Well you are not alone – there seems to be no shortage of people wanting to make the tree change due to the high cost of housing in Sydney and many people not wanting to move away from the city to the burbs. I can certainly relate to that!
I am often asked about what it is like to live here after moving from Sydney almost two years ago now – what the pros and cons are. So I thought it was time I wrote a post to help people out.
Please keep in mind this is simply my experience and opinion and everyone is different, but this advice might just help you make a clearer decision.
Fabulous lifestyle
It is such a great lifestyle down here – fabulous restaurants and cafes, lots of space and fresh air, lots to do and explore, plenty of golf courses, gorgeous drives, lots of vineyards, not to mention a great place to raise children. Generally speaking it is much more affordable to live (but don’t be fooled, there are also very expensive areas too) and it is still so close to Sydney – only an hour from the airport (in non-peak times).
Commuting
So straight to business ………. if you are planning on commuting every day like my husband does, I won’t lie to you it is tough. That is the only downside about living down here.
Catching the train from here takes two and a half hours and the trains only come once an hour, so if you miss a train you have to wait a long time for the next – this is definitely the worst option. Most people either drive into the city or drive to Campbelltown and catch the train from there – trains run every 10-15 minutes and it only takes my husband two hours door to door each way. If he drives, he leaves round 5.30am and leaves work at 7pm to beat the traffic. If you travel in the main peak times, it will make a 1.25 hour journey take 2.5 hours!
Other options are to stay in Sydney one or two nights or if your company allows, work remotely!
Everybody is different and has different circumstances, but I wanted to throw the options out there.
City to country living
Other than that we love it completely and can’t see ourselves moving back anytime soon. From been such a city gal, I haven’t missed it at all. But I think the main factors contributing to the easy transition is that I met a lot of good friends down here early on, everywhere does good coffee and we have brilliant cafes and restaurants down here (some restaurants have SMH Good Food hats and would give Sydney fine dining a run for its money) – so I don’t feel I am missing out at all. Coffee/restaurant culture is important to me!
Say no the burbs!
I didn’t want to do the burbs thing in Sydney! We have 1,500 square metres, lots of trees, a four bedroom house that is completely renovated – all for the price of a 1 bedroom shoebox flat in Neutral Bay – not to mention a great, less stressful lifestyle! Of course – there are some hideously expensive parts to the Southern Highlands as well – an area not far from us ranges $4-8 million for a house – they also get 100 acres with it though!
All my friends in the Highlands have moved down from Sydney too – mainly northern beaches, lower north shore and eastern suburbs, who all moved for the same reason. We can’t afford to buy where we want to live and don’t want to move to where we can afford for the sake of having a house. So there are a lot of like minded people down here.
I met most of my friends through the kids – at the park, joined a few mothers groups, etc. I made good friends within a week of moving here and are still good friends almost two years on. It makes settling in so much easier – get involved! Everyone is so friendly.
Great place for kids
It’s a fab place for kids – great schools (private and public), an indoor soft play centre, lots of parks including the lovely Lake Alexandra, kid friendly country pubs, all the usual Kindermusik, Kindergym, etc. There are lots of kids clothes and shoe shops – ranging from the expensive Seed down to Target/Big W.
Shopping
There are lots and lots of gorgeous boutique stores in the Southern Highlands catering to most people. If you do want big shopping malls and department stores though, the closest is 30-40 mins away at Campbelltown at Macarthur Square. Not the nicest place in the world, but good for a big shop. But apart from that we have everything here. I also have started buying heaps online.
Childcare
Daycare is much cheaper as well! In Sydney we were paying $80-90 a day, whereas down here you will pay around $60 a day! Pre-school is about $34 a day. There are a lot of centres in the area, but they do vary considerably in quality. So the best thing to do is check a few of the centres out and make sure the one you choose suits your needs.
Surviving the winters
I was worried about the winters and how I would survive as I am a summer girl. But it hasn’t been bad at all – I actually found living in Sydney much colder as no where is centrally heated. Our place in Sydney was freezing! So I think having central heating has made a huge difference.
It is also about layering – get yourself a warm coat and you will be fine.
