Sydney - An Introduction

Sydney, with a population of over four million people, is Australia's largest city. It's fair to say that it's also Australia's best known city and, by virtue of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Sydney is also Australia's most iconic city.


Sydney enjoys a warm climate and revels in the lifestyle choices that go with good weather in a world-class, multicultural city.

Sydney also suffers from some of the disadvantages of large cities such as traffic jams and frustrations with public transport. It is probably the worst of Australia's cities to get around.

Sydney attracts more immigrants than any other Australian city. Large numbers of relocating Australians are also drawn by career opportunities in Sydney's dynamic economy.

In quality of life studies, Australia's large cities rate very favourably compared with cities elsewhere. As you might expect, Sydney rates very well too but its overall score is lower than it might be because crime rates are similar to London's and New York's. Fortunately, not all areas in Sydney have high crime and there are plenty of areas with low crime rates.

Some families with children have found other cities suits them better than Sydney does. Despite this many migrants with families are happy to have settled in Sydney.

If you are single or a couple and you want to live in a 24 hour, exhilarating city, Sydney is almost certainly your best choice of Australian cities.

Four in ten of Sydney's residents are migrants.

British people are the biggest immigrant group in Sydney, and make up 5 percent of the city's population.

The next most populous groups are Chinese (two percent), New Zealanders (two percent), Vietnamese (one percent), Lebanese (one percent), South Africans (one percent) and Italian (one percent).

Numerous other nationalities, such as people originating in Greece, Hong Kong, South Korea, The Philippines and India contribute to Sydney's population. Aboriginal Australians make up one percent of Sydney's population. Around eleven percent of Sydney's population is Asian and three percent come from the Middle East or North African.

In addition to natural population growth, forty thousand newcomers arrive each year in Sydney necessitating the construction of 15,000 new homes per annum.

Sydneysiders mentally divide their city into five parts as follows:

North Sydney

House prices in North Sydney are high and in general the people are financially well off.

Most of the properties in Lower North Sydey (close to the Harbour Bridge) are flats or apartments. If you want to buy a house here, rather than an apartment, the average house price in the lower north of Sydney is around $1 million.

Moving further north, average house prices are lower. For the Northern Beaches the average house price is $850,000 although, again, apartments (which make up around half of properties) are cheaper. The main migrant groups are British and New Zealanders and crime rates are lower than the Sydney average.

The price of a house on the upper North Shore is cheaper again, around $630,000. The main migrant groups are from the UK and Hong Kong or China. Around half of the houses are detached.

Farther from the city, there are more Australian born people than average for Sydney and more than three quarters of houses are detached.

Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average, particularly in suburbs farther from the city.

Inner West Sydney

In Inner West Sydney the average house price is $630,000. Most properties are apartments or are attached house within a row. Inner West Sydney has more Australian born residents than average for the city. British and New Zealanders are the biggest migrant groups. Crime rates in most Inner West areas above average or average.

Western Sydney

The average price for a house in Western Sydney is $370,000. Western Sydney sprawls over a very large area and makes up the largest part of metropolitan Sydney. The number of Australian born residents here is lower than average for Sydney. The main migrant group depends on the location in Western Sydney. For example it might be Vietnamese, Filipino or Lebanese. Crime rates here tend to be above average.

South Sydney / Sutherland

Almost three quarters of houses are separate, detached houses and the average price of a house is $570,000. Sutherlandshire has good rail links into the central city, taking around 35 - 45 minutes. Over 80 percent of Sutherlandshire's residents are Australian born, the highest proportion of Australian born people in of Sydney's regions. The main migrant groups are British and New Zealanders. Crime rates are lower than the Sydney average.

East Sydney

In Sydney City and East, the average house price is $890,000. Most properties are apartments or attached houses forming part of a row. A high proportion of property is rented in this part of the city.

The ratio of Australian born residents in this region is around average for Sydney and British and New Zealanders are the biggest migrant groups. Crime rates are around average for Sydney.