University Students

Summary: Historic yet dotted with modern elements, while both prestigious and trendy, Randwick in the eastern suburbs makes for one of the most interesting and eclectic suburbs in Sydney. Your average slice of wealthy and uneventful suburbia this is not; Randwick’s prime location and abundance of amenities make it a buzzing spot with a ton to see and do, and for multiple purposes – whether that be dining, shopping, sightseeing, or simply admiring its varied streetscape.

Randwick’s varied range of home styles and sizes are a living representation of the decades of Sydney’s evolution, often sitting side-by-side with one another. Meanwhile its multiple intersection-based hubs of cafes, restaurants & boutiques, sandstone and glass-made buildings and array of significant public spaces means there’s something new to see and do around almost every corner. It’s also increasingly well-connected via public transport services, is a stone’s throw from the beach, and largely safe. It’s also prohibitively expensive for property despite its extensive older high-density housing, has notable parking issues, and can fluctuate between noisy or utterly peaceful depending on which individual street you should live. Read Review

Summary: One of the more interesting suburbs in Sydney, Petersham represents the point where both the charming and gritty/trendy aspects of the Inner West collide. It’s a suburb in which rounding any corner presents something that’s at least intriguing – if not always pretty – from its eclectic mix of architectural styles that are often beautiful, to its several excellent dining and amenity strips, to its occasional back alleys dotted with graffiti and bags of smelly rubbish.

It’s also a suburb which both benefits from, and is a victim of, its highly convenient location relative to Sydney city – one which offers a great commute and easy access to numerous other eclectic suburbs nearby, but also makes it a frequently noisy and busy place to be on multiple levels. It’s overall very well-equipped and a great place to visit to drink and dine, but its high prices, popularity, noise issues and proximity to major roads combine to put a bit of a damper on what is otherwise an extremely character-rich part of Sydney.
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Summary: One of the most well-equipped suburbs in all of Sydney, Lidcombe is home to an immense amount of variety in multiple forms – housing, businesses, restaurants, streetscapes, and even cultures. It’s one of the city’s best hubs for Korean and mixed international dining, while lacking for almost no single amenity; if there’s a shop or service you’re looking for – both large and small – Lidcombe likely has it. There’s simply a ton to potentially do here.

Its location sits in a convenient position for accessing both Sydney’s east and west, while its public transport connections see a high volume of services in either direction as well. This is a busy suburb that can be noisy and a little hectic, and its major road arteries experience some eye-watering traffic, but it also contains a large range of different “pockets” of living that can suit a wide variety of people of different budget levels and life situations – while being pretty reasonable value and quite safe, too.
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Summary: An interesting mix of both budget high-density living and the ridiculously high end, Kensington in the “Inner South East” is an extremely diverse suburb that contains fragments of all the varied parts of Sydney both past and present. Squat and ugly mid-rise apartment blocks sit alongside grand Federation homes; slick modern gyms neighbour long-running, old-time local Asian restaurants & abandoned storefronts – all while massive, gorgeous parks and prominent public works lie just a street or two away.

It’s a highly central and well-located suburb that offers numerous demographics a chance at city-adjacent living, with good public transport connectivity and a helping of busy and noisy roads all mixed in. Sprinkle in some absolutely gorgeous pockets of wealthy living, a handful of impressive historic buildings, and an education-oriented chunk of student-heavy society, and you’ve got a recipe for one of the more eclectic suburbs Sydney has to offer. And, one that can often be as cheap – or expensive – as you like.
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Summary: A suburb for those after a fairly premier, central spot and who don’t want to pay the absolute premiums of some of the truly elite Eastern Sydney suburbs, Kingsford is a largely residential slice of the city in which location is its primary selling point. Close proximity to educational facilities, beaches and even Sydney City itself coupled with its newly-added light rail system give Kingsford a connectivity factor that’s easy to appreciate.

It’s also a suburb with enough variety in housing – with a large contrast between its classy and expansive houses in the east and higher-density living in the west – to cater to both students and families, however it brings along with it high pricetags in return. Its amenities are increasingly solid if unspectacular and it’s not the greenest suburb in the world, while traffic is also another factor. It’s fairly peaceful outside of its central hub, while families will have multiple options for education nearby as well.
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Summary: If you’re the type who prefers palm trees over gum trees and spends most of your non-work time wearing lycra, then Cronulla may just be the suburb for you. A highly scenic, nature-oriented seaside suburb with multiple top-notch beaches, life in Cronulla is all about being outdoors and active; it’s essentially a waste to live here otherwise.

With a central hub teeming with many newly-added cafes and eateries and a pretty robust nightlife scene, Cronulla also has slices of extremely high-end living with quiet back streets that cost a very pretty penny. Read Review

Summary: Largely dominated by the impressive University of Sydney complex offset by clusters of terrace-heavy residential in its west, Camperdown’s an inner city Sydney suburb with quite a lot packed into a physically small area. It’s got several major public services and parks – including one of the flagship public spaces in Sydney – and is fringed by diverse suburbs on all sides that each offer something different within walking distance. It’s pricey, encircled by busy roads and doesn’t offer much in terms of shopping or dining itself, but all of that and more is right on its doorstep. Read Review

Summary: A suburb of extreme contrasts, a single street in Rhodes is all that separates one of Sydney’s highest-density concentrations of modern apartment living with light industry and spacious, older freestanding properties right on the waterfront. It’s a spot that continues to see rapid construction which has brought with it an array of restaurants and other amenities, and it’s got nice waterfront parkland areas plus good city connectivity. It’s a bit pricey and noisy, however, and all these modern constructions have made traffic a non-starter. Read Review

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: 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