Cronulla Suburb Review

Beachside living means "be outdoors or bust" in this part of the Shire.

Summary: If you’re the type who prefers palm trees over gum trees and spends most of your non-work time wearing lycra, then Cronulla may just be the suburb for you. A highly scenic, nature-oriented seaside suburb with multiple top-notch beaches, life in Cronulla is all about being outdoors and active; it’s essentially a waste to live here otherwise.

With a central hub teeming with many newly-added cafes and eateries and a pretty robust nightlife scene, Cronulla also has slices of extremely high-end living with quiet back streets that cost a very pretty penny.

Key stats

For those who find great appeal in upbeat seaside living and frequent beachgoing, in many ways Cronulla provides an ideal alternative to the slightly more stuffy and reserved Northern Beaches – with better connectivity to Sydney city to boot.

Cronulla sits on a peninsula in the eastern portion of Sutherland Shire almost entirely encircled by water, and this aquatic leaning forms a key part of the lifestyle and atmosphere of the suburb as a whole.

Nature-oriented and fitness-centric, this is a land that boasts multiple high-quality beaches in close proximity and is almost perpetually busy with people – both locals and visitors from across Sydney – taking advantage of its mix of excellent foreshore areas, walking tracks, and attractive surf & sand.

Cronulla locals probably won’t like the comparison, but in many ways it has a lot in common with Queensland’s Gold Coast, from its obvious surf and sun culture to the holiday-apartment-heavy streetscape to its often-pumping bar and drinking scene.

There’s fewer highrises per capita, but they’re still there and fairly prominent within its central area.

While it’s more historic and obviously classier than its northern brother, the comparison still feels apt; even extending to its upcoming and increasingly good dining and restaurant scene as well.

Pick a Side

One of the most noticeable aspects of the suburb is the obvious difference between “Rich Cronulla” and “Popular Cronulla”.

The former largely encompasses the southern slice of the suburb that begins south of the roads below South Cronulla Beach, where it soon becomes largely a residential area split between low/mid rise apartments and freestanding houses.

These include many impressive multi-million-dollar large holiday homes with a waterfront aspect; this part of the suburb tends to trend older demographically as a result, with quieter streets, bowls clubs, and family-heavy parks featuring prominently.

The latter is its main “strip” which largely extends out around both Cronulla Street and the Kingsway main thoroughfare, where the majority of the suburb’s highrise apartments, retail stores, and dining amenities can be found.

This area has undergone quite a bit of a facelift in recent years, including an increasing number of trendy cafes popping up.

Cronulla Street today is quite a cool arcade-style mixed shopping and retail hub that’s impressively well-equipped; all major bank branches, ice creameries, various fashion boutiques and surf shops, and a full-sized IGA among others create a pretty buzzing spot to browse.

It’s touristy, sure, but still both pleasant to explore and practical for daily life.

It’s not all bland tourist-oriented highrises and hotels here, either; some slices still retain some cool little examples of Art Deco and other periodic architecture, highlighted by the Cronulla cinema building but also its post office and many houses and other buildings dotting its residential streets that carry this style as well.

It should be no surprise that nature is Cronulla’s main calling card. Few suburbs of Sydney can boast even one quality waterfront park; Cronulla has several, each with a slightly different aspect.

Cronulla Park right next to its most accessible beach is small but convenient, offering the chance to grab some food from the nearby stores and enjoy a bite while looking out over the sand and out to sea, while both Shelly Park (smaller) and Gunnamatta Park (pretty huge) are equipped with ocean baths for a more sheltered swim, and views out to the ocean and Port Hacking respectively.

Add in all the various smaller parklands that can be visited on the headland walk, and you’ve got a huge array of spots for a picnic, exercise, or to be able to play with kids and pets alike.

Its beaches are the other obvious drawcard.

South Cronulla Beach is compact and is more one for the tourists, although it does offer some iconic chances for waterfront dining; there’s a handful of great seafood restaurants along the foreshore here and further along such as Summer Salt, Watergrill (at the RSL) and Zimzala that make for ideal “special occasion” dining.

Further north, Wanda Beach is a historic go-to spot for surfers that tends to be far less touristy, with Elouera a balance and North Cronulla being more spacious and roomy as well.

With multiple surf life saving clubs and lifeguard towers, the surf culture still remains part of Cronulla’s core; if you’re an avid surfer, you may want to consider Cronulla as a (slightly) less hectic and expensive alternative to suburbs such as Manly or Bondi for a rental.

Cronulla’s distance from Sydney city isn’t as great of an issue for CBD workers as one might otherwise think, as well.

This is its main benefit as opposed to the Northern Beaches; rail connectivity makes commuting possible, although you’re still looking at around a 50 minute train trip from Cronulla Station into Town Hall during peak hour.

