I went to John's place as a guest but left as a friend! John and his son, Tony, are so friendly! They responded to my inquiries very quickly and stayed up later to receive me. And they checked up on me on my commute from the airport to make sure I am not lost.
I was initially a little apprehensive as the house seems to be in north Sydney and away from the city center. My apprehension quickly dissipated as I found out the bus from John's place to the city was very very plentiful (like 10 buses-in-half-an-hour-plenty) and cost only $3.50 a ride. John's place is also very close to a port and you can actually take the ferry to the city (circular quay station, and it is 2 mins walk from the Opera house). I HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing this at least once! The ride costs around $6 with a OPAL card and you get the best view that consists of the Opera house AND the Harbor bridge. Once you get on the ferry, get your camera ready!
The house is also clean and the internet was great. John also has a rather expensive guitar (over 1K USD!) that he allowed me to play. So if you are like me and get withdraw symptoms when away from your guitar, feel free to ask John to play his. John was also always offering me traditional food that he made himself! The room is clean and adequate. Everyday I slept with the sound of crickets and woke up with the sounds of birds. That is something I do not have access to in my home. I loved it.
On my last night in Sydney, it rained a lot so I did not do much, John offered to take a walk with me. We walked around the beautiful trail that offered the amazing view of Sydney and we shared our life stories.
There is one down side though, John is a smoker. He smokes in the corner of the kitchen and sometimes the smell permeates the whole kitchen. However, it never got to the room, which is on the other side of the house. I already recommended he smokes outside so his future guests can be more comfortable.
All in all, it is a quiet area with a very nice host. I loved it.