Jannali Suburb Review

Our pick for one of the best-value suburbs in Sydney.

Summary: Located towards the northern centre of Sutherland Shire, Jannali offers a solid blend of personal living space and connectivity to Sydney city – without breaking the bank. Wide, leafy streets that are clean and quiet allow those without ridiculous incomes to actually have a chance at a freestanding house, while its main shopping strip around its train station keeps things just lively and convenient enough. It’s got a handful of great schools and is highly family-friendly, although it’s a little lacking in parkland and there’s not too much to do for entertainment.

Key stats

As a combined package of living space, convenience and nature, Jannali represents one of the greatest value-for-money suburbs Sydney has to offer.

It’s a suburb that conveys the feeling that the “Australian Dream” – owning a proper house, with an actual driveway, and non-ridiculous commute times – is still alive without having to live in some isolated rural centre.

This is a suburb of wide streets and Aussie flags flying proudly, populated with mostly larger and nicely-maintained older houses.

As a whole, Jannali has to be one of the most well-maintained older suburbs that’s not out of the price range of mere mortals we’ve seen. There’s little to no graffiti, all the greenery and lawns are kept in great condition, and the majority of its homes boast lovely gardens.

Many of its houses sit on big blocks and offer ample living space, although there’s also lots of older-style apartment buildings kept in good condition as well.

Although prices have climbed quite a lot since days past, they dropped again recently and now it’s still highly affordable compared to many other suburbs both closer to the city and elsewhere in the Shire.

Value for Money

Quality 2-bedroom apartments can be had for around $450 a week rent, and the majority of its 3-bedroom freestanding homes still sit comfortably around the $900,000 mark.

That’s great value considering the level of livability on offer here. Its recently-upgraded train station has express service connectivity that can provide a trip into the city in around 35 minutes, while the beach is only a 15 minute drive away and Royal National Park and all of its great greenery is within easy reach as well.

Jannali’s home to several great public schools

This train connectivity is a massive advantage for Jannali over many of the other similar-demographic suburbs nearby (Bangor, Menai, Kareela etc.) and can make daily life for city workers much more bearable.

It doesn’t offer much in the way of bus connectivity, however both its own streets and those leading to other suburbs are not too bad in the way of congestion. As a result, driving in and around Jannali isn’t nearly as painful as some of the Sydney suburbs further north over the Como Bridge.

“Jannali represents great value considering the level of livability on offer here.”

While its main shopping strip is it’s only area of real activity, it boasts a pretty good mix of small-scale services and shopping. There’s a medical centre, bakeries, dry cleaners, a few restaurants and fast food type spots (local, not big chains) as well as a handful of great little cafes. Woolworths/the Fleming Foods-signed store covers all your grocery needs, as well.

Sutherland’s a reasonably short drive away for bigger scale shopping opportunities, and the Union Place Hotel is a nice new pub with a good selection of drinks right near the station as well. It added a much-needed dash of life to Jannali in a still-classy fashion and without spoiling its overall atmosphere.

That’s about the extent of its amenities, however. This is not the spot for bigger shopping trips or big-box retail in general, and there’s otherwise little nightlife to speak of.

Jannali’s streets are largely wide and quiet, although there’s a bit of “dragging” that sometimes goes on towards the Como side of the suburb. It’s peaceful and green as a whole, with plenty of nature and birdlife around.

For a suburb with streets that are largely green, you’d think it would be park-rich as well, but it’s bizarrely not the case.

Jannali’s a bit lacking in parkland in general (unless you count Jannali Oval or the random ungroomed grassed area along Sutherland Road), and while it’s largely pet-friendly there’s no real “centrepiece” signature park that serves as a main outdoor meeting or picnic space. You have to head up to Como to get something a little more interesting in this regard.

While some parts of Jannali offer the chance at water views, it’s only a very limited slice of the suburb – and the part that comes with the heftiest pricetag.

It’s a great suburb for families in particular, however. Jannali is host to several quality, easily accessible public schools, and there’s also a community college for further education opportunities. That’s pretty damn good for a fairly small suburb, and combines with the chance at extra living space and a safe community as a whole to make for a great place to raise kids.

The Verdict

While it’s not the liveliest place in the world, Jannali still makes one of our picks for the best value suburbs in Sydney at the moment for those who don’t want to sacrifice connectivity in return for larger home sizes. Having a true rail station makes a big difference to making the suburb not feeling as isolated as its location would indicate, while the suburb still retains its communal charm and quiet.

Its main shopping and dining strip around Box Road has a nice, welcoming feel that brings to mind the likes of Summer Hill in the Inner West, and it’s got enough in the way of daily amenities not to have to travel elsewhere.

For young families not on huge incomes – but still earning a decent amount – there are few better options if you’re wanting to avoid apartment living. Its streetscape is very charming and well-kept, and the suburb in general has a well-looked-after vibe that is just pleasant.

It’s a great compromise for all the benefits of Shire living while still having the Sydney CBD within reasonable reach, and thus ranks highly in our book.