North, or City) is 2 hours max…even less than 1hr 30 mins for some parts. And it only costs about $8 a way. I'd literally be saving money on my daily commute (I currently drive using toll roads).

          Cheaper property, nicer area, and more money saved on travelling is kind of a no brainer. I'm not a big fan of trains but that's a miniscule price to pay for all that.

          How's the parking or morning commute at Tuggerah Station?

          • onetwothreefour on 27/07/2019 - 14:38

            @SlavOz: I get the bus to the station but if you're there around 6.30 then there's lots of spaces to park. You'll always get a seat on the train at that time too.

          • onetwothreefour on 28/07/2019 - 08:21
            +1

            @SlavOz:

            And it only costs about $8 a way.

            Don't forget that the Opal card has a weekly cap which is currently $50 so that's all you'd pay every week for travel. I hit $50 by Thursday morning so any other travel that week costs me nothing.

            • SlavOz on 29/07/2019 - 19:22

              @onetwothreefour: Didn't know this. Thanks for the heads up. Currently I spend about $30 a day travelling by car (fuel + tolls). $50 a week is already a huge win.

          • whooah1979 on 28/07/2019 - 11:55

            @SlavOz: A 90min commute is about 120min of lost overtime per day or ten hours per week.

            This may work out to be substantial amount over time.

            • SlavOz on 29/07/2019 - 19:21

              @whooah1979: I'm on a salary so I don't get paid for overtime.

              If I did end up moving down, I would be inclined to push for a slight pay bump to cover the lost time.

  • Hardlyworkin on 27/07/2019 - 00:23
    +1

    That commute 5 days a week? No flexibility at your work? That must be torture on a Friday arvo.

    • SlavOz on 27/07/2019 - 00:36

      All my jobs have been flexible, especially Fridays. This is something I make sure of before joining any company :)

      Avoiding the Friday traffic is pretty easy. Just staart late and leave a little later, or grab a dinner/drink/see a movie after work until it dies down.

  • Donaldhump on 27/07/2019 - 01:13

    I find a 60 min commute ok, anything additional seems like torture.

    I’m all for loving as close to work as possible

  • Quantumcat on 27/07/2019 - 01:25

    If you have the option of working from home 1-3 days a week, sure. Otherwise I wouldn't.

    Before buying a house you should rent there for a year to make sure you're happy committing to it.

    • AncientWisdom on 27/07/2019 - 15:37
      +1

      This. Rent and see if it works for you. I can see allot of reasons it will, especially if you can work from home 1-2 days a week.

  • Bourb on 27/07/2019 - 04:38
    +1

    If it is available then definitely use the Train. Relaxing while watching a couple of downloaded episodes of Seinfeld on your mini iPad certainly beats driving in heavy traffic!

    • John Kimble on 27/07/2019 - 08:05
      +2

      You mean 4 to 5 episodes?

  • HardQuiz on 27/07/2019 - 08:05
    +1

    Don’t drive, plenty of people commute by train.

  • whooah1979 on 27/07/2019 - 14:40
    +1

    It's only a 95 minute drive

    It’s only worth it if the you net income is $1000 for every min of commute.

    • SlavOz on 27/07/2019 - 15:52

      By that measure I'm out by some distance. But given that I'd be saving money by taking the train, and be paying a much cheaper mortgage, I don't see the reason.

      • Quantumcat on 27/07/2019 - 23:50

        Because it messes with your life - why would you choose to give up most of your free time for not a lot of money?

        Seriously, just rent for 6 months or a year before you decide to buy there and see if you can cope, first.

        My experience was that I bought some land far out of the city, totally planning to build a country paradise house and everything, year later I still hadn't built anything and ended up selling for a small loss by the time all fees etc were taken into account. And nowadays I moan because my employer sends me to work at the office that's 40 minutes away instead of 25. No way could I have coped with an hour each way on dangerous kangaroo-ridden country roads. But I was TOTALLY committed at the time, was so sure that it was what I wanted. If I had rented in that village for a while I would have realised I couldn't cope with it and not bought the land.

        • SlavOz on 28/07/2019 - 10:57

          Good point, thanks for the story man! I'm not really ready to do anything yet, just scoping out options still.

          I love my job and what I do so working doesn't feel like wasted time for me. I tend to take a long lunch break as well and sneak in some workout or gaming in there too. By the time I get home I feel like I've already done a lot of what I would want to do in my spare time anyway. A few hours for showering, reading, catching up for a quick drink is all I need. If I was to catch the train everyday that's even more time to myself for gaming/reading/relaxing.

  • brad1-8tsi on 29/07/2019 - 12:14

    I had a 4 month secondment to one of our branch offices and went from 40-50 mins driving to 75-90mins and the difference in fatigue and stress levels was noticeable.

    Having to get up 30 minutes earlier and arrive home 30 minutes later added to an already busy schedule. Also, you were that much further away if the childcare or school rang with an issue. If had been a permanent move I would have started looking for another job.

  • brad1-8tsi on 29/07/2019 - 12:18

    If you rent for a while you'll get a better idea of the market. I have friends up that way and there's generally not a lot of movement and people tend to start at a high price and after several months on the market are willing to negotiate down quite substantially.

  • fozzie on 04/08/2019 - 09:40

    I used to commute 1 hour each way (45 minutes train ride) and I thought it was hell. So when a job came up 5 minutes from my home I took it, even though it’s half the money because is part time. It was the best decision of my life. I am home with my kids, can spend time with my family and go to the gym.
    I have a friend who lives in Central Coast and commutes to Sydney. She hates it.
    My advice: don’t do it unless you can find a job closer

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