Rhodes, NSW 2138

Rhodes is one of those suburbs that tend to draw very polarised views - obvious from the various reviews here on this site. Having read through other reviews and having now lived in Rhodes for over 1 year (bought a waterfront apartment) I can understand both sides of opinions.

For myself - moving to Rhodes has been one of the best decisions and I do love living here. There are very few places that are literally 5 minutes to public transport (train station, public buses), 5 minutes from a major (yet not too big!) shopping complex, waterviews with gorgeous scenes of sunsets (if facing the west), amazing walking pathways and walking distance to several parklands - all of this 20 minutes from the Sydney city. For myself - a young professional (who often struggles finding more hours in a day) - it is the convenience of Rhodes that is its greatest asset!

The crowd you find in Rhodes is very much professionals; older retirees and young couples. I do have to agree with most that it is overly priced - both in buying and renting. However in being so it does filter the type of people that reside here - the majority are very conscious in keeping the place clean. I've never had issues with safety or hoons - I often go for jogs late evening on the west facing walking track. There is always a vibrant feel at this time with others going for runs / cycles, walking their dogs, playing with their kids in the park - a great community and family sense about the place.

Although I live in an apartment I find Rhodes extremely quiet! In fact in the first few months when I first moved to Rhodes I found it eerily quiet .. too quiet! I had to always put on the tv just to have some sense of activity.

So why such contrasting views about Rhodes?

The comments by some about Rhodes being dirty and smelly: The council does a great job in keeping Rhodes clean, but yes trolleys being left in the streets is a problem. This is because local residents live walking distance to the Mirvac shopping centre and simply bring trolleys of their shopping home - usually from Coles or Ikea (and I have to admit to doing this too!) But it isn't so bad as there is a nightly trolley pick-up to get these stray trolleys.

Comments about the smell of Rhodes - when I first came to Rhodes at times I couldn't help but notice a distinct smell about the place at certain times. This 'smell' comes at low tide - the smell from the Mangroves and swamplands nearby. It isn't at all that bad and is only evident at low tide. It's the smell of nature! I'd prefer this any day to the smell from polluted congested traffic.

Comments about polluted water - yes Rhodes was built on commercial factories and it has been well documented the toxic levels of the water. This is well on the improve. The half yearly reports which come out show the water has improved considerably and is now at the same pollution level as water in the Darling Harbour. (At one stage I had heard it was twice as bad). It is now not uncommon to see pelicans, crabs and exotic sea birds on the Rhodes water while walking along the waterside path! On weekends there are even the local dragon boat crew training on the waters.

Some apartment blocks are better managed and are more cleanly than others. I can only comment on my own and state I've never had issues with untidy neighbours. Within my own complex the neighbours very much keep to themselves. The strata fees are around $1K per quarter which isn't too bad. (I was considering buying at Breakfast Point previously and was told the average strata was up to $2K).

Street parking is an issue in Rhodes. All streets have a 2 hr parking limit till 7pm. The shopping centre offers 3 hr free parking as an alternative.

I must admit I have questions over the new apartment complexes coming up on the north side of Rhodes. I have doubts how well the planning has been managed in this area as some complexes are boasting 25 stories high. This is much different from the apartments closer to the shopping side which are on average about 6 stories high.

Another problem with Rhodes is the internet options. Telstra has a monopoly on the suburb (with resale options available via TPG and other smaller ISPs) and only DSL is available (don't even consider wireless broadband!). Being located 4k from the Concord exchange the speeds are quite average (think ~200-400kpbs. Compare this to the avg 1Mbps I was getting while living in Parramatta.) Once NBN is rolled out however this will no longer be a problem.

So in all - yes there are aspects of Rhodes which are on the down, but overall in my opinion the advantages of Rhodes greatly outway its down sides making it a great, vibrant, family friendly, convenient place to live!

Noisy. Transient populace. Absolutely no feeling of community.

If you love to live in an apartment and enjoy simple life by the river where everything is at your finger tip then Rhodes is for you.
20 mins to the CBD
15 mins to Parra
5 mins to Eastwood and Epping
5 mins to Stratfield.
Plus the new ferry and lots of bus network, Rhodes has so much potential to be the next CBD
Love living here. So easy to commute everywhere.

