harrys9
Reviews
"Great value and location"
West Ryde is a great place to live. The value you get here, especially for apartments, is really excellent considering how close it is to the geographical centre of Sydney. There’s nothing spectacular about the place, although some of the streets bordering on Denistone (especially those north of Victoria Road) are leafy and picturesque, with some appealing heritage homes. I’ve also noticed that, despite the grungy facade of Victoria Road and the shops near the station, there are some great cafes that have opened in recent years (Element 6 is my favourite) while West Ryde marketplace is modern, clean and very convenient with two supermarkets. Some of the streets surrounding this area, though hilly, have great views. West Ryde feels safe (the statistics back up this impression) and there’s a real sense of community. It’s also incredibly convenient to drive or train to various parts of Sydney - the city, north shore, Parramatta, Macquarie University, Olympic Park, IKEA Rhodes, and parts of the inner west can all be accessed within a 25 minute drive or commute which is quite unique. Hopefully with a bit more TLC, the shopfront areas (especially Victoria Road) will improve to make West Ryde as visually appealing as it is convenient and welcoming.
Who lives here?
- Families with kids
"Lots of redevelopment and change"
At first glance, Macquarie Park offers a relatively affordable route into the northern suburbs of Sydney with plenty of excellent parklands and trails, and all the shops and public transport you could need. These aspects are what drew us to the area when we moved here only 18 months ago. However, the pace of change (and volume of demolition/construction noise) is quite frightening, and I would avoid living in the suburb for at least the next 2 to 3 years.
Firstly, please avoid renting in an older apartment block to the south of Macquarie University Station (e.g. Cottonwood Crescent/Herring Road) unless you are planning a short stay, as this area has been rezoned for high-rise development and all of these blocks are slated for demolition and redevelopment. Secondly, the traffic is getting seriously bad and this will only worsen during the train line closure. Thirdly, there is construction noise everywhere (and at all hours) especially on Herring Road and around the Ivanhoe Estate which will keep light sleepers awake during the night. Finally, the shopping centre is great but there is a distinct lack of village feel with no Main Street to walk around, meaning the community feel is quite lacking.
Macquarie Park will probably look like Chatswood in 10 years time. I’m sure it will be a great place to live once everything is finished, if you like high density unit developments. To call this place “in transition” would be an understatement - Macquarie Park is being entirely rebuilt.
The Opal Tower Incidence involves lots of factors, you can't just blame the constructor. Actually the designer and geologist of the opal tower should take the major responsibility, the constructor just build the building based on the design blue print.
Non3 sorry to disappoint but yes, Macquarie Park is a Northern Suburb plus those high rise apartments are still standing. Havent seen anything that resembles the Opal Towers incident. Does not even compare
First of all, Macquarie Park is not a northern suburb. It is north-west suburb. I drove pass it recently and I can say those new apartments resembles the look of the Opal tower built at a rush. They are soulless. They are lack of character and has no originality.
In the years to come, those building with cheap material will fade away under the harsh climate of the Western basin. The apartments will be trashed by the mass of students and the whole area will become a ghetto.