Worst Areas/Suburbs to Live in Australia

[riaanbre]

Since we are going to Sydney I have used this tool - http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/ - a heat-map overlay on Google maps. (click on the map or go directly here: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/pages/bocsar_lga_crimemaps). it allows you to select different types of crime (alcohol related etc)

What I find intriguing is that a suburb which has a higher than usual crime level looks fairly decent in Google Street View.

What I find disturbing is what I assume is a high incidence of domestic violence, though I have nothing to compare it too (just do not have these sorts of info for ZA or other countries)

[Heather]

Woodridge - Logan Area South Brisbane, did some design work at the State school there - not a good area.

Ashmore - Gold Coast (the joke - Trashmore) - not that bad

Southport - Gold Coast (the joke - SouthPit) - Its really come up lately but in 80's early 90's was a bit dodgy

Main Beach - Gold Coast - Vain Beach - very affluent area.

Nerang - Nerangutang - not the best area - definitely no resale value here

[Knersus]

Any bad suburbs in Canberra?

• Narrabundah,
  
• The council units where Ainslie Ave meets Limestone Ave, (near the Canberra Centre)
  
• Some parts of "Tuggers" (Tuggeranong)
  

Canberra is a great place to live, highest standard of living in Australia.

[gavinpetoperth]

"King Hit" and "Glassing" is something that happens quite often in Perth as well.

Eto

Need to put this in perspective - when you say "quite often" - there are only a handful of occurrences each week if you look at the official police statistics in a city of close to 2 million people. It may may appear as "quite often" because each case is reported in the press....

[Eto]

Agreed, but the point is that it happens and i was trying to explain to the person who wrote the below comment that this is something that happens all over Oz and not only in Brisbane

"Oh, and a 17 year old's friend of a friend's son got hit in the face with a golf club recently in Surfer's Paradise. He was sitting on a pavement talking to his girlfriend and now has 30 stitches in his face. He does not know the people and didn't even speak to them. It's apparently a sport to bash or 'King hit' people outside clubs for no reason in Brisbane."

[Gizmo]

it all relatively speaking - and a bad suburb in aus is nowhere near a bad area in many other areas of the world

This is so very true!

[RAD]

Since we arrived two weeks ago, we have lived in Point Cook (salt water)and I must admit the west has been very good to us. So I feel rather protective of it. I really would not mind living here and regrettably the only reason we are moving is because the traffic is a nightmare to get my kids to and from their school. Otherwise I completely agree with Mara. After the long drive from school it is good to come to the wide open spaces. My advise to newcomers is don't knock till you've tried it.

(LOL) to me even Footscray had a character and a vibe...and before anyone tries to say anything about Footscray, I already know its reputation.

[Sibella]

My personal issue with Point Cook is the lack of good public primary schools compared to where we are living now. When I looked at Point Cook / Sanctuary Lakes there was only one good one and it had a small catchment area (and Point Cook wasn't part of it). Where we live now in the Outer East there are at least five good public primary schools with above average Naplan results within 15 mins drive from my house in Wonga Park.

I know someone who lives there whose husband now drops the kids off at a private school in the city which I don't think is ideal. But if you don't have kids this obviously isn't an issue.

So definitely not about it being a bad area, but as it's still developing I think it is lacking with regards to schools and childcare. Although it might have changed since I looked at it more than a year ago.

[Dan Tanne]

Very interesting thread.

I have heard all the stories about all the different places in Melbourne.

I am the State Sales Manager of Victoria and South Australia for my company, so have travelled extensively around both states. (Although to be fair I have not lived all over the state) and I have seen some areas that I would not venture into again, but these are located all over, East, West, North and South.

By the way mara, I LOVE Sunbury.

I live in the SE suburbs, and would not move anywhere else. I love it here and it suits me perfectly. Each to their own I guess

[Mara]

Yay, someone who actually loves Sunbury...besides me, that is!

[Lyn]

Shaz,

Dont worry too much about Canberra, its a great place to live.

I have lived on the southside for nearly 4 years. What I have found is that all areas/suburbs have public housing / safe houses / houses with carers etc - of some sort or other - even upmarket Manuka and Yarralumla has the public flats. Perhaps OMalley is the only place without this type of housing. Some people are not even aware that the unit next to theirs is used for public housing as we discovered living in Pearce - Woden, a lovely area.

We bought in an area not considered posh by Saffers - Kambah in Tuggeranong. We do have some rather odd looking folk around, but if you just chat to them they will go out of their way for you. We have had my husbands car "opened" at night - I cant say broken into because the silly man didnt lock it !! Our house has no burglar bars, no alarm or a dog.

Wherever you chose to call home in the ACT I believe you will be ok.

[OubaasDik]

Elizabeth and Salisbury in Adelaide

Darra in Brisbane

Oh, and a 17 year old's friend of a friend's son got hit in the face with a golf club recently in Surfer's Paradise. He was sitting on a pavement talking to his girlfriend and now has 30 stitches in his face. He does not know the people and didn't even speak to them. It's apparently a sport to bash or 'King hit' people outside clubs for no reason in Brisbane.

