Inner City Living: Cooks Hill, Newcastle, Newcastle East, Newcastle West, Hamilton, Hamilton North, Hamilton South, The Junction, Islington
From the modern, stylish, and compact apartment living of the CBD, to the tree-lined streets and vibrant café and restaurant hubs of Hamilton and Cooks Hill, Newcastle offers many options for inner-city living.
If having everything at your fingertips is an enticing prospect, then Newcastle, Newcastle East, or Newcastle West make perfect sense.
With the Newcastle Interchange situated in Newcastle West, getting around the city, and experiencing the likes of Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle Museum, Civic Park, and the Civic Theatre has never been easier thanks to the frequent Light Rail service that runs through the CBD to Newcastle Beach in the East End.
Newcastle East is also home to the gorgeous Foreshore Park – a great place for families to lay down a rug for a picnic, with a well-appointed playground (currently undergoing a major upgrade), and stunning views of Newcastle Harbour.
And from there, it’s just a short stroll along the promenade (suitable for walking, cycling or just watching the world go by) and you’re in the middle of the Honeysuckle precinct – a vibrant waterfront entertainment area filled with cafés, restaurants, boardwalks and a marina. Newcastle Museum is also located in the precinct meaning there is no shortage of things to see and do.
The inner-city has undergone quite the facelift over the past ten years or so.
With then addition of high-rise living options such as DOMA’s Store and Huntington developments in Newcastle West and Honeysuckle, and Iris Capital’s ambitious $880 million East End precinct development (coupled with a multi-million-dollar City of Newcastle East End public works project), putting down roots in the inner-city of Newcastle has never been more enticing.
This transformation of the inner-city was made possible by the removal of the heavy rail line corridor that essentially split the city in two. Its removal connected the city with the harbour, opening up numerous opportunities for inner-city living.
Located on the western edge of the Newcastle CBD, Hamilton is one of the major lifestyle suburbs in the city. Centered around the iconic Beaumont Street, Hamilton boasts an exciting multicultural vibe with a wide variety of boutiques, bookstores, heritage buildings and all your day-to-day services.
The vibrant strip is also home to a wide variety of restaurants giving food-lovers an eclectic array of multicultural flavours, cafes, and some of Newcastle’s best pubs.
You’re pretty much just a hop, skip, and a jump from anywhere in Hamilton too, with the suburb convenient to direct bus routes and Hamilton Train Station.
There is no doubt that Hamilton’s appeal for residents and business is strong with businesses, including Cakeboi, Biggs Coffee, and Bangkok Nights, opening their doors in Hamilton.
City of Newcastle’s Special Business Rate (SBR) funding and the formation of the Hamilton Business Improvement Association has also proved fruitful for the suburb.
Significant projects borne of these initiatives, such as the James Street Plaza upgrade and the establishment of a dedicated performance precinct in Hamilton for the 2023 Newcastle Fringe Festival, continue to elevate the suburb’s appeal.
Another sought-after location that is buzzing with the vibrancy of the city is Cooks Hill, situated just off Hunter Street in the heart of the CBD.
Rivaling Beaumont Street, Cooks Hill’s Darby Street is a feast for the senses, boasting designer and boutique clothing and homewares stores, some of the best coffee haunts Newcastle has to offer, restaurants and pubs.
The maker culture is also strong in this part of Newcastle, as evidenced by the popular Olive Tree Markets that take pride of place in nearby Civic Park every month.
Its proximity to the beach makes Darby Street the perfect place to while away a few hours over a coffee with friends after a refreshing morning swim.
The iconic promenade was also the focus of a six-month City of Newcastle Streets As Shared Spaces trial that aims to improve the outdoor dining experience in this iconic “eat street” while also improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
Outside of Darby Street, Cooks Hill is typified by streets lined by lush trees and Victorian terrace houses, making this suburb one of the most attractive in Newcastle.
For more information about the suburb that’s right for you, head here to check out the City of Newcastle Community Profile or here for the Newcastle Social Atlas.
