Life in the ’burbs

A ranking of Melbourne’s suburbs once listed mine at 184th place. Its name used to make taxi drivers fearful, but life here has changed.

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My suburb is home to the real Fountain Lakes shopping centre, which extends ostentatiously over the top of eight lanes of the Nepean Highway.

Named with a regal nod, my suburb is known for its well-heeled residents and summer vibes. But there’s more to us than our royal connection.

In my exclusive suburb a happy coincidence made the homes friendly and green, but a big shift in recent years has changed all that.

With restrictions preventing subdivisions despite the huge blocks, homes come onto the market in my suburb ripe for a renovation or a rebuild.

What other Melbourne suburb would feature a Tram Road, even though there are no actual trams anywhere to be seen?

Whether you call it Brighton East, or East Brighton, there can never be enough Brightons, says a long-time local.

On warm summer evenings, when the streets are full of punters, you can understand why it was named one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world.

Even as the city has grown around it, my suburb has retained a country feel with market gardens and old farm buildings on the village fringe.

There’s one thing that makes Coburg North superior to plain old Coburg, and it isn’t the all-day summer dance parties.