It also limits your options to working right near the CBD or else another suburb along the T4 line to prevent your commute time blowing out even further. On the plus side, being the end-of-the-line station means you’ll always be able to get a seat in the mornings on the way to work.

For drivers, Cronulla isn’t great. Its popularity for tourists, some narrow roads, and limited public parking can make getting a spot an absolute chore – particularly on weekends when it frequently becomes flooded by visitors from all over Sydney aiming to take advantage of its natural offerings.

Driving into the city of a morning means dealing with the packed M1; while this isn’t an issue outside of peak hours and makes a drive in around 40-ish minutes, it’s otherwise flooded with cars in commuting prime time.

The southern part of the suburb comparatively isn’t bad for parking, largely as a result of lower density living and homeowners having their own driveways. If you’re renting an apartment here, you’ll want to aim for one that comes with an underground carpark included rather than just hunting for an on-street spot.

Cronulla’s nightlife also warrants a mention – for both good and bad. It’s got one of the better active night scenes as far as suburban Sydney goes, with prominent clubs such as Northies being long-thriving hangout spots that can get packed during major sporting events or with live music.

It’s prone to noise around this area (the intersection of Kingsway & Elouera Rd) as well as its train station, and the occasional drunken violence issue – one of the reasons it ranks towards the upper end for Sydney’s crime stats in the likes of Assaulting a Police Officer, Liquour Offences, and similar issues.

This is largely isolated to the main “party” strip of the suburb however; it’s quite safe as a whole, particularly outside of late-night periods.

Basically, living near the central part of Cronulla will be best for young singles; older demographics or those who aren’t a fan of nightlife will want to find a place further out to the suburb’s extremities.

For families, Cronulla makes for a decent choice. In addition to all the outdoor possibilities for kids, it’s home to a very solid selection of multiple schools both public and religious within Cronulla proper and neighbouring Woolooware, while several kindergartens and preschools help round things out.

It’s also an ideal suburb for getting kids involved in aquatics, with a handful of surf and swim schools to choose from as well.

Demographically, Cronulla is still highly white (check the stats above), but the infamous racial issues of the past were mostly a one-off that retains some overblown lingering misconceptions.

It has diversified and become a fair bit less conservative since then; this increased desirability is one of the reasons the suburb saw a big uptick in property prices as a result.

Price-wise, as with any beachfront suburb Cronulla can be highly expensive, particularly for freestanding homes – yet is markedly less so on average than other similar peers like Bondi, Manly or Coogee closer to the city.

There’s some truly massive home builds here (largely around the southern slice of Cronulla), many of which are modernised “beach shack”-themed buildings on large blocks that distort the price somewhat.

Expect to pay around $1.9 million on average for an average freestanding home here; definitely not cheap, but still at least half a million cheaper than the equivalent in Manly or Bondi.

Cronulla’s northern portion is more of a mix of cheaper, low-and-mid-rise apartment buildings and single-story houses with pricier newer developments dotted throughout.

There’s still a hefty mix of original red-brick solid unit blocks that can be had for a fairly reasonable price.

“Cronulla is a suburb with huge, substantial benefits for those who will take full advantage of its offerings, and a bit of a waste of money for those who won’t.”

$500 per week rent can get you a decent 2-bedroom apartment; to buy, you’re looking at around just under the $800,000 mark at time of writing.

The Verdict

Cronulla is a suburb with huge, substantial benefits for those who will take full advantage of its offerings, and a bit of a waste of money for those who won’t. It’s quite pricey, and it’s a little far from the city compared to what some may like; having to contend with tourists on a daily basis may also not be to the liking of some.

That said, few spots in Sydney offer the sheer array of appealing aspects that make being outdoors so enjoyable. It’s a very outdoorsy-leaning suburb; a strong surfing community, plenty of sports clubs, 24/7 gyms, gorgeous headland walks, and other activities to take part in all form part of daily life here.

Joggers are everywhere, and it’s a great place to be able to meet others through activities as well.

For those in their 20’s who want to move out and rent for a while to enjoy sports, a drink and social life, it’s a very solid choice; ironically, it’s also great for those later in life with extra cash who still appreciate the outdoors as well. If the Eastern waterfront suburbs are a bit too far out of your budgetary reach, or seem a bit “snooty” compared to what you’d like, Cronulla makes for a pretty underrated alternative.

The ability to have all the essential services for daily life combined with its nature and a ~1 hour commute is a rare mix in Sydney – you can even take the ferry over to Bundeena or explore Royal National Park with ease to expand things even further as well.

If you’re after diverse cultural attractions and events, or most of your preferred entertainment comes from being inside this is definitely not the place to choose, however. Families looking for somewhere a little more diverse may want to look elsewhere too, and will likely be able to save some coin while doing so.

For everyone else, Cronulla may just be a place you won’t want to leave.