Life in the ’burbs
Opinion
Fitzroy
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
Latest
In winter, my suburb feels like an abandoned carnival – and that’s its appeal
Aspendale is a sleepy paradise from Monday to Friday, a blip on Nepean Highway on the way to Frankston. But my suburb is transformed on weekends.
- by Jane Lewis
I teased a friend who moved to this daggy suburb. Then I joined her – and fell in love
After a fruitless search in cooler suburbs, my partner and I ended up in Glen Iris ourselves, thinking we wouldn’t stay in the area long. Twenty-five years and two extensions later, we’re still here.
- by Lisa Drought
Opinion
Opinion
My suburb has a language barrier – and it makes people act differently
Owning a piece of sky instead of land? Raising a family in an apartment? All these things are normal in Asia, and yet so strange to many Australians.
- by Meg Davies
Opinion
Opinion
In my suburb, a bypass was meant to fix the traffic. But people still pour in
The shops are now bigger and brighter in Greensborough’s beehive of development – and no longer owned by people whose names I once knew.
- by Martin Galvin
Opinion
Opinion
Who needs the trendy inner city? My suburb had the Hemsworths
Inseparable like two peas in a pod, my suburb and its twin are tight-knit communities where families intermingle across their Scouts and sports clubs without a second thought.
- by Kellie Floyd
Opinion
Opinion
My bayside suburb is split in half by eight lanes of pain
When I moved house, friends in the “Bayside Bubble” promised they would visit. But one thing turned out to be as much of a psychological barrier as a physical one.
- by Sofia Dedes
Opinion
Note From The Editor
Which stories prompt the most positive feedback? The Age has a new winner
One series of articles is attracting so much love, it has continued four times longer than planned.
- by Patrick Elligett
Opinion
North Melbourne
My suburb attracts a cult-like loyalty, despite the grit and the gangsters
We haven’t had a gangland funeral across the road for years, but North Melbourne has always been an in-between place – a suburb of two identities.
- by Virginia Trioli
Opinion
For subscribers
My suburb used to embarrass me. Now I get why its homes come at a 30% premium
I’m proud to live in McKinnon now, but as a child, I was embarrassed by the suburb my grandparents called home. Why couldn’t they live in the more fashionable Caulfield South?
- by Melissa Singer
Opinion
For subscribers
Like the legendary soapie filmed there, my suburb is going through a revival
After leaving Nunawading in the 1980s, the quest for a refrigerator recently drew me back to my childhood suburb. Somehow, the neighbourhood survived without us.
- by Daphne Briggs