Sheila and Mark's place was lovely. Very clean, spacious, with nice little touches. I particularly liked the room and it made a huge difference that there was aircon (in addition to a ceiling fan). The area itself is nice, quite suburban, and felt safe. There's an express bus (Bxm8) which takes you from a stop less than 5 mins walk from the house, costs around $6.70 and gets you into midtown in around 45mins-1hr depending on exactly where you're going and what time of day. It's cheaper to get the train, but the bus was a comfortable and easy way to travel.
Sheila and Mark were both very friendly and helpful.