Living in Sydney

Moving to Sydney for work offers an excellent chance to combine thriving career opportunities with an enviable lifestyle in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Ranked seventh in the world for liveability, Sydney is well known for its breathtaking beaches and abundant natural beauty, as well as rich entertainment and cultural offerings.

To make moving to Sydney easier, take a look at our guide to living in the city.

Where to live in Sydney

Deciding where to live in Sydney is one of the most important decisions you will make when moving to the city. Spanning over 12,000 square kilometres and with more than 650 suburbs, there’s a huge variety of living environments to choose from in the Greater Metropolitan area. Some of the most popular regions to live include:

  • Sydney City – encompasses central neighbourhoods such as Surry Hills, Paddington, Redfern, and Darlinghurst, and offers the opportunity to be right in the heart of the city and close to Sydney’s Central Business District.
  • Eastern Suburbs – includes affluent suburbs near some of Sydney’s most iconic beaches, including Bondi Beach. Relatively close to the CBD, which can be accessed by buses or trains, depending on the location.
  • Inner West – known as one of Sydney’s foremost arts and food hubs, with a mixture of older, Heritage-style housing and new developments. Sydney city is easily accessible from here by bus, train, or light rail.
  • Western Sydney – a culturally diverse and growing region of Sydney with a higher proportion of houses versus apartments, making it suited to families. Although further away from the city than other areas, an extensive train and bus network makes travelling into the CBD easy.
  • North Shore & Northern Suburbs – spans suburbs north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, including North Sydney, Chatswood, and Macquarie Park, which are smaller but significant business districts. Housing is varied, with small apartments common in suburbs such as Kirribilli and McMahons Point, and a higher proportion of houses further away from the city.
     

The Sydney jobs market

With an economy larger than Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, Sydney offers plentiful job opportunities across a diverse range of industries.

Sydney is a national leader in many sectors, including finance and insurance, business advice and consultancy, digital, manufacturing, tourism, engineering, legal, accounting, marketing and business management, public relations, and human resources.

Finance and insurance in particular are key industries for Australia, comprising nearly 5% of Australia’s GDP – with Sydney leading financial activity. It’s also predicted that by 2026, banking and finance will account for one in every five dollars generated by the city’s economy.

Salaries in Sydney

Sydney boasts some of the highest wages in the world. A 2012 report by UBS found that Sydney had the seventh highest wage levelsin comparison to all cities considered in the survey. The same report found Sydney to be more affordable than cities with comparable wages, such as New York and Tokyo, as well as having the second highest domestic purchasing power.

To find out more about salary benchmarks in your sector in NSW, take a look at the Michael Page Salary Centre.

Renting in Sydney

Renting property in Sydney is usually organised through a real estate agency, or occasionally directly through private landlords. Properties that are available to rent are usually listed on property websites such as Domain or realestate.com.au. If you wish to rent a property, you will need to apply to the real estate agency and provide details such as your financial standing, rental history, and a list of referees.

Before moving into a home, you will need to pay a bond to the Rental Bond Board, which will be returned to you when moving out, provided you have met the terms of the rental agreement. Find out more about rental bonds.

Share accommodation is also common in Sydney and can be a great way to build a network when you’ve just moved. Services like Flatmate Finders and flatmates.com.au can be used to find open accommodation in all areas of the city.

Household utilities

Whether you buy or rent a property in Sydney, if you’re moving into a home that isn’t already occupied by other tenants, you’ll need to have the electricity and gas (if your property uses gas cooking or heating) services connected. There are many different service providers, but some of the largest include:

If you are renting a property, you will only need to pay for water usage under certain circumstances. Read more on the Tenants Advice Utilities factsheet.

Alongside utilities, you will also need to set up the internet at your new home. Some of the largest internet providers include:

These companies also offer bundled internet, home phone, and mobile phone plans.

The National Broadband Network (infrastructure to provide more reliable broadband internet) is currently being rolled out across Sydney – check to see if your address is eligible for nbn internet plans here.