inner west

Summary: Lovely Lilyfield is one of the greener suburbs of Sydney’s Inner West, with a pleasant abundance of spacious public parklands, ovals and other outdoor spaces dotted throughout. Its waterfront portion on the Parramatta River is particularly gorgeous, and abuzz with families and singles alike. Its location is also convenient, with the city not far away, and large homes and schools make it family-friendly. Prices are high, it’s a little lacking in amenities, and plane noise are its main cons. 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: 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: 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: Situated on the outermost fringes of what most would consider Sydney’s “Inner West”, Burwood is renowned for two main things: its range of shopping, and its Chinese community. Amenity-wise, this is one of the most well-equipped suburbs in all of Sydney, with a diverse range of large and small-scale retail, as well as heavy concentrations of restaurants. It’s busy and bustling at most hours of the day in its central portions, while its suburban streets are wider, quieter, and quite expensive. It’s a bit noisy and not exactly diverse, but its location and connectivity both definitely work in its favour. Read Review

Summary: Fairly self-contained and with a distinct, charming vibe quite drastically different to its surrounding Inner West suburbs, Summer Hill boasts a cosy, intimate feel with a very communal atmosphere to boot. Oriented around its main village-style shopping street, the suburb is dotted with a range of lovely low-density housing of a number of interesting architectural styles, with streets that present a good balance of greenery versus gentrification.

There’s a heavy heritage feeling here that gives it character, and it’s extremely well positioned in terms of commute and access to Sydney city. All this adds up to highly in-demand housing that brings along with it accordingly high property prices – its only real downside.
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Summary: A suburb with plenty of character and one of the best dining scenes in all of Sydney, Marrickville is trendy without being pretentious. It’s still got a bit of authentic grit despite its large ongoing developments, and offers a solid balance between city access, diversity of housing types and enjoyable public spaces. Rising prices and some noise issues at both air and ground levels hamper it a little, but for the younger and establishing crowd it’s an excellent choice in the Inner West. Read Review

Summary: To describe Stanmore in a mathematical equation might go something like this: Stanmore : Petersham as Erskineville : St Peters. That is to say, it’s a little like Petersham’s slightly wealthier brother, but really there’s little to differentiate the two overall. It’s a little more charming, a little more green, and a little more expensive, with some better amenities for families in particular. Its aircraft noise is always going to be the main negative point, however, and although it’s charming and home to some lovely architecture, there’s not much to do in the suburb itself. Read Review

Summary: Ashfield is a well-balanced suburb in the Inner West which boasts good public transport connectivity, school access and overall amenities, as well as a range of housing options. It’s become a darling of the Chinese community and much of its small-scale retail reflects this almost mono-cultural bent, while it also suffers from some significant traffic and parking issues for drivers. It can feel a little crowded and soulless at times, and its price is no longer a major selling point as property prices have continued to climb. Read Review