Bankstown, NSW 2200

Bankstown is extremely multicultural, with a huge range of languages spoken in this suburb. There is plenty of great public transport, cafes and much more.
Thanks!
Steve Mac | House and Land Expert

slowly but surely, Bankstown is is growing and becoming a nicer area, great for public transport and shopping centre in middle of Bankstown.

Bankstown is an area you want live in, it has everything you need in a suburb, hospitals, transport, restaurants of different types of food, parks and lots of shops.

Bankstown is a fantastic central location, there are plenty of public transport options (many bus routes) and a train station. The major shopping centre, Bankstown central, has a huge variety of shops including a Myer, Kmart and Big W, there is also a Hoyts cinema nearby. It’s a very multicultural area and boasts some standout restaurants offering international cuisines. If you are looking for nightlife, Bankstown sports club offers plenty of restaurants and entertainment and has just opened a new rooftop bar with city views. There are also lots of schools and places of worship nearby. It is roughly 30 min drive to the city or the closest beach or even Parramatta/MacArthur regions.

Took 30 minutes to the city from where I am. Can't complain.

Fresh meat and veggies at Saigon place, tasty Asian and middle eastern restaurants

Very convenient for work, M5 to city and eastern suburbs, 20 mins to Liverpool and Parramatta, 15 mins to Strathfield

Lived in Bankstown for 5 years and has seen it improve significantly from 2011 to now. There are a lot of good infrastructure projects. General population is getting better and expect most bad people will be out of there in 5 years. Western Sydney University is building a new campus. New Hospital, the Metro will be built, more shops along Chapel Road and a new Shopping Centre has also been proposed. There are a lot of room for further improvements.

I’m from Melbourne but have to say I love bankstown the food is fantastic and going to to cabra bowling. Club really makes me like I’m at home

Whilst working in bankstown for 3 years as welll as growing up in the area from a young child alot has changed from the days of Bankstown square to now Centro shopping centre.
Bankstown is a quite large area, with lots of character, crime is high however if you stay away from it you have nothing to be too concerned about.
China town in bankstown is interesting, you will find all sorts of different and interesting things if you are brave enough to explore it.
Lots of great vietnamese restaurants, cafes, and Bankstown sports club which is fantastic and local.
Located close to public transport schools and university.

I’ve lived here for 7 years now. Neighbors are great, shops convenient and diverse, transport links are great. People have negative perceptions that aren’t based on reality- I was one of those people too a while back so I get it, and it’s mostly based on racism tbh and a perception that it’s full of ‘Arabs’. But it’s quite a nice area with renovated library, parks and the area generally being quite large and diverse.

It’s very multicultural- I have mostly Chinese neighbors and one Lebanese family and I’m not Lebanese but find most of them to be pretty decent people. Of course you get the exception but no more than any other suburb. There’s a Greek, (mostly older crew) Chinese, Vietnamese, Lebanese majority I would say but there’s been a lot more Subcontinent (Indian/ Pakistan/ bangaledesh) movement that reflects Sydney’s general demographic.

The council here is one of the best in the state and have won several awards it’s an area that isn’t perfect but really is NO where as terrible as some of the commenters have made it seem and I’ve lived in Canterbury, Campsie, Kingsgrove and Newtown and O/S and find the amenities here better than all and the general population better as they are more friendly and and if your comparing..Newtown and the inner west in general has lots of ‘undesirables’..ie junkies/ housos..

Visit the area and try it with your eyes opens. Bankstown sports is a great place to pop by for lunch and walk around, The Vietnamese shops are handy and food prices reasonable. There are two organic health shops amongst a heap of other types of stores, lots of gyms, a cinema etc and people are pretty approachable.

All in all it’s a great little pocket that has a mix of some of the best bits of Sydney. I’d say anywhere in a Sydney have your wits about you but I haven’t heard of robberies etc happen to anyone I know..

Pros
People are friendly, diverse, nice facilities and amenities
Close to some great private schools

Cons
Parking can be a pain..
Public Schools seem to be pretty crowded..
Trains need to be better connected as it’s a hub
The negative perception it’s proving hard to shake

Interesting
Human Nature grew up around here (Bankstown council though not Btown itself)
And Ex Prime minister Paul Keating is from here
Amongst other notable Australians

Parts of Bankstown seem to have different personalities if your will..it’s a big council!

IMPORTANT! the council is one of the biggest in NSW if not biggest and most populace (after merger) so keep that in mind when listening to ‘crime’ statistics- a bigger area that covers a larger population will always seem ‘worse’ then a small council with a sparse population..

We just bought a new house and moved to this area from Rockdale in September last year.

We read many reviews and heard many things about Bankstown that made us worried.

