Inov8

Lakemba is honestly the most underrated suburb in Sydney. My wife and I bought a place here because it was so affordable in comparison with every other Sydney suburb within a 20km radius. I work in the city and it takes me 25mins to get to work from my front door on the train. I honestly cannot believe this suburb is still so cheap considering it's location and infrastructure. Lakemba has a lively main street with cafe's, plenty of shops and a few pubs. There is a large Islamic community here, which is perhaps why the prices are still so low, there is also a huge christian and Greek community here and everyone gets along just fine. Lakemba has everything you could ask for at half the price. Truly the hidden gem of the inner south.

Kingswood has its good and bad pockets like any suburb. It is a nice place to live if you use basic common sense, for example, do not hang around the train station after 10pm. The north side of the train tracks towards Cambridge Park is the less desirable side of Kingswood and it is home to lots of older style apartment blocks and housing commision. Kingswood is such a large suburb that it could easily be two or three suburbs. The old Orchard Hills estate is easily the nicest part of Kingswood which spans from Peppermint Crescent all the way through the back of the university to the new Caddens estate (which will also be nice). This area is full of nicer houses with well kept lawns and friendly people. The best thing about it is that you can still walk to the station and shops yet have the advantage of abundant parks and nice views across the hills of the university. The blocks of land are quite large and there is a nice mixture of housing in Kingswood, including apartments, villas, duplexes and houses. I would definitely recommend for families and also good for couples commuting to the city. The express train gets you to the city in 40 mins and you have all the benefits of Penrith just one stop away - without the troubles of that kind of density.