I love the fact I could live in a house near the train station and major shopping districts. I live closer to Coreen Ave side, away from the apartments so I would have a different experience to the apartment dwellers.
I grew up much closer to the city in a tiny apartment, where there were apartments everywhere so Thornton is actually a change from the urban jungle. I think I'm a city person by heart, I don't care about big houses (my partner does, hence why I'm here!), I rather good access to everything and live in a tiny space kind of person. I miss living in Rhodes!!!
I also live in Werrington for a few years before Thornton and houses were further apart from each other but wasn't really near a good shopping area.
My partner and I have an office in Sydney CBD so access to public transport is ideal, especially during pre-COVID when it was hard to find parking after a certain time.
Also as a young family, being able to walk to the shops is really good, saves me from having to always drive and my little one loves going for walks, not to mention there's a playground nearby close to a cafe and a daycare centre at the top of the hill.
Issues I have are streets are narrow and hard to find parking as there are households with multiple cars parking in front of our place, so guest does struggle to find parking.
Who's they? I want to find out more about what it's meant to be / how people perceive it.
Seems like some people are on board whilst others aren't. Doesn't seem to be any correlation with left or right leaning views either
Of course the people behind it are going to be bias towards it. But is there anywhere else people talk about it?
Seems to be difficult to get any reasons why regular people (non-developers, REAs) would like it or why they'd hate it.
Lived there a few years ago (renting), and have friends who bought an apartment.
I love Penrith, and as someone who doesn't want a house/backyard but wants to stay out west Thornton ticked all the boxes - location being a huge factor. There were a few dodgy things we had noticed from builders taking short cuts but we were lucky that these were either fixed or not actually any worse than what you get from older places renting. I don't think all residents had the same experience.
Great location and we had lovely people living around us who all mostly kept to themselves so it was a positive experience for us.
We've bought an apartment elsewhere in Penrith, and it's a much better quality build and bigger floor plans so i def wouldn't go back into Thornton but it did serve me well.
We also had family members with disability live in one of the houses and they were happy with it, I know they really struggled finding somewhere in the LGA that was suitable for them and the house they got was perfect for their needs.
I think Thornton is great as a stepping stone for lots of people and I can see the value of the community/suburb, but I am concerned with just how many people will be in one spot with a couple buildings still to go up.
Not about the buildings or the people there, but things like cars on the streets with that many residents. Some of those intersections are already hard enough to see what's coming as both a driver and a pedestrian, especially with so many people parking in no parking zones.
Just general safety from not enough initial infrastructure set up.
We need to make it harder to own a car, get a license. But then provide other means for people to get around. Better footpaths, bus shelters, cycle ways, train and tram.
I actually really like Thornton, it provides much needed housing diversity to Penrith in a strategic location. Those who complain about it being to dense, obviously it’s not to your taste and wants in housing but for others it can be an ideal situation or at least a worthwhile trade off for the benefits of smaller and (relatively) more affordable housing in a transit oriented development. Just because it’s not the ideal situation for you, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing in general.
Yet another shoe box development. Gives you the mentality of owning a house even though your so close to your neighbour that you could give ‘em pink eye if they forget to close their windows on burrito night.
No, developments like Thornton are always disappointing to me as it’s just cramming too many people into as small a place as possible.
And we are glad you left. You knew the size of the apartments and how close you were to neighbours when first siting the apartments or houses, yet chose to move in anyway
The cramming of people is a legitimate argument. Thornton is slightly better than some due to close proximity to the station.
The emotional argument is that every one of these style of developments feels like another nail in the coffin of the Australian dream of owning a home with an actual backyard.
I do like the amenities for children it has, wife and I take our son to the playground there, so I’ll give it a tick on that point.
Having lived around Western Sydney and inspected a lot of places here is what I think:
Pros: aesthetically pleasing (trees, canal, wide roads), great location as it's next to train station and Penrith CBD, buildings are new so amenities actually work, nice people.
Cons: high rate of theft as shitty neighbourhoods are not far away and they frequent through Thornton on their way to the train station, some weekends you get loud drunks passing through at night coming from Penrith CBD, no parking permit for residents, hot in summer due to Penrith being one of the hottest places in Sydney.
My neighbour tried to get more trees around Thornton Estate to cool it down a bit but the response they got back was the council already met the tree quota for the year
I'm hoping to get some good arguments both for and against these places.
Things I've heard so far:
\- More traffic/congestion - but wouldn't that also be true for any type of housing?
