livewell

I have to laugh reading BobLee's comments about local residents being "poor, unemployed or drug addicts...and rarely venture out of the local area"
Obviously, BobLee has had very little interaction with the local community and very minimal local knowledge.

In the last five years, local council has been acquiring land for public car parks and has started building car parks on Hill Street, Fisher Street and soon another car park at corner of Hill Street and Cabramatta Road those provide thousands of car spaces for the locals and visitors.
We have fortunately met many young and talented local high school students who then went on to study Medicine, Law, Science, Dentistry and so on while involved in a number of local school programs. Most of them are very polite and studious.

There are always good vibes here as people love to mingle with one another, love to have a good chat and are generally down-to-earth and helpful.

Generalising a community as being "poor, unemployed and drug addicts" is a huge statement - I wouldn't take comment that far, especially from one that has previously lived within the community. Others might say "you came from there".
BobLee obviously has not met some of most successful business and local profiles in the area those help building Cabramatta into the most unique town in Sydney in terms of cultures, foods, traditions and language centres.

We live in Cabramatta since 1991 and have travelled the world twice and pretty sure we are not alone.
Think it's time for BobLee to connect with his Asian Heritage and get to know his community a bit better. .
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I have been here a number of times. This place is generally quiet and peaceful and national parks are within close proximity.
There are a train station, a few retail shops and a few take-away/eat in restaurants on the main strip of Heathcote. A primary school and a high school are available to local students.
Some areas of Heathcote are quite hilly and tree-studded.
The area's criticism would be the location/convenience of local shops, train station. They are mainly located on a busy road which is quite dangerous for visitors/local to get to. There isn't any decent retail shopping complex unless you have to travel to Miranda or Sutherland. Public facilities and amenities are average.

I have visited this area a number of times. The buying trend and waterfront got us curious. However, if you look closely into this area, it isn't fantastic as a lot of developers make it sounding like. You might have water view but hardly have anything to do with the water, it's contaminated. As many others commented, the suburb is full of apartments and these apartments are priced in the half of a million dollars or above. We asked ourselves, what do we really get out of it?

For investment purposes, we might have to rely on the high rental take into account we have tenants all year around. A big chunk of that rental will unfortunately have to go to the high strata management fees (around $1200-$1500 a quarter if no special levies are applied), we haven't yet mentioned about other costs that will eat up most of the rental collected.

For owners occupying purpose, we might enjoy the view (if any) at first then we probably come to realise we have a good-sized mortgage to repay and similarly other costs while we don't receive any rental income. Parking is also an issue for a lot of residents and visitors here.

In terms of price, we might be better off buying properties in Northern Beaches or Eastern Suburbs with ocean view, close to the beach and similar size, at similar if not better price.

Helensburgh is the gateway between Sydney and Wollongong. It offers real community sense with abundant of country activities yet it is only a stone throw from the Sutherland Shire or Wollongong Metropolitan Areas.
We have bought into this area about 3 years ago and would never move out or let go of our property for many good reasons.
We love the facts that Helensburgh is surrounded by natural bushland, national parks and it is only down the road from Stanwell Park and beautiful local beaches.
For families with young adults, this suburb offers them the convenience to schools, universities (Wollongong University is within short distance), parks, sport grounds, beaches and local youth facilities.
Younger children will be safe and sound here as Helensburgh offers excellent environment for them to learn and grow.

Nowadays, Cabramatta is a safe; friendly and very convenient suburb to live in.
It has been home to many Australians with Asian heritage and now it is home to many young talented Australians and their families.
The suburb has excellent train line to all different Sydney regions including Sydney CBD, providing the the absolute convenience to local residents who might prefer to train to work.
It offers vibrant environment which offers endless number of nice restaurants, cafe, fashion shops, recreational venues and financial services.
There are excellent public facilities such as primary high schools; social services; churches; recreational parks and sport grounds. University of Western Sydney & University of Sydney campuses are within easy reach (15-25 minutes).
The local government has been looking at opportunities to provide further infrastructure for the area. New car parks; new roads and foot paths have been built and upgraded recently.
Cabramatta is a unique and fast growing area which attracts more and more Australian from all different states to come and live here. Its affordability in terms of housing costs and other living expenses are other important factors for family's consideration.

Little Bay impressed us when we started looking into purchasing our property here.
It offers many great things for family, singles, couples and retirees. Admittedly, we are attracted to the area for its wrap-around oceanfronts; fantastic golf courses; open spaces; public parks and sport fields; secluded beach; peace & quietness; cleanliness; heritage buildings and the close proximity to the vibrant surroundings such as Coogee; Maroubra and Randwick.
Living here you will enjoy the privacy, peace and quiet of Little Bay while you won't be so far away from many fancy restaurants and retail shops. For family with chidlren, primary; secondary and University of New South Wales are within 10 minutes drive down the road.
In addition, Sydney Central Business Districts; Bondi Junction and Northern Suburbs are also within reach from Little Bay.