Lidcombe Suburb Review

Eclectic suburb home to excellent amenities caters for both the high and low ends of town.

Summary: One of the most well-equipped suburbs in all of Sydney, Lidcombe is home to an immense amount of variety in multiple forms – housing, businesses, restaurants, streetscapes, and even cultures. It’s one of the city’s best hubs for Korean and mixed international dining, while lacking for almost no single amenity; if there’s a shop or service you’re looking for – both large and small – Lidcombe likely has it. There’s simply a ton to potentially do here.

Its location sits in a convenient position for accessing both Sydney’s east and west, while its public transport connections see a high volume of services in either direction as well. This is a busy suburb that can be noisy and a little hectic, and its major road arteries experience some eye-watering traffic, but it also contains a large range of different “pockets” of living that can suit a wide variety of people of different budget levels and life situations – while being pretty reasonable value and quite safe, too.

Key stats

While it’s technically possible to give many suburbs in Sydney the “something for everyone” label, Lidcombe fits the definition even better than most. Physically, Lidcombe is a big suburb, but even relative to its size it’s still home to a huge array of sheer stuff packed in that covers pretty much all aspects of daily life – and then some.

It’s not the prettiest suburb in the world, however its diverse layout means that it does have several individual ‘pockets’ of scenic areas that act as self-contained bits of beauty dotted throughout. Meanwhile, its huge level of convenience in terms of both amenities and access more than balance this out.

Lidcombe sits in a position in central Sydney that’s skewed a little more towards Parramatta, but is still centrally-aligned enough to allow for relatively quick trips into the Sydney CBD as well. Its accessibility and connectivity as a suburb is one of its greatest strengths.

This is due not only to Lidcombe’s physical location, but its public transport options and major arterial roads located immediately nearby as well. Lidcombe’s train station serves as one of the more major train interchanges, and sees a high frequency of services that can see you in either Parramatta in about 15 minutes, or through to the city in around 25.

Getting to other places like the northern working hubs is a little more awkward and requires some train-hopping for transfers, but is also doable.

Bus services here are also extensive, with a huge array of stops sprinkled throughout its range of mixed residential developments, and a diverse range of routes that can take you places as far as Cronulla depending on your level of patience.

Its road connectivity should also – in theory – be a major strength, but that doesn’t quite play out in reality.

While main roads (including the A6) run either through or directly alongside Lidcombe and provide straightforward routes to various key parts of Sydney in every direction, bumper-to-bumper traffic is a frequent problem due to high truck and car volume.

The Great Western Highway/Parramatta Road and onward to other problematic sections like Homebush Bay Road all form parts of the Lidcombe commuting experience, making for painful, road-rage filled car journeys at the best of times.

If there’s any suburb where it’s desirable to be able to get by with only public transport, Lidcombe is up there. Other internal roads within Lidcombe itself don’t fare half as bad, with long enough empty stretches of road in some areas to justify speed bumps just to keep the max speeds of drivers down.

Lack of parking can also be an issue, particularly in its main retail and dining strips.

Lidcombe’s other main calling card is its amenities – and what a calling card it is. Lidcombe boasts an incredibly wide range of goods and services both large and small, which are fairly evenly distributed throughout the suburb as well.

This starts with the main roads which branch out from its train station, and carries on all the way to the suburb’s borders and even on to the areas immediately surrounding Lidcombe itself.

Both John and Joseph Streets which dissect most of the suburb and fan out from the station on either side are absolutely packed with dining and services of all kinds.

Lidcombe has a reputation for providing some of the best Korean dining in the city, and it definitely does that in spades; however that is only the tip of the iceberg here.

Multiple medical centres and chemists, cafes, takeaway joints, Asian grocery stores, dental, libraries, newsagents, other miscellaneous foreign cuisines, even the odd karaoke joint – Lidcombe ticks almost every box along these streets. Its Korean BBQ joints are a standout, while its Vietnamese community also has a presence with a couple of noodle houses/bars.

It’s not merely a suburb where things die off of an evening, either. Streetside, “alfresco” type dining is popular here with the buzz of conversation and a highly social aspect, while its trio of pubs/hotels in the Railway, Royal Oak, and Lidcombe Hotels provide multiple venues for both decent pub food, a drink, and some actual nightlife.

The Dooleys Club which occupies a fair chunk of the strip also adds in yet more dining and activities; combine all of these with nearby bowls clubs, and together and you’ve got one of the more robust station-adjacent spots of any suburb in Sydney.

This extends further to Lidcombe’s array of bigger-box retailers as well. It’s one of the rare suburbs in Sydney to be home to a massive Costco for almost every kind of daily good imaginable, while other large outlet-type stores in its northern area such as Bunnings, Aldi, Spotlight and more also have a presence here.

As if this wasn’t enough, Lidcombe Shopping Centre also ranks as one of the better-equipped shopping centres the city has to offer as well. It’s home to major supermarket brands, a Kmart, food court and much more in terms of dining, pets and vets… the list goes on.

Lidcombe’s service industry isn’t limited to mere dining or shopping, either. Significant parts of the suburb are taken up by warehouse and factory-type businesses (including some nationally-recognised brands), as well as other manufacturing and industrial companies.

Its Business Park provides more opportunities for employment, giving the opportunity to both live and work within Lidcombe itself while being able to skip a painful commute.

Activity-wise, its Aquatic Centre provides both fun for kids and exercise for adults, the Reading Cinemas offer moviegoing opportunities, there are jump centres for children, and its ovals and sporting amenities are pretty complete as well.