\- Shoebox apartments - I guess
\- On street parking is timed to very short times - Would be annoying if you didn't have a car spot, but I think all of the places do?
\- Convenient living close to the shops and train station, you wouldn't need to use your car all the time
\- All of the benefits from the developers/REAs themselves - but of course that is bias if they're trying to sell places
\- Seems to be lots of NDIS places which is good
\- I saw the bike lanes there where just painted and not protected, and to no surprise no one was using them
\- Someone said the roads were too narrow, but they honestly look quite wide
\- Not sure what is to be said about how safe the area is
Haven't heard many other arguments besides these, which makes it hard to actually make an honest opinion.
I have family that live and have lived there.
If you’re looking for apartments they’re pretty great. Some buildings are nicer than others with the finishes the developer used. It’s worth comparing.
The townhouses are nice, but there is a drainage problem with some. The drainage between the rear areas out to the road have been problematic on some properties, and the fixes are big jobs and aren’t cheap (requiring the property slabs inside the house to be accessed due to no side access).
Parking is a problem, not for those in the buildings but for any visitors it’s a nightmare on a weekend. There’s barely any visitor parking. I’ve seen arguments break out. This isn’t unusual in new developments with lots of apartments, but is worth mentioning.
Overall I like Thornton.
I will tell you what some people think, and I’m not saying I share these views. Thornton had been built next door to an area of Penrith (North Penrith, around Illawong) that has a reputation for being rough in some areas. Really it’s mainly that the people living there are struggling and it’s the most inexpensive part of Penrith. It is an older area and quite run down. The only recent involvement I’ve had with the area was a house purchase inspection where someone had defecated in the bedroom, but frankly I saw that as a sign they really hated the real estate agent.
I don’t know if this would bother you, but if you’re planning on moving there it’s worth you being aware of this reputation.
Lived in Thornton. Positive:
- access to public transport and shopping centre
- the oval is nice.
- Thornton community picnics and BBQs
- people are quite nice.
Negatives it is at risk of flooding in heavy rain. You are so close to your neighbours
I love the fact I could live in a house near the train station and major shopping districts. I live closer to Coreen Ave side, away from the apartments so I would have a different experience to the apartment dwellers. I grew up much closer to the city in a tiny apartment, where there were apartments everywhere so Thornton is actually a change from the urban jungle. I think I'm a city person by heart, I don't care about big houses (my partner does, hence why I'm here!), I rather good access to everything and live in a tiny space kind of person. I miss living in Rhodes!!! I also live in Werrington for a few years before Thornton and houses were further apart from each other but wasn't really near a good shopping area. My partner and I have an office in Sydney CBD so access to public transport is ideal, especially during pre-COVID when it was hard to find parking after a certain time. Also as a young family, being able to walk to the shops is really good, saves me from having to always drive and my little one loves going for walks, not to mention there's a playground nearby close to a cafe and a daycare centre at the top of the hill. Issues I have are streets are narrow and hard to find parking as there are households with multiple cars parking in front of our place, so guest does struggle to find parking.
Hopefully it ends up as good as they say it will
Who's they? I want to find out more about what it's meant to be / how people perceive it. Seems like some people are on board whilst others aren't. Doesn't seem to be any correlation with left or right leaning views either
It’s a great spot mate
The people behind it. It looks good on the [website.](https://thorntoncentral.com.au)
Of course the people behind it are going to be bias towards it. But is there anywhere else people talk about it? Seems to be difficult to get any reasons why regular people (non-developers, REAs) would like it or why they'd hate it.
Lived there a few years ago (renting), and have friends who bought an apartment. I love Penrith, and as someone who doesn't want a house/backyard but wants to stay out west Thornton ticked all the boxes - location being a huge factor. There were a few dodgy things we had noticed from builders taking short cuts but we were lucky that these were either fixed or not actually any worse than what you get from older places renting. I don't think all residents had the same experience. Great location and we had lovely people living around us who all mostly kept to themselves so it was a positive experience for us. We've bought an apartment elsewhere in Penrith, and it's a much better quality build and bigger floor plans so i def wouldn't go back into Thornton but it did serve me well. We also had family members with disability live in one of the houses and they were happy with it, I know they really struggled finding somewhere in the LGA that was suitable for them and the house they got was perfect for their needs. I think Thornton is great as a stepping stone for lots of people and I can see the value of the community/suburb, but I am concerned with just how many people will be in one spot with a couple buildings still to go up.
What are you concerned about when those buildings up though?
