keln1

I live in one of the newer apartments near the water and have no complaints - Wentworth Point is clean, quiet, convenient, safe, and has plenty to do. Lots of options to eat out, several late-ish dining options, and you rarely have to leave the area for something - there's a Coles, Priceline, asian mart, hairdresser, spas, library, mobile phone stalls...it's quite the one stop shop. If you like Asian food, this is an excellent area. People here are (in my opinion) friendly, but not uncomfortably friendly - they'll smile and make some pleasant small talk, but I'm not getting neighbours knocking on my door to borrow ten bucks like I did in Potts Point. (I consider this a plus) If you check Nextdoor and Facebook communities, there's a decent amount of social groups - I know some people have monthly cookouts/potluck, there's a plant lovers group, a painting + wine place, etc.

If you drive (I don't), you're locked in and can only exit via Hill Road. Roads are narrow and roadside parking is dreadful, but most apartments come with a parking space. However, if you take public transport - the ferry is five minutes away, and the free shuttle across Bennelong Bridge gives you quick access to Rhodes, including the train station, parks, brunch places and Rhodes Waterside/IKEA, which is amazing.

Mobile signal is passable, but not great- I can make and take calls through my whole apartment (keeping in mind I live near the river), but it admittedly tends to die out at street level the further you get from the water. No issues with NBN, which is fast, but at least the building I'm in lacks Rhodes' FTTB options (which was even cheaper and faster).

You see a lot of single working professionals and young couples with 1-2 young kids, and that's who I'd recommend this area for. Plenty of dogs and community events for kids, and the library is lovely. WWP feels safe and pleasant - I like it here, and hope to stay for a long time.

My only problem with Wentworth Point is how much potential it has to be truly incredible, and how little faith I have in that happening. The light rail to Parramatta would have been a huge bonus for public transport, but it looks like stage 2 may not go ahead. Wentworth Point Park has been crawling along since 2014 at a snail's pace. It's a beautiful area, but the waterfront was supposed to be developed into a riverside plaza with shops and restaurants, and a landscaped walkway along the river (like Rhodes) - a wonderful plan, but is this even happening anymore? It feels like the riverside has been boarded up for ages. Developers keep putting up more and more high-rise apartments, which does nothing for congestion but development of public spaces for people to actually live their lives seem so neglected. That's the most frustrating thing about WWP to me - I like it just fine now, but if it could only maximise its potential, I think I'd never want to leave.

I've lived in Rhodes for two years in a spacious studio apartment as a single female professional, near the waterfront. There are pros and cons, depending on your personality.

My personal assessment: After several years of suburb-hopping, most likely I'm sticking around the Rhodes and Wentworth Point area for the foreseeable future. It's been a long time since I've felt safe at night in a suburb, and the first time I've faced zero harassment or stalking the entire time I've lived here. Public transport is decent with the train station nearby, but plan your trips because off peak trains sometimes only come every 15 minutes.

Rhodes Shopping Centre and Marina Square in Wentworth Point across the bridge are a huge bonus in terms of convenience and amenities (both have Coles and Asian grocer/s, RSC has Aldis), as well as many, many good breakfast-lunch areas - Bare Witness gets the obligatory mention for waterside dining, and the newly opened Monas Flower Cafe is equal parts quirky and calming. RSC's IKEA makes household shopping easy, and Reading Cinemas means cheap $10-12 movie tickets all week. Despite the high density, the air feels clean especially away from the train station; I don't feel like I'm inhaling lungfuls of dust like I do in Parramatta. I have no idea what people are talking about RE: a strange smell, but I do live away from the mangrove areas.

The roads are and walking areas and spacious and full of greenery; there seems to be parkland and landscaping everywhere. The waterfront is wonderful for long walks or jogs by the river, especially at sunset. Internet for me is lightning fast with TPG at about 100 Mbp/s. Where I'm located (Shoreline Drive, away from the train station and facing the water), the place is extremely quiet despite the high-rise area. The area is pet-friendly (for owners at least - renters may need to negotiate); there's a large dog park near the river bridge which sees generous use.

As for the demographics, I primarily see young families with children, and often pets. After that it's young couples, single working professionals like myself, and older retirees. I actually don't find the rent too bad, but I'm comparing it to places like Darlinghurst, Potts Point and Chatswood - compared to those areas, I'm paying less and getting far more value for money in terms of space, quality of life, and apartment build. Between two people with decent incomes, Rhodes should be on the high side of affordable ($240s - $350s each per week for a 1-2BR?) for its proximity to the city. If you have a problem with Asians - which a disturbing amount of people who complain about Rhodes seem to have - then it's best to do everyone a favour and stay away, because Rhodes definitely has a high East Asian population. Population density is theoretically high in general, but I oddly don't find Rhodes particularly crowded.

As far as I know, once Rhodes Central has finished construction (in about 2 years), that's the last of Rhodes that will see in new apartments for a long time, except for this one weird plot near the train station. The area seems to be heavily developed by Bilbergia (retail and residential), which so far has impressed me with their build quality. Big bonus: most apartments come with a parking spot and a large storage cage, which I now cannot live without.

So what are the cons/mixed opinion points?
- We do have a problem of shopping trolleys being left around here and there, but there's a nightly collection of them all, so it's not so bad.
- While most of the place is clean and green, the area immediately outside the train station does see some mess and is currently undergoing heavy construction. Every now and then it's council collection day and everyone dumps their old furniture by the road for a week, which is annoying, but that's to be expected for collection day.
- That one guy who occasionally goes around revving his engines around the neighbourhood at night. We get it, you're a very special boy who needs attention.
- People are typically friendly and polite, but not overly warm. This is a plus for introverts, but a minus if you're expecting to become best friends with your neighbours and automatically have animated lift conversations. There ARE communities though - the community center has group activities, I do see old ladies with their dance groups, and once every corgi owner in the area gathered in the dog park for some kind of corgi event, which was a delight to watch.
- No nightlife whatsoever. The plus side is you don't get drunken partygoers causing trouble at night.
- Some of the real estate agents aren't very responsive, or just real jerks. I've had good experiences with Rhodes Realty including the agent rescuing me off-hours when I locked myself out at no charge, and terrible experiences with LJ Hooker Rhodes.
- Not much of an LGBTQ scene as far as I know.

All in all, that's been my experience - it seems to have improved/remained stable over the past couple of years going by the reviews, but I'm wondering if Rhodes Central being completed will shake things up. Overall, my impression has been very positive, and I'm very happy to live here.