Linda

I love North Epping. It's a very secluded and extremely quiet suburb in the Northern suburbs of Sydney. Located on the North Eastern side of Epping Station, North Epping has very good access to Epping Station which is really handy to everywhere. It's really easy to go for off road bike riding or for a bush walk, (or to even do the Great northern walk) as the Lane Cove National Park surrounds the suburb on three sides. You can drive or catch a bus to the station. Or it's a pleasant walk to the station if you feel like it.

The bush, parks and lack of traffic makes this suburb so special. It's very family friendly and there is only one road (Norfolk Rd) in and out of the suburb, so there is no through traffic. There are some beautiful Federation style houses to admire on Norfolk Road and as a bike rider, there is also the dedicated bike lane to take you all the way to Epping. Due to this one road in and out of the suburb, people don't come into the area unless they live here or are visiting the local facilities, which makes it really quiet. There are no traffic Rat runners, and people stick to 50km speed limits and give courtesy to bike riders, which you don't find in all parts of Sydney. But the huge benefit (apart form lack of local traffic, parks etc) North Epping has over Epping is that it's on the Eastern side of Epping Station so if you ever have to drive towards the city in peak hour, you can avoid sitting in the traffic coming from Beecroft and Carlingford that goes over the Epping Bridge every day. (Trust me on the benefit of that... Carlingford was my home for many years). And North Epping won't be built up like Epping with big new townhouse and unit developments... it's really not that kind of suburb so it will keep its neighbourly appeal.
Most homes are on generous land sizes (700sq m+), and there's never a park far away. It's a really friendly community with regular fireworks and community events. Because the area is very green and right on the National Park, Rainbow Lorikeets, Kookaburras, Cockatoos, King parrots or other colourful birdlife visit my home virtually on a daily basis. It's so pleasant when you can wake up to the sounds of the Kookaburras...

Within the suburb there are shopping facilities on Malton Rd for all the essentials - hairdressers, auto mechanic, small supermarket, community bank, deli, butcher, newsagent, bakery, video hire, bottle shop and 2 restaurants (Thai - very good and reasonably priced) and Italian. For regular shopping and more variety there's Coles at Epping and a great variety of restaurants close to the station. Eastwood is just one train stop away - if you like Asian food then Eastwood is the place to go. For retail therapy, Macquarie Shopping centre, Carlingford Shopping centre or Chatswood (16 minutes train ride via the new train line) are all close by. Parramatta too. And the new Top Ryde City shopping centre is just an easy drive down Blaxland Road. I have to mention though, since moving here a few years ago it appears the catalogue distributors never (or rarely) deliver catalogues to our mailboxes in this locality... as a consequence that has helped to stop me from going shopping and spending money unnecessarily!
The kids generally go to the local primary school, (the current trend appears that foldable push scooters or bikes are favoured modes of transport for the primary kids... Epping North Public school gets great NAPLAN results), or for high school, the students usually attend the extremely well regarded Cheltenham Girls High School or Epping Boys High which is easily accessible by bus. North Epping is also a convenient spot for Macquarie Uni students. This suburb is on the up, there have been quite a few houses that have been demolished to be replaced by modern houses on a good parcel of land, so if you see fibro or weatherboard houses for sale, these are actually a great way to buy into the suburb - the lucky buyer can upgrade the home when funds permit.
Transport wise, Epping gets all the country trains from the Central Coast and Newcastle to Central and the new train line will take you to Macquarie, Chatswood, St Leonards or North Sydney. Or you can easily go to Strathfield, Hornsby.... and even quite late (10pmish) on a weeknight, trains still run in every direction every 15 minutes. How good is that?