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Leura is located at the Blue Mountains and is quite a pretty town. The roads leading into Leura are wide and new; there are also many pretty and cute houses around this area. However, it is too much of a tourist town and on the weekends, it does get very very crowded as tourists flock here for a weekend away or for antiques.

Nonetheless, Leura is a great place to wine, dine and shop. There are many cafes, shops and restaurants to choose from. You will need to pay top prices in Leura in order to get a feed. Expect to pay about $15 a head for lunch at a cafe with a view of the valley. I dined at the French restaurant in Leura and did not think it was good value for money. You are better off with Blackheath for a fine dining experience.

In all, Leura is too "touristy" and does not really provide a sanctuary away from the city. It is wiser to head further north if you are keen for a quieter Blue Mountains experience.

Rosehill is located in the western suburbs of Sydney and you can easily get to the city in thirty minutes' by the M4 motorway. This suburb is close enough to Harris Park, Parramatta and Granville. In recent years, there has been plenty of development going around Rosehill. As such, many townhouses and residential units are sprouting up around the area. This makes it very sterile.

Additionally, I find Rosehill very dusty due to its proximity to the factorys and its location next to James Ruse drive. The Rosehill racecourse is famous for its races, caravan and motor homes shows and etc. There are a couple of hotels and service apartments around this area too. Woolworths, BP, Maccas and etc are all located within this suburb too.

North Haven is a little town that sits along the river in the great lakes area close to Port Macquarie. During the summer the place is alive with many people here fishing but it is far enough from Sydney to be away from too many crowds. There is typical pie shop, surf shop, restaurants and pub so everything is available. The pie shop itself is more up market and sells pies for around $3.50 a pie so watch out if you want to get something under $3. The bowling club serves an excellent dinner with a lot of good options. The variety includes seafood and more than just your usual roast or steak. The price is very reasonable and you can eat for under $15, which probably makes it one of the best feeds in the Bonny Hills, North Haven and Laurieton area.

Bombala is located on the southern side of the Snowy Mountains area of New South Wales. It is a very quaint town that boasts itself as platypus country. We were driving past but could not see any. It is less touristy here than the likes of Jindabyne or Cooma so it bends itself to more natural country like feel. The people are all very nice and it gets cold enough to actually snow. The drive around town is very scenic with nice rivers and plains to really show you the best side of New South Wales country. This town is definitely worth a drive through coming form Nimmitabel if you are planning to head south after the snowfields.

Tumut is a larger town in the snowy mountains area of New South Wales. It looks like there is much more industry in the area and subsequent employment so it has a lot more facilities and supermarkets than the little country towns nearby. It is a great idea, if driving past to stop over for groceries here instead of elsewhere since it is much cheaper in the larger town. There are all the little nearby farms and wineries to visit whilst approaching Tumut so the drive itself towards Tumbarumba is very nice. We stopped by the Tumut Valley Violets Farm during October and it was just great sitting there for morning tea and soaking in the spring flowers.

Tumbarumba is a small country town on the less visited side of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. It has a very pleasant feel to the place and if you are touring the area, is an excellent place to stop over for a night. Being from the city, the street is well presented and the shops there are interesting. Nearby there are some nice waterfalls, rivers and lakes to be seen. I happened to visit during State of Origin one year and the local RSL was packed with locals cheering on the blues. It was a great sight watching everybody just relax, drink their beers and engage in a good game of footy.

Tamworth claims to be the capital of country music in Australia and holds a country music festival each year. It is also on route from Sydney to Brisbane, so going either way; you are likely to stop over. There is a big hill in town which you can drive up which provides a nice view of the town from up high. There are picnic tables there to have lunch whilst gazing down in to the town.
Tamworth is a big country town and has a lot of infrastructure like TAFE, music conservatorium, etc. Plenty of pubs, motels and eateries to keep one interested so a neat place to stop over to have a look around.

Kellyville is one of the newer suburbs of Sydney. All the houses in Kellyville are brand new and all looking very nicely renovated. The streets are all newly paved and everything just seems to be in order. As a result a lot of families with kids have moved out this way, since the houses are slightly more affordable than living closer to the city and you get so much more land.

There is only really one road that leads into Kellyville and that is Windsor Rd. As a result it gets really jammed up during peak hour and there is no other way in! This can cause some to be absolutely crazy and some are happy to let the time pass by whilst waiting in their cars going home.

Guildford is a suburb in the western suburbs. It is characteristic of urban sprawl with a lot of different nationalities living there. There are a fair few Lebanese pizza bakeries on the Guildford Road stretch of shops along with a library and supermarket. Guildford West seems to be actually quite a nice lower middle to mid middle-income area. Quite a few of the houses there have boats in the driveway so everybody seems to do quite well. Guildford sports club has a lot of entertainment going on so for a quiet suburb in the western suburbs of Sydney, there is everything available and it is quite convenient in that sense.

Ermington is a suburb that is within Parramatta council and is placed next to the highly accessible Victoria Rd. It has its own line of shops that provide you with all your basic necessities and has a lot of new development town houses and apartments so everything looks quite new. It is very easy to get to places like Carlingford, Parramatta or Lidcombe from Ermington because it just happens to lie in the middle of everything with major roads connecting throughout. Further allong Victoria Road, there is a very popular putt golf place in Ermington. It is also reasonably close to the University of Western Sydney Parramatta campus.

Epping is like a trendy spot on the northwestern train line. It has a good train station and everybody knows the all-famous Epping RSL. Somehow it is rather strange calling it an RSL since it is more like a trendy club rather than a place for diggers or for a cheap drink.

