Life in the ’burbs
Opinion
Middle Park
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
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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
West Melbourne
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
Essendon
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
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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
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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
Fitzroy North
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
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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
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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
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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
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