Eastlakes, NSW 2018

Jesus Christ, this was the first suburb I lived in since I moved to Australia, and it was AWFUL. The people were nice, the neighbourhood was harmonious and friendly, everyone was so respectful and quiet. If it weren't for the aircraft noise, I would NEVER leave. But I left after 5 months because I was going freaking insane. Constant flights from 6-11 were so loud I couldn't hear my laptop at the highest volume.

potential area for growth young families who wanna live closed in east suburb,close city, close beach.

I’ve lived here all my life. Even thought there have been developments that has seen the face of the suburb change, it’s still considered as safe and friendly. Very close to CBD and beaches, public transportation available in every direction, business and shops for all the family necessities, public schools close by. In general Eastlakes all round is still an affordable area for those looking to buy into the market. I guess it’s why I still live here.

We have bought and lived in Eastlakes for 3 years now and house prices have soared during this time, these huge plots with original houses are being snapped up and renovated. It is a divided bag of new money and housing estates, so far it has been peaceful, friendly and quiet. Geographically the housing estates are closer to Kingsford and Rosebery than the more affluent areas in Eastlakes closer to the golf course. We came from a rental in Randwick where i witnessed more drunkenness , crime and dumped rubbish then around Eastlakes.
Eastlakes is fast changing with a new shopping precinct being built and a council master plan promising community upgrades, it will go the way of Redfern and others suburbs, gentrification and growth is already happening as people move into the area.
Our Children go to a nearby school and they meet their friends in the local park, we see parents from the school gate in the shopping center and have chats, it feels like a community. The local grocery shops are diverse, friendly and cheap -they are run down but i choose that any day over the inconvenience of the generic Westfields, Zetland or Randwick shopping centers- but their days are numbered and i will miss them. Its all changing- fast.

Eastlakes is an Eastern suburbs in Sydney, right in the affordable South East, for a reason. The area statistically is more comparable to the Western suburbs than even the surrounding area, with a large concerntration of affordable, cheap flats, attracting working class/low-socioeconomic residents, as well as Indigenous people, and a large community of immigrants (mainly Turks and Bengalis), surrounded by a run down shopping centre from the 1970s, and three notorious high-density Public Housing estates, suffering from dilapidation, social/drug problems.

Due to the suburb being more affordable, and in turn a less desirable/maintained area, as well as a large Public Housing stock, the area has managed to maintain a reputation for being an unsafe suburb, with a lot of development flaws leading to an increase in crime opportunities and a decrease in local employment. The large population of disadvantaged residents concerntrated in Eastlakes, from public households to non-English speaking households, in turn also creates an amount of bored local youths roaming the streets, engaging in anti-social activity, which makes it difficult to leave things inside cars (which you have to lock), with a large percentage of them from the Housing estates, due to their small public spaces for them to congregate in.

Local schools are pretty bad performing as well, and pretty rough.

The grass is barely green, the council almost neglects this area, as cars are parking on top of curbs and footpaths, as well as literal garbage and furniture dumped everywhere, and in almost every driveway.

If youre moving into a house in Eastlakes, I wouldnt recommend it for a family environment, rather as an affordable place to save up to move into something better, the area may get better over time with the local "most" run down shopping centre "in Sydney" getting redeveloped, so I reckon it will become a discovered gem soon, and a good first time home buyers spot. Most of the houses in Eastlakes are medium density cheap built flats, mainly full of immigrant families, many not speaking English, with noise and smell often being an issue, and anti-social behaviour being eventful on the streets.

On the other hand, if youre being offered a Department of Housing tenancy in Eastlakes, I wouldnt reccommend taking it at all, due to the fact the majority of the flats are in 1 of 4, 10 story tower blocks, with horrific conditions inside, as well as really bad tenants, yelling at each other and fighting on a regular basis, smoking/dealing ice/cannabis, and often using the area as a scapegoat for robberies, with local reputations for organised crime, theft and even suicides, happening outside front doors in hallways.

The other housing estate on the other side of the Eastern Distributor is one of the poorest SA1s in Sydney, with a large population of young unsupervised children of drug addicted parents, and often numerous public fights, with youths carrying hammers around the area, police often refusing to go into the area.

The suburb is comparable to Cabramatta, not as bad as the Waterloo Tower Blocks, let alone Mount Druitt, but a place for low budget people who dont mind airport noise and having to lock everything.

