Mrewan

I have been to Mayfield on and off over a ten year period, and I can tell you that Mayfield has been struggling with a fairly poor reputation in Newcastle and the Hunter. There are long-term residents that haven't been to Mayfield for 15 years from other areas because of what Mayfield used to be like. In the long-run, the occupancy of retail spaces has shot up, and the suburb is getting gradually gentrified. Overall, if you are looking for a first home, this is probably a good shot for an affordable house. To me, suburbs more in demand like Hamilton are getting over-valued, and you can't get parking as easily.

The bad points first:
In the past, (as it is now), it's been the 'welfare suburb' of Newcastle, and has a lot of aged care facilities as well as businesses catering to low income earners (pawn shops and so forth). As is often the case with these sorts of areas, you need to be tolerant of a significant minority of, well, odd people.
Around the corner, in Islington on Islington Road was the street notorious for street walkers. I've witnessed also an attempted break-in and a few other incidents that would make you think twice about hanging around or living here. There are dodgy goings on, but compared to the rougher parts of Sydney it's nothing.
there is a fine amount of particulates from the industrial sites to the north in the air. You can't notice at first, but you do notice when you're cleaning up the nooks and crannies in the corners of your rooms.

The positives:
Convenience - Public transport is an easy bus ride to the shopping centres at Charlestown and Kotara, or into town. Waratah station is also a short walk south, or you can go to Hamilton station by car to get to Sydney.
Affordability - Definitely a value for money suburb. If you are on a low income the shops are ideal.
Positive future - Considering what things were like, My call for Mayfields future is a positive one - there is job growth going on which should continue, even if at the moment it's the southern hemispheres biggest KFC.
Community - It's Newcastle and people are generally more informal than Sydneysiders. If you like the small town things you won't mind Mayfield.