'I live on Sydney's Billionaire's Row. This is exactly what it's like.'

Now this is a story all about how… I accidentally ended up living on Billionaire’s Row.

This is the truth - I got a job in Sydney, and searched for a place to rent within 5km of my future workplace and bam, the perfect place showed up.

I didn’t know the street it was on is called 'Billionaire’s Row', which is good, because I might have thought it was too good to be true. But I flew here to inspect the place, and fell in love.

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We would be living in the old library of an 1880 house that had been split into apartments. What a dream. 

The reason I could afford it was because it technically was one bedroom (with a large sunroom) and it didn’t have a frontal view of the harbour – just one from the side.

But we had access to the entire property, whose rich garden ran straight to Seven Schillings beach – a stretch of sand on the harbour with an incredible view, and access restricted to residents.

In short – We. Got. So. Lucky.

The home was the sign I needed that I was doing the right thing – uprooting my family, changing career and moving to somewhere I only ever dreamt of living.

This is in no way a flex, I’m just explaining how we came to live on Billionaire’s Row. It was sheer luck, and nothing to do with any personal success of mine! 

Enough about me – now about what you came here for: what it’s really like to live amongst some of the richest people not only in Sydney, not only in the country, but in the world.

Billionaire’s Row is listed as the ninth wealthiest street in the world. The suburb itself is home to a high concentration of Australia’s billionaires – hence the name. 

This is why the first property you see on Amazon’s Sydney Luxe Listings fronts the same piece of harbour that ‘our place’ does.

The guy (billionaire) who built the property has the classic rags-to-riches story of a great businessman (obviously) and is a philanthropist. He also has a well-known daughter who leads a public and very glamorous lifestyle.

But this is the thing about many of the harbour-front homes on Billionaire’s Row. 

Walking along the street, many of the properties appear modest. But that’s because they begin at the top and then ‘drape’ three to four stories down towards the water – which you generally can’t appreciate from the street. So it’s really their water-front perspectives that are the most spectacular – as you can see in the above video.

On Billionaire’s Row, we are surrounded by supercars (mostly Maseratis and Lamborghinis), homes with car elevators (which sound an elegant alarm to let you know the doors are opening to the street, and a car worth more than an average home – yes, Sydney’s average – is about to appear from six floors below), and infinity pools resting precariously on cliff edges to maximise the view (because having a hole in the ground in which to swim is not enough).

One house even has a guard in a sentry box 24 hours a day. We are mates with... the guard, whom we chat to on our daily walks – because it must be a lonely job!

Back to the cars for a moment – the Mercedes G wagon is the Holden Commodore of the street - the Bentley SUV is much preferred. Or chauffeur-driven people movers with totally blacked-out windows.  

And then there’s this garage, where the cars usually housed in it have one of the best views in Sydney.

Image: Supplied. 

But my favourite part of Billionaire’s Row is the fascinating people.

The day begins with a small stream of middle-aged and older women walking up the hill from the bus stop (on a main road around the corner – there’s no bus stop on Billionaire’s Row), to their various housekeeper positions (not dressed in activewear), before 8am. 

I feel this is an important thing for my family to witness, because it keeps it real. 

A lot of wealth and privilege is built on those less fortunate. And working hard is not a guarantee of financial success as defined by society – no matter what some rich people proclaim.

Having said that, the only arrogant person I’ve met here is the guy up the street who comes home at 6pm in his Aston Martin and honks at his kids loudly to move their Mini Coopers so he can have prime garage position. It’s quite entertaining to watch. 

In my building, there's a horse owner who's won an internationally famous race. He owns my apartment and is a good mate – in fact, we shared our first New Year's Eve here with him and his wife. 

Then there’s the member of one of Australia’s most iconic rock bands – a rock legend who happily came over when my sister was visiting because she and her husband are such huge fans. (Now that was a flex to my over-achieving older sister!) 

Across the road, there's a fashion designer who’s a household name. We went to a Halloween party there pre-COVID and were treated like old friends. 

“You’re an outsider like me,” she said, throwing her arm around my shoulder. “Welcome to Sydney!”

Our direct neighbour in the building is the head of a major department in one of Sydney’s largest universities, and her advice about education and parenting – especially remote learning – has saved my sanity.

Living on Billionaire’s Row is so different from our previous life, but also so surprising, because there is so much kindness on this street. And so much normality.

Today, the neighbour who lives in a spectacular penthouse with a view to die for, called me to say she's ordered a special powder for my dog's tear tracks. It’s not lost on me that despite our many differences in status and fortune, we’re both just loving dog owners.

At the end of the day, Billionaire's Row is full of incredibly kind people who are so nice to someone like me, who has a vastly different life and background, and from whom they can't gain anything. 

Except our friendship of course, which is priceless. We know our worth, and it’s vastly more than our bank balance. 

Feature Image: Supplied.