Faced no issues living here. Convenient and easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, cinema, ikea, and healthcare. Great for outdoor activities.

I moved in Rhodes from Burwood.
I didn’t know Rhodes has a lot of features such as a riverwalk and also recently opened the Rhodes central which is included woollies and Asian restaurants and cafes.
Great mixing with natures and convenience!

I was worried about internet connection but even faster than when I used to live in Burwood.

I didn’t expect a lot to live in Rhodes but actually it’s very nice place for living!

I don't tend to like newly created high rise developments but Rhodes is saved from out of control development by the river surrounding it which has a very nice walking path along it, nice views, a good shopping centre and a train station.

Having retired and wanting to downsize and simplify our lives, we purchased a unit in Rhodes a year ago. While downsizing from a very large house to a fairly small apartment has been a challenge, we couldn't be happier with our riverchange. Rhodes is a great suburb, modern, yet with a community feel. It's fairly close to the city with good transport links. The shopping centre, eateries, cafés, parks etc. are all within a walking distance, so we hardly use our car. The public areas are better maintained than in many other suburbs, although Covid seems to have had an impact on the frequency of cleaning and gardening. The Promenade is a lovely walking track by the river, but there are quite a few others - one of our favourites is to the wetlands in the Sydney Olympic Park. Across the river is Wentworth Point (accessible by foot or a free shuttle bus) with its own small shopping centre and restaurants. All in all, Rhodes location and facilities are excellent. People are friendly, crime rate is low and the infrastructure keeps improving. Can't wait to see Rhodes Central finished and the area around the train station beautified.

I've lived in Rhodes for two years in a spacious studio apartment as a single female professional, near the waterfront. There are pros and cons, depending on your personality.

My personal assessment: After several years of suburb-hopping, most likely I'm sticking around the Rhodes and Wentworth Point area for the foreseeable future. It's been a long time since I've felt safe at night in a suburb, and the first time I've faced zero harassment or stalking the entire time I've lived here. Public transport is decent with the train station nearby, but plan your trips because off peak trains sometimes only come every 15 minutes.

Rhodes Shopping Centre and Marina Square in Wentworth Point across the bridge are a huge bonus in terms of convenience and amenities (both have Coles and Asian grocer/s, RSC has Aldis), as well as many, many good breakfast-lunch areas - Bare Witness gets the obligatory mention for waterside dining, and the newly opened Monas Flower Cafe is equal parts quirky and calming. RSC's IKEA makes household shopping easy, and Reading Cinemas means cheap $10-12 movie tickets all week. Despite the high density, the air feels clean especially away from the train station; I don't feel like I'm inhaling lungfuls of dust like I do in Parramatta. I have no idea what people are talking about RE: a strange smell, but I do live away from the mangrove areas.

The roads are and walking areas and spacious and full of greenery; there seems to be parkland and landscaping everywhere. The waterfront is wonderful for long walks or jogs by the river, especially at sunset. Internet for me is lightning fast with TPG at about 100 Mbp/s. Where I'm located (Shoreline Drive, away from the train station and facing the water), the place is extremely quiet despite the high-rise area. The area is pet-friendly (for owners at least - renters may need to negotiate); there's a large dog park near the river bridge which sees generous use.

As for the demographics, I primarily see young families with children, and often pets. After that it's young couples, single working professionals like myself, and older retirees. I actually don't find the rent too bad, but I'm comparing it to places like Darlinghurst, Potts Point and Chatswood - compared to those areas, I'm paying less and getting far more value for money in terms of space, quality of life, and apartment build. Between two people with decent incomes, Rhodes should be on the high side of affordable ($240s - $350s each per week for a 1-2BR?) for its proximity to the city. If you have a problem with Asians - which a disturbing amount of people who complain about Rhodes seem to have - then it's best to do everyone a favour and stay away, because Rhodes definitely has a high East Asian population. Population density is theoretically high in general, but I oddly don't find Rhodes particularly crowded.

As far as I know, once Rhodes Central has finished construction (in about 2 years), that's the last of Rhodes that will see in new apartments for a long time, except for this one weird plot near the train station. The area seems to be heavily developed by Bilbergia (retail and residential), which so far has impressed me with their build quality. Big bonus: most apartments come with a parking spot and a large storage cage, which I now cannot live without.

