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Which suburb has the most teachers? Dentists? Models? Where to find Sydney’s worker tribes
By Matt Wade and Craig Butt
Where Sydney’s worker tribes live.Credit: John Shakespeare
Models gravitate to Bondi, tech bros huddle in Parramatta, baristas congregate in Mascot and doctors are drawn to Strathfield.
These are just some of the worker tribes of Sydney revealed by census figures.
As the city’s workforce nudges a record 3 million, analysis by the Herald shows which suburbs have the most workers in a range of occupations.
There are 89,000 sales assistants in Greater Sydney, making it the city’s most popular job and more of them live in Blacktown than any other suburb (932).
The second-most common is general clerk with 49,000 (also mostly in Blacktown) while general accountants come in third with 44,000. Epping is the most popular suburb for Sydney’s army of accountants.
The most Sydney models live in Bondi.Credit: John Shakespeare
Bondi Beach has more models than any other Sydney suburb. In an intriguing tie-up, it also has the most plastic surgeons, while neighbouring Bondi has the most photographers.
Sand, surf and a sense of local community attracted model Sian Henderson to Bondi when she moved from New Zealand four years ago.
“You’re just constantly bumping into people here, so it’s nice to leave the house, pop past the cafe and there are a couple of friends who are already sitting out there with their morning chai or coffee, which I really enjoy,” she says. “You can build a community in Bondi.”
Model Sian Henderson lives in Bondi Beach. Credit: Louie Douvis
Henderson is friends with several other models who live at Bondi Beach.
“It feels like a place to go,” she says. “You spend a lot of time in the city when you’re a model so it’s a nice escape to come back and be by the beach.”
The agency that represents Henderson even takes its name from her suburb – Bondi Model Management – and was founded by local Natalie Biller five years ago.
Biller thinks models are drawn to Bondi by the lifestyle.
“I guess it’s a bit of a trendy area … people love to be by the beach,” she says.
Bondi modelling agent Natalie Biller with model Sian Henderson. Credit: Louie Douvis
Biller sometimes approaches potential models on the street in Bondi and asks if they would like to join her agency.
“Thousands of good-looking people flow through the beach daily so it makes it really easy to scout,” she says. “I get a gut feeling, and I’m like, ‘That’s my person’ and I’ll approach them.”
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Strathfield, in Sydney’s inner west, attracts those with a medical bent, especially doctors. It is the most popular neighbourhood for GPs, cardiologists and anaesthetists. Strathfield also has the most dentists, retail and hospital pharmacists and optometrists.
Mosman is Sydney’s biggest lawyer huddle with 471 solicitors and 12 judges. It is also top for management consultants (a striking 340 in all), HR managers and financial investment advisers.
Credit: John Shakespeare
Paddington has 83 barristers, giving it top billing for that branch of legal practice. It also has the highest number of stockbrokers, public relations managers, TV journalists and painters (the artist variety – Auburn has the most painting trades workers).
Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist with KPMG, says the cost of housing has a big influence on the way workers are distributed across the city.
“Income and housing affordability are key factors,” he says. “Workers on higher incomes tend to be drawn to those higher value locations.”
The geographic location of big industry sectors is another important driver.
“People don’t want to be too far from employment clusters where they have good access to jobs that they are best suited to,” he says.
Reputation can even play a role in where workers choose to reside.
“Some residential locations help promote a certain professional brand,” says Rawnsley. “If you’re a solicitor, for instance, living in Mosman might help with brand recognition.”
Network engineer Devang Chheda sees opportunities for IT workers in the Parramatta area.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The Parramatta district has a concentration of information technology workers including software engineers, developer programmers and web developers.
One of them is Devang Chheda, a 28-year-old network engineer and systems administrator at technology services firm Chill IT.
He thinks the growing local technology sector, and relatively affordable rents, attracts IT workers to the Parramatta area.
“I see Parramatta as being a hub for IT, and other sectors too,” says Chheda, who grew up in Mumbai, India, before moving to Sydney.
“The area has a lot of other attractions as well, like Indian and Asian restaurants.”
In Marrickville, cultural types gather; it has the most authors, librarians, musicians, graphic designers, directors (film, television or stage) and sculptors. Marrickville also has a distinct political hue – it is most popular with policy analysts and electorate officers. Surry Hills has the most architects and fashion designers.
The most truck drivers reside in Blacktown.Credit: John Shakespeare
The large western suburb of Blacktown is a centre for transport and logistics workers. It has the most truck drivers, bus drivers, delivery drivers, couriers, railway assistants, forklift drivers, storepersons and warehouse administrators. It is also close to significant clusters of transport and logistics employment.
Blacktown plays a crucial role in caring for Sydney. It has the most aged care workers and childcare workers. It’s also top for registered nurses working in medical practice, rehabilitation and community health.
Bankstown has the most beauty therapists and the most hair or beauty salon managers. Lakemba is top for taxi drivers.
Glenmore Park near Penrith is a hub for law enforcement; it has the most police officers and detectives. It is also very popular with tradies – more plumbers and carpenters live in Glenmore Park than any other neighbourhood.
Campsie has the most domestic cleaners while Cabramatta stands out for dressmakers or tailors and sewing machinists.
Those with a head for numbers head for Epping – along with accountants it has the most actuaries and tax inspectors. It also has the city’s highest number of ministers of religion.
The Sutherland Shire attracts aviation types – Cronulla is home to the most pilots and the most flight attendants, while Kirrawee has the most aircraft refuellers. Kirrawee also has the most immigration officers.
In Sydney’s north-west, Castle Hill is home to more real estate agents than any other suburb. It also attracts those with sport-related jobs; Castle Hill has the most sports umpires, tennis coaches, sports centre managers and swimming coaches/instructors.
The north-west is also popular with school teachers. Castle Hill has the most school principals (74) while neighbouring Baulkham Hills has the most primary and secondary teachers. Baulkham Hills is also home to the most florists.
Cafe workers are most commonly found living in Sydney’s CBD, but Mascot in the inner south has the most baristas (an impressive 161).
Airline workers can be commonly found in Cronulla.Credit: John Shakespeare
It’s no surprise academics congregate near the city’s big universities. Kensington, home of the University of NSW, has the most university tutors, while Randwick next door is top for university lecturers. There’s another big cluster of lecturers around Sydney University and UTS, especially Glebe and Newtown.
Employment in suburbs adjacent to racecourses has an equine character – horse trainers are most common at Warwick Farm and bookmakers at Randwick.
The census data shows that Ingleburn has the most lifeguards, despite the nearest beach being almost 30 kilometres away. But keep in mind the census was carried out during winter and most beach lifeguards have other work lined up during colder months. If the census had been carried out in summer, the top suburb for lifeguards may well have been different.
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