Vlog - Life in Western Sydney

Brief Description of the Video:

The following video illustrates a typical day in the life in Western Sydney. The vlog involves us travelling to the heart of Western Sydney: Blacktown. The vlog takes viewers through a tour of Blacktown and what it has to offer. The footage captures the essence and the life in Blacktown taking you through the local Westpoint Shopping Centre, places to eat and relax and various other facilities and shops in Blacktown. The vlog also showcases the magnificent transport system of Western Sydney, known as the T-way. This is further illustrated in our time-lapse of our journey to Blacktown.

Group Member Contributions:

The group members who participated in the making of this video were: Jayan Hirani, James Hu, Siddharth Sobti, Nathaniel Manlolo and MJ Sabana. Each group member took turns in filming footage of Western Sydney for the vlog and participating in the different activities that are depicted in the video. The editing of the vlog was done by Jayan Hirani and James Hu. Whilst Siddharth, MJ and Nathaniel reviewed the video and made sure all the assignment and video criteria was met. Overall, an equal contribution was made to the creation, editing and posting of the video component of the assignment by all participating group members. 

Murders in Western Sydney

Even though Western Sydney has a huge crime incidents such as robberies and assaults, it only has a very low reported homicide cases. In the year 2015, the reported homicide incidents were only 1.6 out of 400 000 population.

The most recent homicide that has occurred in Western Sydney is the Parramatta shooting. The Parramatta incident was considered as a critical incident as there were 2 people that died. One of the deaths was a NSW police employee who was shot with a single bullet by the gun man, and  the other was the casualty was the gun man who got killed in a fire exchange with the NSW Police.

Fore more information regarding this event, please check the NSW police media releases at https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/media_release_archives

Norwest Business Park

Norwest Business Park is located over Bella Vista and Baulkham Hills. It is a major part of the economy in Sydney accommodating for over 20,000 employees, with over 400 companies. and being one of the largest business parks in Australia.  Woolworths, Resmed, BBraun, Inchcape and Capital Finance are some large businesses operating in the business park. The Woolworths HQ is located in the business park.

source: http://norwestbusinesspark.com.au/

The business park has two shopping centres, many restaurants and bars, as well as childcare centres to cater for employees needs while working at the business park. There are two large hotels in the area, Novotel and an Adina, serving businesses in the area for visitors to the business park.

The business park is located in near the Sydney Orbital Motorways of M2 and M7, making it easy to access. 

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source: http://hillspropertysearch.com.au/norwest-business-park/

Western Sydney - Media

Media Inspired by Western Sydney

Western Australia is well known for its characteristics, in particular, the people and how they are viewed by those who aren't as intimate with the culture of Western Sydney as those who actually live there. Many view these people in a very light-hearted manner and often find amusement in the reality of some aspects of Western Sydney culture, especially when it is produced in a satirical nature. One of the most popular Australian actors, Paul Fenech (he has also been granted the title 'Australia's champion of political incorrectness') , has produced numerous TV shows that satirize the nature of different aspects of Australian culture, these include 'Pizza', 'Bogan Hunters' and 'Housos'. 

Paul Fenech

Image taken from

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/paul-fenech-a-true-bogan-hero/story-e6freuy9-1226907370033

The success of these projects has also allowed Fenech to produce a feature film based on the characters of 'Pizza' and 'Housos'. What makes these shows so successful is how easily many of its viewers can relate to the events of the shows, the characters are based on stereotypes that are easily recognisable in Western Sydney culture. 

Cast of 'Housos'

Image taken from

http://jabbatron.com/gallery/jabba-housos-cast/

In particular, 'Bogan Hunters' is a comedic documentary that explicitly explores a subculture of Australia known as the 'Bogan', this is easily recognised as a lower-class stereotype of Australia and is one of the main reasons many find it to be so humorous when they are glamorised. 'Housos' follows the lives of numerous fictional characters, again based on recognisable stereotypes, to shine a satirical and incredibly humorous light on those who are living in Housing Commission Public Housing and rely on funds from centrelink. These shows highlight the stereotypical lifestyle of Western Sydney and act as a perfect alternative for gaining a humorous view on Western Sydney rather than visiting the area in person.

Western Sydney - National Parks

Western Sydney National Parks

Australia is very well known for its wildlife, its native fauna and flora, but these unique elements of the country would not be complete without their habitats. Western Sydney is the home of many incredibly popular attractions, creative suburbs and an intensely diverse community, but in addition to this, Western Sydney is also well known for its national parks. National Parks are the best way for someone to embrace the natural beauty of Australia while at the same time, finding a recreational way to enjoy the day. 

