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Living in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia

travoholic | Sep 10, 2009 |

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Located across the SydneyHarbourBridge on the NorthShore ten kilometers north of Sydney's CBD, Chatswood is a major commercial hub for the area. It is a multicultural area and is fast becoming one of the more expensive areas to live in Sydney, but with good reason.

Chatswood is a Sydney suburb with lots of housing options. Living in Chatswood, you could find yourself in one of the high level luxury apartments that surround

Victoria Avenue

, the main street in the area. Many come equipped with gyms, swimming pools and private parks and they have the price to match the perks. On the other side of the station towards

Pacific Highway

are six or seven level apartments with no recreational facilities, but still nice. The rest of the area is covered by family houses and there are no hotels or hostels in the area for new arrivals. Chatswood has a high Asian population including Cantonese and Koreans. There are many cultural centers in the area catering to these communities.

There are small parks surrounding the train stations that are decent but not wonderful. Sydney life is all about the pub and if you are looking for a place to have a beer, there are a few pubs in the heart of the commercial district and the RSL Club located next to the station is popular with the oldies for its daily lunch specials. A Spring Festival is held each year to celebrate the diverse culture that is located in the area.

There are two major shopping malls in Chatswood: Westfield and Chatswood Chase. Both have the typical international brand stores as well as supermarkets, cinemas, restaurants and cafes. Chatswood Plaza, Victoria Plaza, and the Mandarin Centre are three malls that house mostly businesses aimed at the Asian market including grocery stores selling Asian foods. The larger shopping malls are usually more expensive that the smaller, Asian-influenced ones for things like coffee.

Because of the area's international residents, Chatswood has a huge choice for cuisine. You can find sushi places, ramen, noodle shops, Mongolian BBQ, Chinese restaurants, tea bars, Korean BBQs and Italian restaurants among other things. The food courts in the shopping malls also have your typical fast food selection.

Chatswood's station has recently been renovated and is now the main interchange station of the North Shore Line. It only takes about 20 to 25 minutes to get to Sydney's Central Business District by train and service is very frequent. Buses are also an option with routes travelling to Manly, the CBD and many other suburbs. Chatswood has a good transportation network which makes getting around Sydney easy and affordable.

Chatswood is a safe, clean area of Sydney and a good choice for people who can afford the high rent here.