Business without borders
Living here has also made me realise how easy it is to run a business from home and not be based in Sydney. I run my own marketing communications business from home with six global clients (based in Sydney, Singapore or Melbourne) and it is great to know that life does revolve outside of Sydney!
All services (phone, internet, etc) are fine here – not as much choice, but the usual suspects are here Optus, Telstra, TPG, etc. I haven’t noticed a difference in quality with speed and connections.
Just do it!
We had tossed around the idea for a long time and eventually we just said let’s do it! We didn’t want live life always wanting to do something and then spend all the time talking about and never doing anything about it. Eventually we just said let’s try it. We are not making a huge investment in our house so if we decided we didn’t like living here then we can just sell up and move back. We now can’t see ourselves moving back to Sydney!
Sydneysiders Guide To The Southern Highlands 
Thanks for this great post, Emma – your information has been extremely helpful all the way along. My husband and I are just about to do exactly the same thing as you guys have and if all goes well we will be moved in by mid January 2011!
So if anyone is looking to broaden their group of friends, we are really nice people in our 30s with a 6+half month old baby and will be looking to meet people and join some groups, community activities etc! Let me know! You can say hi through Emma. 🙂
That is great that you got the place Erin! Big yay!
Glad some of my advice has been useful – always happy to help.
Happy to play tour guide in January.
We moved out of Sydney for the same reasons. I love it here and have no intentions of going back to the Big Smoke. We both work from home and my husband does stay over in Sydney from time-to-time to make things a bit easier.
Anyway, glad it’s been a successful move for you, too.
Love it Em’.
Even though we went further south (just a little bit) the sentiment sounds very familiar.
It had to be done.
It is awesome.
Just do it 🙂
You don’t mention how hard it is to be away from your Sydney-based family or friends..? A lot of people rely on that extended network to make life work. How do you deal with that?
Thanks for your comment Kathy. We only live just over an hour from Sydney so we still see our friends a lot. We will go months without a trip to Sydney, then have a few months where we are there every weekend. Just depends what is on really. But thanks to Facebook, emails and phone I still speak to my friends all the time. So not much has changed really.
We have two kids now, so we don’t go out partying every weekend with our friends anymore anyway. They also come and visit us a lot as well – either a day trip or for a weekend.
You just have to make sure you make the effort. We didn’t want people to think that because we moved out of Sydney that we won’t go to anything anymore.
In terms of family, my parents moved to the Southern Highlands a few years ago, so we do have them locally. This was one of the reasons we moved down here.
But we are still so accessible so it isn’t as if we have moved to Bourke!
I am so glad to read these comments as it looks as though we might have to move to the Bowral area for my husband’s work (he stays there 3 nights a week now). I have been really resistant as we have a lovely house (recently renovated/big motgage) on the northern beaches, I will have to leave my job and my kids are surf rats!
I have held out for a year but I have agreed to seriously consider it, possibly moving in Jan 2012. Can anyone give an insight into the schools – especially high schools? I have studied them on the internet and am about to go to open days but it is always good to hear from parents who have kids in high school or who know of others’ experiences. Thanks, Angela
There are a good selection of schools here. There is Oxley (private) from K-12, Bowral High School, Frensham (private girls), Chevalier (catholic), and the Southern Highlands Christian School (Christian). Chev has a good sporting reputation and great high school orchestra – so I assume they have a decent music programme. Oxley is private co-ed, with great facilities, sport, music, art, and you’ll need to enquire now about next year as there may be a waiting list. The Christian school is fairly small in terms of high school numbers, lovely facilities but the Christian message is very strong and through just about every activity they do there. It has a nice community feel to it and if you can handle the amount of religious content, it is a pleasant environment.
We have a year 2 boy at the Christian School but plan on changing across to the Bowral public next year because I’ve found the religious angle is overshadowing the education at that junior level. It might not be such an issue in high school.
I’m aiming for Oxley as high school but will have to see how the funds go. 😉
Thanks Aprill – much appreciated. I have checked out their websites and they all look good. It is just a matter of affordability and getting in with the private schools!
We are heading down this week-end for Chevalier Open Day and my husband is going next week to see the public school Principal and have a chat.
Decisions, decisions, decisions…..not my forte!