Ditto Kings Cross, Sydney

Ditto Northbridge, Perth

[4Coetzees]

Canberra is a nanny state - avoid at all cost!

Just kidding.

There are 300 000 gov workers in Australia, 200 000 of them live in Canberra.

[Esthee]

As someone who's lived in Point Cook for over a year I can say its a lovely neighborhood. But there are definite negatives. All your Aussie coworkers will always look at you funny for living in the west and make remarks about how terrible the drive must be into town. We have no internet. There are areas where you can get the fastest fibre internet connections but unfortunately most streets in Point Cook still don't even have ADSL available. Childcare and schools are a nightmare and completely full. The council are building many new schools but they just can't keep up with demand and the standards just aren't as high as you will get in the east. Road infrastructure is another big problem. Traffic out of our area towards the town is a daily struggle and for me to get to town via car takes an hour if I leave here after 6h15am, and it only clears up after 9h15am. Busses aren't as available here as they are in the east either, which can be a problem if you live far from the station (which you normally do here). The Werribee line however is one of the most stable and reliable train lines in Melbourne and it only takes you 35 minutes from Hoppers Crossing to Flinders Station in peak time.

People here however are friendly, shops are wonderful and the town centre really has a nice atmosphere. All the homes here are also new and you'll struggle to find better value for money so close to the city anywhere in Melbourne. You'll be able to find a big 4 bedroom house here for $450 per week with all the modern finishes you're used to back in SA. All this right next to the sea and my favourite, its an easy 40 minute drive to Torquay, which is just spectacular. Altona, which is also a 10 minute drive from my home has an amazing leash-free dog park right on the beach which is a wonderful place to spend a warm spring afternoon. When you've lived here you realise you have the lifestyle of people living on the other side of the bay like Hampton and Brighton, but without paying their house prices and what your paying is the longer commute to the city, which isn't that much longer during peak hour traffic.

Well that's my experience of living in my Point Cook suburb so far. I'll stay on this side of the bridge even though I work in St Kilda. There's just something here.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Mara
Torquay is not spelt Torque

[JacoO]

a perspective of a normal South African on Kings Cross! Yes - THAT Kings Cross

on our VV trip we stayed in Kings Cross for a week and another evening before our flight back (went to Melbourne in between)

my background - As a normal "afrikaner" who has seen and heard the voilence in our country - had an ettempted hi-jacking and had family robbed at gun-point - thats me!

During our stay we went out in the mornings and walked to the train station... walked all over the area to Sydney botanical gardens and next to the naval base... (long and lekker walk)

* ok - in SA you would have thought twice about it.... in AUS I never had a better experience - I really could not even think at one time where I wanted to look behind me...

I walked to the Woolies at 11pm at night - forgot to get milk for my son (1year old)

Walked to the pizza place at 8pm in the middle of the buzz - was about the same as a busy afternoon at Menlyn mall

Yes - there are some homeless people around, there are some "gommies" and "weirdos" that are coming out of their holes to enjoy a few (or too many) drinks...

But as mentioned - perspective and what you think is "BAD" or "WORSE" will influence the comments on this topic.

My opinion - stay where you feel comfortable, where you can afford it and where you can get quick/reasonable access to public transport...

There are some suburbs that I will also avoid (BlackTown - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Blacktown)

Did a lot of research to find THAT affordable and good suburb in NSW (Sydney Area) - moving in Feb 2013 (still looking - any tips ???)

I can say this... Aussies may say it (any suburb) is the worst of the worst - stay away... you will review and have a look and coming from SA you will walk in the park and do some street-view googling and think to yourself.... WoW... I want to live there....

[Emille]

hi Jaco I researched sydney suburbs a lot and thought that hornsby would be a good option - far out of the city but a relative quick and straight forward train trip. its affordable (well for $600k you may find a house, which is unusual for sydney). i went there and though its a beautiful suburb and in the northern suburbs which are the nicest

another suburb I would recommend is St Ives but for a flat not a house

[bbop]

What about the Northern Territory?

[Orion25]

Hey Shaz,

We too live in Canberra in the "South", yes like Perth where they refer NOR (Nort of River) or SOR(South of River) it is all relative.

We love Kambah, actually stay just up the road from Lynn, we looked at houses from one side of the state to the other, and got a rental where we could. We have settled well here and do not regret not living "North" in the North are all the newer suburbs, Ford, Bonner, Crace, Ngunnawal etc, and yes they are all nice and neat, but also according to me one top of each other. They make me think of a song I knew while growing up "Little boxes, little boxes and they are all stuck together with ticky acky" not because they are not nice but so close and small. WHere we live we have a bigger property and more trees, we love it, but in the end it is up to presonal choice.

There are such mixed areas all over Canberra as Lynn said and you need to find what is right for you.

Good luck and let us know where you decide to settle.

T

[GideonVD]

What about the Northern Territory?

I don't think Darwin's that popular... at least for me.

[Kurkprop]

Wherever you chose to call home in the ACT I believe you will be ok.

Yup, for sure!