Life in the ’burbs
The Age asked Melburnians to write about their suburb, whether the cliches about it are true and how life there has changed in recent years.
Opinion
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With The Age’s new interactive feature, you can easily search our archive to see all the Melbourne suburbs that have featured in our series.
- by Patrick O'Neil
Opinion
My tiny suburb birthed two huge celebrities, but that’s not why we look down on our neighbours
Visitors come to my suburb from around Melbourne for an experience that isn’t available across the city’s flat landscape – even if it is a bit wetter here.
- by Greg Hardy
Opinion
A chance left turn 20 years ago led me to the suburb of my dreams
I stumbled on my suburb by accident after taking a spontaneous turn off the highway to avoid a car accident.
- by Megan Riley
Opinion
My suburb is the beating cauliflower heart of Melbourne’s gluten-free belt
Our high street has been named the coolest in the world. The actual coolest. Even if it is only a drop punt away from the “s--- Coles”.
- by Tony Wilson
Opinion
In my suburb, it’s easy to tell the locals apart – just look at their legs
A flat gradient is a rare occurrence in my suburb, where the locals stand out for one physical feature – the result of trekking up and down endless hills.
- by Larissa Dubecki
Opinion
My suburb is an undiscovered slice of fresh air, and locals like it that way
The residents of my suburb tell me they grew up here, as did their parents, and they hope their children will stay here as well. And why wouldn’t they want to?
- by Aramiha Harwood
Opinion
My suburb has a reputation for being soulless and unliveable. But people flock here anyway
I moved back to Melbourne from Hong Kong with a mantra: I can’t do typical suburbia. Luckily, someone had built a solution.
- by Joanne Anderson
Opinion
My suburb is one of Melbourne’s most liveable, though nobody seems to know it exists
Many feared the skyrail would tear my suburb apart, but the unified town centre has given it a heart, and a whole new personality.
- by Matt McDonald
Opinion
My suburb’s gated enclave is known as the Toorak of the west. It wants to secede
Officially, I was a resident of a plain-jane suburb, but my letters and parcels marked me a proud inhabitant of a refined community.
- by David Goodwin
Opinion
My suburb is one of Melbourne’s tiniest. I want to make it bigger
The heart of my suburb was ailing when we moved here – until something changed. Now my neighbours want to gatekeep it from new residents.
- by Tom Hird
Opinion
My suburb on the city fringe has a claim to fame, but it’s no one-trick pony
A Shake’n’Dog at Wendy’s and a movie from Blockbuster - my childhood at the end of the line was charmed. My suburb has since transformed, but my family name can rekindle the past.
- by Madison Griffiths
Opinion
My suburb was meant to be the Toorak of the north but our reputation took a nefarious turn
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.
- by Michael Church
Opinion
In my suburb we’re not snobs. But we look down on Black Rock and Brighton
My suburb is home to the real Fountain Lakes shopping centre, which extends ostentatiously over the top of eight lanes of the Nepean Highway.
- by Colin Hill
Opinion
My seaside suburb once had a whimsical name. Then it was given a posh rebrand
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.
- by Caroline Baker
Opinion
My suburb was a spacious garden until residents built over their backyards
In my exclusive suburb a happy coincidence made the homes friendly and green, but a big shift in recent years has changed all that.
- by Ian Hundley
Opinion
My suburb has a secret treasure that was locked away for 50 years
With restrictions preventing subdivisions despite the huge blocks, homes come onto the market in my suburb ripe for a renovation or a rebuild.
- by Sara McMillan
Opinion
My suburb has panoramic views: ‘You can see the whole world!’
What other Melbourne suburb would feature a Tram Road, even though there are no actual trams anywhere to be seen?
- by Louise Kloot
Opinion
My suburb is known for its Karens and WAGs, but we’re not all like that
Whether you call it Brighton East, or East Brighton, there can never be enough Brightons, says a long-time local.
- by Samantha Keir
Opinion
My suburb is known as the Elwood of the west, but it’s actually better (apart from the stench)
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.
- by John Weldon
Opinion
My suburb has the best of all worlds. For years, there was a whiff of discontent
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.
- by Warren Duncan
Opinion
Snakes in the basement and summer dance parties: My suburb is a cut above plain old Coburg
There’s one thing that makes Coburg North superior to plain old Coburg, and it isn’t the all-day summer dance parties.
- by Michael Dwyer
Opinion
My suburb used to be a country town that looked down on its neighbours
The country town feel of our suburb still survives, even if we’re surrounded by sprawl instead of farmland these days.
- by Clancy Briggs
Opinion
Hands off, Camberwell: Melbourne’s most charming cinema is ours, not yours
My suburb’s stereotype is Lululemon, accountants and lawyers, with a lot of “Where are your kids at school?” There’s also the case of an inter-suburban theft.
- by Sarah Moller
Opinion
The parks in my valley suburb are great – but there’s a grim reason why
Cyclists and walkers can easily find relief from the inner city in my suburb’s walking tracks, which overlook the neighbourhood’s biggest misfortune.
- by Chris Poropat
Opinion
My tiny offshoot suburb is just like Coburg – but boring
I tell myself that we made a very canny investment when we moved here. But the only reason was because we’d been priced out everywhere else.
- by David Clements
Opinion
My suburb likes to hide its identity. Even our most famous building is misplaced
After coming up in the world, my suburb would love to build a moat around ourselves. Instead, we keep people out with a welcomed level crossing and plethora of speed bumps.
- by Cara Waters
Opinion
My suburb has a bad reputation, but buzzes with the energy of those making a second start
If you watched the recent Q&A filmed in my suburb, you’d think our area was little more than crime gangs, cultural ghettos and “white flight”.