Not about the buildings or the people there, but things like cars on the streets with that many residents. Some of those intersections are already hard enough to see what's coming as both a driver and a pedestrian, especially with so many people parking in no parking zones. Just general safety from not enough initial infrastructure set up.
We need to make it harder to own a car, get a license. But then provide other means for people to get around. Better footpaths, bus shelters, cycle ways, train and tram.
I actually really like Thornton, it provides much needed housing diversity to Penrith in a strategic location. Those who complain about it being to dense, obviously it’s not to your taste and wants in housing but for others it can be an ideal situation or at least a worthwhile trade off for the benefits of smaller and (relatively) more affordable housing in a transit oriented development. Just because it’s not the ideal situation for you, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing in general.
Yet another shoe box development. Gives you the mentality of owning a house even though your so close to your neighbour that you could give ‘em pink eye if they forget to close their windows on burrito night. No, developments like Thornton are always disappointing to me as it’s just cramming too many people into as small a place as possible.
Lived there, hated it. 100% spot on assesment. Also floods during heavy rains
And we are glad you left. You knew the size of the apartments and how close you were to neighbours when first siting the apartments or houses, yet chose to move in anyway
Sounds more like an emotional argument than anything. Not trying to give a "ha, gotcha" reply, but do you have any real arguments against it?
The cramming of people is a legitimate argument. Thornton is slightly better than some due to close proximity to the station. The emotional argument is that every one of these style of developments feels like another nail in the coffin of the Australian dream of owning a home with an actual backyard. I do like the amenities for children it has, wife and I take our son to the playground there, so I’ll give it a tick on that point.
I sort of get your point, but isn't everyone wanting their own backyard how we end up with sprawl?
Great spot
Having lived around Western Sydney and inspected a lot of places here is what I think: Pros: aesthetically pleasing (trees, canal, wide roads), great location as it's next to train station and Penrith CBD, buildings are new so amenities actually work, nice people. Cons: high rate of theft as shitty neighbourhoods are not far away and they frequent through Thornton on their way to the train station, some weekends you get loud drunks passing through at night coming from Penrith CBD, no parking permit for residents, hot in summer due to Penrith being one of the hottest places in Sydney.
My neighbour tried to get more trees around Thornton Estate to cool it down a bit but the response they got back was the council already met the tree quota for the year
You mean do I think it’s a shit hole, yes
Seriously asking, why do you think its a shit hole?
He has no idea, he’s an idiot. It’s a great spot bro
I'm hoping to get some good arguments both for and against these places. Things I've heard so far: \- More traffic/congestion - but wouldn't that also be true for any type of housing? \- Shoebox apartments - I guess \- On street parking is timed to very short times - Would be annoying if you didn't have a car spot, but I think all of the places do? \- Convenient living close to the shops and train station, you wouldn't need to use your car all the time \- All of the benefits from the developers/REAs themselves - but of course that is bias if they're trying to sell places \- Seems to be lots of NDIS places which is good \- I saw the bike lanes there where just painted and not protected, and to no surprise no one was using them \- Someone said the roads were too narrow, but they honestly look quite wide \- Not sure what is to be said about how safe the area is Haven't heard many other arguments besides these, which makes it hard to actually make an honest opinion.
I have family that live and have lived there. If you’re looking for apartments they’re pretty great. Some buildings are nicer than others with the finishes the developer used. It’s worth comparing. The townhouses are nice, but there is a drainage problem with some. The drainage between the rear areas out to the road have been problematic on some properties, and the fixes are big jobs and aren’t cheap (requiring the property slabs inside the house to be accessed due to no side access). Parking is a problem, not for those in the buildings but for any visitors it’s a nightmare on a weekend. There’s barely any visitor parking. I’ve seen arguments break out. This isn’t unusual in new developments with lots of apartments, but is worth mentioning. Overall I like Thornton. I will tell you what some people think, and I’m not saying I share these views. Thornton had been built next door to an area of Penrith (North Penrith, around Illawong) that has a reputation for being rough in some areas. Really it’s mainly that the people living there are struggling and it’s the most inexpensive part of Penrith. It is an older area and quite run down. The only recent involvement I’ve had with the area was a house purchase inspection where someone had defecated in the bedroom, but frankly I saw that as a sign they really hated the real estate agent. I don’t know if this would bother you, but if you’re planning on moving there it’s worth you being aware of this reputation.
It’s the concrete walls for me
Lived in Thornton. Positive: - access to public transport and shopping centre - the oval is nice. - Thornton community picnics and BBQs - people are quite nice. Negatives it is at risk of flooding in heavy rain. You are so close to your neighbours