Croydon Suburb Review

Summary: Exceptionally well-equipped for families, if you’ve got (or are about to have) children of school-going age it’s hard to argue against Croydon as one of the better suburbs in all of Sydney despite its relative lack of brand recognition.

Quaint and peaceful yet well-located and connected, this is the clean, charming side of the Inner West that retains its heritage roots while adding elements of gentrification – largely without breaking its original atmosphere.

It’s got a lot of character in both its local stores and streetscape, a couple of truly excellent parks, and is very safe – yet it’s the array of schools that help set Croydon apart from its peers. It’s not the cheapest to buy in (and has soared in price since the pandemic, like most other places), has some traffic issues and isn’t a nightlife hotspot, but otherwise remains one of the most underrated suburbs in the Inner West.

Key stats

It’s something of a wonder that Croydon isn’t mentioned more frequently when the topic of “Best Inner West Sydney Suburbs” to live in comes up.

When we polled the public, receiving over 3,000 votes, it didn’t even make the top fifteen, yet given all the positives it offers – for a slightly cheaper price than some of its bigger-brand neighbours – we’re prepared to put it in our 10 best suburbs (for the money) in all of Sydney list.

At surface level, Croydon is actually more reminiscent of the suburb Roseville on Sydney’s north shore than some of its grittier and more lively Inner West peers.

Not only does it boast a very similar streetscape – one with a largely peaceful, heritage, old-time atmosphere that gives it a highly British feel throughout – but it’s also fringed by highly Eastern-demographic-leaning suburbs nearby as well.

Compared to Roseville, however, Croydon adds in the benefits of more local amenities and businesses, the proximity to other diverse suburbs nearby, and one of the most comprehensive range of schools of any suburbs in Sydney all thrown in.

Simply put, if you’re a family who’s got a decent amount of money to throw around and prefer the diversity of the Inner West as opposed to some of the sterility of the north shore, Croydon should practically be atop on your list by default.

Croydon sits in a convenient location sandwiched between Ashfield and Burwood, yet boasts a more balanced mix of ethnicities demographically than either of these.

Its streetscape, as well as its amenities, reflect more of that classic “Inner West” cafe / western restaurant leanings as opposed to the mostly Asian restaurants of its neighbours – think old-time style bakeries, local fruit + veg grocers, boutique pizza joints and the like.

Its connectivity to Sydney city is highly favourable, taking just around 20 minutes via train from Croydon Station to Central.

While some of the main services skip over Croydon, and you may get the occasional old “rattler” train servicing the Inner West line, it’s still well-serviced enough, while its heavy array of bus services being able to jump directly onto main arteries both to the north and south make getting from A to B here very efficient.

For drivers, it’s bordered by two main highways which, while often congested and slow during peak, provide direct east/west access in short order as well.

As they mostly fringe the suburb instead of run through it (other than the Hume Hwy to the south), this gives it a solid balance of road access versus noise in the main chunk of residential areas within.

As a streetscape, Croydon has character and a consistent “theme” maintained throughout. This is a well-kept, older heritage suburb featuring mostly low-lying, single-story federation homes with the occasional low-rise block of solidly-built brick units thrown in.

Croydon and brown bricks go together like ibis and garbage bins; the vast majority of its federation homes remain un-rendered, and so there’s a consistency to its residential areas without too many ultra-modern concrete eyesores breaking things up.

This is a very well-kept and maintained suburb as a whole; it’s funny to think at one point in the past this was “lower-end Sydney” as now it’s undeniably pretty and charming in parts with large, roomy lawns that are highly desirable.

It’s home to many gorgeous houses with immaculate gardens, well-trimmed hedges and a high level of grooming, and its streets are largely kept clean and litter-free throughout.

While most of these are freestanding homes, Croydon does have a decent mix of other types of housing – townhouse and villa complexes, basically everything outside of highrise apartments are available here.

This gets more significant the closer you get to the train station, where a number of modern, mid-rise apartments and medium density living can be found. These aren’t the prettiest things in the world, but they help diversify its housing profile somewhat.

The majority of its residential streets are also very green with good tree cover, and Croydon boasts a couple of exceptional parks and green spaces as well.

Centenary Park is a massive, open and roomy slice of greenery largely centered around sports fields/amenities and playground equipment that also has an off-leash dog area, but it’s Wangal Park which steals the show here.

This is one of the more uniquely designed and equipped parks in inner Sydney.

It contains a varied mix of skate ramps, fitness equipment, a ton of seating and table amenities and other standard inclusions, but it’s also structured around an array of boardwalks and cycle paths which run over its creek water and make things quite different and pleasant.

In terms of amenities, Croydon also fares quite well.

Its slice along the northern portion of Parramatta Road isn’t particularly useful outside of major fast food chains and the odd restaurant – it’s basically the auto-dealer capital of Sydney, car yard after car yard – its main strips of retail and dining on either side of the station are both charming and practical.

Edwin Street on the north side contains a tiny helping of small-scale services and local businesses with a nice “old-timey” feel, while the main strip along The Strand on the south side remains its focal point.