Image taken from

http://www.westernsydneyparklands.com.au/where-to-go/the-dairy/

There are numerous parks and reserves within Western Sydney, these include Parramatta Park, Plumpton Park Wetlands, Sydney Olympic Park and most notably, The Western Sydney Parklands. The Western Sydney Parklands is set in the heart of Western Sydney, covering over 5,200 hectares of land, the park offers several areas that provide first-class amenities for family outings such as, barbeques, picnic shelters, toilets and playgrounds. The park also offers a path for one to either cycle or walk to enjoy some spectacular views and high quality bushlands. 

Image taken from

http://www.westernsydneyparklands.com.au/visitor-info/getting-to-the-parklands/

The Western Sydney Parklands are recognised as a nature hotspot, acting as a host to hundreds of different native flora and fauna and the size of the park alone allows it to be recognised as one of the largest national parks in the Southern Hemisphere. The national parks of Western Sydney are a 'must' when it comes to things to do, they are perfect for family get-togethers, even better for recreational activities and essential to embracing the rich culture of Australian history and culture.

Robberies in Western Sydney.

 Western Sydney is currently one of the highest reported robbery cases in New South Wales. The highest reported robbery cases are located in the suburbs of Blacktown, Parramatta, Bankstown, and most of western Sydney. The NSW bureau of crime and statistics show that there is only very little change in reported incidents. For example in Blacktown, in the year 2014 there were only 315 reported cases and on 2015 it increased to 333 reported incidents.

http://crimetool.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/bocsar/

Recently three teenagers approached a 16-year-old boy who was travelling on a train between quakers hill and seven hills. The three suspects approached boy and allegedly told him to strip off all of his clothes except his underwear. the three males then proceeded to put holes on the boy's clothes.

On October 14 2015,  a second 16-year-old youth was arrested and was then presented at Merryland police station where he was charged with robbery with company.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/media_release_archive?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGZWJpenByZC5wb2xpY2UubnN3Lmdvdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGNDkyNDUuaHRtbCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D

if you have any information regarding this even or if you have witnessed any crime please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Housing In Western Sydney

Housing In Western Sydney

Western Sydney encompasses a large area and therefore contains a wide variety of housing options for all different demographics of people including single, groups and family housing. Further exploration of Western Sydney reveals a variety of double story, single story houses and apartments for a variety of people from all classes of life.

Double Story Houses in Western Sydney:

As illustrated before, Western Sydney is a family friendly area with a wide array of parks, attractions and shopping centres. These features make Western Sydney one of the most habitable places in New South Wales. Families tend to go for double story houses due to their enormous size, 4+ bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. This is also complimented by a study and an upstairs lounge area. The wide range of rooms and features available in double story houses makes it an optimal choice for families to live and raise a family in. Double story houses are commonly found in most areas of Western Sydney with the main areas including The Ponds, Kellyville Ridge and Stanhope Gardens. Double story house prices are usually around $700 000 - $800 000 although with the recent housing boom (2015), prices have reached the million dollar mark.

Double Story House in Kellyville Ridge
Source: http://www.kurmondhomes.com.au/dc/designs/Imperial.jpg

Single Story Houses in Western Sydney:

Single story houses are a popular accommodation for local residents of Western Sydney. These houses are usually taken by couples without kids or groups of people looking for shared accommodation. Whilst smaller in size than double story houses, these houses still manage to contain 3-4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a study. Single story houses can be found in most suburbs of Western Sydney including Blacktown, Kellyville and Seven Hills. Single story houses are usually priced along the $300 000 - $500 000 mark.

Single Story House in The Ponds
Source: http://www.kurmondhomes.com.au/dc/designs/Sierra-Elite-544x315px.jpg

Apartments in Western Sydney:

Due to Western Sydney being a family friendly area, apartments are less common to the eye. However they can still be seen in around the Blacktown, Bankstown and Parramatta areas. Apartments usually have 2 bedrooms and one bathroom (common features). Prices for apartments in Western Sydney are usually around the $200 000 - $300 500 mark and can also be rented or leased.

Recently, a project has begun construction for apartments in the suburb of Kellyville Ridge. These have been conducted in order to facilitate the recent population boom in Western Sydney and give people without kids more options for accommodation in Western Sydney. 

For more information about buying property in Western Sydney: http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/in-western+sydney,+nsw/list-1

Source: http://www.realestate.com.au