Possibly it’s the burglary, perhaps it’s the bumpkins, perhaps it’s a town with a unsatisfactory reputation, perhaps it’s just the unsatisfactory surrounds. Often, it’s a town where the property value is drastically marked down.
There’s a few contenders for worst suburb in Sydney – which unsatisfactory Sydney suburb gets your vote as a godawful suburb, and why?
Note: keep it nice – any racist posts will be removed.
{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
the city – a century of poor development management and decisions has seen it become a concrete wind tunnel devoid of life and culture and a distinct sense of its own history. it also has a real sense of disconnection from the suburbs that surround it. all this, and still nowhere to park!
Manly – their football team only… :-P
these are very superficial reasons for labelling a suburb “worst”. you should really take crime statistics into account, over aesthetics…
south and west suburbs inner west is really nice though
i mean south and west suburbs is worst
inner west suburbs is nice
. There are suburbs in Sydney where people are actually inbred, living in absolute squalor, sometimes in caravan parks, sometimes in weatherboard homes with walls missing, their babies surrounded by filth, flies all over everything… no amenities, no public transport to speak of, no culture, no jobs and no hope. I have seen some really bad places…Bidwill or Dharruk or Tregear come to mind
i live in mount druitt its bad but only my generation make it that like you can lovly people here my street is so nice but my parents wont send me to a school around here
Worst are Airds, Maquarie Fields, Woodbine and most of those surounding these; high crime, high unemployment housing commission areas – they’re real Ghettos.
Merrylands, Greystanes, St Marys, Doonside, Macquarie Fields, Auburn
I work at St Marys, and it has it’s bad areas. I think Mt Druitt and Blacktown have a few social issues.
The outer South-West sydney suburbs are probably the worse, the inner South West sydney suburbs arent that bad except they get more dangerous the more further you go out (Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore, Lakemba, punchbowl and Bankstown)
I live at glenwood only down the road of Blacktown, i think the west is one of the best places
I live in these suburbs …. Worst in Sydney? Oh, Please! Airds and Macquarie Fields I can understand why you’d mention them … not the worst suburb in Sydney by far though, and I don’t even know how you can say Woodbine! That’s got to be one of the quietest places in all of Campbelltown!
Marrickville is a filthy dirty suburb.
I find that all the bad suburbs are concentrated in the West and South-West. Newington is the ONLY nice suburb in West Sydney, but even then it’s kinda Inner-West.
Southern suburbs are mixed: some very nice (Sylvania Waters), some are OK (Hurstville), but none are really bad.
I love the North/North-West suburbs where you can’t walk anywhere without finding houses worth millions of dollars lol.
East suburbs are great other than Bondi where no-one has ever heard of a shirt.
The Inner South, Inner West, and Central suburbs are all great aswell.
See? A lor more nice places in Sydney than bad.
The Housing Commission areas should be sent to the outback with all rough types sent there.
The suburbs would become decent and people respect their property as well as others. Darlinghurst/Taylor Square are dirty filthy suburbs along with Redfern and Matraville is pretty rough area due to the Housing Commission.
The Northern Beaches. Full of funboys.
No they should not be sent to rural areas. In australia people can choose where to live! And not all people who live in housing are bad.. All my grand parents live in properties owned by housing and they are very lovely clean people who live in lovely suburbs..
Disageee with you all! Sydney is great, you can find good in all the places mentioned, and bad in everywhere not mentioned – I lived all over Sydney I can tell you horror stories about any area ! I find the west to be the freindliest place, best for familes and close knit neighbourhoods etc, the East is probably the worst for that aspect though, they will just drive over you on the way into their oversized automatic garages – I would never live there again. Nothern beaches, mostly a pack of monocultured and often racist Aussies without any idea what lies over the other side, same as south but only less to show for it. Inner West, mostly going like the Inner City – too conservative, too expensive and too monocultured. The southwest is where it is at, that’s where the real interestt for me is, lots of interesting ethnicity, cutlural diversity and I go so far to say the breeding ground for the future cultural identies of Sydney – look at where the Resturant and Cafe culture came from we so love now ! Going into any SW Sydney Suburb is like taking an overseas trip, only cheaper ! Yes, the Campsies, Lakembas, Bankstown, Cabramatta, Minto, Harris Park, Auburn to name a few of the hot spots – Go forth expore and and yee shall find ! Trust me , Ive been there, many times, leaves anywere else for dead I say !
Merrylands? Woahhh seriously????
It should be manitory that you name where you are from, YES?
I wouldn’t go any further west than Newtown. Just stick to the Eastern Suburbs and everything will be ok…
kings cross
i grew up in kings cross and it was terrible people fought and oh it was just bad (espesialy Mcleay st)
Mosman & Palm Beach – everyone walks round on all fours with the heads up their a*ses, botox injected face lifted over tanned with a blinkered view of the world.
like me
who ever thought that one of austrlias most popular beach is so scummy
good: chatswood,hornsby,monavale & manly are the only major suburbs that arent so scumy. YUCK : the others parramatta campbelltown etc.
