From inspiring campus’ in the middle of the CBD, the opportunity to network with neighbouring businesses, a comprehensive transport network and a thriving food scene - Parramatta has everything Alyssa needed to start her journey.

Opting out of rush-hour commutes to the City for a job in Parramatta, was the best thing Amie did for herself. With a better work-life balance, she now has more time to enjoy with her family and still gets her fix for top-notch coffee.

For its historical natural assets, young community and thriving economy and culture, Parramatta is increasingly recognised as one of the most beautiful and exciting areas to live, work and raise a family in Sydney – just ask Melek Sanli.

“I love Parramatta,” she says. “Along the river there’s always people out, families out. You get your different variety of age groups – old people, young people with young kids, love birds hand-in-hand. The shopping is up with Pitt Street and everything is in one central location.”

Melek, who is a local, is raising two children with her husband and expecting another one this year. She works on Phillip Street as a Project Co-ordinator in Education, and enjoys the many advantages of living in such an accessible city.

“There are more opportunities for local people to live close to where they work, and to have a better work/life balance,” she says. “Parramatta suits me perfectly because it’s only a three-stop train ride. In terms of public transport you’ve got it all. With trains, buses and ferries, you’re kind of winning.”

As someone who has grown up in the area, Melek loves the momentum and vitality of Parramatta, and the way the community and space has transformed over time.

“It’s a central hub now where you don’t have to travel so far to get what you need,” she says. “It’s all so modern. Since I was growing up it’s really changed. It’s much more of a family-friendly environment.”

Although Parramatta has such a long and rich history, the average age of residents in the area is now 35. For Melek, it’s the ideal place to spend time on a Sunday afternoon – think of family time over dinner, a spot of wildlife, and a scoot along the river.

“As a family we go to Volcanos Steakhouse,” Melek says. “The menu has a wide variety of options, i highly recommend eye fillet. On Sundays kids eat free and they have face painting and balloons, so they get to feel a little bit special while mum and dad have five minutes of conversation.”

“If they’re feeling energetic after that we’ll get their scooters out and they’ll have a ride along the river, or look at the ducks. If it’s not too dark we’ll take them to the park. The kids call the park Mummy’s Work Park, because it’s just across the road from where I work.”

When they’re not enjoying the river, the green space, or the great restaurants, Melek says her family loves getting involved in one of the many cultural events or festivals in Parramatta.

“There’s definitely a great sense of different variations and celebrations for everyone to enjoy,” she says. “There’s so much more happening in terms of seasonal events. We don’t celebrate Christmas as such, but when we went to a Christmas event the kids just loved it because it was so colourful with all the lights. It’s just nice to be in that atmosphere and experience it.”

Parramatta is just a great place because it’s got everything in the area. It’s got this really fantastic community vibe – there’s a sense you can just go out and find so many exciting things to do. It really has a nature of its own.

I think there’s such a great variety of people on the street, and it’s so much more full of life than even the centre of Sydney. Parramatta at night is buzzing with colour, and people of all ages are just out having dinner and ice cream.

'It’s just really got this unique mixture. The fact you can actually walk all around Parramatta makes it really attractive. Even along the river bank, when it’s a hot night, there are so many people around. It reminds me of Europe – it actually comes alive at night.

I think it’s a little bit different to other parts of Sydney. We are really wanting to put Australia on stage. The people on the streets are the people you see on the stage. People really want to see work we’re putting on because we’re telling stories they can relate to.

It’s just so easy to get to and the media is also coming out because the work we’re doing is really fresh, genuine, and authentic. What we’re creating is a real buzz around local artists. In four years we’ve doubled our audience and that to me says we’re doing something right.

We get people who see the one show two or three times because they connect with the story. People come up to me and say, I haven’t seen that before – that’s my story. That touches my heart – I went to school with someone like that. The theatre we make really validates people lives because they get to see themselves. We always set out to do that – to create work that resonates with people. I think we’ve got a real heartbeat to what we do.