One of the liveliest and most popular suburbs in Sydney is Surry Hills. Teeming with bars, restaurants, cafés and specialty shops, this is where you will spend the majority of your social hours eating, drinking, dancing and laughing. As a result, it is one of the most popular areas of the city, with young professionals flocking here at all times of the day, everyday.

Vibrant and full of character, there’s a range of dining options, whether you’re looking for al fresco in the summer or to cosy up in the winter, in gastro pubs, fine wine bars or trendy cafés. Wherever you choose, you can expect the highest quality produce, service and surroundings.

The original and still the best, Bourke Street Bakery, provides Surry Hills with morning pastries, bread loaves and hot food, whether you’re popping in for breakfast or picking up something for lunch. If you’re in a rush to work, you can place your order in advance and pick it up on your morning commute. You’ll find Bourke Street Bakery on, believe it or not, Bourke Street, and you’ll be able to spot it from the queue of people outside from 7am every day of the week.

When it comes to shopping, Surry Hills leads the way for affluent home materials and furnishings – great if you’re moving into a new place. Planet on Commonwealth Street is a showroom of tea towels, vases and tables made sustainably with natural fibres in mind. For those of you who scour for antiques, Elements I Love is a warehouse decorated with quirky bits and unique pieces from France and India. If you really love a browse, the Surry Hills Markets have everything you could want and more. Handmade and recycled goods, you can explore fashion, furnishings and food on the first Saturday of every month.

This stylish suburb has an abundance of places where you can relax after a day at work to catch up with friends. From movie nights at The Soda Factory to cocktails at Vasco or live music and DJs at Play Bay, Surry Hills has a hangout to suit everyone.

Buzzing through the week with bars, restaurants and shops on your doorstep, Surry Hills is a desirable place to live in Sydney. Rent is about $500-$800 per week for a one-bedroom apartment, but you can live outside Surry Hills and get there pretty easily with the nearby transport links of Redfern and Central Stations. If you do find yourself wandering, check out the laneway of McElhone Place – the residents made it into an award-winning garden oasis, and cats regularly roam around while getting up to mischief.

An established part of the inner city surrounded by the similar areas of Darlinghurst, Paddington and Redfern, Surry Hills is high up on the list for people moving to Sydney. To meet up with friends, grab a coffee and a muffin or splash the cash on luxury or unusual items, it creates a lifestyle worth experiencing.

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