Anyone living in parramatta

Hi folks

As I go through the long wait on the visa side of things we have decided to research a bit on areas within Sydney in the hope that if the visa grant does come through we will have at least done a little bit of groundwork.

We are a family of 4, soon to be 5. And although I love the areas around inner west (Chiswick, Canada bay, lane cove etc) and also northern suburbs such as mosman and further out towards the beaches I'm struggling to justify what we would get for our budget, and for the northern areas mentioned I'm sure there is nothing within budget.

This has me looking a little further out from CBD which is where work will be for me.

Ideally looking for a house or 3 bed apartment in a nice and safe area to bring up our kids.

The reason paramatta is standing out is that I came across an interesting apartment development by PIA developers (25 north road I think) that looked nice and well within our budget.

What are people's opinions on paramatta and surrounding suburbs and also the commute to CBD.

I'm sure you might want more info, and as this is all new to us I'm sure I have left key info out so please do ask.

Ideal budget 600-750 PW

Upper limit if the spot is right 900 PW

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Parramatta gets a bad rep as it's the heart of Western Sydney and for white middle class people from the Eastern Suburbs/North Shore that can be a bit scary. I think a lot of it is misplaced and the area is changing quite rapidly as well with lots of development and a very active council who are positioning Parra as Sydney's "second CBD". It is a multi-ethnic area and sadly some of the bad rep probably stems from that. You can't really tell how you feel until you try it.

The city centre is pretty good I think - the park on the west side is huge and fantastic, the shopping is pretty good and the centre has a decent feel to it and actually has some pedestrianised streets which is rare for Sydney. Lots of heritage there as well if you're interested in that, because Parra was the first place to really have a proper settlement as it was where farms first became established in the early days of the colony.

There's a massive hospital complex at Westmead and a big Uni complex towards Rydalmere.....I don't know about schools I'm afraid

Commuting to the CBD is very good, the express trains take about 25 minutes and the stoppers about 35-40 and there's a train every 5-10 minutes in peak. They can get busy though. Improvements are in play at the moment for the western lines as well and will come on stream progressively from 2019 as the 2 stages of the Sydney Metro system are completed (this will free up capacity on the western lines). There is also a light rail network from Parra to the Olympic Park that is planned and part funded and in the design stage.

"Better" suburbs are probably on the north side of Parra, but it's less convenient for the train. Actually anywhere north and/or NE of Parra Central is probably a good place to look (only the areas around Victoria Rd and the river are a bit grubby), but you'll need to keep a close eye on the transport options - at some point catching the express buses on the M2 (dedicated lanes and stops) or the Northern line trains from Eastwood etc will start to get closer/easier than getting into Parra itself for the train. It's worth point out that Parramatta itself acts as a fairly significant transport hub with the two T-way bus lines out to Liverpool and towards Windsor, as well as the train and the forthcoming light rail

Well I do have a jaundiced view of Paramatta ever since my youngest son, then 16, got mugged in the food court at Westfield by MOMEA a good few years ago - no one could be arsed to do anything about it and the MOMEA security guards, when approached, just shrugged and said "that's the way it is". I don't think safety for kids or education in that area would thrill me to the core.

Crime mapping tool is here if you want to have a look patrick:

http://crimetool.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/bocsar/

Parramatta itself isn't the best place to live if you have children - it's fine for couples. As has been said the suburbs north of Parramatta are great for children. Plenty of parks, sports clubs and the schools are really good. It obviously takes longer to travel to Sydney but the express bus which travels along the M2 has shortened the commute and the Northwest rail link will also help. There is also the station at Seven Hills, which has good parking,you could use if you live around Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista or Winston Hills. I had a look at the crime map and have come to the conclusion that it is too general i.e. it labels a whole local government area with one statistic. All suburbs in one council area are not the same.

Sorry for the delayed response.

I agree that looking at the crime map I have taken everything with a pinch of salt, hence why I am asking here.

I had also been looking further north, north west of like baulkham hills and castle hill etc. What we would get for our budget is definitely appealing however after living in a large detached 4 bed back home I'm wondering would apartment living be more enjoyable for us, a bit of a change and less upkeep / expense to kit out, and night actually teach us to live a simpler lifestyle.

My big concern is that what we love about Sydney is the river cats to get about and the eastern and northern beach areas. Would living that far out really remove us from a lot of that. And also most of our friends live inner west or east.

Without wanting to turn this into another where to live in Sydney post (which I suppose I already have). What other areas would people suggest.

Biggest thing that we would want would be friendly clean area. That we would feel at home and safe walking around with kids in tow.

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I have just read your last post and it occurred to me that you might want to look at Meadowbank. It is on the Parramatta river. The east end of the suburb, closest to West Ryde, is mainly flats and as you head along towards Parramatta there are mainly houses. I should add that it is a good few years since I have visited the area so there could be more flats now. There isn't much in Meadowbank but it is very close to West Ryde and not far from Parramatta and it also has a river cat terminal.

Great. Thanks for your suggestion. I'll check it out.

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Personally I find Parramatta fine. I lived in Westmead for a year and currently work in Northmead and have never had any issues of not feeling safe etc and the restaurants on church street are great. The trains are fairly quick to the city. I think it is a good alternative to living in the city and over the coming years it will no doubt get even better as the new tower blocks are built, westfield gets extended and church street gets even more 'city style' restaurants.

You can get houses if you look at the northern area of Parramatta and Parramatta park and lake are great places to visit at the weekend.

Again thanks for the advice. Taking it all on board. Will be landing in Sydney in the next 5-6 weeks but have delayed family arriving until early July so I can try and get a rental sorted as we have 2 year old twins and a new baby due in august so thought it was important for them to get settled as quick as possible before new baby arrives. Having them living in temp accommodation and dragging kids and pregnant wife around to viewings does not seem realistic or fair to me. Luckily my wife is trusting that I will find the right place

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