Help!! Moving to Sydney n dont know where to live!

Hi,
Me n my boyf are moving to Sydney n aug, we're both mid 20s with no major commitments. We were originally considering moving to Melbourne due to my career, ladieswear designer but have been since recommended that Sydney is Auz's fashion district. We're looking for a pretty, trendy sort of area, nice restaurants, shops with night life at a stones throw. Kinda metropolitan feel. We also like the idea of living near the beach but keep getting told to avoid bondi n coogee like the plague as its dirty and heavily geared towards tourists....
We're completely open to any suggestions cos at the minute we're very confused...Help!