Hi to all. My partner moved out of Sydney in January this year to live in Burrawang. Best decision we ever made. We spent three years trying too find something affordable in the inner west and gave up. A friend told us to go and look at Bowral, we ended up having alook at Burrawang and it was love at first sight. I thought we would miss the city, but truth be told the Highlands has everything, culture, great food, cellar doors, good shopping, Robertson has everything you want on your doorstep. We have a four bedroom house with superb views on 2600sqm of land and we would never consider selling up. The Highlands are a gem, the people are so friendly and helpful. As to the point about missing friends…we thought the same but now we spend real quality time with our friends as they come down for weekends to enjoy what they call their ” Holiday home ” so rather than seeing them for a few hours at a weekend back in Sydney we now see them all weekend when they stop with us. The fresh air the open space, no traffic jams, and property half the price of sydney…Make it work, you wont regret it.
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Hi we are thinking of moving to the highlands also, by Jan 2013. I want to enrol the kids in a local primary while we rent before deciding to buy something and am worried if I put them into Bowral public then end up closer to Mittagong the drive will be too far as we wouldn’t want to move the in and out of school twice. Is one of the schools “better” than the other? Would the distance driving from the Mittagong area to Bowral be too great? Thanks
Hi Diana,
Thanks for reading. There is only a 5-10 minute drive from Bowral to Mittagong (with no traffic!) so if you do decide to move, it really isn’t that much of a hassle.
Schools wise, there are pros and cons to both. Bowral has a better reputation as a nicer school, but it has outgrown its grounds and some of the play areas for sports and other activities are not on the same location – across roads, etc. But it is also where Bradman went, which is one of the reasons I don’t think they have relocated the school.
Mittagong is a big school with plenty of lovely grounds. I hear lots of mixed things about Mittagong – some good and some not so great. Mittagong is a very mixed town so the school caters for all warps of life.
Another school to consider is Berrima – you can put in an out of postcode enrolment here, which is quite popular to do. It is a tiny but lovely school. It has the Stephanie Alexander food program there to teach the kids about growing and cooking food. Berrima – would be a 10-15 minute drive from either Bowral or Mittagong.
Other alternatives – St Thomas Aquinas in Bowral (has the best reputation of all the schools, but is a catholic school). There is also another catholic school in Mittagong called St Michaels.
Other than that there are private schools too. Oxley is a co-ed private school in Burradoo with a wonderful reputation. As of this year it now takes from Kindergarten up to year 12. There is also Gib Gate, which goes from pre-school until year 6.
Anyway, let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help where I can.
Hi Diana,
I posted previously. We moved down from Sydney in Jan this year. We have rented for the past 7 months (at Mittagong) and we have just bought a house in Bowral. Our kids go to St Thomas in Bowral and I couldn’t fault it. It is a great school and the teachers are really lovely. It was hard to get into as they were full but we were lucky (my children are being brought up catholic which helped).
As mentioned above, the distances aren’t an issue. We drive our kids to school but there are buses (look up Berrima Bus Lines) between towns if you move.
We would have been happy if the boys went to Bowral Public School after meeting with the Principal. I recommend you come down and meet the principals of the schools you are looking at and have a look around. We found them very welcoming and helpful.
Good luck….Angela
Thanks so much for the info – it’s really helpful! I think once we get the kids settled into a school where they are happy I will feel much happier about the big move down from Sydney. That and a good coat and heater by the sound of things!
Thanks for such a lot of insight into making the move. We are also considering a move to Bowral, and get very close to saying ‘yes let’s give it a go’ but there are some big ticket items against the move. My husband would have to commute, and I wonder what people do if they need to stay a couple of nights a week in Sydney? We don’t want to rent an apartment for him, but it won’t be much fun if he isn’t comfortable or living out of a suitcase. The reality is that he would probably mix up his commuting method but would always end up insydney for two to three nights. MY issue is the cold, I love summer and when I lived in Melbourne I hated the long wet cold winters. And my issue for the kids is, believe it or not, swimming! They both love it, and are getting quite good, having lessons every week. I haven’t managed to find anything realistic on swimming lessons /squads in the SH. Any ideas? And one last thing – renting a nice house! We wouldnt want to sell in Sydney until we knew the above things were manageable but looking at rentals on the net, there are not many houses of the equivalent to what we would buy. It makes me sound precious, but I really want this move to work, and it won’t if we arent living somewhere with sun, decent kitchens and bsthrooms etc, and can’t have friends from sydney stay …
Any thoughts?