So what are the cons/mixed opinion points?
- We do have a problem of shopping trolleys being left around here and there, but there's a nightly collection of them all, so it's not so bad.
- While most of the place is clean and green, the area immediately outside the train station does see some mess and is currently undergoing heavy construction. Every now and then it's council collection day and everyone dumps their old furniture by the road for a week, which is annoying, but that's to be expected for collection day.
- That one guy who occasionally goes around revving his engines around the neighbourhood at night. We get it, you're a very special boy who needs attention.
- People are typically friendly and polite, but not overly warm. This is a plus for introverts, but a minus if you're expecting to become best friends with your neighbours and automatically have animated lift conversations. There ARE communities though - the community center has group activities, I do see old ladies with their dance groups, and once every corgi owner in the area gathered in the dog park for some kind of corgi event, which was a delight to watch.
- No nightlife whatsoever. The plus side is you don't get drunken partygoers causing trouble at night.
- Some of the real estate agents aren't very responsive, or just real jerks. I've had good experiences with Rhodes Realty including the agent rescuing me off-hours when I locked myself out at no charge, and terrible experiences with LJ Hooker Rhodes.
- Not much of an LGBTQ scene as far as I know.

All in all, that's been my experience - it seems to have improved/remained stable over the past couple of years going by the reviews, but I'm wondering if Rhodes Central being completed will shake things up. Overall, my impression has been very positive, and I'm very happy to live here.

Pros
Close to city, public transportation, shopping facilities, beautiful waterside walks , safe

Cons
Been living here for a year, cant think of anything as such!
A suburb for "apartment" kind of people!

Largest of the Dodacenese islands in Greece, I was somewhat surprised to discern that others do not rate this suburb all too highly. This suburb has a train station, a shopping complex and some top notch schools just a few stations away in Strathfield and Epping as well as quality local schools. The suburb is indeed heavily gentrified, but I suppose because it was initially a very desirable suburb. The surrounding environment away from the urban landscape is pristine and well kept. Possibly the presence of a major road severing the heart of the suburb in tandem with gentrification has induced negativity. Additionally in close proximity to Sydney Olympic Park! Overall not a suburb to abhor.

23/03/2020 I have lived in rhodes for about 5 years now. Let me say it was fantastic then. Now it is way too crowded. Used to be a clean, tidy suburb not too noisy. Now since a bridge has been built to connect it with Wentworth Point it is becoming tiresome.
Pros: Frequent train system, shops are nice. Cafes (Left Of Field and Bare Witness) are popular.
Cons: Trains aren't frequent enough, even if you try to get to the station at 6:00am you'll be standing shoulder to shoulder on the train. Shops are nice but getting very crowded now. People are nice but don't expect to make friends if you only speak english.
Warning: Rhodes is only getting more and more apartments. Wentworth Point is only getting more and more apartments. Dont' believe me look at DA applications. At the time of me writing this Rhodes will probably have 1/3 more aparmtents and Wentworth Point will add another 50% of apartment volume. It has come to a point where just trying to drive around Rhodes is hard work. Get out while you can.

If you are looking for a safe suburb where you can raise your family while enjoying modern lifestyle and convenience I would recommend Rhodes

I used to live around the area and decided to come back after ten years, and now I love it even more!
I feel it is a great area to live in especially for young couples/ families with kids.

-Very convenient (plenty of public transport options and there are shopping malls nearby)
-Pet friendly
-Feels safe at night. There is a nice walkway along the river and there are always people running/jogging even at night times.
-Schools just across the bridges or down at Concord West (and Rhodes is about to get one of its own!)
-Plenty of cafes and restaurants (although I wish there were more varieties😂)
-Parks and playgrounds for kids to play
-Streets are clean and apartment buildings seem to be well maintained by building managers
-Friendly neighbours

The only downside is that when there are major train delays/cancellations, the station gets very crowded in the morning. But this happens only once in a while so overall I am quite happy living in the area.

Population is dense and predominantly Asian. Most of the Restaurants in the area reflect this. If you love an Asian snack its pretty good.
The rent is reasonably expensive but the upside is most shitlords cant afford it so generally the people who live here are nice. Extremely convenient access to both shopping center and train station. There are plenty of parks and places to take your kids. The population is pretty dense and its apartment or bust so if you dont mind not having a yard i reckon its a good place.

