Roselands Suburb Review

Solid mid-tier Sydney suburb with central location & plentiful amenities is traffic-heavy and lacking in greenery.

Summary: Situated in a position where the “true” Western Suburbs of Sydney begin to come into full effect, Roselands is a solid all-rounder suburb that represents a pretty good house value vs. safety mix despite a few flaws. It’s in a slight no-man’s-land when it comes to access, with both the Sydney CBD and Parramatta a little awkward to get to due to traffic issues, however it boasts large and roomy homes along with a mostly pleasant and green streetscape in its many spacious residential areas.

Rich in amenities courtesy of its major shopping hub and strips of warehouse-sized stores, it’s also quite busy with multiple main arterial roads carving it up. Missing rail connectivity, limited green public spaces, and a lack of restaurant-style dining are its other notable weaknesses, but if you’re after a spacious home for a relatively decent price without being in the middle of nowhere it’s otherwise worth considering.

Key stats

Largely residential and fringed by multiple major motorways, Roselands is a suburb that serves as a bit of a bridging point between the environments and streetscapes of the Inner West and the Western Suburbs, with aspects of both in terms of atmosphere and demographics.

Consisting mainly of street upon street of bigger – both modern and older side by side – freestanding homes, it’s home to a very mixed streetscape without much consistency, but plenty of variety.

Many of its bigger and older homes display lingering elements of Greek influence which still remain within its demographics today; white columns, front yards with plaster statues, and interesting water features are all some of the hallmarks which can frequently be seen here.

In the present day, Roselands displays a very balanced and mixed demographic in its residents, with both the traditional Greek inhabitants, Lebanese, Chinese and Anglo all pretty nicely distributed as opposed to dominated by any one in particular. It’s an embodiment of the variety of present-day Sydney, and interesting as a result.

Much of the suburb’s western portion is dominated by the huge (and still-being-upgraded) Roselands Shopping Centre complex. It’s come a long way since the 1960’s, and now features some great new design touches and flares that make it feel much more modern and fresh.

It’s now home to an extremely comprehensive array of stores both big and small. All the major big-box brands and multiple department stores are represented here, while its food-centric level is outstanding in terms of the variety and range of restaurants, delis, fresh food and more.

It’s also incredibly packed with people at all trading hours of the day; while there’s a ton of parking, there’s also a ton of people sharing what is a relatively small space given the volume that pass through here.

A much-needed hub for everything you need such as this is almost mandatory in Roselands, as heading in and out of the suburb can be a bit of a chore.

Geographically, Roselands sits in a spot that makes it a little bit disconnected from the major “CBD” hubs on either side of Sydney. Both the Sydney city centre and Parramatta are in theory around a half an hour drive away by car, but the highways and main roads leading through, in and out of Roselands are often congested and dense with traffic.

The M5 in particular can get bogged down during peak hours, which can nearly double the drive time required. These roads aren’t just busy; they’re noisy, too.

King Georges Road and Canterbury Road are heavily trucked and trafficked, resulting in a fair bit of road noise that can spill back a bit to the closest residential areas.

This spills over to the public transport side of things as well; as Roselands has no train station, it’s a bus-only affair where commutes of an hour each way are commonplace.

As a result, it’s more of an ideal suburb to live in for those whose jobs are in the likes of Bankstown, Revesby or Mascot and surrounds rather than these other centres.

On the plus side, it’s only a short drive to Sydney Airport for plane journeys/picking up visitors, while the waterside areas like Sans Souci or the green of the Georges River National Park are only a 15 to 20 minute drive away for a dose of nature.

And you WILL likely have to visit someone else for your nature fix here. While the majority of Roselands’ streets are largely wide, green and peaceful (with the exception of a fair bit of hooning + loud exhaust combos), it’s not the greenest suburb in the world as a whole.

Outside of a handful of tiny little reserves in Flora Street, Leonard & Scott Reserve, which are each small and/or very basic, there’s not really much in the way of major play spaces or central picnic spots for families and pets. It’s a bit of a black hole in this regard, with no real signature green centre area for people to congregate outdoors.

There’s also a fair bit of rubbish around strewn on many streets, along with dumped trolleys and the odd spot of graffiti, but this is mostly limited to the main areas around the shopping centre and the warehouse/industrial strip along Canterbury Road.

