Redfern Suburb Review

Summary: Formerly one of the true “wild west” suburbs of inner Sydney, in recent years Redfern has substantially – though not fully – had its face changed by the forces of gentrification. Nowadays it’s basically a fairly seamless extension of neighbouring Surry Hills, with a similarly extensive cafe and pub culture dotted amongst its array of narrow, street-facing terraces and low-rise apartment blocks.

It’s hard to match for convenience with immediate city access and comprehensive public transport hub connectivity, and is highly walkable/bikeable as well.

Redfern’s also still home to significant slices of public housing, an above-average crime rate, can be noisy and traffic-heavy, and retains a mix of quirky demographics from the high and lower ends of socioeconomic society all intermingled to form quite an eclectic mix. Not to mention the associated high property prices you’d expect this close to the CBD, for relatively small living space too.

Key stats

There’s no denying that Redfern, perhaps more than any other suburb in inner Sydney, has quite the lingering reputation it’s needed to shake.

At the peak of its dodgy powers in the 1990’s, Redfern was seen as practically a no-go zone by many Sydneysiders due to its status as a land of drug use and trade, inflammatory graffiti, fires, assault, and general violence and unpleasantness.

It’s come a long way since then, bordering on “trendy” in the present day, although it’s still a suburb in the midst of an identity change rather than being 100% sterilised by gentrification.

If Sydney was New York, then Redfern would probably be Brooklyn; it boasts similar, slightly gritty elements along with its blend of wealthy property owners, artsy types, urban-bohemian clothing, and people with mental health issues muttering to themselves as they shuffle along the streets.

Redfern is truly a suburb of contradictions, one in which you can step outside your gorgeous and charming multi-million dollar street-facing terrace home and be a mere 10 minute walk from the CBD of the largest and most desirable city in Australia – yet also may be looking directly across at highrise social housing blocks or having to pass by the occasional drug addict on your way to the office.

Politically incorrect to say? Perhaps. But still an objective truth. For some, this will be an absolute turnoff; for others, it and the local characters it entails make up part of Redfern’s present-day charm.

Ongoing Facelift

Much of Redfern’s history is still in plain view, and it’s a suburb with a pretty character-rich streetscape despite the occasional eyesore.

Perhaps one of the best summaries of Redfern is that one of its most appealing, historic sandstone buildings is its Courthouse; take that how you will. There are plenty of other remaining architectural examples of older times as well, which help break things up from all the new modern/standard fit outs and apartments being gradually added.

It’s largely terraces packed tightly together with the occasional boutique store or service sandwiched in along its main thoroughfares, or quieter terrace-only back streets. Many of these terraces have received facelifts and are extremely charming, with well-kept little courtyards, nameplates and stylised front gates.

Redfern’s also leafier than you might think given its central location. Many of its streets receive pretty nice overhanging tree cover, which form some lovely colours during the colder months.

Combine this with its occasional murals of social commentary and the quaint nature of the terraces in general, and it can be quite photogenic in spots.

Befitting its past, many of Redfern’s streets still contain significant social buildings and accommodations.

Around 20% of the suburb is designated as public housing, and the differences between these and the wealthier homes is stark; they’re far more utilitarian, big heavy brick complexes and towers that provide the needy with a place to lay their head.

Most of these are concentrated around or a short distance from Redfern Park – a massive and spacious public space that is tastefully done and actually really pleasant.

With its mix of statues, fountain, oval for sport and general activity, it’s a pretty popular focal communal point that draws in the full cross-section of Redfern’s inhabitants and income levels. High-earning hipsters, dog-walking same-sex couples, junkies, doctors & bankers… this is Redfern in a nutshell.

As its demographics have changed, so has Redfern’s array of amenities. As a suburb for “things to do”, it’s now very appealing for a visit & ranks up there as one of the more entertaining in Sydney.

Bourke Street on the east side runs down from Surry Hills and continues its same cafe-centric culture into Redfern proper, while central Redfern is likewise turning into a hotspot for some really good places to eat and drink.

Excellent spots for coffee, high-level boutique bakeries, medical services and more of the commonly “high-end” hangout spots and amenities continue to grow.

For those who like a drop of the good stuff, Redfern’s hard to match as well. It’s home to multiple large-scale pubs (the Norfolk, Regent, Bat & Ball, Woolpack, etc. etc.) that can be both pumping as well as cosy and welcoming, as well as smaller niche-bars and a couple of truly cool hidden little places where you won’t even be able to find the front door without knowing prior (shout-out to Mjølner).

For shopping, Redfern has several options for daily goods, groceries and the like both within the suburb itself or next door in neighbouring Waterloo.

Coles (at the little Surry Hills Shopping Village), Woolworths, IGA and Aldi are all within easy reach, while it’s got enough smaller-scale boutique stores and the bigger brands of the city are just a walk, ride or short train trip away.

In recent years, it’s also become a bit of a popular spot for tech startups and other forward-thinking businesses as well.

For those that have been priced out of the more name-brand Surry Hills for office space, Redfern is the next-best-thing, and there are many with cool open-plan offices converted from former homes or warehouse spaces that draw in tech and marketing workers from all over Sydney.

It’s quite a noisy suburb overall as a result. This isn’t the place you’d live if you want continual peace and quiet, as not only its popularity of an evening for drinks, but also its heavy traffic and the near-continual whine of police and ambulance sirens all play a role.

Redfern sits alongside the South Dowling Street/Eastern Distributor combo as well, meaning you’ll have to live within a small handful of its most elite central streets to be able to escape from the full brunt of traffic noise.

