Moving to Sydney, Studying at USYD. - Which Suburb to Live in?

Lloura923 on 28/06/2019 - 18:53
Last edited 29/06/2019 - 11:11 by 1 other user

Hi there

I am new here, sorry if posting in a wrong forum.

There are some threads that similar to mine but I would use your advice if you could help

I will be studying in USYD and I have been searching for houses and reading many threads about the safety in Sydney that some area is not safe, especially for houses.

After searching I found out that some new 3 bedrooms houses are great but cheap! For instance, I saw a house in Parramatta and Bankstown for $550! is that normal?

We are a family with 4 kids. I Will be using the train and should not be more than 40 min to Uni. Also, my budget would not exceed $800 per week for rent.

I prefer any suburb that they're out of the way and quiet and kids can get in touch with nature and play.

Thanks

• 

  serpserpserp on 28/06/2019 - 19:38

  Five Dock.

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  CyberMurning on 28/06/2019 - 19:45

  cabramatta.
  suburb with the most milk tea shop in NSW

  • 

    Nutrino on 28/06/2019 - 20:12

    Cabra is a lot safer then it use to be.

    • 

      kerfuffle on 28/06/2019 - 20:36

      But doesn't meet the OP's criteria of being 40 minutes away from the city

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  jug123 on 28/06/2019 - 20:11

  +2

  Parra's a gd area with plenty to do. Big shopping ctr, lots of restaurants & cafes, parks & great public transport. I lived right next to the Westfield and found it a very safe area as theres always plenty of ppl around. Express trains will get you to the CBD in 30mins

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  wizzy on 28/06/2019 - 20:21

  +1

  Sydney is a very big place which makes your question difficult to answer. Generally (very generally) speaking, the eastern side of Sydney is wealthier and of higher SES. The western side of Sydney is less wealthy and of lower SES.

  Renting a house for $550 per week is cheap and probably reflects either the suburb or the condition of the house. Rents have decreased over the past year or so though.

  Bankstown and Parramatta are not close to to the main USyd campus. If catching the train you need to get off at Redfern station and walk. The main campus is quite large and very busy. It is essentially it's own suburb. Redfern station is beyond the far western side of the campus. It has been many years since I have needed to walk around that campus, but from memory it is probably around a 15 min walk from one side of the campus to the other if you walk quickly - more on a rainy or busy day. The campus has probably grown since the last time I was there, so it may be a longer walk these days.

  The other option is to catch the train to central station and then catch a bus. Central station is large so it can be a reasonable walk to the bus stop. You then have to walk again once you get off the bus because of the large campus size. On some days, and at some times, the buses will be very busy with students and you might not be able to get on the first bus.

  Regardless of which public transport option you take, factor in at least 30 mins of additional walking time on top of the actual train/bus time.

  I hope that helps.

  • 

    loura923 on 28/06/2019 - 20:58

    +1

    Thanks for the info

    My classes will be 10 min away from Redfern station, so Bankstown and parra about 40 min to Uni. The houses I was referring to was new houses

    • 

      wizzy on 28/06/2019 - 21:30

      +1

      Probably ok then as long as you like those suburbs. They are not fancy suburbs and people from the eastern side of Sydney can be snobby about them. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them, but that is why the rent is cheap.

      There is usually a huge queue of students (hundreds) walking from Redfern station to Sydney uni every morning. The streets are narrow and you get stuck in the queue. I'm guessing it will take you longer than 10 mins to walk from the station to the part of campus that you need - unless you are only going to one of the engineering buildings or the architecture building which are the only buildings that I would regard as predictably within 10 mins of Redfern station. On a busy morning it could take you 5 mins just to get out of the station.

      When I attended USyd I lived 5km away. I only had to catch 1 bus that stopped outside my apartment and outside the university. It still took me 30 mins to get to class because of all the people and the walking. Don't underestimate travel times in Sydney.

      • 

        brad1-8tsi on 28/06/2019 - 23:57

        I'm there every day. Your times and experience with pedestrian traffic are grossly exaggerated but the campus is as big as you say. Redfern has had some access upgrades recently. I think the biggest issue with Redfern is the lack of disabled access and the poor stairs layout / congestion at the base of the stairs.

        • 

          wizzy on 29/06/2019 - 09:42

          @brad1-8tsi:

          Your times and experience with pedestrian traffic are grossly exaggerated

          I'm not exaggerating, that is how it was 15-20 years ago when I last attended Sydney Uni.