Amenity-wise, Roselands is quite good. While most of this comes courtesy of the massive concentration of stores at Roselands Shopping Centre, this Canterbury Road section provides a number of other services and big-box options, fast food outlets, homewares and other mixed options to help round things out even more.

For a suburb of its size, Roselands is lacking in restaurants and cafes however. Outside of the cool, Alexandria-style ZIA Kitchen, it’s pretty slim pickings away from Roselands’ centre’s food court with only the odd local Thai, Lebanese or Chinese spot to choose from.

The Lantern Club is the closest thing for a go-to comprehensive space for pub/bistro type fare, and it’s a pretty well-sized local with elegant decor and good service.

For families, Roselands is okay, but perhaps not the greatest contender. It’s got a decent array of childcare and kindergarten/preschool services dotted throughout for those with younger kids, but only a single main school within its borders.

The lack of green space/playground areas may also be a concern in this regard, although the Roselands Leisure and Aquatic Centre is otherwise a decent venue for a swim as it’s equipped with a toddler pool suited for little kids.

In terms of living options, Roselands is mostly home to bigger, freestanding homes with the odd complex of townhouses or villas mixed in.

There’s next to no high-density living, and a limited amount of mid-density older low rises, which keeps things roomier and less crammed in than other more developed suburbs.

Plenty of new home constructions – some very large – have gone on in recent years here, with a ton more on the way. Particularly on the Lakemba side, homes trend from large to very large, with well-sized driveways and both back and front yards.

Given it offers good-sized blocks for a relatively decent price given its location, it’s easy to see the appeal of a buy-and-rebuild, (and possibly then subdivide) option for those relocating to Roselands with money to spare.

Roselands also fares quite well when it comes to safety. While it sits close to some neighbouring suburbs with some less-than-stellar reputations crime-wise, Roselands is largely safe statistically and doesn’t “feel” unsafe either.

It’s the one true “eye of the crime storm” in this part of Sydney, and thus comes as a preferred option for those for whom this is a main concern when looking for a place to live.

Price-wise, Roselands represents pretty solid value for those after a freestanding home, and there are some true bargains for those happy with an older apartment or unit as well.

Older, 3-bedroom houses frequently pop up here for well under the $1 million mark, with even sub-$900,000 price points occasionally available for more modest homes. That’s fairly cheap for Sydney given it’s still within a reasonable drive to the city.

“While it sits close to some neighbouring suburbs with some less-than-stellar reputations crime-wise, Roselands is largely safe statistically.”

As most of the unit blocks in Roselands are older red-brick affairs (outside of the newer-constructed blocks along Canterbury Road and similar), many of them carry lower pricetags as well. $400-$450k can still net you a 2-bedroom offering in a solidly-built older building, with many of these having had at least partial renovations.

Likewise for renters, sub $400 per week rental prices can also provide a 2 bedroom apartment that’s liveable as well.

For those on a bit more of a budget without wanting to compromise on safety or a lack of amenities, it makes for one of the cost-effective choices in the region in this regard.

The Verdict

Roselands is a suburb where, if you’re happy to commit to driving to and from work (or else work somewhere closer by than the major commercial hubs in Sydney), can check the majority of other daily life needs quite well.

Its shopping centre is its major drawcard, is highly comprehensive, and is only going to continue to improve as the suburb’s main focal point, while its main roads – while prone to congestion – still provide instant major arterial access to all the important parts of Sydney. It’s got all the essential amenities covered between here and its larger services and outlets, although cafe-lovers and foodies may find their choices somewhat limited.

Its location is a little stuck between east and west, and while this provides it a good blend of lifestyle and variety in residents, can make getting from A to B during prime time a bit of a chore.

Its small slices of parkland may be fine for some, or a turn-off for others; however if you’re buying a house with a yard and content to enjoy your own personal space then this helps alleviate this a lot.

It’s largely safe compared to some of its neighbours, and otherwise provides good value for money for those content to move slightly further away from the East of Sydney without being in the middle of nowhere. It’s also far more appealing than some of the other suburbs in Sydney within a similar price range for renters in particular.

Not amazing, yet not bad; for some, yet not for others; that’s present-day Roselands in a nutshell.