Footscray_res

I was initially hesitant moving from East St Kilda to Footscray but have been so pleasantly surprised. Since we didn't really know much about the area before moving in and what we did hear was often negative we really felt like we had come across a 'hidden gem'! The area has fantastic community spirit, brilliant dining options, great shopping with multi-cultural Barkley street and Highpoint just down the road and good public transport. The location is 10-20 mins drive from the CBD, beaches and Williamstown. The area is definitely getting better and better with great new cafés and shops opening all the time. There's also a great creative community with many artists in the area. There's plenty of colourful characters around, living in the area for 5 yrs I haven't felt unsafe and certainly haven't seen anything worse than I see in other inner city suburbs all the time like East St Kilda or Prahran. The arcade area is the only problem I think and needs a clean up by council and police. I think if local council and governments support for the area and it's residence improved it would be even better. Its reputation continues to dog the area (I think mostly this is due to people who are totally unfamiliar with the area commenting or people remembering the area from 20 years ago) however it's no longer justified. To sum up, Footscray is a fantastic suburb! Footscrays location, affordability and all it has to offer will ensure it wont be a secret for long!

I don't think you could beat Coral Avenue for its community spirit, beautiful homes and location. It's a quiet street, not a lot of traffic and safe. There hasn't been a burglary in the street since I have lived there (5 yrs) that I know of. There's a mix of couples, families and retirees. Most of the houses were built around the 40's, have been beautifully restored and have lovely character. The vast majority of the gardens are really nicely maintained. We always get compliments on how lovely the street is from visitors. I think it's going to get very hard to buy into Coral Ave as no one wants to move out, all the houses are lovely, the area is fantastic and just getting better and better. It's an easy walk to cafés, shops, schools and public transport and is so close to the CBD.