Sunshine, VIC 3020

I've read a couple of reviews here warning of "brown people" and "ferals" in the Sunshine area. OK, so if that's really what keeps you up at night, then Sunshine is not for you. The truth is, Sunshine is pretty awesome. Not only has it got to be one of the most affordable places this close to the city to set up, whether buying or renting; because it's got a middle suburb vibe you don't get the claustrophobic, congested feeling of inner suburbs. Nonetheless it has many of the advantages of an inner suburb. Excellent public transport - a massive bus interchange at the train station. The train takes only 25-30 minutes to get to the city. There's a great multicutural vibe happening, with old school migrants from Europe and Vietnam and lots of new migrants to. This means the high street has a great selection of cafes and restaurants including many Vietnamese spots as well as Indian, Afghan, Ethiopian and your typical Aussie eateries if you're not feeling adventurous. People come from all over Melbourne to try the food. The town centre has undergone regeneration recently with new streetscaping, a new library and council chambers, new pool and leisure centre. Ignore the decades out of date rumours about crime, violence and seediness. It's just not true. I've lived in Richmond and Richmond is much seedier and crime-ridden than Sunshine, yet everyone wants to live there. Sunshine is bound to become the next destination for homebuyers once Footscray and Yarraville become unaffordable.

Sunshine is a thriving suburb located approximately 13 kilometers west of Melbourne's central business district.One of the key advantages of living in Sunshine is its excellent transportation infrastructure. The Sunshine Railway Station serves as a major transport hub, connecting residents to the CBD and other parts of Melbourne. This accessibility is particularly attractive for those who rely on public transport for their daily commute.Sunshine boasts a range of local amenities, including shopping precincts, parks, and recreational facilities. The Sunshine Marketplace provides a variety of retail options.Sunshine is home to a variety of primary and secondary schools, contributing to the overall appeal of Sunshine as a family-friendly suburb.

Seriously, Sunshine is the best kept secret of the west! So undersung.We have loved living here with our two small children and feel lucky to have discovered such a super, super cool, diverse, generous and down to earth community. Here are just a few of the suburb's hidden delights:
- Cafe Sunshine and Salamatea-the hippest Cafe in the the West, with fresh bread and pastries almost daily and coffee, food (and staff) to die for.
Tinkune Momo and Sekuwa House-the silkiest handmade Nepalese dumplings - fresh and full of flavour. Lovely place to bring the family and open play area for kids.
-Sunshine Social-very funky eatery/bar - kind of like the local pub- with great food and beer, outdoor and indoor spaces and even a kids' play area! Great place to take mates for a relaxed lunch or dinner.
-A great selection of really well funded, community oriented, progressive primary schools
-For High School - Sunshine College has just had a total upgrade of facilities and now has a competition grade gymnasium, STEM facility and Performing Arts Centre. Wow!
-sooo many beautiful period homes on handsome tree lined streets
-gorgeous botanical gardens, right in the centre of town
-a huge new, spacious library (with toy library and kids' indoor play area) and civic centre (with funky Cafe)
-A totally refurbished recreation centre with big, clean indoor and outdoor pools/splash park, sauna and gym - childcare and Cafe attached. Yoga, spin, zumba, aerobics and more on offer.
-a tennis, cricket and football club
-a fantastic selection of playgrounds: Buckingham reserve has a maze, a water play area, a super duper twirly slide, a basketball court and huge barbecue/picnic area.
Sunvale community Park is impressive as well-full of innovative play equipment, water play area, sensory play area, barbecue facilities, a skate park and gym equipment for adults. Kids parties sorted!
-A classical pilates studio on Hampshire Rd with the loveliest teacher ever.
-An Aldi, Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings, Big W and 2 amazing fresh fruit and veg centres ( with gourmet section and deli) as well as Village Cinema complex!
For keen chefs - a huge selection of international supermarkets and grocery stores stocking authentic, well priced ingredients and treats from around the globe. (The Turkish delight is the best I've ever tasted).
-Kororoit Creek and surrounding bushland runs right through Sunshine and is full of cycling and hiking trails. The Friends of Kororoit Creek group do an incredible job of maintaining the creek, holding regular community planting and birdwatching sessions and working with council creating beautiful nature play areas for kids to discover native plants and wildlife. Involvement with this group has brought us good friends and such a closeness to nature - becoming a native bird enthusiast was not on my radar when we moved out west!
-beautiful Matthew's Hill Grassland reserve-a breathtaking place to walk, play, picnic and cycle, showcasing natural temperate grasslands of the volcanic plain.
-The BEST Bahn Mi in Melbourne. Hands down. Sunday lunch sorted.
-New York Minute, Huxtaburger, Bubble tea, Dairy Bell and Flora Juice (BEST fresh juices) for after school/ late night munchies
-an incredible selection of restaurants/takeaway on the main street with offerings from around the globe.
-All this just 20 minutes from the CBD by train!!!
If you're considering Yarraville, Wefo,Seddon, Brunswick, Preston, Coburg, do yourself and your finances a favour and take a look at Sunshine. I'm biased, but I reckon it shines just that little bit brighter.