As if that weren’t enough, Lidcombe also sits right alongside the grounds of the Sydney Olympic Park complex, with all its associated events and spectator sports a mere stone’s throw away.

Along with the mix of car dealers, auto mechanics and more along the highway, you should never be bored or have to travel too far for a service in and around Lidcombe, that’s for sure.

All of these goings-on in Lidcombe combine to make it a little hectic and noisy in spots – particularly due to its high amount of ongoing construction taking place in many spots throughout the suburb. However, there’s really two “types” of areas to the suburb where this both applies, and does not.

“Regular Lidcombe” – which refers to its main streets and slices of standard residential – is a little noisy and unkempt in parts, with the odd handful of shopping trolleys strewn about its main streets, overgrown nature strips and the occasional neglected house, however various pockets of Lidcombe – let’s call them “Estate Lidcombe” have been developed quite separately and at different stages.

These self-contained housing communities, which range from substantial batches of townhouses to more higher-end residential communities are like mini-estates that are quite upmarket.

There’s several of them dotted throughout the suburb, and they’re generally much better maintained and groomed, with quality parks, fountains and the occasional palm tree to diversify the scenery. They also help diversify its housing profile, while packing more population into mid-density homes.

These areas add a prettier, natural aspect to Lidcombe, making what could otherwise be a fairly ugly and industrial suburb more balanced overall.

One of the most unexpected slices of Lidcombe is the unusually pretty and charming Brooks Circuit Park, with its encircling Village Green populated by heritage houses.

The complex is historic, photogenic, and one of the most unique spots in Sydney.

Lidcombe also does green spaces and parks like this in general quite well. A massive chunk of the suburb is bordered by the enormous Rookwood Cemetery, which might sound morbid but is actually highly pretty and a fascinating place itself.

It’s the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and home to such an interesting blend of memorials, cultures and religions – along with immaculately-kept grounds – that it’s worth a visit even for those not in mourning.

Elsewhere, its other parks range from average to good; Lidcombe Remembrance Park is a smallish yet nice little groomed commemorative Park with playground and memorial to our veterans.

Central Park among its southern housing estate is a long, narrow elongated space with palm trees, play equipment and more; and Phillips Park is a large and roomy open space with multiple playgrounds, sporting facilities, picnic tables and more that’s more functional than it is pretty.

It’s a decent mix of public spaces that are fairly well-kept and provide space for kids and pets, without being what you’d call “beautiful”.

For families, Lidcombe is adequate and offers a decent range of choice. Its array of activities are good for keeping the kids entertained, while it’s home to several options for Catholic and standard public schools, childcare services and the like.

Expand this to nearby Burwood, Strathfield and other neighbouring suburbs, and the options expand exponentially as well.

Lidcombe is also fairly safe from a crime perspective. It ranks above-average for safety, and is reasonably safe in general although it does have some occasional issues – particularly in the areas immediately surrounding its station, and closer towards its border with Auburn. Its crime rate clocks in at 0.12% per capita, which is slightly above middle-of-the-pack for Sydney’s suburbs.

Education-wise, Lidcombe is also home to campuses for both TAFE NSW and the University of Sydney, making for a liveable and reasonably affordable place to live for those studying as well.

For living, Lidcombe’s streetscape is just as much of a varied, mixed bag as everything else it has to offer.

It’s home to a massive amount of housing diversity, ranging from its increasing number of high-density apartment blocks immediately on each side of its train station, to the higher-end, upmarket freestanding homes in its housing communities, and everything in between.

Its large supply of townhouses is a standout, and allows for a pretty good compromise between price and living space for those who may not want an apartment, but not want to or can’t spend the extra cash on a full-blown house as well.

It likewise has a good mix of old and new freestanding homes, with plenty of older, original fibro houses as well as strips with impressive and newer double-story builds.

Several blocks of older red-brick units round out all sides of the pricing spectrum and combine with Lidcombe’s fairly reasonable overall prices for its location to make for quite a good value suburb overall.

Median house prices for Lidcombe at time of writing over right around the $1 million mark, although this includes a mix of both its older homes on bigger blocks with more tightly-packed homes within its complexes at the same time.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a suburb with more available at your fingertips than Lidcombe without paying twice the price for a home.”

Older fibro homes on further back streets can significantly dip under this price as well; time things right and it’s a suburb where it’s still actually possible to secure a “bargain” by Sydney standards.

Its increased apartment supply likewise makes for a pretty good spot to rent, with $450 to $500 per week allowing you to nab a 2 bedder very close to the station.

The Verdict

Lidcombe’s definitely one for those who generally don’t mind a busier pace of life, but it’s also got enough self-contained sections to cater to families who want access to its amenities while getting a bit more peace and quiet as well.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a suburb with more available at your fingertips than Lidcombe without paying twice the price for a home, and while it sacrifices some beauty and natural aspects in return, it’s also not entirely an industrial or warehousing wasteland due to its quality green spaces and decent mix of streetscapes.

Lidcombe offers a diverse and interesting international dining scene without also compromising on “cafe culture” like some other foreign-centric Sydney suburbs, and its immense array of shops, outlets, entertainment options and sporting facilities within and nearby is excellent.

Its public transport is also great, while its traffic situation is definitely not; drivers prone to road rage won’t be having fun here, so if you can get by via public transport then all the better.

There’s enough of a range of housing types for each of uni students, families, and professionals to be able to select something that suits their budget, and if things like waterfront views or immediate access to beaches aren’t a major concern then you could do far worse than Lidcombe for your money.

It boasts one of the best price-versus-amenity-versus-location ratios in Sydney, is more than safe enough, and is worth considering for its sheer practicality if nothing else.