I have been living in Rhodes apartment nearly one year, it's why I rates it two-star only:

1. Noisy car - You can't have any nights without the mod cars and bikes bombard the streets. Some cars just go round and round telling all the residents in Rhodes that he is driving his xxxxing car.

2. Transport - people say here transport is the selling point, but it is not. Close to train station doesn't mean convenience: the train frequency is 15min even in peak hour!

3. Over price property and rents

Before I live in Rhodes I saw a local property investment guru commenting Rhodes as "Peninsula of oversea student". I found it totally precise. If you dig the survey data you will be surprised that in Rhodes the average rent is high but the income is low. That's because there are lots of oversea students here are sponsored by their loaded parents. (Apparently some of them doesn't care their study and put their parents money in the load noisy cars)

If you are looking for a place to establish, Rhodes will not be your choice. If you are looking for a place convenient to transport and to city, think about Strathfield, Burwood, Zetland etc. Yes, that's where I am moving to soon, and I am feeling so happy to leave Rhodes.

I have been living in the West part of Rhodes for about 2 years now. 2 years ago, it was fantastic; new, quite, modern, almost perfect for me and my wife as young professionals.

Now, a lot of new apartments have been built so a lot of people moved in Rhodes which means this area is getting messier and noisier. Especially those people, who brining their kids in the playground at night and having a picnic there, are so noisy; you can imagine kids screaming and crying at 10-11pm, just can't fall in a sleep.

If you don't care those noises and love screaming & crying kids, Rhodes will be good for you. If not, think again.

I have been living in Rhodes for over a year now and am enjoying it more than I expected. Considering the density of the area is surprisingly quiet, especially on weekends. Nice walking tracks which are safe at any time, day or night. It is always nice to go for a run, walk or bike ride along the foreshore and on to Homebush and the Olympic site. Very convenient to the city both by rail and road. Proximity to local shopping centre also very convenient. Parking is becoming less of an issue as construction work slows down (construction workers taking parking during the week). Many options for eating out with new restaurants in the recently opened town centre. Close to Concord, Burwood and Leichardt for even more restaurant options.

Council needs to do more in regards to preserving parks and open areas from further construction. Council also needs to do more in regards to furniture dumping. This can be an issue due to many international students living in the area who simply dump their furniture on the street when they leave.

Am surprised by the property prices and rents being achieved but suppose it is a matter of supply and demand.

Rhodes has great potential if Council act responsibly and in the interests of the residents.

I moved into Rhodes in Oct 2011, and Rhodes is a lot different now than it was 2 years ago. There are new asian supermarkets and restaurants (asian and western) opened recently and i can see there will be more shops opening soon. These definitely makes Rhodes a more liveable city. I always see Rhodes as the centre of Sydney, so if you are young and likely to switch jobs every couple of years, Rhodes is the way to go because it's relatively easy to travel to almost anyway in Sydney than those living in the far east or north.

I feel quite safe walking in Rhodes because most people here are young people who love pets or retirees. The pavement by the waterfront is complete now, so you can walk a lot further than 2 years ago. Parking during the day can be tricky, but if you are a local, then you know where to look.

I live in a secure apartment (Sienna by the Bay) with 128 camera installed, and there is rarely a blind spot that is not within the camera view.

There are a few apartments are still getting built but in a couple of years time, Rhodes should be free from the noises coming from the construction, not that i can hear it but some people may. Rhodes' housing value will continue to rise and this may not be good news to people who want to move into Rhodes. As long as we can keep Rhodes a safe place, it remains a great place to live.

I used to work here over 10 years ago. At that time there were no apartments. There was an old paint factory and the site of the old Union Carbide factory. The site at that time required you to wear a hazmat suit to enter that land. Now people live there and I just can't believe it.

The bay is one of the most toxic waterways in Australia. How could apartments and shops be built here??

Nice location but traffic sucks and who knows what will happen to your health!

I lived in Rhodes for 1 and 1/2 years, at the beginning was great and the only issue that I had was the noise of the cargo trains which I learned to embrace, the problem was when the constructions began, the prices went abruptly raised every 6 months and I realised that I was paying the same price as living next to the city.. I won't lie the suburb looks really nice and some of the apartments at least mine was beautiful (I was the first tenant) but the materials used were so cheap plus the humidity.... you can imagine the mold during winter evrything in the apartment looked old by the time I moved even though I'm a crazy cleaning person and tried to keep it as perfect as I could.

