Revealed: Two Aussie suburbs among world’s coolest neighbourhoods

Two Aussie suburbs have made the list for the top 100 coolest suburbs in the world — and those that made the cut might shock you.

Two Australian neighbourhoods have earned spots on Time Out’s coveted annual list of the World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2025, joining trendy districts from global powerhouses including Dublin, São Paulo, Lisbon and Tokyo.

One Sydney neighbourhood and one Melbourne suburb have cut through the rest and boast a diverse culture, population and thriving real estate market.

Here’s a look inside the two coolest Aussie neighbourhoods in the country and what they have to offer to residents and visitors alike.

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BURWOOD – INNER WEST, SYDNEY

The suburb of Burwood has made it to number 16 of Time Out’s coolest suburbs in the world for this year.

Boasting a diverse community and a variety of delicious cuisine that can be hunted out among its streets you can find some of the best Chinese, Japanese and South-East Asian food, as well as Uyghur, Greek and Italian in Burwood.

Its residents come from a mix of backgrounds, with the majority of the population Chinese followed by Australian, English, Italian, Scottish and Lebanese heritage.

Burwood’s popularity has boomed over the past five years, with median house prices increasing 67 per cent. The standard house in Burwood would have set you back $1.755m five years ago and now will cost you almost $3m ($2.93m).

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Most of the area is made up of 20-24 year olds, followed by 25-29 year olds, according to ABS census data.

The suburb is not only diverse in its people, culture and cuisine, but in its housing type, with a large number of units on the market, giving Aussie residents a property alternative.

You can find an old school estate listed for almost $10m, penthouses for sale upwards of $4.6m, while there are units listed for as little as $600,000.

The median unit price in Burwood is currently $892,000 and more than 200 units have sold in the suburb in the past 12 months. For those wanting to rent in the hub, you’ll be paying more than the median price for a unit ($730) or house ($800).

Renting a unit will set you back $820 per week while a house has a median rental of $950.

It’s also the fifth-most diverse community in the country, according to Time Out.

NORTH MELBOURNE – CITY FRINGE, MELBOURNE

Coming in at number 24 on Time Out’s coolest suburbs list of 2025 is the city fringe suburb of North Melbourne.

Home to Queen Vic Market and the trendy Errol St, clearly the younger generations know the hip suburbs as this one is made up primarily of 20-29 year olds.

Half of North Melbourne’s residents were born overseas, according to ABS census data, which reflects the strong sense of community in the suburb.

There is a diverse spread of cuisines on offer, where you can find Melbourne’s first Mauritian wine bar, a Moroccan Soup Bar and Japanese baked goods at Le Bajo Milkbar all in the neighbourhood, according to Time Out.

North Melbourne’s real estate is as diverse as its food and people, offering charming Victorian terraces and modern apartments.

The unit median price is currently $480,000, while the house price is more than $1.2m.

More than 300 units sold in the popular locale over the past 12 months, while 100 houses sold.

To secure a rental in the cool suburb, the median rent for a unit is $580 and $750 for a house, while the standard rental in Melbourne was around $580, according to PropTrack.

TimeOut’s Top 25 Coolest Neighbourhoods of 2025

1. Jimbōchō, Tokyo

2. Borgerhout, Antwerp

3. Barra Funda, São Paulo

4. Camberwell, London

5. Avondale, Chicago

6. Mullae-dong, Seoul

7. Ménilmontant, Paris

8. Nakatsu, Osaka

9. Vallila, Helsinki

10. Labone, Accra

11. Nguyen Thai Binh, Ho Chi Minh

12. Anjos, Lisbon

13. Digbeth, Birmingham

14. Red Hook, New York

15. Perpetuo Socorro, Medellín

16. Burwood, Sydney

17. Linden, Johannesburg

18. Former French Concession, Shanghai

19. Quartieri Spagnoli, Naples

20. Bencoolen, Singapore

21. Endoume, Marseille

22. Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montréal

23. The Liberties, Dublin

24. North Melbourne, Melbourne

25. Portales, Mexico City

Full list here

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