jadee Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Hi everyone I hope you're all well. After securing a job in Penrith NSW myself and my fiancé are looking at accommodation starting in Jan 2017. As my partner has a labouring background we were looking at residing in Parramatta thinking he may be able to get a job on site in Sydney. I've scrolled through some previous posts and it seems that Parramatta has and is still developing rapidly. Does anyone have any recent thoughts on the neighbourhood and advice regarding transport to Penrith from Parramatta and also Parramatta to Sydney CBD? Many thanks Jade Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Did you visit Parramatta on your reccie? Penrith to Sydney is a fair hike so you are right to be looking for somewhere in between to get settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadee Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 Unfortunately we didn't, we stayed at a friends who lived very central at Potts Point. Parramatta is looking like a happy medium at the mo but we're welcome to any personal thoughts! Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Parramatta is quite a gritty neighbourhood. I've got friends who live in north west Sydney who used to live there and it is pretty rough. Do your research as W Sydney in places has some of the most socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods in urban Australia. It's not all bad but you really need to be careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I don't mind Parramatta. People get sniffy about it and it has some rough parts, and some derelicts hanging around in the centre but is it really worse than plenty of UK cities? I don't think so. And I hate to say it, but some of the dislike of Parramatta has the smell of racism about it. It's a multicultural area with a fairly large proportion of people of Middle Eastern descent and a whole mix of smaller ethnicities It has better parts and less nice parts to live in, and you'll want to be a bit careful especially if you need schools as that's where "bad areas" really affects your daily life IMO. But it does have a lot of business on its own (it is Sydney's second CBD and set to become even more so, with a lot of commercial - not just residential - development there) and it is an excellent transport hub and again set to become even better with Light Rail planned and a newly announced West Metro that might get up in 10 years or so. There's history and heritage too - Parramatta was the second place settled after Sydney Cove as it's where they could first get farming to work, quite a bit going on events wise, and some large and excellent open space - Parramatta Park, up at Parramatta Lake and along the river. If your fiance is looking for site work then the contract for the new Parramatta Stadium - a $300m job - has just been awarded so that will be kicking off next year, as well as all the high-rise that's going up The better parts of Parramatta if one has to generalise are probably on the north side and the less good on the south It's worth a look. The suburbs between Parramatta and Penrith are a fair bit worse and many of those I would recommend to avoid EDIT: You asked for transport advice. It's easy from Parra to either Penrith or Sydney - frequent trains. The "express" trains (there's no such thing here as a really fast trains) will work for you too as they stop only at Penrith, Blacktown, Parra, Strathfield, Redfern and Central. These will do either journey in less than 30 minutes I think. Stoppers add another 10 minutes on top. Go to http://www.transportnsw.info for details. Parramatta is also the big hub for bus transportation around Western Sydney Edited December 13, 2016 by northshorepom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Our friends lived between Harris Park and Parramatta before they bought North of Parramatta - they lived there because it was cheap and they could save for their new build. The area was pretty rough and nothing to do with the local diaspora..it just didn't feel safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Yeah, I'n not saying peoples' feelings are wrong nor that all notes of concern about Parramatta are racially driven. Just that the factor is there and it contributes I agree Harris Park is pretty sketchy. That's why I was suggesting the north side of Parramatta for preference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Yeah, I'n not saying peoples' feelings are wrong nor that all notes of concern about Parramatta are racially driven. Just that the factor is there and it contributes I agree Harris Park is pretty sketchy. That's why I was suggesting the north side of Parramatta for preference Fair enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie 2 Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 There is a tremendous amount of redevelopment going on in Parra at the minute, which is good for your boyfriend. Apart from the transport aspect,which has been already mentioned, there are plenty of top class restaurants etc that would suit a couple with no children. Parramatta is definitely on the up. I would agree that if you had children it would not be the best place to live. Some of the best schools in the Sydney area are to be found north of Parramatta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naomi from Manchester Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Parramatta centre has a surprising number of barber shops, every other shop seems to be for men's hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadee Posted December 14, 2016 Author Share Posted December 14, 2016 Thank you everyone, your feedback is much appreciated. We won't need schools and my position is only temporary so this could possibly be a stop gap while we find our feet. I was in a situation in the UK where employers admitted that as I was an international applicant, I wasn't necessarily favoured. I'm hoping while I will be residing in Australia I'm in a better position to secure something permanent. Take care, Jade Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie 2 Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Parramatta centre has a surprising number of barber shops, every other shop seems to be for men's hair. Funny I haven't noticed that in 45 years of frequenting Parramatta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naomi from Manchester Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Funny I haven't noticed that in 45 years of frequenting Parramatta. you'll be looking out for them now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie 2 Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 you'll be looking out for them now! I very much doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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