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Laurieton is like the much quieter, less built up version of Port Macquarie. There is a main street with a supermarket, cinema and Chinese restaurants to stock up on supplies for your camping or holiday trips. Monthly markets are also around to ensure there are weekend options to keep everybody entertained.
Laurieton also has a fish market that serves excellent fish and chips. The pick would have to be the shark meat fish and chips where the owner will slice a piece of fish from the shark when you order it and throw it in the fryer. The meat is much fresher and flakier than the frozen stuff you find elsewhere. At the entry to the town from the main road and behind the football field is also an Oyster farm so fresh oysters are absolutely sweet as if you fancy them.

Marrickville is a bustling suburb with Marrickville road having plenty of shops and restaurants to service all different types of tastes. There is a distinct ethnic flavour to it all with plenty of Vietnamese restaurants and take away shops along with European restaurants to give you options. Marrickville road itself gets rather crowded so it can definitely feel claustrophobic if you are not use to it all but the many cafes and pubs will give you plenty to be curious about in this happening suburb. Groceries are very cheap in this area and eating out will not cost too much for good food.

There are a lot of new residential developments in Marrickville so there are many young professionals renting or living here due to its proximity to the city. There are many buses in the morning and night that link up so commuting is not a problem.

This little country town is really quite pretty and not as pretentious as Bowral. It has all the little trimmings like candy store, coffee shop, pub, RSL, pie shop, antique store like every other town, but it’s quiet nature makes it less of a tourist trap, especially if you are looking to just enjoy the weekend and have some fresh air. There are plenty of attractions nearby like wineries and waterfalls to keep yourself amused if you want to venture further.

Nearby Burrawang is worth a drive through, with the local butcher there servicing many of the Robertson locals with their quality meats. The fact that there is grass everywhere makes it an excellent spot to escape from Sydney without making it look like Sydney as compared to Bowral.

West Pennant Hills lies on the northwestern side of Sydney. It is an affluent suburb and is accessed by Pennant Hills Road. Nice looking houses, beautiful lawns and middle class families accompany affluence. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in the area and every family has at least one car. It really just feels like suburbia. The train station has a few trains an hour but it is nothing compared to the major stations. Hence, you will often need to wait for the trains, especially on weekends. It is actually quite far from the city and you will need to give at least 60 minutes of travel time if you plan to live in West Pennant Hills and travel to work in the city.

North Parramatta is a quiet suburb that is a quick five minutes' drive from Parramatta CBD. Buses are the main form of public transport for this suburb. The streets are clean and neatly lined with trees. The suburb of North Parramatta is a good mix of houses, townhouses and low-density residential units. Companies such as CGU and AON have office blocks on the Church Street side of North Parramatta.

There are several amenities around North Parramatta. These include parks, sporting fields, schools, tennis courts, fast food outlets and shops. It is a very nice suburb for families with kids. The only drawback of this suburb will be the fact that you will have to walk at least twenty minutes before you can get to Parramatta train station as buses around here are not that reliable.

Mascot is only a five minutes' drive away from Sydney airport and a twenty minutes' drive to the city. It is an established suburb with plenty of shops, cafes, grocers and etc. The main street gives a very good vibe and people around here seem very friendly. Houses around Mascot are your typical suburban houses. They are neat and tidy with good-sized backyards. The reasonable sized streets are lined with beautiful trees and walking around the suburb gives you a nice and warm feeling.

Mascot is also very connected by public buses. The only drawback to Mascot will be the level of noise pollution due to its proximity to the airports.

Sydney siders know Leichhardt as “Little Italy” and it is famous for it's main street - Norton Street. There are many things to see and do along Norton Street. There are bookstores that are open til late on the weekends, a cinema, supermarkets, delis, Italian Forum, shops selling Italian leather and shoes, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and gelato shops.

As a very popular street, Norton Street does get very crowded on the weekends and it is often very difficult finding parking along the street. Often, I have to park on the streets parallel to Norton Street and walk a short distance. There are also plenty of houses and terrace houses around here. Some of these terrace houses are in need of tender loving care and the streets can get pretty narrow too.

Pyrmont is an uber-chic suburb with many residential units and older style terraces. However, many of these terraces are heritage listed and often these are leased out to boutique businesses and restaurants for commercial purposes. Due to its proximity to the city and the water, rental prices and house prices are on the higher end of the scale. Despite this, there is still plenty of demand for housing around this suburb.

Pyrmont is also home to the famous Sydney Fish Market and Star City. There are no trains that service this area. You will be looking at buses, light rail or foot. It is only a fifteen minutes walk from the Star City end of Pyrmont to Queen Victoria Building in the city.

Newington is about twenty minutes' drive west from the city. The only way to get there will be by public bus or car. Residents who live here normally have to get on the bus to bring them to Strathfield to catch a train to work in the city.

The houses and residential units here are fairly new as they were developed during the planning of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The streets in between the houses are narrow and cars are often parked on the kerb to allow for traffic.

There are many outdoor activities available for residents of Newington. Newington is an easy bike ride to Sydney Olympic Park and there are many parklands around this area to explore.

All visitors who intend to visit the Blue Mountains will have to either make a pit stop at Katoomba or travel through this suburb. This place is the heart of the Blue Mountains with shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation of all types. It is a well-maintained tourist town and people here are very friendly. Many artists live around this area to draw inspiration for their works. The streets are all lined with trees and the houses are well kept too.

My favourites places in Katoomba will be the RSL club and the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company on Lurline Road. The former is a favourite of mine because you can get fed a nice hearty meal without having to pay tourist prices. It is good local food and beer. The Chocolate Company is a good place to sip a cup of hot chocolate while you rest your legs after the long walks.

