Lindfield Suburb Review

Summary: A high-end, green and peaceful slice of upper-tier North Shore suburbia, Lindfield’s popularity has continued to grow in recent years, with additional modern developments helping to round out what is historically overall a grand old suburb.

It’s highly leafy, clean and visually appealing courtesy of ample parkland and is immaculately well-kept, while still having city connectivity courtesy of its heavy rail line.

It’s also almost utterly lacking in activities and things to see and do, while its large and often impressive detached housing blocks carry with them prohibitively high purchase prices likely well out of reach for the majority.

Key stats

Even after being the recipient of some additional added development in recent years, Lindfield is nothing if not peaceful. There’s an overall slow-paced feeling to the suburb with an enjoyable calm air about the place courtesy of its expansive, tree-draped and wide streets and large older homes that makes walking its streets a pleasure.

That’s no mean feat given the suburb sits on a well-connected rail line – most Sydney suburbs sacrifice connectivity and convenience for open space and greenery, but that’s not the case here.

There’s also no surprise that with this desirable combination comes exceedingly high property prices; you’ll have difficulty entering the Lindfield homeowner market for anything less than $3 million, and often far, far more given the block sizes of some of its grand, older homes.

As a result, Lindfield’s main demographic trends on the older side of the spectrum, with homeowners either entrenched from long ago or having hit the age where income is no longer a barrier to property. Walk down a back street, and you’ll often see older folks tending their gardens or repairing their white picket fences.

There’s also still quite a friendly, grounded feeling here that doesn’t bring as much as the pretentiousness or snobbery of other high-end Sydney suburbs closer to the CBD that’s refreshing as well, despite the often eye-watering amounts of wealth on display.

Head closer to the train station, and you’ll see some of the newer layers that have been added to give Lindfield a bit of a fresher face.

This is an area with a fair amount of newer, high-density apartment blocks that provide the younger or less well-heeled with potential places to live – it’s still not “cheap” by any means, but $750 per week in rent can still fetch you a decent 2-bedroom apartment, which was not previously an option all that long ago.

New meets old

Likewise, its station area’s relatively modern addition feels much nicer than many other public transport hubs. It’s small, but gets decent train services on the North Shore line and offers commuters the chance at a reasonable half-hour trip to the Sydney CBD for work. This makes for a very reasonable distance versus environment trade off that has plenty of appeal for those working in the city.

While it’s not exactly overflowing with amenities, Lindfield offers enough to get by on a daily basis. There’s some small-scale retail around the station – highlighted by its relatively new Lindfield Shopping Village that provides supermarket shopping – and a handful of shops and cafes to choose from.

For those times when a larger or more specialised shopping trip is called for, Chatswood and all its larger retail opportunities is only a fairly short drive or train trip away.

Lindfield’s also highly both pet and family friendly due to its abundant parkland. It’s home to a wide array green spaces, with multiple parks and reserves dotted throughout.

The pretty Lane Cove National Park in its south-west is a great place for a family outing with heritage walks, waterfront scenery and facilities for enjoying a picnic as well.

“Most Sydney suburbs sacrifice connectivity and convenience for open space and greenery, but that’s not the case here.”

For those with kids, there are several excellent public and private schools to choose from in the vicinity as well. Add in its playgrounds and clean and safe public spaces in general, and this is an extremely solid suburb choice for families with children of school-going age.

Other than that, Lindfield itself is almost entirely lacking in things to see or do. It’s almost purely residential and has little in the way of attractions or nightlife, and other than a small smattering of restaurants with a few foreign cuisines, there’s not much diversity here either.

Peaceful… or boring?

While its location in theory makes a trip to the Northern Beaches feasible within a 25 minute drive from central Lindfield, traffic can hinder this sometimes as well.

There’s almost no reason for younger, energetic types to live here if they’re looking to socialise and meet people, or go drinking of an evening or similar. While it’s changing slightly with its newer properties, this is going to remain an “old money” suburb for the foreseeable future as its population continues to age.

In addition, while its train services are generally good and (fairly) reliable, its buses are less so. They don’t run very frequently, and missing one will mean a long wait until the next arrives.

The suburb also suffers from a bit of a lack of parking, particularly near its train station – if you live further away out on the suburb fringes, you’ll have a bit of a trek reaching it in the morning for the daily commute.

The Verdict

Lindfield’s never going to be the liveliest suburb in the world, and as a result there’s little to appeal for those who are either in or considering moving to Sydney for its “urban buzz”.

However, other than that and its pricey property offerings, there’s little to fault in this suburb – it’s clean, it’s safe, it’s very green and still centrally-positioned enough to feel still a true part of Greater Sydney.

Each of its several separate “villages” within has its own charm, and while it’s not a haven for big-box shopping or other retail, it’s got all the major necessities of daily life and a handful of dining spots to satisfy the occasional local night out.

Having the opportunity to get into the city for work or activities, then a 30 minute trip back for a safe and peaceful night’s sleep is a rare thing in Sydney, and as a result both families with some cash to splash or retirees looking for a place that’s still got enough to offer should both truly consider living here.

If you’ve got the funds and don’t require too much action in life, Lindfield rates as one of Sydney’s most underrated suburbs.