The other problem that I noticed was that a lot of students started to move I'm not against it but I couldn't stand the noise of the constructions during the day and the students at night.

What made move was that one day I waited 20 min for a construction truck to move from the garage and when I finally arrived to the unit I found a letter from the real state with an increasing of 20% it was enough for me.

The price reflect demand and supply. They are still building at Rhodes but all development will end over the next 3-5 years.
That is, there will be not further increase in supply. But because of all the positives listed in the reviews and despite the negitives, demand will continue to increase.
In fact, I think demand will sky rocket, that is why I bought there.

Let me declare that I am not a real estate agent
If you think prices are expensive now, just wait 3-5 years. My advice? BUY NOW

A quick comment on it being dirty. Yes and this could be due to the large number of construction workers who do not care about the area.
In 3-5 yeats, the construction workers will be gone.

All previous reviews were talking about the new appartments in Rhodes West and I think I am the first reviewer on Rhodes East.
Properties in Rhodes East are mainly houses with very few townhouses or very small block of units. You should not live on Concord Rd as it is a main road with hundreds of cars pass through every minutes. The Blaxland Rd has train noisy and Averill Street is a bit busy too. However, if you live on other streets of Rhodes east side, you will find it is one of the best place in Sydney.
Transport is great, most houses are within 3 mins to water front, 10 mins easy walk to the station, plenty buses to take you to north or south suburbs. Almost everyone on my street are owners and we do talk to each other. Many houses have beautiful front yard garden and the streets are very clean. Internet speed is same as any other areas and there are lots more open spaces and big parks in Rhodes East than most suburbs in Sydney.
The parking is also a problem on east side. Each weekday morning, I see many people park their car whole day on our street and then catch the train to the city. However, most houses have double garage and if you have visiters on weekends, they should find street parking easily.
The house prices on east side differs depands on which street you live in. For example, the average house price on Llewelyn St is 5 times more than the average house price on Concord Rd. The house price is not overpriced at all. A four bedroom near new house in east side is less expensive than two 2-bedroom near new units on the west side, but you save the strate fee and own a big land.
Overall, Rhodes East is a very good place to live in and we don't need new development on this side.

I have been a residence of Rhodes for 7 years now, I have seen the transformation that Rhodes has gone through and I must say, I couldn't be more happier living in Rhodes than anywhere else in Sydney, I have lived in 3 other suburbs of Sydney before that and Rhodes is by far a winner!
There is no suburb like it! I challenge anyone to find other suburb that has: Waterfront lifestyle, Shopping Centre of it's own, Bus and Train station of it's own, surrounded by 3 Huge parkland, Schools and Childcare centres of it's own, an employment hub of it's own! Rhodes has over 200 Corporate companies and local businesses, centrally located: 20 mins to northern suburbs, 20 mins to Southern suburbs, 20 mins to Western suburbs, 30 mins to Eastern suburbs and soon to be Marina! Where else??
Yes, the parking in Rhodes shopping centre can be little hard to find sometimes, this is a result of people from other suburbs continuously coming to Rhodes because they love Rhodes lifestyle, the local residents should take a walk there anyway..
Yes, it was an industrial land, but so was Pyrmont, Little Bay, Breakfast Point and other NOW Great Suburbs which are becoming unaffordable for some.. and that is just part of our great developing nation that always ever growing and changing things for the better.
The demand from people wanting to live in Rhodes is so high, hence the property value has increased amazingly and developers building high rises to keep up with the demand.

For many people, particulalry young families (recently old people as well) Rhodes is one of the best area to live. A modern suburb which ticks all the boxes. Public transport, big shopping centre and water view. housing, food and lifestyle in Rhodes is not very very expensive compare to some of the area in eastern or northern suburbs. Good public transport, just 20 minutes to the city is a major plus. An absolutely fantastic place to bring up children. Safe, beautiful, new area and clean. convenience to shops, and other facilities - mostly walking distance. Rhodes certainly does attract singles and young couples.

