ChristineK

We're raising our family here and love the 10 mins to the beach, the bush on our doorstep, the healthy outdoor lifestyle. We can walk our dog on the off-leash parks or zip to Clontarf dog beach. We have a few coffee shops and some good local restaurants to choose from, a brilliant boutique local shopping road....small but prestigious...probably unique in Sydney - with Country Road, Witchery, Seed, Blue Illusion and Kikki K plus homewares, bookshop, florist, medical centre, delis and gourmet delis. A sign of the type of people here - houseproud readers of Real Living/Inside Out at a guess. There's a few gourmet pizza shops but no McDonalds! We've got great primary schools...Balgowlah North Public School is tricky to get into unless you buy into the catchment area (North Seaforth gets you there). Seaforth Primary School also very good but split into two campuses which wasn't my preference. Bligh park pre-school is great with an emphasis on music. There's some excellent mountain biking trails around Bantry Bay Reserve off Judith St, also another planned for Bantry Bay near Seaforth oval. Lots of bushwalks down to Manly Dam (real wood barbecue areas - a family favourite). Not much plastic surgery...everyone's pretty fit and down to earth. A nice place to bring up kids. Very 50s in feel.