Croydon is a lovely suburb located next to Burwood. There are many houses around this area and some of these houses are of historical value. The roads are not as narrow as compared to places like Paddington. The streets are lined with trees and they are clean and well-kept. There are parks around the area for the kids too.

Croydon has a train station but this station is not serviced as frequently as Burwood station. There are some small shops in the heart of the suburb but this place is not as busy as the likes of Ashfield and Burwood. It is just a typical suburb. However, there are several schools here and this makes it a very attractive suburb to live in for families whose children are still in school.

Wollongong is about an hours from Sydney and it never really gets crowded or has any traffic jams on weekends. North Beach is a beautiful beach with excellent facilities. The showers over look the beach so when you are rinsing off, there is the worlds best view there. The waves are also really good for surfing and the food at the beach caf is good value.

City beach is not as nice as North Beach and does not have the beautiful shower facilities. There is also the lighthouse in Wollongong and also markets when you heading into the city centre. Lately though, it seems that there are never any crowds in Wollongong so it is always good to get away but this seems to worry the shop keepers as many of them have worried looks on their faces.

I think this little beach town is an excellent getaway from the urban jungle that Sydney is, without getting too far from Sydney. It has restaurants, fish and chip shops, pie shops and cafes along the main street with enough variety to keep you interested for the weekend.

The beach is really nice and large enough so that you can find a nice spot away from the crowds. It can get busy here but never as busy as Bondi or Coogee. Somehow there does not seem to be all that much parking along the street, but there is enough to ensure that you will find something eventually.

With Terrigal an hour away from Sydney, it is easy to get there, but you have to watch out for the Sunday jam back to Sydney. A one hour trip always seems like two to three hours with all of the Sydney siders trying to get back before dinner.

Rhodes is a great new development by the water. It is a suburb that is great for couples and very accessible by train and is about a twenty minutes drive to the city. Rhodes is home to the famous IKEA. This mall boasts cafes, restaurants, all types of home wares, bookstores, fashion stores, supermarkets, a cinema and even yum cha. There is plenty to do for everyone at Rhodes Shopping Centre.

The dwellings in Rhodes are mainly apartments that range between one to three bedrooms. The price of an average one-bedroom apartment is at least four hundred thousand dollars. Despite its proximity to the water, fishes caught from this area are inedible due to high levels of toxin contamination in the water. In all, Rhodes is a nice and peaceful suburb with plenty to offer.

Penrith is 55kms to the west of Sydney via the M4 motorway. When you get to High Street in Penrith, visitors are greeted by the beautiful views of the Blue Mountains. High Street is a very long street that runs through the middle of Penrith and there are many shops, restaurants, cafes, banks and etc on both sides of this street. It is best to avoid this street to get into Penrith on the weekends, as it is full of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights.

There is also a Westfield mall at the end of High Street. There is plenty of parking inside the mall and it is conveniently located next to the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre where music lessons and the arts events are conducted.

Port Macquarie is a six hours' drive from Sydney. It is a decent sized town with plenty to do for the whole family. You can fish, sail, whale watch, dolphin watch, swim at the many beaches, wine and dine, bushwalk and the list goes on. There are even golf courses around the area for the golfing fanatics.

There are many high-rise units located within the town centre. However, if you venture a couple of minutes out of the city centre, you will see many beautiful and well kept houses. The majority of people who live here are retirees who have moved away from Sydney.

Swan Avenue is a cul-de-sac located off Cooper Street in Strathfield. It is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Strathfield and it's train station. As it is a relatively short street, there are not many houses and units here. Nonetheless, the houses are mostly well maintained and some are beautiful federation houses.

I lived there for over a year and it is not as safe as I thought it would have been. Although my car was parked in a garage, it was broken into alongside five other cars on the same night. Despite this episode, Strathfield is still a very convenient location as it has one of the best train stations and it is only a fifteen minutes' train ride into the city. There are also plenty of dining options if you feel hungry and a supermarket for your weekly groceries. This suburb is often coined "Little Korea" because of the large Korean population that resides there.

Summer Hill is located in the inner west of Sydney. As a typical inner west suburb, the streets are very narrow and the dwellings are a combination of older style units and federation houses. Many of the houses in Summer Hill are heritage listed and very beautiful.

As compared to its neighbour, Ashfield, Summer Hill is quite a small suburb. The main street only has a handful of shops, a supermarket and one or two cafes. There is also a pub and a train station. Apart from that, it is a quiet suburb that does not evoke any excitement from its visitors.

Surry Hills is located five minutes' away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is a very convenient location with Central Station servicing this whole area. There are also plenty of public buses that run through the streets of Surry Hills.

There is always something to do in Surry Hills - from dining at one of the restaurants and cafes to shopping at the vintage shops and boutiques. There is also no shortage of pubs and bars when it comes to entertainment.

Surry Hills is a very typical inner city suburb with narrow streets and lanes. There are many terraces that line the streets of Surry Hills and the residents here are mainly young singles and couples who want to live close to the city. Due to the lack of backyards and small living spaces, I will only recommend this suburb for couples and singles.

Good Street on Westmead is a very multicultural street to live on. It is a densely populated suburb with many residential units to cater to the growing population of Parramatta. There is plenty of street parking and a golf course in between Westmead and Parramatta. There are also many houses around the area and young families usually occupy them. The street is also quiet and lined with trees and footpaths.

The beauty of Good Street is that it takes only twelve minutes to walk to Parramatta Westfield and it is situated in between Westmead station and Parramatta station. Good Street is also within ten minutes walking distance to Westmead Hospital, Westmead Public School and within fifteen minutes' walking distance to Catherine McAuley Girls' School.

There are not many places for dining out or entertainment on this street and I often either order take-out or just hop into the car to get to Parramatta for dinner.