We moved from other city to sydney, and chose rhodes to move in is because of the ikea and shopping centre and train. however, during weekend, you can not even find a parking space in rhode shopping centre. plus, now due to the over developing of the area, a lot of home owners moved out and rent out their properties. More students are sharing one property, if you want to go out for dinner at night by the time you go back home, there is no car park at all around the building... This is definitely the worst place for those people who want to have a 'life' as the pollution is so severe...
do not reccomend to anyone who wants to enjoy some and green and fresh air.
forgot to mention, the internet is sooooooooooo slow. sometimes, it's connected but no access!!!

I have been in the area for about 3 years. For me it's a very nice and peaceful little town. Very handy with only 25 mins by train to city. big shopping centre just cross the road. Streets are wide and clean, it's modern and comfortable.

Very humid and mouldy area, apartments lack ventilation causing lots of mould! The only reason people live here is because of public transport and shopping centre. This suburd is OVERLY PRICED for what you get.

I have lived in 9 places in Australia over the last 15 years. This is by far the worst area that I have ever had the misfortune of ending up. Where do you start with what is wrong with this place? It must be one of the only places in Australia where there is a dedicated "discarded shopping trolley collection service". Dirty, smelly, rubbish everywhere, constant noise, maniac drivers, overdeveloped, no greenery etc. etc. I guess the way to sum it up is it simply has no "life".

Ive worked in Rhodes for about 5 years and lived here for about 6 months. In the beginning living here was great- it was peaceful, felt safe and had plenty of parking. These days we are woken up at 7am by construction workers who take up all available carspaces. People who live in the building often struggle to find space to park their car after work! Not to mention the students who live here do not seem to understand simple cleanliness and housekeeping etiquettes and leave their rubbish everywhere which stink up the whole floor! I agree with the other reviews, it is definitely unnecessarily overpriced even compared to inner city apartments! It is almost impossible to afford an apartment let alone afford to pay the ridiculous strata fees.

Quiet suburb with good transport and close to shopping. Neighbours mind their own business, which is fine for apartment living.

Rhodes is the most over-priced suburb in Australia. Despite issues with pollution and contamination in the area, greedy developers have been building projects after projects with no little development or community facilities provided by the government and that's why Rhodes has the highest vacancy rates in Sydney. Issues with Rhodes are following:

1) 90% of the units are owned by foreign investor who have paid astronomical prices and have driven the local buyers out of the market.

2) Canada Bay council has little or no interest in the area except for collecting tax from greedy builders and issuing parking tickets. None of the tax collected from Rhodes has been re-invested hence complete lack of community facilities.

3) No schools nearby and no plans for building one. The nearest school is 15 minutes walk or 20 minutes drive in the traffic gridlock. Most areas in Rhodes have no school coverage at all. How can you build 5000 units and not build a school?

4) Unsafe at night - huge student population and petty crime is common at night time.

5) Just one Childcare center covering the whole suburb.

6) High strata rates ($1000 and over),

7) Very slow internet due to long distance from Concord Telstra Exchange.

Rhodes has great public transport, with direct trains to the city it only takes around 20 minutes to reach the Sydney CBD.

The area is very safe and clean, with pretty views out over the Bay from much of the suburb.

There are lots of nice cafes and restaurants, and a big shopping centre with an IKEA, as well as a Reading cinema complex.

To me this place is just averaged.
It's has good public transport but besides that it's not very homely.
From time to time you can smell the pollution from the remediation plant.
Traffic is quite bad as well, but if you are taking train, that should not bother you.
It's quite convenient, but I would not pay the high rental or high priced apartments to stay there.

Rhodes is a great new development by the water. It is a suburb that is great for couples and very accessible by train and is about a twenty minutes drive to the city. Rhodes is home to the famous IKEA. This mall boasts cafes, restaurants, all types of home wares, bookstores, fashion stores, supermarkets, a cinema and even yum cha. There is plenty to do for everyone at Rhodes Shopping Centre.

The dwellings in Rhodes are mainly apartments that range between one to three bedrooms. The price of an average one-bedroom apartment is at least four hundred thousand dollars. Despite its proximity to the water, fishes caught from this area are inedible due to high levels of toxin contamination in the water. In all, Rhodes is a nice and peaceful suburb with plenty to offer.