AlanB

Having lived (rented) in the Eastern suburbs for 10 years, I came to visit a friend in Macquarie Fields in 2010 thinking - like most northern/eastern suburb renters - that I was taking my life into my own hands. Couldn't have been any further from the truth! Now I can lie in my hammock after getting out of my swimming pool and watch the lorikeets, galahs and cockatoos nest in the nearby giant eucalypts and listen to the sound of........ nada, but nature. No traffic, no airplanes roaring in a couple of hundred of feet above my head that I have to pretend don't exist as I go about my business. And all for the price of less than one bedroom would cost of the apartment we used to rent out east - crazy.

Commuting, it takes me less time to get into the city on the train than it used to get there from out east on the buses in rush hour when the roads were clogged! And of course the paradox is that if you pay the premium to live a few suburbs nearer the city, you don't get a seat on the train, you get to stand for 30 mins instead! Selective school nearby. Great neighbours. Big, big garden to grow one's one veggie's or roses in. Swimming pool s galore. big plots. Awesome all round.

Main drawback is restaurants quite limited - though there are one or two gems - no coffee shops (invest your saving in a good espresso machine) and getting back from the city after a night out is a serious, serious pain. But if you're looking to settle down with good amenities, schools and transport, Mac fields is crazily good value compared to other suburbs that are way more expensive and, believe it or not, way more dangerous places to live or bring up the kids.