Thanks for your comments.
I can only speak from my experience, but I have been here for almost four years and I actually found living in Sydney colder, mainly because everywhere here is heated in the Highlands. So you are going from one heated environment to another in winter. After living in an old semi in Neutral Bay, which was constantly freezing despite heating, we put in central heating when we moved here and I now feel feel very spoilt – Sydney doesn’t like to admit it gets cold!
Then when you are outside you just layer up – North Face has become my best friend. The days in winter can be lovely and warm when the sun is out – it is when the sun goes down or doesn’t come out when it does get cold. I think I have acclimatised now as I didn’t find this winter too cold and now I find the humidity in Sydney hard!
I won’t lie to you – the commuting is difficult. My husband works in Pyrmont and has commuted for the last four years. We have tried many different options from him staying in Sydney two nights a week, to commuting everyday, to working from home one day a week. None are particularly that great, but for my friends the one that seems to work the best is if your husband can work remotely from home one or two days a week. Staying in Sydney two days a week is much easier on him, but not necessarily easier on you with kids. We moved here when I was 7 months pregnant, so with a newborn baby I struggled not having my husband around more. When he was staying in Sydney, he was originally staying in different hotels and hated staying in lots of different places. He then joined the Royal Automobile Club (quite a few do) in Circular Quay and stayed there for a while, but it does need an upgrade. His ideal situation would be for us to have an apartment in Sydney and it would mean we would have somewhere to go on the weekends if we were up there. But that is great if you can afford both options. But again, it is easier on him and not necessarily on you doing the daily grind with the kids. I also run my own business, so find when he isn’t here I don’t get a mental break from my two kids or work. Anyway, that is my experience. Some people don’t mind the commute – good excuse to read/sleep, etc. One thing to consider though – the further you live from the freeway, the longer the commute. For that reason we live in a lovely part of Mittagong and have great access roads to easily get out. Happy to chat through further – email me directly on emmajkeen@yahoo.com.au
In terms of living arrangement – there are plenty of nice places to rent. I know one potentially that might be coming up soon in a nice part of Mittagong – http://www.stayz.com.au/107246.
Swimming wise – there are two public pools – Mittagong and Bowral that would have squads in summer. But they are closed other times of the year. There is also Jan Dee in Bowral, but it is more for the younger kids. OTher drive 25 minutes away to Picton’s indoor pool – apparently quite good. There is an indoor swimming pool proposed for Moss Vale, so there will be another option.
Anyway, happy to answer more questions. Again – this is based on my experience, but it really is a lovely place to live and bring up kids.
Hi there – I’m searching for a way that we can manage a move to the southern highlands as every time we visit I just don’t want to leave! and I’m desperate to get the children into some good schools, and have a more relaxed way of life – I feel like we are all on a big hampster wheel here in sydney, rushing around like headless chickens. But the big problem is that my husband is very much city based – ie he has to get to Martin Place everyday – is anyone from this site doing the travel, how are you finding it …?? is there any logical solution to make this move happen?
Hi Helen,
Apologies for the belated response. Living in the Southern Highlands is wonderful – lifestyle is great, schools are fabulous, people are so friendly, fabulous parks and an abundance of fresh air.
Not wanting to put a dampener on all of the wonderful things about the Highlands, but commuting on the other hand to Sydney is difficult. My husband did it for four years and unfortunately we have now moved back to Sydney as it was taking its toll – while we miss the Highlands dearly, it was the right decision for us. He tried many different approaches – staying in Sydney two nights a week, train, driving, etc, but in the end it didn’t work for us, especially with young children. He was commuting 2.5 hours each way a day. Unfortunately he is at the executive level and needed to be in the office to manage his team, so couldn’t work remotely.
Driving to the city is fine until you pass Campbelltown and from there traffic becomes a nightmare in peak times. Even getting back on the M5 in the afternoon, lengthy traffic starts from 2.30/3ish. He used to leave home around 5-5.30am to miss a lot of the traffic and then leave work after 7pm to miss the worst of it. So he didn’t see much of the kids during the week at all. It also meant a lot of pressure on me to juggle all of the things around the house and two kids, while also working myself.
