Summary: Seldom-discussed yet solid all-round, Carlton offers a good blend of peace, access, greenery and choice to make for a suburb that needs to be considered in your Sydney search. It’s in a position that provides access to plenty of different “types” of Sydney nearby while being safe and pleasant in and of itself – and having a decent bit of Euro-influenced character to boot. Freestanding home prices aren’t great, but its apartments and other housing alternatives represent pretty good variety and value overall. Read Review

Summary: Walking the line between greenery, value, high-end and working class very well, Kingsgrove is down-to-earth and unpretentious Sydney suburbia in full swing. Boasting good diversity in both property types and people, this is a suburb in which decent proximity to Sydney city comes with personal space and a very good array of amenities. There’s plenty of quality local dining dotted throughout, a solid selection of schools, and enough to see and do to keep things lively. Traffic and price are issues, but it’s quite well-balanced overall. Read Review

Summary: A very good value option of a suburb for those who like things with a little more space but retaining a touch of grit, Mortdale offers a balanced lifestyle at a pretty good price. Its distance from Sydney city is very manageable, it’s got a decent mix of amenities for daily life, and there’s a good mix of both large and small-sized housing options to cater to all income levels. It’s not particularly exciting or beautiful and it’s lacking in larger-scale shopping options, but as a choice for middle-class people on a non-ridiculous income it’s got everything one could need with a fairly nice community vibe to boot. Read Review

Summary: Striking one of the best available balances of city-meets-country environments available to Sydneysiders without crossing one of the nearby southern bridges, Oatley offers a blend of exceptional nature and family-oriented amenities. In addition, while most other suburbs that offer this balance come with the pitfall of bad transport connectivity, Oatley remains an exception with solid heavy rail services. It’s a little lacking in things to do outside of the natural, and it comes with a decent pricetag, but its rental market is quite affordable given the positives it offers to make it one of the best suburbs in Sydney overall. Read Review

Summary: The suburb with the cool postcode, Penshurst sits in what we consider the “sweet spot” in terms of location in Sydney. It’s not too far south to feel isolated, and sits right next to a busy shopping and retail hub, yet still manages to feel secluded and tucked away regardless. There’s also a distinctly British atmosphere here on its northern side – think men in white playing cricket on the green, and red brick houses fringed by hedges. It might be a little too quiet for some and is lacking in major retail, but the overall livability here is very high. Read Review

Summary: A seaside suburb with a “permanent holiday” feel, Sans Souci is sleepy enough to feel like an escape yet well equipped enough to not need to trek elsewhere for daily life. It’s walking distance to slices of beach with some panoramic waterfront views and boasts one of the best foreshore areas of any suburb in what’s still “inner” Sydney. Main roads are right nearby, but it’s awkwardly disconnected from the city via public transport and its popularity as a holiday home area means prices have continued to climb. Read Review