SYDNEYSIDERS still aspire to live in the Eastern Suburbs, which has emerged as the hottest postal address, according to a survey. A poll conducted for the Sydney Business Chamber by independent market research group Ekas found the Eastern Suburbs topped the list, with 18 per cent of the 304 respondents naming it as their preferred area to live. This was followed by the Inner West and North Shore in joint second, and the Northern Beaches in fourth place. Six per cent of respondents said they wished to live in South Sydney or the southwest and 5 per cent chose Sydney CBD as their dream location. ‘’Our poll shows that Sydney is still very much a harbour and beach city with a clear attraction to regions near the water or close to the CBD, but it’s a dream that is slipping away,’’ the executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe, said. ‘’Surprisingly the city is not high on the list of the dream places to live in Sydney, but clearly Sydneysiders place a premium on being close to the CBD with the neighbouring regions of the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West being the most popular places.’’ The survey also tackled the cost of living, with 76 per cent of respondents saying Sydney was less affordable than 12 months ago compared with 3 per cent who believed it was cheaper and 20 per cent who said it was about the same. When it came to housing costs there was a mixed response, with 28 per cent saying rents and mortgages during the past 12 months were affordable, compared with 54 per cent who said they were not. One in two people said an individual needed to earn between $50,001 and $100,000 to live comfortably in Sydney, while only 35 per cent actually earned this much. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents earned less than $50,000 in the past financial year while 11 per cent earned between $100,001 and $150,000. The State Government’s new MyZone ticketing system appeared to get the thumbs up with 51 per cent saying it was better or slightly better than the previous arrangement. But more Sydneysiders need to be coaxed out of their cars. Fifty-three per cent said they still drove to work, while 25 per cent caught the train, 12 per cent used the bus and a handful walked, cycled or caught the ferry. [...]