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Summary: Sydney’s north shore base for a lot of tech and other big-business, Macquarie Park mixes modern urban planning with a reasonably central location. It’s the focal point for many daily commuters – both workers and students alike – and has seen near-constant redevelopment over the past few years. Everything here feels very modern and well-kept, and its recent shopping and public transport additions are a plus, yet its traffic issues and lack of character make it feel a little sterile. It can be good value for apartment-dwellers, however. Read Review

Summary: One of Sydney’s true “dining capitals”, Leichhardt is a hub of activity that’s home to some of the city’s best restaurants and cafes. Its longstanding Italian heritage remains obvious, and it boasts one of the most interesting mixes of architecture of any suburb. Despite a lack of a heavy rail station, it’s still very well-serviced by public transport and has a great mix of amenities to offer families as well. Its main downsides are traffic, price, and noise – both at ground level and from the air – that make it an amazing place to visit, but a mixed bag for living. Read Review

Summary: Large enough to almost be considered a self-contained town at this point, Hornsby is one of the most complete suburbs in Sydney when it comes to amenities. It’s lacking absolutely nothing in terms of services and shopping – both big and small-scale – and brings with it solid public transport connectivity too. A huge array of parks, playgrounds, schools and childcare add to this to make it perhaps the most family-friendly suburb in Sydney at good value to boot. Its only real negatives are distance, and a lack of nightlife. Read Review

Summary: A small, nondescript suburb of the Inner West, Lewisham is quite quiet, visually appealing, and highly leafy. Its main strengths lie in its excellent public transport connectivity with multiple options for getting from A to B, a great choice of schooling options for families, and its range of charming heritage style homes give its streets some lovely character. It’s got some notable traffic issues and is almost entirely lacking in dining, shopping and general “things to do” however, and is mostly best served as a pretty place to lay one’s head. Read Review

Summary: A heaping of public transport options combine with gorgeous back streets, a lovely little cafe scene, and a huge dose of greenery to make Dulwich Hill one of the highlights of Sydney’s Inner West. It’s home to some wonderful architecture and a range of home types to choose from, as well as plenty of flora-rich public spaces that make for a great atmosphere. Parts of it could use a fresh coat of paint and don’t convey the best first impression which is entirely deceiving to how nice it truly is, and rising prices have taken it outside of its former “sleeper” status, however. Read Review

Summary: A key transportation hub on the North Shore, Epping is both well located and connected for accessing other key urban centres nearby. The suburb features many larger, heritage-listed homes sprawling out from a small, concentrated shopping district around its station with back streets that are highly leafy and dotted with numerous parks. It’s eminently pet and family friendly, however the combination of traffic issues and price are both factors to consider when living here. Read Review

Summary: Boasting a solid mix of reasonably centralised location, variety of dining opportunities, and convenience versus greenery, Kogarah is an underrated “sleeper” suburb that’s closer to Sydney city than you’d think. It’s a hotspot for educational facilities while still providing a good selection of housing types that offers the chance at a reasonably affordable place to live without having to endure a massive commute. It’s got some traffic issues and isn’t exactly “beautiful”, but it’s a good all-rounder without many other weaknesses. Read Review

Summary: One of the most well-located suburbs in Sydney in terms of the access it gives to practically everywhere else, Strathfield is highly convenient for those who want to experience a variety of what Sydney has to offer on a regular basis. It’s got a comprehensive array of amenities and schools, as well as a lot of dining options (although they are almost exclusively Asian, so not very diverse). It’s also a suburb of extremes, with those looking to live here having to choose either between a busy and noisy – yet more affordable – central area, or have very deep pockets to be able to afford its larger, freestanding homes. Read Review

Summary: Incredibly green and leafy yet within quite a short (road-bound) commute to Sydney city, Lane Cove presents a pretty damn good balance as far as family-oriented suburbs go. While it’s not home to any sort of nightlife scene that will blow your socks off and could be considered “boring” by younger types, it’s very pleasant overall and has seen continued enhancements and upgrades to expand its range of amenities to now be completely self-reliant and comprehensive. Its only major black marks remain high prices, traffic and a lack of a train station, but it’s otherwise very well-rounded. Read Review

Summary: An incredibly well-equipped suburb in terms of amenities, shopping and services, Ryde on the North Shore is a true “hub” that’s central to almost everything – except the Sydney CBD. While as-the-crow-flies the city isn’t too far away, some traffic issues and the lack of a dedicated train station hurt the suburb somewhat; however its extensive variety in both homes and services as well as proximity to popular non-CBD work hotspots make Ryde far more self-sufficient (and enticing) than many other busy suburbs in Sydney. Read Review