Trains from the Highlands take 2.5 hours and they only come once an hour. There is only one fast speed train, but it doesn’t leave the Highlands until 8.30am, arriving in Central around 10am, which is not practical for commuting workers. What a lot of people do is drive to Campbelltown and catch a train from there, with trains coming very regularly. This way it only takes 1.5 hours.
There has been talk for a fast speed train that passes through the Highlands for years, but it has never eventuated. That would certainly solve all of these commuting problems.
Having said all of that – a lot of people do commute and it works for them – they enjoy reading/working on the train, but it just didn’t work for us. I think if your husband could work remotely for 1-2 days a week it would make it much easier.
Everyone’s circumstances are of course different, and this is our experience, but I’d rather be honest with you. More than happy to discuss further with you.
We are lucky that most of our family live down there, so we still visit frequently!
Cheers,
Emma
Giggling to myself about the ‘surviving the winter’ section. I’m moving to the Highlands from Canberra! Thanks for the info though, glad to hear the internet is ok because that’s how I make my living!
Internet is absolutely fine. I worked remotely and not a problem at all. They are also in the process of rolling out the NBN in the Highlands, so you are in safe hands!
We have literally just put an offer on a ‘hobby’ farm and it was accepted. We move to the SH from the Inner West at the end of the year (for school reasons). I cannot wait, but slightly nervous about meeting friends etc.
Your article has made me feel better. Thank you.
My hubby will be commuting to the city but he is also taking office space in Campbelltown, which is good for us.
Can you suggest good/not so good schools? Our daughter will be in year one next year. Again, thank you.
Hi there – 5 odd years on, i was just curious how the commute is going for your husband, what he does, how often he does it, if it got better? We’re considering the move and that’s a big hesitation as I have my own business in sydney and it’s not at the point (yet) where i don’t need to be there everyday. Thanks very much for your time/advice.
Hi James,
While we loved living there, we did end up moving back to Sydney after four years. The commuting got too much for our family in the end, but my husband was also studying an MBA as well. Some people can make it work and love the time on the train to read, sleep or work, but wasn’t for us unfortunately. After four years of doing it, we made the very hard decision to move back. We have two young kids and my husband didn’t see them during the week.
If he could have worked from home one or two days, then that would have made a huge difference. Unfortunately he didn’t have that luxury.
There are others that don’t mind the commute and it also depends on where you are based, but it wasn’t for us.
There have been discussions about a high speed train for years, but it has never got off the ground. Maybe one day!
There is a fast train that only takes 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that doesn’t get into the city until 10 or 10.30am, which doesn’t suit the commuters. If they could do that during peak times, then it would be certainly doable!
I don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm about the Highlands, but I also want to be realistic.
It is an amazing place to live and would move back in an instant if it wasn’t for the commute. One day!
Happy to answer you questions.
Emma
In the process of buying a house in bowral and commuting to Sydney 3days a week once we move down. Eldest boy will start kindergarten in 2017 and the other boy in 2018. Keen to know of any good schools in the area and others who are commuting to Sydney/working remotely 2days a week. Thank you
Hi
I was wondering how you and your family feel now, several years on.
Hi Troy,
While we loved living there, we did end up moving back to Sydney after four years. The commuting got too much for our family in the end, but my husband was also studying an MBA as well. Some people can make it work and love the time on the train to read, sleep or work, but wasn’t for us unfortunately. After four years of doing it, we made the very hard decision to move back. We have two young kids and my husband didn’t see them during the week.
If he could have worked from home one or two days, then that would have made a huge difference. Unfortunately he didn’t have that luxury.
There are others that don’t mind the commute and it also depends on where you are based, but it wasn’t for us.
There have been discussions about a high speed train for years, but it has never got off the ground. Maybe one day!
There is a fast train that only takes 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that doesn’t get into the city until 10 or 10.30am, which doesn’t suit the commuters. If they could do that during peak times, then it would be certainly doable!
I don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm about the Highlands, but I also want to be realistic.
It is an amazing place to live and would move back in an instant if it wasn’t for the commute. One day!
Happy to answer your questions.
Emma