Hi,

French keen windsurfer is moving to Sydney on the 1st of Sept, the missues has found a job in Rhodes and we are looking to rent a town house in Abbotsford (Sydney) as its convienent for both of us. The area looks great !

I was wondering if anyone is living round this area (Drummoyne, Five Dock) ? How is the traffic toward Rhodes ?

Many thanks for the help in advance

Assuming she works normal office hours, if she goes via Victoria Rd then Concord Rd, the majority of her trip will mostly be against the usual peak hour flow. When she gets to Concord Rd she will be going in the direction of most of the traffic and she may be slowed down.

It's been a while since I did that trip in peak hour, so there may be some tidal flow changes that I'm not aware of ("Tidal flow" is the name they give to the early morning and late afternoon changes they sometimes make to multi lane roads to assist peak hour travellers) That means there may be some bottle necks even if she's traveling against the flow.

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obct said..

Assuming she works normal office hours, if she goes via Victoria Rd then Concord Rd, the majority of her trip will mostly be against the usual peak hour flow. When she gets to Concord Rd she will be going in the direction of most of the traffic and she may be slowed down.

It's been a while since I did that trip in peak hour, so there may be some tidal flow changes that I'm not aware of ("Tidal flow" is the name they give to the early morning and late afternoon changes they sometimes make to multi lane roads to assist peak hour travellers) That means there may be some bottle necks even if she's traveling against the flow.

The Tidal flow has been non-existent for the last 20 years or so ~ since they built the new bridge anyway.
Crossing the Ryde Bridge in any direction during peak hour is a nightmare (I do it almost every day).
By going via Victoria Road you will have to cross the bridge - you don't want to do this!
Best go by the back streets of Five Dock - Concord up to the Hospital and into Rhodes.
From Abbotsford to Concord Hospital it will be fairly free of traffic (7~10mins), the intersection at the Rhodes commercial/offices centre can be bothersome but this is only the last 300 metres of your journey.

Enjoy - the area you've chosen its a great spot!

Thank you for the reply guys ! The trip will be on peak hours yes. I am glad you said that Victoria Rd can be a pain on peak hours as we were actually going to live in Balmain/Roselle. Also we saw that the trip can be done through Parramatta Rd and A3 to avoid Concord Rd. Is the extra trip to avoid Concord Rd worth it ? Very happy that you confirm the Abbotsford area is a great spot ! Any other recommendation on this area ? We are thinking to also get a house round Five Docks. Any good ?

Why every morning on the news somebody is shot or stabbed in Sydney's West ?

Lived in Five Dock for many years and loved it. Learnt to windsurf at Dobroyd Sailing Club where there is a good windsurfer class.

Five Dock is a great multicultural suburb. Most of my neighbours were Italian origin, very nice people. Only reason we left the area and moved to Gosford was we had a growing family and could not afford a larger house in the area.

Found something better at Gosford but had to commute to West Ryde for a year before I got a transfer to up here. Good luck getting something. Great restaurants there as well.

Thank you WaynoB :)

Can you tell us what area Imax1 ? Sydney seems pretty big and there are good and bad bits on every city.

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WaynoB said..
Lived in Five Dock for many years and loved it. Learnt to windsurf at Dobroyd Sailing Club where there is a good windsurfer class.

Five Dock is a great multicultural suburb. Most of my neighbours were Italian origin, very nice people. Only reason we left the area and moved to Gosford was we had a growing family and could not afford a larger house in the area.

Found something better at Gosford but had to commute to West Ryde for a year before I got a transfer to up here. Good luck getting something. Great restaurants there as well.

What's the wind like at Dobroyd Sailing Club ? Would it be ok to windsurf few times a week for a quick fix session if the wind is right ?

Dobroyd Pt is good for sailboards, if you don't mind muddy bottoms. Not so good if you like chop/waves and clean water.

If you want to live a bit closer to southside sailing, but want easy travel to Rhodes, I'd say find a place along the railway. Trains go to Rhodes every 15 minutes, and more in peak periods.

Never had much success windsurfing west of the Birchgrove - Manns Point line (windsurfing is prohibited east of there except for Rose Bay and North and Middle Harbours). Winds are very unstable in strength and direction and tend to swirl around. Constant boat traffic, especially ferries is also a problem. Much better on Botany Bay or the ocean.

From Abbotsford (or Five Dock) this is the way you want to get to Rhodes ^^^^ This map shows peak hour morning traffic

WaynoB summed up life in the Inner West area you’re looking at - lots of alfresco Mediterranean style dinning to be had all close by.
All the places you have mentioned a great places - Abbotsford probably the pick of the bunch.

Rodd Point is mainly for race board (centre board) sailboarding and they race there Saturdays Arvo's and Wednesday evenings in summer not a great place for B&J but doable - Use to be a crew of B&J sailors there but not anymore - The place is however OK for an early morning late evening SUP.

Imax1’s seems to be from Clayton Melbourne, so don’t worry about his misleading contribution. The ‘West’ of Sydney is very different to the ‘Inner West’. It has a fairly low crime rate for a suburb in a big city. Besides that, it has a much lower crime rate than the area in Melbourne Imax1 comes from

Nice DavMen ! That is exactly what I wanted to hear - I am considering to buy again a race sup as I used to have fanatic ray for my every day cardio/gym mode. Sound like the perfect spot.

I am so excited to move there now. Thanks to you guys !

jeez fellas,
after looking at that map, I'm surprised you dont sell the car and buy something like a hovercraft


stephen

How about taking a bike on the ferry from Abbotsford to Olympic Park, then use the newly opened Bennelong Bridge to Rhodes?

sn,
Hovercraft would be the dream. Not sure if it is allowed though haha

TheRodder,
Good idea for yes ! But the girlfriend will work in Rhodes and she wants a car to go there so ... Don't get me wrong it would be ideal ! but for me not for her haha. I have also heard that lots of bike is using the bridge ... Subject to accidents !