I live in Sunshine and have seen improvements. Unfortunately there is a still a long way to go. Most residents do not care about the neighbourhood; it is full of litter, rubbish and overgrown grass . Most houses are run down and need freshening up. There is a lot of commission housing with doesn’t help the appeal. I’m happy to see lots of houses be bulldozed and rebuilt and hopefully more caring residents can move in to really give the area the complete makeover it truly deserves.

Apart from the convenience of public transport & some good shops & playgrounds. Basically this suburb is a horrible place to live in. It's full of creepy stalkers and nasty judgemental people who can't mind their own business. They have nothing better to do than rain on people's parades and put others down. Even random strangers in the street will try control you. I don't understand why the airport rail is even going here. I feel sorry for all the tourists.

Amazing food, great community spirit, 15minute train ride to the city and a lot more things to come with the airport rail.

Great very multicultural suburb cinemas shopping centres 20min to CBD lots of yummy Restraunts and cafes lots of parking friendly people safe at night lots of parks libraries swimming pools public transport a hidden gem for long term investment

Although there are nice areas in Sunshine, overall it is unsafe neighbourhood.
Location is convince but the price you pay to live here is absolutely not worth it. Council must do something about the safety concern in conjunction with government.

Was born here and I loved sunshine with a passion, but throughout the years, it has changed, in a good way though. It's just some of the memories I had in this suburb are not present anymore which is understandable.

I'm only cover the perceived crime problem in Sunshine since it is generating a fair bit of discussion on here. Other posters have done a fantastic job of highlighting all the great things about Sunshine such as the short distance to the city and the multicultural diversity.

First off I'll start by saying that I've been living in Sunshine for close on 5 years. Over that period I have personally experienced only very minor issues such as my house being broken into on two occasions while I was out (which can happen anywhere). I catch the train nearly every day to the city and while the station can attract ferals and boisterous youth, I've never had an issue besides the occasional unprovoked stare-down from angry looking sorts. Yes, just like any other train station, you will find groups of youth hanging out at the bus station at night and doing silly things that kids do like play fighting, etc, but it is very unlikely that they will bother you.

It is true that many charity organisations have set up shop in Sunshine and have purchased housing for the needy and there is transitional housing (for people recently released from jail) located in the area but you wouldn't know it walking the streets of Sunshine. It seriously feels like suburbia. During the week Sunshine station and CBD can be a magnet for ferals coming in from surrounding area to make use of resources offered by charities, the methadone chemist, and the bail/court house, but overall the shopping district is fine. You should really check it out for yourself on both the weekend and weekday before reading too much into the posts on here. I have never had a problem walking the streets of Sunshine.

Another poster mentioned the crime statistics which you can get from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency: https://tinyurl.com/yxnxpv7f .Yes, Brimbank is the highest area for sexual assaults, aggravated burglaries (home invasions), and assaults as compared to other inner-city districts. But you have to take into consideration these stats represent Brimbank which is a large council area taking in many of the Sunshine's neighbouring suburbs (St Albans, Kings Park).

Finally, on the gangs.... Ok, yes there are youth 'gangs' around the Sunshine area, but before we all get too carried away here i'm not talking about gun-toting South Central LA gangs here. These guys are basically 15 year old silly kids that get up to a bit of mischief. Take a look at the following link to get an idea of what I mean:

https://imgur.com/a/5wlcs6s

The kids in the photos are from some local 'gangs' called the 'Black Drill Killers', 'Stain Gang' and 'Vulture City'. The first photo is from the Sunshine shopping district and the last photo is from Parkville Detention Centre where some of these boys often end up for short stints. Really they're just silly boys that are involved in a bit of low-level stuff which I suspect is often induced by alcohol. It's really been blown up by the media and is nothing to worry about.

In summary I don't think the area deserves the rep and it really is a fantastic place to live.