MatLu

I wrote my review back in March 2010, when I was looking to move to the area.
I am writing an updated review now after having lived in Granville for the past year.

My wife and I are both Tertiary Educated working Professionals who travel to Sydney CBD each day, using the excellent transport facilities that are available to us from living in Granville, because of it's junction location within the Western Sydney transport network. Our door-to-door travel time to work is approx. 45 mins (that's similar and at times better than the travel time our friends who live in the lower north shore, eastern suburbs and inner west circle take to get from door-to-door).

We like to think we have a loving and caring family with good values, raising 2 young children who go to Childcare centres local to the area with the eldest child currently attending pre-school at a local public school and hopefully next year will be attending a local catholic school within walking distance to our home.

Our boys attend soccer classes on the weekend at the local Parramatta Club. We regularly use the park facilities available to us and the Granville Pools have great facilities (although an indoor heated pool would have been the cream on top, but we go to the Guildford pools for that).

Auburn tennis courts are only a 5 min drive away and the Woodville Public Golf Course which I should try to go more often is also just a 5 minute drive from where we live (for the record I'm not an avid keen golfer although I use to play, but it's good to know my retirement sport is covered nearby)

El Jannah and Awafi Charcoal chickens - YUM!!!, Also the yummy sweets from 'El Sweetie' on South St and Abla's Pastries and don't forget good ol' SUBWAY, where all these wonderful businesses are within walking distance from the Granville Station. I can also get my hair cut at the Station, and buy coffee on the platform as I wait for my train. :)

Our family also get to enjoy great chinese dinners at the Golden Treasures Seafood Restaurant @ Granville RSL Club, which is within walking distance for us.

Most importantly for our family, we have been very blessed with great neighbours (you never know who you are going to get as neighbours!!!), who have lent me garden tools and offerred a hand when they have seen me working in the backyard. Our other neighbour kindly took down some trees that was encroaching on a shared fence causing it to bend. Most importantly we always warmly greet each other when-ever any members of our families meet.

I write these reviews only to provide perspective.

P.S. My family and I are not from Middle Eastern backgrounds, if that is important...

People need to see past suburban Stigma, and assess properties and areas based on important metrics and assess things based on where an area is headed as opposed to only where it came from.

Take note that Granville is the hub for Western Sydney, it has been identified as part of the regeneration plans for the Parramatta Regional centre, within the "City of Cities" and "Towards 2036" Metropolitan development plans. It is part of the Parramatta District, but the opportunity at the moment is that it doesn't carry the same price premium, which will likely change once all the developments and improvements are complete.

Lets look at some of the key metrics for Granville:

- Transport (Granville is centrally located within Sydney, an Express Train service to the city takes 26mins, Parramatta CBD is less than 5 mins Drive. Granville is a Train and bus hub offerring excellent Transport services, as part of the Western Express Transport proposal from NSW government, travel times will continue to come down)

- Health (Westmead Public and Private Hospitals (Arguably Sydney's premier medical district) and Auburn Hospital 10 mins away)

- Recreation (Parramatta Stadium 8mins, Sydney Olympic Park 10 mins, Bicentenial Park 10mins, Sydney Aquatic Centre 10mins and Granville Pools)

- Childcare and Schools (Plenty of Childcare services are offerred in the Granville area, and there are plenty of public and catholic schools also, plus the central location of the suburb opens parents up with choices for nearby suburbs school facilities also)

- Saftey (Crime occurs everywhere in Sydney, granted some more than others, but check out the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics website www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au and look for the crime stats and figures for Granville Area have dropped significantly in the past few years, and $15million has just been spent on a new Police Station in Granville to clean up the residual scum that has given the area a bad name)

- Employment (Due to it's central nature, growth areas for employment districts around Parramatta and Sydney Olympic park are all within a 10min radius, further due to the availability and proximity of transport services trips to the Sydney CBD is less than a half hour away).

Other developments approved within Granville to develop the area into a family friendly social hub for Central Western Sydney are:

Granville Master Plan
http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/20150/Granville_Masterplan_Mar08.pdf

Granville Town Centre Plan
http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/30980/Granville_poster.pdf

Also look up "Greater Granville Regeneration Plan" for the plans and developments that are underway for the Suburb.

To live in or to invest, Granville should not be overlooked.

Do you own research and get the facts.