I have lived in waterways with my hubby and 3 kids since we moved to Australia in May 2010. It is VERY quite, I have only seen my next door neighbour twice in two years and I couldnt tell you anyone's names but the houses are lovely and the kids can ride around on bikes or skateboards as there are hardly any cars and it is quiet.
the only downside is that there is not a lot of public transport here so we have to taxi the kids around (mums taxi). we have one bus on the estate an hour but luckily the end of the route is 1 minute from our front door.
Although it is a bit secluded, the kids said they wouldn't want to move, they are 17, 15 and 12 and i think they like the fact that the roads are very quiet and can go out and about easily on bikes.