We bought in Eastlakes in March 2019, the house was modern and had a reasonably large garden for our kids, it had a wow factor, we didn't think we could ever afford anything like it so went for it. We were aware of the Eastlakes stigma - social housing, plane noise and no high achieving schools in the area, but we are really happy here. The local shopping center is run down - no surprises there - so what, we drive right up to the entrance find a park easily and get our shopping done quickly and at very reasonable prices- wont be long before the Crowns new development is complete - i quite like it the way it is!
We are right under the flight path and i was fearing the worst but 5 months later its not bad at all. A few planes a week fly right over our heads, noisy for around 10 seconds before the noise fades out, not a big deal for us. But most don't get noticed anymore, just part of inner city living. Im sure there are days, weeks even where we don't get any planes at all.
The streets are clean the locals are diverse and friendly, very family orientated and importantly i feel safe. Short drive to- Coogee beach, Centennial park, Rosebery cafes, Eastgarden shopping and Kingsford eateries, i consider them local., i can walk to Rosebery in 10 minutes.
I love our house and im glad we got in when we did. I have noticed large new houses being built in the area and can see it will change fast, especially when the new shops , cafes and restaurants are established.
Eastlakes has value, you get so much more for your money, all the negative ideas of the area has actually been positive for us.
Its afforded us a lovely home.

Easy to get to the city or beaches, close to M1, close to airport and there is a train station at Mascot (2kms away). Buses to the city are frequent, but peak hours get lot of traffic near central station. Wish there was better connectivity to Mascot or sydenham station.

Old shopping center is now completely owned by Crown group and they have plans for an even larger center with lot more apartments which will bring in newer shops and new crowd. Hopefully, they plan for better public transport by then (kingsford tram line should be completed).

I have lived in eastlakes for over 4 years now and never had an issue with security.

Eastlakes is close to the CBD (<6kms to Central), airport (< 6 kms to domestic), eastern beaches (<6 kms to Coogee) and close to excellent golf courses.
Though prices have appreciated considerably, it is still among the cheaper suburbs to own (for units). The old shopping centre could use a clean-up and the new owners (Crown Group) has started consolidating shops to the main centre for knock down and re-develop the side close to gardeners road. They have also started essential repair works and clean-up to the main centre (it will be knocked down later down the line for re-development.)
I have lived in eastlakes for over 5 years now and havent seen any real safety issues barring the one-off bikie gang related shooting couple of years back.
Rubbish dumping is still a problem, though it has come down a lot these days after the council crack downs. The shops in the centre could use a makeover, though they might be holding back as they are due for a knock down and re-build soon. Some of the roads in the area could really use re-surfacing as well.

I bought my first property in Eastlakes in 2007 for $260K and in Nov 2011 I have valuated my property via HTW valuer and surprisingly the valuation came back as $460K. In 2011 I bought another property in Eastlakes for $350K and now it values around $430K. Eastlakes location is great. Close to the city, beaches, shopping and health centres, airport etc. Very affordable if your intention is to live close to the city and beaches. From Eastlakes to Alexandria 3 minutes drive, Surry Hills 6 minutes, Redfern 8 minutes, City 10-13 minutes, Coogee beach 10 minutes, Maroubra beach 12 minutes, La Parouse 17 minutes, Domestic airport 6 minutes, International 11 minutes.. Quite, safe, close to all amenities and affordable. What else you are looking for!!

I have been living in Eastlakes for going on 4 years now. My first 3 years it was acceptable, I mean the housing prices around the area are very affordable and eastlakes is centrally located. This is just about where the good stops. Last year sydney airport changed their flight paths and now for 16 hours a day, non-stop flights take off directly over eastlakes. It's not just a little. Imagine large jumbo jets taking off and doing full throttle DIRECTLY over your house and one after another after another. This is the case if you live in Eastlakes/Mascot area. I mean don't get me wrong, i can handle the occasional aircraft even if it directly throttleing over. But the noise and number of aircraft is just unimaginable. Especailly when you can't even hear yourself on the phone or even think and this is with all the windows CLOSED! I count on average between 100-200 aircrafter PER DAY flying directly over Eastlakes and thats being conservative. There are times i lose count. As for other things, the place isn't all that safe, with cars getting broken into and bikes getting stolen by the rogue teenage kids around. The neighborhood is not well kept either with people leaving all kinds of things on the side of the road and the city delays usally 2-4 weeks picking it up because the rubbish collectors simply leave it there. The shops are little, the woolworths down the street has substandard produce, no gyms within walking/running distance. Parkings ok, internet accesss is good, but thats it. As for me, its time to move. Hey you want to buy my house? I could compensate all the other stuff vs the price, but the airport noise is unbearable. I can't stand eastlakes anymore and i'm writting this to save other people the hassle! Think twice (maybe even 10 times) before you consider Eastlakes / Mascot area. Better yet, just spend a night in the area and you'll see (and definately hear) what im talking about.