GenExRental

A resident's review... Mortdale's main shopping strip has a village feel and is always buzzing with an interesting mix of people. The main strip on Morts Rd is located on the north-western side of the railway and has everything from butchers, bakers, delicatessens and a supermarket to hairdressers, restaurants, cafes, doctors, dentists, vets, banks, pub, etc. It all makes living in Mortdale quite convenient, except for accessing the major chain stores (the big supermarkets, hardware stores, office supplies, etc). The suburb generally feels safe, with people going about their everyday lives and traffic isn't really a problem.

The residential buildings closest to the shopping strip are mostly apartments and units, then as you head north west the buildings tend to become townhouses and houses. The south eastern side (east of the railway) is mostly houses. From most streets it is a reasonably easy 5-15min walk to the train station, which is serviced every 10-15min in peak hours by trains that run through the city to Bondi Junction. A bus service connects to the train station, and there is a taxi rank outside the station. Mortdale is also a convenient distance to the airport.

For all the convenience, Mortdale doesn't have especially good parks. Apart from small reserves, you must travel to nearby Oatley or to the top of Morts Rd to access a decent size park area. Oatley Park is a particularly great recreational area.

Some areas of north western Mortdale are beneath a flight path which is used mostly around 6:30am or around 10:30pm. The planes are just beginning to get low enough to be a disturbance, so if you are in the north western area ensure the building blocks noise adequately.

Like most places, Mortdale is also becoming a bit overvalued for renting and buying. The mix of properties makes it popular with a lot of working couples and families. You should expect to budget a bit higher than Peakhurt and Penshurst, but less than Oatley. Finally, don't go and find out what "Mort - Dale" actually means! :-)

We lived in Westmead in order to be close to the hospital for work. The suburb itself is better than some of the surrounding areas such as Merrylands and Wentworthville, but overall you could find much nicer areas to live. During our 3 years living in Westmead we were burgled once, and had a second attempt that we managed to avoid. We also had 2 burnt-out cars appear on our street. Ambulances and helicopters are regularly heard.

Westmead has a large proportion of apartments and units. This makes some areas of the suburb quite high density. On certain streets you encounter rubbish and junk mail strewn over the footpath. The proximity to Westmead Hospital means that many streets have parking restrictions, and traffic can be quite heavy around the hospital.

Westmead has a few saving graces...

Firstly, public transport is very good. There is good access to the train station which provides regular and fast services to the city. There is also a T-Way bus service and plenty of taxis are accessible from the hospital and Parramatta areas.

Secondly, Westmead has direct access to Parramatta Park which is a great place to go for a walk, ride or picnic by the river. They also sometimes hold concerts and special events in the park.

Finally, it is really easy to get into Parramatta from Westmead. This gives a fantastic selection of places to eat and shop. It's also really easy to get to Parramatta Stadium.

I really like Crump Street with its mix of old and new houses and townhouses. It is a wide leafy street with generally well maintained front gardens. At Christmas, parts of the street get into the spirit by decorating their houses with lights.

At either end the street sits higher than much of the main Mortdale area, so some properties offer leafy views. It takes about 10-15min to walk the 1km to Mortdale station.

Crump St is bordered by the main roads Boundary Rd and Morts Rd, which makes it one of several residential streets used as a thoroughfare between the two. Traffic is not heavy but people speed through quite fast because the road sinks into a valley in the centre. This could be a concern for people with young children, or pets prone to escape.