Arva
Reviews
"Used to be decent, now down the hole."
Ten or fifteen years ago Campbelltown and its surrounding suburbs used to be an okay area, but come lately it has really gone to pot. People are rude and always cranky, and the youth of the area can often be derisive and mean to complete strangers. The area is dirty and full of serial graffitists who even go so far as to graffiti cars and houses, not just fences, shops and signs.
The area is noisy thanks to people abusing the use of subwoofer systems, de-muffled motorbikes and hoons racing on the roads all very late at night (we're talking 1-3am). I've not found a quiet area in Campbelltown yet. Break-ins and thefts are quite common, and after a certain time of the day it's safest to just stay in your home. Thankfully the police here are very responsive.
There are a few nice places to eat, such as Pancakes on the Rocks, Sizzler, Ribs & Rumps and some nice, clean chinese restaurants like The House of Bamboo.
At the end of the year there is the Festival of Fisher's Ghost, which used to be halfway decent but has since fallen a lot in quality; it seems it may be on the rise again but you don't want to live anywhere near the Bradbury oval if you're in any way sensitive to noise or would like to be able to actually park your car. It's a major disruption with the number of cars that clog the nearby residential streets, and the new carnival operators seem to have no sense of a respectable level of noise -- our whole family was forced to leave our home over both weekends by the sheer volume of noise coming from the park.
However if you're visiting for the carnival, or don't actually live near it, it can be fun.
The other downside is that despite the sheer number of cons to living in Campbelltown, housing has become quite unaffordable and prices are still swiftly on the rise. Local real estate officies can and will put rents up as soon as they can if you're not on a contract (twice in 5 months, for example).
Trains are reliable, if crowded, and the buses can sometimes be reliable, and crowded. There's no shortage of taxis, however.
Arva, I think you're living in the wrong suburb if you haven't moved already. It seems like you've gotten to a point where Campbelltown for you has just let you down. Unfortunately to live in the South West it's pretty much the same in all suburbs with the youth hooning around. From time to time you are gonna get problems. I don't understand the statement about trains being over crowded from Campbelltown because I catch it from Glenfield at the moment and always get a seat. Anyway I've got friends living around Campbelltown and haven't really heard a bad rap except for a couple of suburbs.
MrPat thanks for your comment, it helps to see different peoples opinion and as in every suburb there are always going to be unhappy and happy people, I think it's just everyones individual experience and unfortunately some people seem to have had it worst than others which can be misleading. From what I have seen it seems like Campbelltownn his its problems like other suburbs but one that is developing and booming! God willing I'm buying in the right part of Campbelltown.
I have lived here for coming up to 30 years. Within a half hours WALK of my home there are two train stations, a public library, two major shopping centres and four suburban shopping centres, 9 Woolworths/Coles/Aldi/IGA stores, 4 Gyms (one voted the best in NSW), 2 Licensed Clubs, a Rydges Hotel, two picture theatres (One an IMAX/Gold), four pubs, a major public teaching hospital and next door a substantial private hospital, two indoor heated pools and one outdoor Olympic pool, three sports fields, substantial parkland, including a wetlands, close to 2 dozen restaurants, excluding coffee shops and takeaways, of Thai, Indian, Italian, Al a Carte, Chinese, Seafood, USA, Steak, Singaporean, Philippine, Vietnamese, Mexican, Japanese and Lebanese/Arabic food styles, an art gallery and a performing arts theatre. Because it is not an expensive place to live, I have paid off my mortgage on the same house twice and have no debt! I can go for a walk from my house, enter a grove of trees and listen to the Bellbirds, and see only the bush. Plus I am less than 10 minutes from my workplace. I rarely drive past the Costco store at the Crossroads, at Casula. Sydney, if I wanted to see Bejing, Beriut or Bangalore I would rather hop on a plane and go overseas than walk to Sydney (it's faster if you walk). How would I describe Campbelltown - easy living!
This review is hilarious to read because it is far from reality and I think the author complains regardless. Complaining about Fishers Ghost Festival that happens only once a year?? hahaha! Sorry to laugh but I also have to put up with that nuisance festival and all those rough looking kids, their hoon cars and youngster attitude all making all that evil happiness.
I have lived in Bradbury, Campbelltown, Eagle Vale, Raby, Eschol Park all within 23 years. I moved to Cronulla and then to Hurstville within another 4 years. Cronulla was nice, I surfed and worked there a lot and the riots were an excitement most wouldn't want in their neighbourhood. But I really missed the convenience, local natural beauty and easy living of Campbelltown. So I decided to move back and was blown away by how much it had changed even after 4 years of not living here. I decided to buy in Campbelltown because land and houses were ridiculously cheap and you have everything a stones throw away.
There is more traffic and that is a major inconvenience, but everywhere else it's the same. I am an active fighter against vandalism, I report grafitti and I find that Campbelltown isn't as bad with grafitti compared to other towns and cities. It's everywhere in the Sydney region.
Trains and buses are empty for me most of the time. They are always very difficult to get onto on the way back to Campbelltown but empty out quickly by the end.
I go running at night and in the morning and I take various routes. I never had any problems on the streets with other individuals, usually the opposite. The people in Campbelltown are down to earth realistic people who are very friendly compared to Sydney city people. Without my current neighbours, I wouldn't love my life as much as I do now. They are beautiful people that love to have a nice chat over the fence and (I know this does sound corny) trade vegetables from our gardens.
I'm having my first child this year and I can't imagine living in a better place to raise kids. It's quiet, convenient, cheap to live here and there is lots of great untapped opportunity here for business.
Campbelltown is my favourite suburban town!