However, we couldn't afford to buy a house in our budget anywhere we looked for so it's still close to the city by trains and the house was nice.
Finally, we decided.

It's been 6 months since we moved in so far so good. We are getting used to it.

Bankstown is a quite large area, got a lot of characters. In the majority of demographic seems two communities of Arabic and Vietnamese and some others.

We are located just between Revesby and Bankstown so luckily to use two train stations.
It takes only 20 minutes from Revesby station to the city by express.

A lot of cheap grocers and nice Vietnamese restaurants to choose from.

Definitely, more buses need to go to Revesby station and add more commuter car parking near the station would be a key point to give value to this area.

Also, if we can have nearby a big nice public aquatic centre would be good too! Hopefully, it gets better cleaner streets and improved the buses.

Have lived here for a couple of years, and like any major suburb in Sydney it has its good & bad sides. Property prices are soaring, If you're looking to rent, there is a large selection of units / houses in the area.
It's a highly multicultural area & most people live harmoniously side by side. Australian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian & African make up the predominate population. This also means there is a great choice of international food & shopping in the area.
Medical facilities are plentiful & there is the local hospital available. There are some of the best schools in Sydney located around the Bankstown Area.

Bankstown is a fantastic suburb to live in as it is surrounded by amenities that'll suit any type of resident. Having lived in the Bankstown area my entire life and being born in Bankstown Hospital I have seen the area evolve into the dynamic city it is today. I would recommend anyone buy or rent in Bankstown. Having several properties for sale in Bankstown and many in the area my team and I are always happy to answer any questions you may have about the area.

Pros:
- Large shopping centre with significant development planned.
- Strong sense of community and the local council is one of the most active in Sydney.
- Great access to public transport either with trains or by bus.
- Great access to Sydney's road network
- Nice shops and cafes around the train station. Delicious Vietnamese and Lebanese food can be had for very affordable prices around Bankstown.
- House and land value potential for current residents and future investors due to the new Sydney Metro

Cons:
- As with many suburbs in Western Sydney, crime is an issue. However, it is not as bad as people make it to be. 99% of people living here will have no problem.
- Some of parts of Bankstown looks quite worn down particularly near the train station and urban renewal is needed
- Roads can get a bit hectic during peak hour

Bankstown has good shopping centres and a new large plaza is going to be built at the end of 2013.
But there has been problems about how safe it is. Gunshots, gang fights, noisy teens at night are all a bad factor that the suburb Bankstown has. I've lived in Bankstown for 3 years and i ve seen all the trouble.

I Know everyone has a different opinion, Even about life it all depends how you look at it either glass is half full or empty. Fact is if something look, smell and taste like acts like something good chances are it will be likewise. All I want to say is that this place is beautiful and you can have every thing you wish for and no matter how you look at it from Business, Investment, Cost of living, Everyday living, life style it is great place to live in. if some one looks for peace they will find it and if looks for trouble they will find it no matter where they are. There is no point to prove wrong or right it is all about life experience. Love you all guys….

Bankstown is a Central and most affordable place to live in style. i have lived in the area for a long time and will never make a change. Property investment has a great returns and in future i dont think you will be able find the same value. it has a great growth potential. 5-10 years time whe you will look back you will see the change and growth. it is the place to be.

A great place to live. Been there for 5 years and obviously listened to all the stereotypical hype. People generally do not cause a disturbance, crime does not seem as bad as we are lead to believe. All fast food KFC, Hungry Jacks, Maccas, Subway, Oporto, Nandos, Habibs etc and lot of Arabic and Asian Cuisine within a close vicinity.. Shopping centre does the job, great for no fuss parking and free unmetered street parking which is rare these days. Walking distance to the station, M5 close for the city, central position if you do have family and friends that live both west and in the inner city suburbs... Traffic has increased over the years but if you know the area you will know how to avoid it like myself. Bankstown Sports Club is a great looking club with some good food and people. Streets are pretty clean with the council looking after more than some others.. Multicultural community with most doing the right thing. Bankstown could do with a more central approach to its restaurants and there are no nightclubs/bars in the area unlike Parramatta as a comparison....

Truly multicultural and people are mostly well behaved. Big shopping center (Centro) where you will get every thing and every service. Public transport also not bed. Close to M5. I like the place a to live.