Driving here is also as packed as one might expect, with all the issues of inner Sydney’s convoluted road layout and congestion right on your doorstep.

It’s fortunate, then, that Redfern is so well set up for those who prefer to ride their bikes. It’s highly cyclable, with consistent bike lanes/cycleways and terrain-wise mostly fairly flat other than slices of the East side, in stark comparison to its unsurprisingly-hilly neighbour Surry Hills.

It’s so cycle-friendly that many bikers from other suburbs will use Redfern as their preferred path into/out of the city, and entire groups dedicated to cycling around here exist as well.

Location-wise Redfern physically sits in a pretty damn idyllic spot for those looking for city living and the buzz of urban life. It’s just a stone’s throw away from Sydney city proper with the skyline always easily visible, making the prospect for city workers of living life without a car actually viable rather than an idealistic pipedream.

It’s a major transport interchange, with Redfern station (soon to receive some substantial upgrades from the government – long overdue) a key stop for express trains. Depending on what side of the suburb you’re in, light rail/tram stops are also now likely within walking distance, which provide additional connectivity for those who want to head out to the Eastern Suburbs or Inner West too.

Being bisected and bordered by a number of main roads, it sees a huge array of bus services as well; given that most of its non-apartment homes only come with on-street parking, this is often an essential part of getting from A to B here.

For overall atmosphere, despite its gentrification efforts Redfern is still quite gritty and dirty in places. Cigarette butts are seemingly everywhere, the often-skillful murals in its back streets are outnumbered by graffiti, and it’s shopping trolley-central on many front paths and lawns.

Many of its terraces, older blocks and other storefronts remain untouched and unmaintained, with paint peeling (perhaps intentionally for the aesthetic in some cases?) and cracks/broken parts of walls and garbage-strewn front gardens.

There is also still undeniably a little bit of a “tense” vibe here overall.

You can’t truly walk through certain parts of Redfern at any hour of the day/night and not have to at watch your back at least slightly, and while there’s a line between “snobbery” and realistically judging people, there are still quite a few people around with obvious illnesses and prone to random outbursts. While they’re mostly harmless and in some instances quite friendly, it’s something to keep in mind.

The correlation between public housing and crime rate also still exists, as politically delicate as the topic might be.

Redfern still ranks well towards the top-end in Sydney per capita for home break-ins, drug offenses, disorderly conduct, domestic violence and many other important crime indicators straight from the NSW police crime stats; it’s one thing to be progressive, but it’s another entirely to deny reality.

There are countless signs attempting to reinforce its “Alcohol-Free Zones”, and there are frequently displays of aggression, shouting and other unnecessary acts against random people for no real reason.

For families, as a result Redfern is a bit of a mixed bag and a hard sell. It’s got several options for schools within its catchment area and is incredibly convenient, but also not really the type of place you’d want your kids frequently walking home by themselves.

For pets, Redfern Park and its couple of other little reserves are adequate, but they don’t have dedicated off-leash areas and it’s a bit random and chaotic for animals as a result.

The other obvious issue for living in Redfern is price. It’s no longer a bargain-bin place to capitalise on a bad reputation, scoop up property and sell for a million dollars profit down the track.

In the present day, there’s not too much difference in price from Surry Hills, although it’s still possible to save yourself a couple of hundred thousand dollars due to Redfern’s lesser “brand-name” recognition when buying a home.

“High-earning hipsters, dog-walking same-sex couples, junkies, doctors & bankers… this is Redfern in a nutshell…”

Redfern only has a few high-density (non-public) apartment blocks so its supply is not massive, either. These are fast approaching a million dollars on average, as they’re mostly newer and higher-end.

Medians for Redfern’s non-apartment housing sit at around $1.9 million; that’s still around $300,000 less than Surry Hills and nothing to sneeze at in theory, but still a pretty price to pay for a place with such a handful of obvious glaring issues unless you’re the specific type of person who can take full advantage of what the suburb offers.

The Verdict

Redfern’s such an eclectic suburb that it’s going to be totally alienating for some people, and entirely quirky and appealing for others. Some mix of your social views, life stage, career, and family demographics will all play a role in living here perhaps moreso than many other suburbs across Sydney.

Its convenience, upbeat and active vibe and feeling like really being a part of modern-day “SYDNEY” Sydney are all hard to deny. It’s a decent summary of the good and bad of the city all in one little burb. If you’re the type who wants to be out and about and “experiencing” Sydney all the time – eating, drinking, socialising, biking, getting yelled at by weirdos, meditating, whatever – then Redfern’s energy and vibe will no doubt appeal.

For those who want a good night’s sleep, a nice, clean, safe and well-kept environment while only encountering droll, white-collar individuals, Redfern’s still not quite there yet & this is likely not the place for you. It’s thus ironically best suited to the younger crowd, who probably won’t be able to afford living here other than in a share house.

Progressive, plant-based food stores with vegan alternatives sit alongside Taoist temples, while junkies drop syringes in back streets and wealthy gay couples walk their pugs, while the wail of sirens drone in the background.

Gorgeous, painstakingly-maintained terrace homes draped in autumn leaves sit adjacent to parks with dumped trolleys, while “old man shouting at cloud” happens in real life nearby.

Indigenous political slogans hang protestingly in some windows, while the daily price of avocado on toast and gluten-free lattes are proclaimed in others.

This is Redfern, for good and bad. Whether it’s for you, and whether your wallet’s deep enough to enjoy it, is entirely up to you.