It’s a character-rich little strip of cafes, local supermarket, bottle shops and more with a mix of red brick and art deco-type buildings that’s very pleasant. It’s not massive or overly buzzing, but more than enough to enjoy a quality meal and grab necessary groceries.

Croydon lacks in terms of bigger-scale retail, but neighbouring Ashfield (courtesy of Ashfield Mall a 5 minute drive away) has that covered, Burwood offers Westfield and is packed with other amenities, and again, the city isn’t far away.

There are two main things in terms of its amenities and streetscape which differentiate Croydon perhaps the most, though: its churches, and its schools – which often go hand-in hand.

The suburb is home to a heavy array of churches of various faiths and origins, each with distinct architecture and design befitting their background.

It’s the schools that will likely appeal to most, however. For a relatively small suburb, Croydon contains an extremely high proportion of high quality schools both private and public, boarding and co-ed.

When combined with the many on offer in Burwood next door, there’s a massive range of options for education on offer for those with kids.

This is the primary reason Croydon is such a family-heavy suburb, and will likely appeal to that demographic the most.

Its mix of education, safety, and good parkland with ample playground equipment ticks basically every box a parent could want. It’s likely to be added to our list of 10 Most Family Friendly Suburbs in Sydney in short order as a result.

Because of this, it’s not the best suburb to choose if you’re part of the younger crowd looking for somewhere lively versus other parts of the Inner West however.

A “jumping” suburb this is not; the closest option for a pub-style drink or entertainment is down in Croydon Park, or a beer and a meal at the modest Wests Sports Club.

Other than these and its small cafe scene there isn’t really much exciting to do, other than perhaps play tennis, footy or cricket.

If you’re not about spending time with the kids on a weekend, there are certainly a ton of other more viable picks of suburbs in this part of Sydney. If you’re not a family, it may also be easy to feel a little excluded as a result.

It also trends quite a bit older in parts demographically, particularly to the southern side of Croydon. It’s quite retiree-and-older-centric here, where hospice, healthcare and aged care facilities can be found.

The tranquility of its largely quiet streetscape goes a long way for this appeal to the older market; outside of some aircraft noise during “normal times” (we’re covering this during the Coronavirus 2020 period) it’s a pretty serene suburb overall.

Crime-wise, Croydon is statistically highly safe overall. It boasts an extremely low number of incidents both on a volume and per-capita basis, with a minimal amount of dodgy elements or impact even around its train station.

In terms of price of housing, while Croydon used to be fairly undervalued by Inner West standards, unfortunately that’s no longer really the case; post-pandemic it’s now caught up to its peers and is still fairly expensive relative to the global Sydney average, removing some of its previous shine. While some properties can be had for a lower price than some of its more premium, ‘brand-name’ nearby Inner West peers, the gap has closed quite a lot at this point.

It still trades for a bit of a discount compared to some suburbs we’d actually rank lower in quality, however. Why this is is a little unclear; it’s not a mere matter of distance from the city, as Burwood is one suburb further out and substantially more expensive, while Strathfield is also generally significantly higher in price as well.

Given that Croydon provides a pretty close facsimile of the likes of Summer Hill, it’s also a decent alternative to that suburb if you can’t find a house you like while home-hunting, opening up more options. Buying in Croydon can still save yourself several hundred thousand dollars over some of these alternatives, for no real loss of quality of life.

It’s not as if it’s ugly, dangerous, or an absolute “amenity wasteland”, yet its home price sits around $2,350,000.00 on average versus $2,958,500.00 in Burwood and a whopping $3,800,000.00 in Strathfield.

“Its mix of education, safety, and good parkland with ample playground equipment ticks basically every box a parent could want.”

Likewise for those looking to rent; while its supply of non-houses isn’t amazing it’s still a very solid choice for city workers for the price given the still-short commute time on the train.

You can rent a decent 2 bedroom apartment or even some of its smaller here for easily around the $600 per week mark and may even be able to score a decently-priced terrace-type home for a decent rate, which is very reasonable given its proximity to the city and still under the Sydney average due to the supply of units on offer.

The Verdict

For whatever reason, Croydon lacks the “brand name” recognition of some of the other Inner West suburbs, yet as a place to live versus party it’s still one of the better value choices in the region.

Sure, if you’re after a vibrant pub scene, nightlife or endless shopping options then it’s going to disappoint – yet for people looking for a pretty peaceful and well-connected spot to live close to the city, it can save you some coin while still offering a very enjoyable lifestyle.

Its streets are wide, safe, green and mostly pretty, its public spaces rank well above average, and being able to access such a diverse array of suburbs – as well as the CBD – easily nearby opens up plenty of options for other activities whenever you so choose.

The schools here and in its immediate surroundings make it about as appealing as possible for a family seeking the Inner West lifestyle while offering a highly safe environment with a low crime rate. There’s no need to worry about the kids walking home here versus some of the other more gritty parts of the region.

While it’s still expensive relative to the average income, it’s less so than several (worse, in our opinion) suburbs immediately close by, and thus represents fairly good value for money – by Inner West standards, at least.

This is a “sleeper” suburb relative to more of its ‘hipster’ Inner West peers, and one we remain highly impressed with. It may also save you several hundred thousand dollars buying here just a couple of stops further down the rail line from some of the trendier names, as well.