Punchbowl is by far the roughest of all. It should be a no go zone for anybody that isnt with or affiliated with the ‘gangsters’ there. I have been a crime researcher for eleven years so… trust me… Stay well away
You serious??? You want an American style CBD that’s half buildings and half car parks?
The CBD is the best area in Sydney, the busy, fast vibrant atmosphere, amazing architecture on every corner. Brilliant skyscrapers to look up at.
And if you think it lacks culture, you’ve probably never gone south of Martin Place.
Bah, you easterner! :p That doesn’t apply to the northern suburbs, take a look at Chatswood, vibrant and cool. Turramurra is very pretty and bush is easily accessible.
Kings Cross.
It’s the place in Sydney to quote Taxi Driver where “All the animals come out at night”.
Nice during the day time though.
Bankstown my area
“Newington is the ONLY nice suburb in West Sydney”
If you think that Newington is the only nice suburb in Western Sydney then you need to see more of Western Sydney. Newington is a dump. It was the Olympic Village during the 2000 games and was then privatised for development. It is a suburb that is sandwiched between a maximum security prison and a chemical waste treatment plant. All of the cheaply constructed apartments and houses look the same. Nearby suburbs like Marinas Cove, Rhodes, Concord, Gladsville and Putney are much nicer than Newington and have higher property values.
Cherrybrook is a god awful suburb with Castle Hill runner up.
Castle Hill? Yes, an excellent shopping centre and a council who provides modern community facilities. Some nice cafes and restaurants, very low crime, very low vandalism and unemployment. Quiet leafy streets with very high real estate values. God how could anybody possibly live there?
Anywhere west, where it takes 3 hours to get anywhere by public transport. :(
Seriously? These are both fantastic, quiet and safe places to live. Have you even been to Castle Hill?
yes I have. Castle Hill & Cherrybrook are full of ugly McMansions & brick veneer homes . Narrow minded people in the bible belt of Sydney. People drive 4WDs & have a me me me greedy attitude (benefited from John Howard’s middle class welfare & expect even more from governments). Most in the area promote conservative views, anti environment & pro Tony Abbott.
The worst areas are usally where the Greens are in power. They are dirty and untidy and neglected homes. No nice shopping centres etc.
i was living in melbourne 2 years ago and i could swear this syned is more livible and safer.
i dont care what the media says i cant stop being over 40% (sounds like nothing but it’s alot in comparison to what the media thinks) that sydney is safer than melbourne. one thing is certain, as far as crime goes, sydney is overrated and melbourne is badly underrated. as sydney has the sydney harbour bridge, the opera house, better facilities and better traffic conditions, it brings the feeling of home. i left melbourne in 2003, no regrets.
I think kensington and revsby and redfern but you can get a nice house in east redfern the rich area
Bondi has wall to wall w*nkers.
LIVERPOOL
Greater Sydney is a disgrace. It is the centre of bogans and rednecks in this country. The harbour is a joke, there is so much raw sewerage it isn’t possible to eat the fish from it. Darling Habour is basically a catchment for anything floating in the harbour including dead dogs. The level of racism in the city is over the top. I’m embarassed to show overseas vistors around.
I live in Blair Athol in the Campbeltown area. It is the nicest and cleanest area i have ever lived in. I have lived everywhere and can give you a rundouwn on just about anything based on my personal opinion and others. The worst suburbs to me would be the eastern suburbs Maroubra, Botany, Mascot, Alexandria, Randwick, Eastlakes to name afew as they are so overpriced and over crowded not to mention the amount of housing, polution, filth, drugs and crime in the areas and the councils dont bother to keep anything clean, giving sydney a bad name. Lakemba, punchbowl, mt druitt, riverwood, auburn and granville are all no go zones unless you don’t mind drive by shootings, fairfeild and cabramatta aren’t nice either.
Since i have been living in Campbeltown area (Blair Athol) i will never leave it and am only sad that i didn’t discover it sooner. GO CAMPBELTOWN, IT’S THE BEST.
Hi,
Honestly every suburb has its black sheep and no one can say anything about Sydney south west, at least here you see the “multiculturalism” at work Lebanese,malaysian,Australians,Vietnamese,etc all living in harmony.
Real culture is seen in these areas for example the Lebanese Muslim communities in Lakemba and auburn, the Vietnamese communities in cabramatta, the second you step into these areas you experience a taste of their lives if only people were not so narrow minded and realise that us immigrants are the backbone of the workforce then troubles and labels will always follow us.