Most likely reflecting the migration to the area, there seem to be a few more Indian restaurants popping up. Whether this means more Indians in the area or the area developing a taste for Indian is up to you to decide, but there seem to be a lot of Indian restaurants there. Apart from that, it is still a suburb that can access the city and also the North Shore with the new train line so this makes it quite a good middle-income area.

Moore Park is located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. It is accessible by bus and is only a ten to fifteen minutes’ ride into the city. Moore Park is a good mix of residential units and houses. There are plenty of trees that line the streets. However, Moore Park is more famous for it’s landmarks.

These landmarks include, Fox Studios, Sydney Cricket Ground and Hall of Industries. The Sydney Cricket Ground is home to the Sydney Swans. This sporting venue has seen many cricket and football games played. Fox Studios has plenty of cafes and restaurants for all sorts of different palette and a cinema for those movie buffs. The Hall of Industries is famous for all its fashion sales that happen regularly and bargain hunters around Sydney flock to these sales to grab some absolute bargains.

Ryde is located in the northeast of Sydney. There is a mix of residential units and houses around this area. Lately, there has been a lot of development going around the town centre. There are cafes, shops, Top Ryde shopping centre and supermarkets around the area. However, there is no train station in Ryde and residents have to depend on public buses to get around.

Additionally, it is best to avoid driving through Ryde during peak hours. Often, traffic gets very congested along Victoria Road and Devlin Street all through to Lane Cove Road and Homebush Bay Drive. You will need to give yourself double the journey time if you are going to drive through Ryde to get to your destination during peak hours.

Maroubra is about a thirty minutes’ bus ride from Sydney via Anzac Parade. There are many buses that service this area and you will never have to wait too long to hop onto a bus that will bring you to your destination. Unfortunately, for those who like to travel by train, this will not be a suburb of your choice. There are plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes in Maroubra. Additionally, it is only two stops away from Eastgardens Shopping Centre in Pagewood.

There are many houses around Maroubra and lately, there has been more development and hence many more residential units around Maroubra town centre. Maroubra is also close to the beach. This beach is very popular with surfers and boarders alike; although it can get pretty territorial at times and fights do result at the beach.

Glebe is located in the inner city of Sydney, right next to Broadway. This suburb is very close to The University of Sydney and hence is a popular suburb for university students to live. I often think of this suburb as a “high class hippie/bohemian” suburb.

Glebe is famous for its market and Glebe Point Road. The market happens every Sunday of the week. It is a good place to pick up second hand vintage clothing, clothing by budding local designers, jewellery, second hand books and etc.

Additionally, Glebe Point Road offers a variety of cafes and restaurants to dine at. There is a slight hippie-ish vibe and is nothing like Paddington or Bondi. There are also plenty of houses in Glebe. However, many of these are heritage listed and the streets are very narrow (just like most of the other inner city suburbs in Sydney).

Wagga Wagga turned out to be a bigger town than expected. I was on my way to Mildura and was surprised to find that Wagga Wagga is the final stop before you need to drive for hours just to get to Mildura.

Wagga is not your typical quaint country town. It is a hub and is more like Albury-Wodonga. There are many restaurants, cafes, chain stores, shopping malls, take away outlets, franchise stores and etc around Wagga. The main street is very wide and clean. The houses here are like those in any typical suburb in Sydney. The only difference is, Wagga is much cleaner and neater than Sydney. It is a well plan town that has plenty to do and none of that “sleepy town” feel.

Ultimo is located in the inner city of Sydney right next to Broadway. Ultimo is famous for The University of Technology Sydney. When you arrive in Ultimo, you will be greeted by this grey building that is a real eyesore. This is when you know that you are in Ultimo.

There are plenty of shops along Parramatta Road in Ultimo. From cafes to take away stores, you name it and it has it. Ultimo is only a five minutes’ bus ride or a twenty minutes’ walk to Town Hall. There are many residential units around this area. This area is recommended for young working professionals who want to be close to the city and do not mind the business of it.

Talbingo is a small coutry town on the north-western edge of the Snowy Mountains. It is about a six hours drive from Sydney and not many of my friends know of this town as people only flock to the likes of Jindabyne and Cooma when they visit the Snowy Moutains.

What I remember clearly about this town is the steep descent before you get into town. However, once this descent is over, you will be greeted by the most picturesque view of one of the dams in the area. My family made a pit stop here and we had lunch at the park, overlooking the gorgeous water.

The streets in Talbingo are very clean, the houses are nice (just like any typical suburbia) and it has the feel of a sleepy small town. Besides sight-seeing, there is not much to do around this area.

St. Marys is a good forty minutes' drive from Sydney via the M4 motorway. However, it is only a ten minutes' drive to Penrith. The most realistic way of getting to the city from St. Marys will be by train via the Western line and this journey can sometimes take up to an hour.

The main street of St. Marys is similar to other main streets in other western suburbs. You find your local businesses, shops, cafes, the occasional restaurant and your supermarkets. This street is quite small compared to its Penrith counterpart. There are definitely more houses in St. Marys than residential units. St. Marys just feels like typical suburbia and it is not a pretentious suburb.

Manly is about a thirty minutes' drive from Sydney and is a favourite destination of tourists and local sunbathers alike. When the sun is out, you can expect Manly to be jam-packed with people. Another way to get to Manly will be by ferry. This is a very popular choice with locals as the road from Manly to the city is impossible during peak hours.

As it is very close to the beach, property prices here are definitely on the higher end of the scale. This suburb is not as multi-cultural as compared to western suburbs of Sydney. Additionally, with high rents and property prices com high prices for goods and services around this area. There are plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes around Manly and the beaches do get very crowded. A word of advice for those intending to drive there especially during the summer months - leave your cars at home as parking is almost impossible to find.