Initially you may choose to start off in any suburb close to the city, but consider that rents are higher and the lifestyle might not suit that of a family.
Many Filos reside in the outer suburbs even if the commute to the city cbd is long - then later on find work close by. The rents decrease as you move further away from syd cbd.
Other factors to consider would be schools, safety and other amenities.
When we arrived in 1991 we chose Ashfield, then after two years we built our first house in Hoxton Park. In 2000 we moved to the Hills area where we have chosen to stay for good.
As time goes by and you get more familiar with your surrounds/have adjusted your lifetstyle to suit your job/your job to suit your life, you will be less conscious of distances to travel to work etc....we live 40 minutes away from my job in Chullora and one hour from my husband's job in Gosford.