garyg17

Grace Campbell Crescent is a nice quiet street. Mostly apartments but still maintains a nice neighbourly feel. Best part though is the newly renovated playground and park down the one end - great for kids of all ages, and enough space to play games or let the dog off the leash. Pretty quiet majority of the time, a lot of investment and renovation happening in the area too. A lovely place to live.

Hillsdale - the secret suburb. Having lived here now for over 3 years I think I've got a pretty good feel for the place.

Let's start with the location. It's tucked away but conveniently close to lots of places. Depending on where you are in Hillsdale, here's how close some of the best spots are:
- Westfield Eastgardens = 5-10 min walk, 2 min drive
- Southpoint shopping centre (with TK Maxx bargains!) = 5-10 min walk, 2 min drive
- Matraville shops = 5-10 min walk, 4 min drive
- Heffron Park (playing fields, Des Renford Leisure Centre etc.) = 5-10 min walk, 2 min drive
- Malabar Beach = 25 min walk, 5 min drive
- Maroubra Beach or Junction = 25 min walk, 7 min drive
- La Perouse (go around the bend to Yarra Bay - another top secret beach!) = 40 min walk, 10 min drive
- CDB = 2-5min walk to Bunnerong road, 40-60min bus ride, or 20 min drive
There's Matraville Public school in the suburb itself as well as the BEST Bunnings in Sydney, and a number of great day care facilities a short walk away. Cycling around the area is easy and great, not that many hills. And honestly some of the best beaches in Sydney because there's rarely ever a crowd!

In terms of the neighbourhood, it's a multicultural mix of majority young families, retirees and more recently a strong contingent of young professionals probably attracted to the affordable homes (both in purchasing and renting) whilst still being conveniently located. There's around 10 playgrounds dotted around, with a large reserve near the middle (Grace Campbell Reserve) that's just recently had it's playground renovated. It's safe, given the abundance of young families, and although there's a lot of apartments there's still a strong neighbourly and friendly vibe. Myself and my wife have never felt unsafe. The apartments are a mix of newer builds, and some older ones, but for the most part they all appear to be well put together and often feature private lock up garages (which newer builds often leave off). No flight noise at all, and it's generally pretty quiet.

Only criticisms I may have could be around the food options. You will have to get to some of those spots above for good takeaway, and perhaps a little further for a decent dine-in option. But with the rise in delivery services and the increase in young professionals in the area, the accessibility for good food is definitely on the rise.

Overall I love where we live and our apartment in Hillsdale. As a first home buyer in Sydney we thought our options were pretty slim without having to travel very far away from the CBD. We're very glad we found and went with Hillsdale, we always recommend the region to our friends and family.