I am glad that finally I could bought a property in Bankstown. The price of 2Br Unit in Bankstown is still affordable. You can shop your groceries at reasonable price. People are commonly well behaved. I heard some bad impression about the Bankstown but has not face anything so far. This is my very personal observation but I believe some bad people lives everywhere. They don’t have any race or religion. I found my neighbors are very peaceful. We are happy to help each other. I recommend Bankstown to young couples for their first start to the real-estate market

We bought a unit here a year and a half ago and it was the BEST move we ever made. We bought this massive unit for a bargain as it had a young family with kids previously living here and was in less than pristine condition; but after painting and new blinds it now looks a million bucks! As far as crime goes, we have not had one single worry. When I lived at Willoughby and Miranda and Drummoyne, mine and my partners car were vandalised/broken into. But not here at Bankstown! We have a great mix of nationalities here and there is always someone at home watching the building :)

Traffic wise; we are close to the M5, and also Major Routes 3 & 6. I travel to Alexandria every day for work and take the back streets through Roselands, Kingsgrove, Earlwood and Tempe and it rarely takes me any longer than 50 mins (on a bad day), or 30 on a good day :)

Noise wise, we live on Chapel Rd South, so there is a fair bit of traffic noise, but after a while you tune that out. Sirens are the major noise contributor and thats a couple of times a day. But this is due to all the major services being so close (Police/Ambo/Fire/Hospital) so really a trade off for being so centralised.

In my opinion; the proximity to awesome food and shopping outlets (Centro Bankstown and also Roselands) and also positioning within Sydney. Geographically, its pretty much smack bang in the middle. So wherever you work/play, its no more than an hour or so away.

One of my favourite places to live and would recommend it to anyone looking to get themselves a bargain and enter the real estate market!

Dirty, shabby, impoverished. This is how my mother described Newtown, St Peter's and Erskinville where I grew up. She hated the area. Her single fronted terrace house recently resold for $1.2 million. We sold it for $364,000 ten years ago. She finally 'got out' and moved 'up the coast'. What my mother saw as a dangerous place, full of ethnic people with their smelly food has turned into the mecca that the inner city area is today. Fastforward ten years and where do I live - you got it - right in the middle of Sydney - Bankstown. Ten minutes from the M5, three minutes from Bankstown Square, 5 minutes from two train stations in a quiet leafy street with a mix of families with - horror of horror - little children playing in the street. The hooligans are here, the dirt and the sabbiness my mother previously described is here in parts. The best thing is its 10 mnitues to Rhodes, Menai and the Olympic Stadium. Talk about infrastructure. I've got my eye on a house (an old shabby dirty smelly one) on a 550sq m block in a quiet tree lined street. It passed in last Saturday for $480,000 (vendor's bid) the people actually only bid $400,000. I'm in negotiation. Tonight my wife and I are deciding to go Vietnamese, Thai, Lebanese, Greek or Ethiopian. I recommend the Ethiopian in Bankstown - different but to die for. The inner city was discovered because it had cheap accomodation, was eclectic, quirky, dirty, and full of hooligans. It has good transport was very multicultural and had access. You can't buy a postage stamp there now for under a million. Enter Bankstown. This area is so similar. I can see the students from Western Sydney Uni building up. The access to empoyment and the next 'trendy' area developing. I'm buying up. Where else in Sydney can you get a near new 2 beddr unit for $320,000 and rent it out for $350 a week???????? They say the place will never change - it will show no capital gain. Well - my answer is - tell that to the other kids who grew up in Erskinville and Redfern! Bankstown has the lot. In years to come you will see. Think of any other area in Sydney with the opportunities Bankstown has - and - its areally nice place to live. You learn so much about yourself - especially how not to be a myopic racist. March 2012 update from my above june 2010 submission above - I did buy!!!!! A three bed unit, ensuite, double garage in a leafy street- $319,000 and the rent - current $430 going up to $450 in a few months. That's a 7.3% return this year - not taking into account any capital gain after I installed new carpet, blinds, cooktop, oven and a paint. extra outlay $4300. Do the maths.............. and there are many more....

Bankstown has everything , food, culture and people. It is the best combination, and has everything you need in a suburb, hospitals, transport and lots and lots of shops. Businesses often do well in bankstown as well, because of the population and the people here like to enjoy their lives.

Whenever someone mentioned Bankstown, I used to cringe. I always thought that Bankstown is full of gangsters and hooligans and it is one of the most dangerous suburbs in Sydney until I visited the place a year ago. That day, my fears of Bankstown vanished.

Bankstown is just like any other normal suburb in Sydney. It is approximately thirty to forty minutes' drive away from Sydney city and there is a train station that services this suburb. It has a mall that is home to Myer and other brand names, it has health services conveniently located within the heart of the suburb and many other small businesses, cafes and resturants. Bankstown is also famous for its Vietnamese Beef noodle soup (Pho-An) and Lebanese restaurants. Additionally, Pho-An has been featured in SBS's "Food Safari" program and many food blogs have rated this restuarant. Often, while enroute to the airport, my partner likes dropping by Bankstown for a Vietnamese pork roll. This suburb is definitely not as scary as what the media makes it out to be.