Life in the ’burbs
- Opinion
- Aberfeldie
My mansion-lined suburb’s a little bit posh – but we also have a notorious underbelly
Despite a disreputable side, my tiny neighbourhood is surely the happiest suburb in Melbourne, even if no one knows where we are.
- Denis Harvey
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My uncool suburb is so under-the-radar, even the criminals avoid us
Although my neighbourhood shares a border with an apparently world-famous suburb, it’s one of those places that might as well be in Narnia.
- John Bailey
- Opinion
- Rowville
My suburb was promised a train station, but all we’re getting is a ‘trackless tram’
When I first moved here, nobody had any idea where it was. Now this bucolic suburb is packed full of million-dollar mansions.
- Nick Brennan
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My suburb isn’t flashy like South Yarra or grungy like Windsor, it’s the Goldilocks of Chapel Street
Many of our local institutions are technically in other suburbs. But for all its quirks and scruffiness, it’s never boring.
- Andrew Dye
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My suburb felt eerie when I first came here. Now, it’s difficult to leave
During my visit 15 years ago, there were no shops, few homes and no roundabouts, while a central arterial road literally came to a gravelly stop next to the local oval.
- Peter Waterhouse
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My suburb is the unglamorous sibling of a seaside gem. But we’re still better
I can’t imagine growing up in a fabulous house by the postcard-pretty beach. Instead, there was something freeing in our quiet spaciousness.
- Gareth Morgan
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My suburb is the South Yarra of the north. But good luck trying to find it
With quirky art, a hidden shopping strip and century-old gums, my suburb is the closest thing to a country town this side of the green wedge.
- Belinda Johnston
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I was warned about our suburb. Then we accidentally moved here
While inspecting a house, we stared out at the suburb, so taken aback by one feature that we forgot to look at the rest of the house properly.
- Tammy Wong Hulbert
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No one knew where my suburb was. Then one store changed everything
We were hidden away between a river and two freeways until a local man’s hustle and yellow handwritten signs catapulted us to fame.
- Margaret Raffle
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- Brunswick West
My suburb’s so daggy, our local shops are known as the ‘Square of Despair’
With a retro, neglected vibe and horrific public toilet, our shopping centre almost feels like it shouldn’t count.
- Sian Campbell