I have lived in Maroubra all my life and it is nowhere near as bad as the western suburbs. I go west alot and I have found the worst places are from the Hills district (Seven Hills, Castle Hill) to Penrith. Everything in between is daring to go. St Mary’s, St Clair’s, Minchinbury, Rooty Hill, Erskine Park, Mt Druitt, Penrith itself. Dodgiest places. Then of course you have typical places like Redfern (ever been on the block? Yeah, didn’t think so..), Lakemba, Punchbowl is a horrible place, and of course Woy Woy and Gosford can’t be forgotten. I have found that Campbelltown and Blacktown aren’t really as bad as people say they are. It’s more so the people in these areas rather than the council and housing prices that make it bad. I have had a mate murdered in Minchinbury and several friends be bashed severely in Rooty Hill. Definately places I don’t recommend. I can’t believe some people are saying Cronulla is bad!! It is an amazing place, cultural and beautiful.
Maroubra??? Its joke city, the people think they are walking dollar bills and walk straight into a housing home. The drugs are offered to CHILDREN and a child has died on the beach due to a syringe being planted in the sand in 2006. The low lives in the area give it a bad rap and most of my friends have experienced violence on the streets of maroubra including breaking and entering on New orleans Cres while they were in the house IN BROUD DAY LIGHT. The place is a mess and it needs so much maintenence that the council looks like its given up. I went to East gardens westfield shopping center just to find 3 beggers before i even got in there. Never again…. I’m proud to live in Campbeltown where i haven’t experienced any of that and the rating in our area is 9.3 out of 10 as opposed to maroubras 4.9 out of 10 as Sydneys best suburbs all round. My husband went to school in maroubra and grew up in maroubra and all he could say is IM GLAD TO BE OUTTA THERE!!!
7
I lived in Alexandria for three years. ‘Mia’ is definitely incorrect – it was actually extremely safe, with wide streets and no issues. I’ve had problems living in Wahroonga and Neutral Bay (suburbs I still love), but never had any difficulties at Alexandria at all.
Blair Athol is pretty terrible.
Hahaha Monica, obviously has never been to Blair Athol to say it’s terrible. I lived in Alexandria for 11 years and stand by my comment ALEXANDRIA IS one of the worst suburbs as i was broken into that many times and saw so many underage children in the area on drugs. It was horrible. Monica need not be so offended as to try and contradict me. Try living in the area like i did before you pass judgment, otherwise your comment is a funny joke.
Yeah Mia we totally agree with you about Alexandria, perhaps “monica” was on some of those drugs you mentioned for her to think Alexandria is anywhere near good. We too lived there for 7.5 years and thought it was overated, over priced and crowded with junkies. We thn lived in Maroubra for nearly 6 years and in my opinion it was even worse. Street crime happened mostly at night and we found the council didnt care about the area. We now live in Five Dock and although it’s not the best suburb, it is close to work so it’ll do for now. We have never lived in Blair Athol but have heard it’s beautiful and private. Campbeltown seems to be the place to be for families and young ones which is great so that will be our next nest. People like ‘Monica’ should just be ignored. So eveyone just ignore it and keep smiling c ya
To the people saying Sydney has to much racism but ur bagging out bogans and rednecks ??? … Every area has a bad street and every cuty has a bad town I would deff say mount druitt tho!!!!!!!!
Yep eastern suburbs are going down. Unclean, unsafe and overated as most people put it. I especially have an issue with Maroubra, Eastgardens, Botany, Alexandria. Most suburbs i grew up in and thank my lucky stars to be gone. Campbeltown is the place to live in now. I like Mia’s comments, its sums it up well. I also like xoxoxo’s comment as that is true. I have never had a problem living in campbeltown. I’m not happy with Hooters opening up here but besides that, the fact that the housing commision is leaving the area’s surronding campbeltown, it has made it the best suburb to live in, in sydney. I also agree with lakemba , bankstown, mt druit, kensington, bondi,kings cross and blacktown as being bad. I wouldnt want to live there even if it were free but id pay a million to live in campbeltown, we’re not that far from the city on the M5 for work, plenty of shopping and friendly people, not to mention the beautiful houses and clean streets. Bad luck to Monica, dont think many agree with you at all.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Claymore, it has to be the worst suburb in Sydney
Actualy Realistic me, you are right in the sense that claymore was the most horrible subburb ever with the lowest rating in sydney but they have removed over half of the housing, renewed all the houses and sold them privatly. They still have some more to move but by mid 2013 the area will be finished and unbelievebly one of the most beautiful suburbs to live in. I now live in Zetland which i have never really liked. But im actually thinking of ivesting in woodbine with the high ceiling houses, large yards and clean streets. Not far from the city, beaches and so many fantastic shops. Campbeltown really does seem like the best family orientated and multi cultural place to live in now. It’s the in thing.