          It sounds like they may have made some improvements since then to ease the situation - which was definitely needed. There wasn't even a dedicated pedestrian entrance to the uni from Redfern when I was there like there is now. Students had to enter via a driveway at the back of some buildings and negotiate cars.

          I would still be surprised if you could reliably get anywhere in the campus (other than the engineering or architecture buildings) within 10 minutes of arriving at Redfern station on a busy morning.

    • 

      RockyRaccoon on 29/06/2019 - 08:44

      also you will find that the other time issues will be.

      How far the house is from the station.
      Is the nearest station a popular one. Is it an express stop or an all stations stop.
      What are the times of travel - Peak hour or off peak.
      How many days do you travel.

      Generally houses that are close and on fast stations, are more expensive.
      Also the closer to the station (only as a general rule) will be less suitable for kids as they are more congested, have more traffic etc.

      My guess is the $500 homes you were talking about wouldnt as 3 bed apartments/houses be close to the station. If they were the Syd Uni students would have rented them already.

      With the new Northwest metro, you might find better homes/prices in the Northwest, but the travel times will be longer, however prices/distance from station will be shorter. So overall time may not be as long.

      • 

        loura923 on 30/06/2019 - 12:06

        +1

        You made me realize how do I look now, I did not know that. So thank you. and that's was true. it was not close to the station.

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  iforgotmysocks on 28/06/2019 - 20:21

  +3

  Mt Druitt

  • 

    kerfuffle on 28/06/2019 - 20:37

    +2

    Was waiting for someone to mention this ahaha

  • 

    loura923 on 28/06/2019 - 20:58

    +1

    Great, but it seems more than 1 hour to uni

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  peterpeterpumpkin on 28/06/2019 - 21:20

  Are you from interstate or abroad?

  Most international students go west because it's cheap, has much better transport options (i.e. train) and they have access to a "community" for ready access to their usual foods/friends/culture.

  But with a few exceptions (e.g. Burwood), most of the low crime areas are in the east and north. So you do see a lot of families crammed into units, which isn't as easy with 4 kids when some are teenagers. But "out-of-the-way" in the north usually means no train line (an express train from Engadine to Redfern is as fast as living just over the bridge which has trains…)

  Every international student I know (mostly from India and Nepal) that currently live in western Sydney has not given a good review. But they've never given me specific examples of a negative experience. Just that they don't feel "comfortable".

  • 

    SlavOz on 06/07/2019 - 12:56

    That's bull. They're probably just swallowing the old lie that the West is some sort of ghetto and living in it means you're not as fancy as others.

    For a start the West is packed with Indians and other foreign communities, with thousands centers, clubs, churches, shops etc run by different ethnic groups. Some parts of the West will make you believe you're in Vietnam. Others will make you think you're in Greece or Croatia. There are definitely similar experiences for Indians and Chinese among others. There are so many Indians around Western Sydney that I can pretty much recite any Indian dish or common greeting, so I can't imagine how an Indian person would say they don't feel comfortable.

    In terms of crime rates, I think that's debatable. Most violent crimes in Sydney are between criminals or other people who had it coming. If you follow the law and don't get mixed up with the wrong people, you're not gonna get stabbed. That's true whether you're in Mt Druitt or Bondi. Some parts of the West are definitely more safer, especially for kids, than any other suburb in or around the city. And as rare as they are, terrorist attacks are definitely a threat for Sydney (one was foiled just the other day). When one inevitably happens it's not gonna be targeted in the West, I promise you. Living or working around the city carries its own very real risks.

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  brad1-8tsi on 28/06/2019 - 23:51

  I do the opposite and go from near USyd to Parra. The limited stops train from Redfern (near USyd) to Parra only takes 25 minutes.

  Personally I'd look either South or North of the City but the rent will be more.

  40mins South is Sutherland to Hurstville area.

  40mins North I have no idea. St.Leonards is ~20-25mins

  I'm not a huge fan of the western suburbs but I've only ever worked out that way and not lived there.

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  innov on 04/07/2019 - 16:00

  I would recommend Strathfield

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  SlavOz on 06/07/2019 - 13:02

  Living in Sydney while supporting 4 kids and still studying sounds ludicrous. Can I ask what you do for work?