Sydney Neighbourhoods | Best Areas to Live in Sydney
Where should you live in Sydney? Given that Sydney is a vast, sprawling city with an area of over 1,100 square kilometres (700 square miles) and is home to 4.8 million people, we’ll begin by making some broad characterisations.
We’ll do this by splitting Sydney into five mini-cities. We haven’t made the split arbitrarily – each of these mini-cities is stereotyped in the minds of native Sydneysiders.
North Sydney – for rich snobs?
Inner West Sydney – for the trendy?
East Sydney – for the pretentious?
South Sydney (Sutherland Shire) – for bible bashers?
North Sydney
North Sydney: Manly with CBD in background
North Sydney Folklore
North Sydney is populated by rich snobs.
They drive 4WD cars, but only in the city, and they are the products of expensive private schools.
They like to talk about money, the stock market, house prices and their golf-club memberships.
North Sydney Facts:
House prices confirm the perception that rich folks live up North.
We’ll split North Sydney into three distinct areas.
Lower North:
This is the part closest to the city centre, just over the famous harbour bridge.
The average price for a house in the lower north of Sydney in mid 2019 was $2 million.
Most people don’t live in houses here – they can’t afford them. Flats / apartments and row houses make up the majority of properties. A typical apartment costs about $850,000 – less than half the $2 million – £3 million you would expect to pay for an average house.
Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average.
Lower North Sydney: Looking over the Harbour Bridge to the Central City
Northern Beaches:
Moving further north, average house prices remain high.
The average house price in the Northern Beaches for a house is about $1.5 million to $2.5 million – although in the Manly local government area this rises to over $2.9 million. About half of houses here are separate, detached houses.
The Northern Beaches have more Australian born residents than most areas of Sydney, around 70 percent.
The main migrant groups are British and New Zealanders – the green, lush, Northern Beaches are popular with British families seeking the Australian beach and lifestyle dream. Getting into the central city in rush hour can, however, be a trial.
Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average.
Upper North Shore:
Houses in the upper North Shore are also expensive. Expect to pay over $2 million to live in an average house in the Ku-ring-gai local government area – reputed to offer its residents the highest quality of life in Australia. Units cost from $850,000. The Hornsby area is somewhat cheaper, with an average house price closer to $1.2 million and an average unit price of $650,000.
In the suburbs closest to the city, there are fewer Australian born residents than Sydney’s average.
The largest migrant groups are from the UK and Hong Kong or China.
Around half of the houses are detached.
Farther from the city, the proportion of Australian born people grows significantly and there is more space for housing – more than three quarters of houses are detached.
Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average, particularly in suburbs farther from the city.
House Prices as of mid 2019.
Western Sydney
Western Sydney: Ryde Parramatta Golf Course
Western Sydney Folklore
Western Sydney is reputed to be the home of the Bogan.
Bogan is a word used by Australians and New Zealanders to describe a certain type of person.
A bogan is a person likely to sport a mullet hairstyle (the hair is short everywhere except for the back where it is shoulder length).
A bogan is also likely to own a Metallica T-shirt and to wear it whether the occasion is a rock concert or a wedding. When bogans are not racing their cars on suburban streets, they like to dismantle and reassemble them on their front lawns.
Western Sydney Facts
The average house price in Western Sydney ranges from about $650,000 – $750,000 in areas such as Blacktown and Penrith reaching $1,000,000 + in Baulkham Hills. In some suburbs, such as Baulkham Hills’s Annangrove, the average house commands a price in excess of $2 million. (House prices from mid 2019.)
Western Sydney covers a very large area, and actually makes up the bulk of metropolitan Sydney.
The number of Australian born residents is lower than Sydney’s average. The main migrant group depends on the area. It can, for example, be Filipino, Lebanese or Vietnamese.
Crime rates tend to be above average.
Inner West Sydney
Inner West Sydney: University Quadrangle
Inner West Sydney Folklore
Inner West Sydney is harder to stereotype than other areas of the city.
It is variously thought of as: trendy, lively, multicultural, arty and the haunt of drug-addicted burglars and car-thieves.
Inner West Sydney Facts
The average house price in Inner West Sydney in mid 2019 was about $1.3 million – $1.8 million.
Most properties are part of a row or are flats / apartments. The average apartment costs about $650,000 – $1,000,000.
Inner West Sydney is home to several of Sydney’s best known academic institutions including the University of Sydney, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Technology. As as a result of this, some areas of Inner West Sydney have high student populations.
The Inner West is also home to a number of highly regarded private and state secondary schools.
There tend to be more Australian born residents than average in this area.
British and New Zealanders are the biggest migrant groups.
Crime rates in most Inner West areas tend to be average or above average.
East Sydney
Eastern Sydney on the left. Harbour Bridge at bottom right, with Central Business District. Photo taken from Northern Sydney
East Sydney Folklore
East Sydneysiders are even more pretentious than North Sydneysiders. Residents of the Eastern Suburbs tend to be younger, yuppie types who are obsessed with their clothes, egos, self-image and money.
They love to talk about house prices.
They are seen as culturally pretentious too – eating in French restaurants and visiting art-galleries, though most could not tell a Vincent van Gogh from a Damien Hirst.
East Sydneysiders rent and share houses – not because they want to, but because they are forced to by the very high real estate prices in Sydney East.
Rushcutters Bay, Eastern Sydney
East Sydney Facts
The average house price in the Eastern Suburbs is indeed high. The average for Randwick is about two and a quarter million dollars while the average in Woollahra is over $2.7 million (mid 2019).
Most properties are part of a row or are flats / apartments. Average apartment prices are about $800,000 to $1,100,000.
A higher proportion of properties are rented here than elsewhere in the city.
The proportion of Australian born residents is about average for Sydney. British and New Zealanders are the biggest migrant groups.
East Sydney has average crime rates.
Tamarama, Eastern Sydney
South Sydney / Sutherland
Sutherland Shire, Large House
South Sydney / Sutherland Folklore
People from the Shire are bible-bashers with lots of children who live in a 1950’s time warp. They are insular and never go outside the boundaries of the Shire.
South Sydney / Sutherland Facts
Sutherland Shire has good rail links into the central city, taking around 35 – 45 minutes, and the average house price in mid 2019 was $950,000 – $1,200,000. The average apartment price was about $650,000.
Sutherland Shire has the highest proportion of Australian born residents, over 80 percent, of any of Sydney’s mini-cities.
The main migrant groups are British and New Zealanders, who view the Shire as Sydney’s best kept secret.
More manageable house prices and convenient access to beaches and national parks are among the Shire’s strong-points.
Almost three quarters of houses are separate, detached houses.
Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average.
Which of the mini-Sydneys sounded best to you?
Do you see yourself slotting in happily to one of these mini-cities? If not, don’t worry. The folklore descriptions are tongue-in-cheek, although they do reflect some real Sydneysider prejudices.
In fact, you will find wonderful leafy suburbs with excellent schools in the Inner West and you could have your house burgled by a drug addict in North Sydney. You can meet plenty of insular people in the East and you can find large numbers of highly cultured people in the West. You can also find childless atheists who talk non-stop about money, the stock market and house prices in Sutherlandshire.
In a city as large and diverse as Sydney, there’s a good chance you’ll find somewhere to suit you.
NASA Satellite Map Of Sydney
(Note: CBD is Central Business District)