Marrickville, NSW 2204

I’ve lived in Marrickville my entire life, which means I’ve had a front-row seat to its slow, sticky decline. People keep calling it a “cultural melting pot.” That’s adorable. What it actually is, is an unbroken line of Vietnamese eateries whose idea of street presentation is letting grease, discarded napkins and mystery liquids colonise the footpath until Illawarra Road looks like it hasn’t seen a hose since the Howard years.

NSW Food Authority breaches aren’t rare events here - they’re practically a local industry.
The famous pork rolls? I tried one last time and spent the next 24 hours questioning every life decision that led me to that particular bun. “Not fit for human consumption” feels generous.

Once upon a time this suburb had proper corner-shop burgers and a bit of variety. Now it’s just the same three dishes stretched across an entire commercial strip, and the footpaths have the hygiene standards of a third-world bus station.

People sitting on milk crates blocking the way isn’t charming urban texture - it’s just in the way. Occasionally you’ll even find the odd character perched on a crate indoors, complete with a dog casually depositing its business on the floor like it’s part of the ambience.

The one thing Marrickville does over-deliver on is pharmacies. Need medication? You’re never more than a few metres from one. There must be five to ten of the things scattered around, which is either excellent planning or a quiet admission that living here requires regular pharmaceutical support.

If you actually want a cultural melting pot, go to Newtown. Or Enmore. Or even Petersham. Places where you’re spoiled for choice rather than trapped in a monoculture of pho and bánh mì that all taste vaguely of the same questionable oil. Marrickville’s main remaining virtues are the twenty-minute commute and the sheer density of chemists. Everything else is overrated marketing for people who don’t actually live here.

I've lived in Marrickville for over three decades. While there have been changes over the years and gentrification has occurred, it is overrated. For the past 10 years, I can't think of one restaurant that I frequent. It's more or less a poor man's Newtown. The cultural melting pot could be far from the truth. That is If you consider people sitting on crates impeding footpaths and turning it into a third world standard. Vietnamese eateries dominate the suburb, along with pork roll shops. Pho eateries lining up an entire road gets boring real fast. The lack of cultural diversity is evident when taking a stroll down Marrickville and Illawarra roads. The foothpaths look like they haven’t been washed in several years. The only positive is that it takes me about 20 minutes to get to work.

The best of everything, lots of great restaurants, breweries and shops. Super convenient with access to public transport - 20mins to CBD

People who've lived in Sydney for more than a couple of decades obviously still see Marrickville with stigma. But the suburb has changed so much and is continuing to change. There are plenty of houses which are large for an inner city post-industrial suburb, on nice leafy streets, and these are being improved by the young professionals and families moving into the area. The food and pub offering has only gotten better over the last few years. There is an appropriate amount of grungy graffiti and

Lived here for a year and love it. Everything you need is close by - food, library, shopping, parks, river, local doctors and access to the city all within walking distance and bars, pubs and nightlife far enough so noise is not a problem. While some parts feel a little rough around the edges and filled with street art/graffiti, it is interesting, authentic, unpretentious and there’s enough cool independent businesses that make it an awesome place to live.

We bought a house in Marrickville 3 years ago after living overseas for 10 years. Previously lived in lower North Shore, East Sydney and the Hills area.
We were specific about this area, because it's what we wanted to surround ourselves with...more specifically an eclectic, open, vibrant vibe without the pretentiousness that come with other places close to the harbour and CBD, more land than places like Newtown and Erskinville.

It's the Williamsburg of NYC and the East of London. I feel like most bad reviews written here are from people who are "not Marrickville" and that's ok - it's not for everyone. But their views shouldn't overshadow the fact that this suburb gives off a completely different feel to anywhere else in Sydney, and it does it well. It's definitely not a pretty suburb, and it's not trying to be. Instead it's unapologetically grungy, eclectic, friendly, casual and accepting of different walks of life. It's a suburb with everything you can possibly need yet feels like a small village with closeknit neighbours and communities.

It also helps that it has a plethora of public transport options to the city, dog and child friendly breweries for summer, parks along the Cooks river and the walk has been a saviour during lockdown. Each suburb has it's own vibe. It's shouldn't be dissed just because it doesn't pass your vibe check, because it's an awesome place to live in.

The ideal active Saturday morning in Marrickville. Park the car at Steel Park, head down to the Cooks river walk, head east along the river toward Bayview Av. Head over the bridge into Gough Whitlam Park. Let the kids and/or dogs run wild. Playground and public toilets available. Head west along the river path until you reach Illawarra Rd. Head north across the bridge back to Steel Park. Coffee and food lovers, treat yourself to something at Warren & Holt, or try any of the local Vietnamese restaurants, short drive up Illawarra Rd. Lovers of real estate, check out Wharf St, Beauchamp St, and Livingstone Rd South of Hill St, great little pocket. "Jamie Zimmermann - Sales Agent Marrickville - Zimmermann Agency"

If you are to purchase an abode in Marrickville, please aim for somewhere in proximity to Tempe or Undercliffe; it has a decent array of amenities and quality local schools. Don't opt for anywhere else, as the aircraft noise is overly horrendous. Marrickville is infested with restaurants and shopping districts that can easily frighten the introvert-dominated population (in neighbouring suburbs) out of their living wits.

We lived in Marrickville for about 12 years until 2016.Hipsters and flood of developments have pretty much screwed what was an unfashionable and comfortable suburb. Now it sucks with its boutique beer places, pickling parlours and stratospherically priced artisan cafes. Perhaps, like Potts Point once was, it is now an ok first and temporary landing spot for people arriving in NSW.