Professionals

Summary: Convenient, well-positioned and incredibly well-equipped with amenities, Rockdale isn’t the prettiest suburb in the world but packs a ton into a relatively small space. It boasts good connectivity to the city and elsewhere by both road and rail, and a wide variety of housing types suitable for a range of budgets and lifestyles. It’s also very busy in sections, with its main roads packed with traffic and a continually growing number of apartments adding to its population. It’s also decent value, considering its location. Read Review

Summary: A picturesque and well-groomed suburb spanning back from the banks of the north side of the Parramatta River, Putney is a showcase of just how gorgeous suburban Sydney can be – if you’ve got the money for it. With about as pretty an aspect as one could hope for without directly facing Sydney Harbour, it’s a suburb where the fruits of capital growth are in plain sight. Large, architecturally-designed houses on big blocks, slices of lovely waterfront parkland and highly family-friendly leanings in general, its only major downsides are traffic/access issues, a lack of nightlife, and the general price of admission. Read Review

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: A suburb of notable contrasts, Homebush is a land where the ‘class gap’ in Sydney is highly evident. The variance in upkeep and atmosphere from one street to the next couldn’t be more different, with graffiti and rubbish-strewn sections on one side of the road and elaborate, stately mansions right nearby – often right alongside each other. It offers some unique features in terms of great sports-oriented parklands and outlet shopping opportunities, and boasts decent connectivity, but it’s got traffic issues, and property prices can be eye-watering for anything outside of a dingy apartment. 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: Dominated by large, impressive houses on big, roomy blocks and with wide and spacious streets to boot, Concord is an immaculately-kept suburb as a whole. The amount of living space on offer here is impressive given its decent proximity to the Sydney CBD, while its central retail and shopping strip is both charming and well-equipped. It’s highly green and family-friendly, too, although its slight disconnect from rail transport (for the time being) is a factor and a lack of high-density apartment options means it’s going to be limited to a select cashed-up demographic as a feasible place to live. Read Review

Summary: Compact and convenient, Meadowbank is another Sydney suburb with the “split personality” of ultra-modern, high-density apartment living on one side and expansive, stately freestanding homes on the other. Its waterfront aspect gives it an open, airy feel while expansive and pleasant public green spaces occupy much of the suburb’s physical space as well. It’s very well-connected via public transport, however is notably lacking in amenities and its increasingly built-up status continues to put a strain on its infrastructure. Read Review

Summary: Carlingford is a physically big and highly diverse suburb that spans three council areas and borders several different regions of Sydney. As a result, it’s home to one of the widest varieties of property types, atmospheres and services on offer of any suburb in Sydney, with some parts of it quite different to the next. It’s absolutely abundant in services and retail, has some very impressive pockets of greenery and nature, and major through-roads that connect to all the key parts of Sydney. Existing issues with accessing the CBD are about to be even more exaggerated as one of its key benefits is about to disappear, however. 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: Technically located on the “tip” of where the Western Suburbs begin, Padstow is a pleasant and well-balanced slice of suburbia that offers both well-sized living spaces and solid value for money.

It’s got good connectivity by both road and rail, and its relatively central position between east and west makes access to either side quite reasonable. While around a quarter of the suburb is light-industrial, it still offers good greenery and also escapes some of the crime stats from which a few of its neighbouring suburbs suffer. Read Review