Posts By MattH

Summary: For a suburb that’s not physically too large, Wentworthville located to Sydney’s west packs quite a lot into the space it has. This is a slice of Sydney that contains a relatively balanced mix of everything, with a leaning towards the impressive side in terms of amenities – largely Indian-influenced – in particular. It’s home to a very diverse housing profile, centered mainly around clusters of single-level freestanding homes on occasionally-pretty streets that are gradually being encroached on by more and more low and mid-rise apartment blocks.

There’s an aura of ongoing construction and renovation to Wentworthville that can be seen in its continuing excess of higher-density buildings, but also its improving public facilities. While it’s not a “beautiful” suburb on the whole, it’s likely better than you think, and its above-average public transport, proximity to Parramatta, and somewhat affordable homes make up for its sometimes-hectic atmosphere and some traffic issues. Overall, it’s probably slightly underrated – particularly for families due to an abundance of childcare.
Read Review

Summary: Compact in size yet conveniently-located, little Allawah to the south-west of Sydney’s CBD is an unassuming pocket of mostly residential homes fanning out to the south of its long-running train line. It boasts a deceptively-high population for its relatively tiny physical area due to its abundance of low-rise unit and apartment buildings, which lie interspersed between the occasional higher-end, prettier street of typically-older but well-maintained freestanding homes.

With little in terms of landmarks or through-traffic to draw in crowds or visitors, it’s a mostly quiet and peaceful little streetscape that’s decently-priced for the combination of its position and rail connectivity, too. It’s home to a single strip of amenities which is decent given its size, while both large-scale shopping centres and the beach are not far away. It’s not exciting, but is safe, practical, and pretty convenient for city workers and families alike – a true “sleeper” suburb of Sydney worth considering.
Read Review

Summary: One of the pinnacles of where Sydney’s mix of wealth and bushland greenery collide, Wahroonga on the Upper North Shore is a showcase of pretty gardens, sprawling mansions and estates, and the occasional helping of unit blocks, little amenities and local shops sprinkled in. There’s an element of prestige that permeates almost everything within the suburb’s boundaries, from its homes, to its schools, to even the cleanliness and upkeep of its convenient train station which offers easy access down into Sydney city.

While it’s impressive to gawk at and wander its largely-peaceful streets, Wahroonga also has a practical element to it, with a decent smattering of amenities & dining throughout, a relatively easy drive into the CBD, and access to larger-scale shopping not far away. Other than its obvious price barrier to entry – boasting some of the most expensive real estate in the region – it’s lacking in “entertainment” of any kind outside of dining, although it boasts an extremely low crime rate in return, too. There are plenty of more boring suburbs, despite its reputation.
Read Review

Summary: Largely encircled by the waters of the Georges River, Blakehurst in Sydney’s south is a suburb in which all things aquatic play a prominent role – from views, to food, to access to marine activities. Dissected almost in two by major (increasingly packed) arterial roads, it’s highly accessible for drivers and quickly offshoots into upmarket, almost purely low-density residential living on either side of the highway.

Much of Blakehurst’s streetscape is a mixture of high-to-extremely-high-end living, with only a handful of apartments, and homes that range anywhere from large to literal waterfront estates. This includes some notable heritage aspects with prominent use of sandstone, and some excellent views from multiple hillside reserves overlooking the water. Its lack of train connectivity may turn off some, while its propensity for waterfront living means appropriately massive property prices are a staple here as well. Its inner residential areas are also notably lacking in amenities, however this is also one of the safest suburbs in Sydney.
Read Review

h2 { font-size: 3em; font-weight: 500; margin-bottom: 20px; }

Year after year, the barrier to entry into the Sydney property market continues to get higher for those looking to buy …
Read More

Summary: One for those who like a little extra room to move – without being a wasteland lacking in amenities – Menai in Sutherland Shire provides a more reasonably-priced chance at a larger freestanding home. This comes without the extra fee for having a train station that multiple other suburbs in the region have tacked on. Both dotted with and surrounded by bushland, it’s a place where buildings and houses have a wider footprint in general, being mostly built out horizontally instead of vertically.

Its combination of multiple shopping centres and increasing hubs for dining combines with its array of educational opportunities to make for solid diversity for families as well. Distance from the city is a required sacrifice of living here, and while its fringing bushland offers walking opportunities, it has had issues with exposure to fires in the past. It’s also best as a base for those who can work either in the Western Suburbs or elsewhere in the Shire or southern Sydney, with owning a car basically essential for daily life. Read Review

Summary: Balancing the space and peaceful appeal of Sutherland Shire with one of southern Sydney’s most concentrated hubs of amenities, Miranda strikes a fairly even balance of the busy versus the serene. Its solid public transport connectivity via both road and rail combine with its sheer variety of housing types – on both the high and low end of the economic scale – to make for a good variety of options for daily life.

It’s increasingly becoming too busy for its own good however due to rapidly increasing high-density construction, making both traffic and parking ongoing issues. Its station and social housing areas combine to contribute to the odd crime issue as well, making for a suburb in which its central section is a massive contrast to its external residential areas. These offer much more roomy, relaxed and greenery-draped living – although at some increasingly eye-watering prices.
Read Review

Summary: At its core, Gymea ranks as the most versatile of the Sutherland Shire suburbs, with a solid across-the-board balance of all the benefits we look for in an enjoyable place to live. Its central location relative to the rest of its neighbours combine with its train connectivity and immediate access to main roads to make it highly accessible, while its diversity of housing types make for a place not only the highly wealthy can afford.

Its dining and cafe scene has grown to the point where it’s not only nice, it’s – dare we say – actually trendy, with a very good array of amenities despite some awkward parking in order to access them. This is balanced out further by its solid array of schools, leafy surrounds and actual options for adult entertainment to make for a Shire suburb that feels far less “boring” than many of its peers, while still not yet being overdeveloped. Its lack of parkland and some traffic issues are its only real downsides; this is one of our favourite suburbs in Sydney in terms of balanced places to live. Read Review

Summary: A neat and tidy pocket of upmarket Sutherland Shire living, Woolooware is a pretty, village-type suburb traditionally home to larger and impressive homes that’s gradually seeing more pockets of dense development crop up. With plenty of greenery, easy access to beaches nearby, and a wide range of public facilities and spaces oriented specifically at families and sports, it’s also an area in which property is typically tightly-held long-term by residents with no real desire to leave.

This is a largely peaceful suburb with adequate (if fairly minimal) amenities that still provides the benefit of train connectivity through to the Sydney CBD – a boon for a suburb of its size. It’s starting to see some “spillover” effects from higher density developments both within and from neighbouring suburbs via some increased congestion, but otherwise its combination of nature, schools, safety and proximity to appealing spots nearby make it highly desirable for families in particular – who can afford it. Read Review

Summary: One of the most well-equipped suburbs in all of Sydney, Lidcombe is home to an immense amount of variety in multiple forms – housing, businesses, restaurants, streetscapes, and even cultures. It’s one of the city’s best hubs for Korean and mixed international dining, while lacking for almost no single amenity; if there’s a shop or service you’re looking for – both large and small – Lidcombe likely has it. There’s simply a ton to potentially do here.

Its location sits in a convenient position for accessing both Sydney’s east and west, while its public transport connections see a high volume of services in either direction as well. This is a busy suburb that can be noisy and a little hectic, and its major road arteries experience some eye-watering traffic, but it also contains a large range of different “pockets” of living that can suit a wide variety of people of different budget levels and life situations – while being pretty reasonable value and quite safe, too.
Read Review