- by Rhonda Garad
Opinion
My shabby suburb was once at the cutting edge. Now, it is filled with hard rubbish
I call my suburb retro chic, but others say it is shabby and tired. Change here is rapid, but one thing is certain - if you let go of your trolley in the Coles supermarket in Dorset Square it’ll go rogue.
- by Everard Himmelreich
Opinion
A notorious YouTuber came looking for trouble in my suburb – but we surprised him
I understand why Spanian stopped by during his tour of the world’s “most dangerous and notorious neighbourhoods”. The video he shot revealed who we really are.
- by Stefan Koomen
Opinion
My suburb was like a dozy old uncle. And then it discovered designer threads
When I told a snobbish friend I had found a small but affordable house, I was firmly instructed to tell everyone it was actually in Ormond.
- by Linda Himmelfarb
Opinion
I left Melbourne’s inner city to live on the fringe and found exactly what I needed
I’ve found a nurturing environment for my children. But like many locals in newer suburbs, I’m concerned about transport problems and access to services such as healthcare.
- by Shemsiya Waritu
Opinion
My suburb might be boring, but walking the streets is an extreme sport
Our streets have seen countless broken wrists and scraped knees, with many locals familiar with the thrill of fanging downhill on what are arguably suburban Melbourne’s steepest streets.
- by Joe Comer
Opinion
My suburb fought so hard to stay off the radar that Melburnians can’t even get its name right
It’s nice to live in a suburb that is just somewhere people are happy to live. We’ve got one cafe, one convenience store and two churches – and the only residential tower is a retirement village.
- by Ben Ruse
Opinion
Once beautiful but neglected: My ‘Cinderella’ suburb is Melbourne’s mid-century belle
My parents’ first date in the 1950s was at a party in my now home suburb. The area was popular at the time with creative types such as writers, artists, actors, fashion designers.
- by Fiona Austin
Opinion
If Carlton North and Footscray had a love child, it would look like my suburb
The contrasts of my suburb are never more evident than at spring carnival time, when hordes of the well-heeled gatecrash the neighbourhood.
- by Noel Newell
Opinion
My suburb is so defiantly untrendy, it feels like even the Bunnings is trying to escape
There’s no ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ around here – people quietly go about living their lives in a landscape of benign suburban sameness.
- by Marisa Mowszowski
Opinion
Grandma said my suburb was for ‘poor people’. Now it’s one of Melbourne’s most expensive
When we moved here, Grandma couldn’t understand why my parents wouldn’t buy somewhere nice, like Glen Waverley.
- by Isabel Robinson
Opinion
I moved from the trendy inner north to a boring suburb – and it was worth the trade-offs
Now, when I visit suburbs with cachet, I leave feeling that being burdened with that much cultural capital looks exhausting.
- by Justin Buckley
Opinion
My little-known suburb was an inner-city swamp known as ‘Worst Smelbourne’
These days, you can look out over a valley of curved metal for the best industrial sunset view in Melbourne.
- by Kylie Northover
Opinion
There’s much more to my suburb than gangsters and footballer’s wives
My neighbourhood is considered one of the posher western suburbs – but an element of the underworld makes it an interesting proposition.
- by Kerrie O'Brien
Opinion
A fight over a mural has put a frog in my suburb’s throat
My suburb has witnessed school closures and division over elevating the train station. It’s now united but conscious of over-development and a nearby shopping centre’s sprawl.
- by Mary-Jane Boughen
Opinion
A monstrosity looms over my suburb. Yet, it’s hard to beat as the place to live
In some suburbs, you’d find irritated locals fighting tooth and nail to have this monstrosity removed. In my suburb, many fought to have it heritage listed.
- by Lawrie Bradly
Opinion
My suburb is a woke, lefty haven. It may also be Melbourne’s whitest
When Peter Dutton takes aim at “woke inner-city elites”, he means people in my suburb, where all children (or wokelings) are fluent in Welcome To Country.
- by Tom Ormonde
Opinion
My village may be tiny but you can still get a latte every 165 metres
Our little community sits at the point where concrete suburbia meets bushland. And like all good frontier communities, we make our own rules.
- by Rosie Beaumont
Opinion
My suburb once had 98 pubs. These days, you’re more likely to bump into a ‘nana trolley’
With a “pub on every corner” during the gold rush, my neighbourhood is now a source of amusement for suburban workmates.
- by Ella Hamilton
Coles, Myer, Ansett: In my suburb, these weren’t brands. They were our neighbours
My suburb’s luminaries were regularly seen picking up their milk supplies in their Rolls-Royces, while locals told the time by spotting a tycoon in his private helicopter.
- by Jon McMillan
Opinion
My big hug of a suburb never wants for anything. Who cares if it’s boring and bland?
My suburb’s secret sauce is its solidity. What the younger me saw as boring and bland, I now recognise as reassuring, comfortable and privileged.
- by Jacquie Byron
Opinion
My unpretentious suburb is such a vast nothingness, it doesn’t even have a stereotype
Maybe Clayton South’s bubble of irrelevancy is its appeal. You can leave the house looking as terrible as you please, without fear of retribution.
- by Maggie Zhou
Opinion
My suburb is Melbourne’s smallest – and no, it’s not the one you think
Even after the Brighton Empire’s annexation, my whole suburb has so far defied the worst of the growth-for-growth’s-sake mindset.
- by Robert James Stove
Opinion
On the mean streets of 1970s Fitzroy, even the trees looked like they wanted to die
The Fitzroy of today – filled with bars, cafes, markets and designer boutiques – was unimaginable. But back then, locals loved the cheap rent and “anything goes” attitude.
- by Justine Costigan
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