Chippendale Suburb Review

Summary: A small suburb in inner Sydney with a heavy “college town” feel, Chippendale is essentially a sub-section of what can be considered Sydney’s “CBD”; one that oozes convenience.

With a location that grants it immediate access to a wide array of restaurants & stores, major train stations, a striking new modern parkland, and its main hub of the University of Technology Sydney nearby, it’s a bustling and active part of the city with high population density and all the associated pros & cons that entails.

It’s bordered by busy roads, has a population mostly dominated by students, and is oriented largely around apartment-style living, however, so families or those who want some extra space may obviously want to look elsewhere.

Key stats

Chippendale has had a number of extra features that have helped to revitalise it over recent years, to the point that what was previously a relatively unassuming central Sydney suburb now has multiple reasons for people to actually visit, rather than just use it as a place to sleep.

Long a popular choice for students attending the University of Technology Sydney in neighbouring Ultimo, the suburb has several notable features that are worth seeing, and even tourists can now find a reason to spend a day – and night out – there.

Its most obvious addition is the new Central Park complex; a former industrial site, the development now ranks as one of the most modern and distinctive examples of urban design in the city. Highlighted by its award-winning One Central Park building – which is a striking work of sustainable architecture – the area is pleasant to walk around, dine and shop in, and lends an almost “futuristic” edge to the suburb.

On the dining side, Spice Alley likewise offers an enjoyable twist; on the surface it’s just a little back street amongst some buildings serving a range of Asian food, but there’s something slightly “Blade Runner-y” about its illuminated lanterns and modern storefronts that is just damn cool.

Central Park Mall caters for both grocery and brand goods shopping needs, while its huge array of smaller (largely Asian) restaurants along the main streets mean you’ll never be short on food and drink options here.

Demographic-wise, there’s a distinctly younger bent to the crowd that inhabits Chippendale. Not surprising given its university-centric leanings, but this is a suburb of students on their Macbooks spending multiple hours at Starbucks, cashed-up professionals in swanky terrace homes, and public transport-oriented daily lifestyles.

A mix of good and… not so good

Cars are definitely a luxury here, as parking is at an absolute premium and its connectivity via bus, train, tram and mostly on foot makes 4-wheeled transport largely redundant.

The suburb itself is basically an offshoot of Sydney’s Central Station – the main transit hub for this part of the whole city – and so offers the rate opportunity in Australia for someone to realistically exist without a car without it being crippling or too annoying.

Central connects to all the major train lines for accessing the rest of the city due to its “hub” nature; as long as your workplace is within walking distance of a station somewhere along one of the lines, then you’re all good in this regard.

In terms of greenery, Chippendale is sort of awkward to “rate”, in that the suburb itself is basically a concrete jungle, however it’s bordered on either side by two high-quality, large public green spaces in order to offset this.

Both Victoria Park and Prince Alfred Park offer some spacious (although heavily-trafficked) greenery for humans and their pets alike, although the eternally-busy nature of these parks & the noise of their fringing roads makes them more spots for activity rather than true relaxation or escapism.

Noise can be a factor in general here too, as both Cleveland Street and the highway generate some substantial road noise. A number of the streets (around the Redfern end in particular) still give off slightly dodgy vibes at night, too, and while the Chippo Hotel ranks as a great spot for some live music, it’s also another contributor to a few extra drunks on the street at night which likewise contribute to its above-average (0.18% per capita) crime rate.

Affordability Issues

Property prices here are as expensive as one might think given its central location, and options for true “houses” are very limited; it’s mostly terraces and newer apartment constructions propped up by foreign student investment, while the rest of the suburb consists of warehouses, storefronts and other “industrial” style buildings.

Demand for Chippendale’s apartments – given its education-and-business-adjacent location – means that even the smaller ones are pricey for what you get, especially in terms of price per square metre.

Decent 2-bedroom apartments hover around the $1 – $1.2 million dollar mark, with 3-bedroom apartments basically non-existent, and some of the newer apartment buildings in particular will also set even renters back some significant coin per week in return for their modern amenities as well.

“It’s quite a cool little place, and our pick for inner Sydney’s most underrated suburb.”

Students looking to enjoy its convenience and overall package will likely want to look to rent a room in a shared space for affordability reasons – unless you’re one of the lucky ones who have significant financial backing from the parents.

The Verdict

Chippendale is a busy, buzzing and now quite distinctive suburb that’s both well worth a visit for tourists or locals who haven’t been there in a while, but for living mostly comes purely recommended for students, or the rare cashed-up professional willing to fork out and snag themselves a terrace or 3-bedroom apartment (on the rare occasions both become available).

For students who can share a room (or have wealthy parents), or an easy commute for CBD workers, it thus comes highly recommended; otherwise, the majority of families and retirees will likely find it too hectic for their tastes.

All Sydneysiders would be well served setting aside a day for checking out Chippendale’s current offerings, however – it’s quite a cool little place, and our pick for inner Sydney’s most underrated suburb for a visit… just not as a place to live.