Decimus

I have lived here for two years and could easily live here forever if I could own a modest unit or small house. Fairly typical of inner Melbourne but the main difference is its residential nature. Most of the suburb is built upon wide tree-lined streets. Extensive traffic management over the decades has eliminated the massive peak hour volumes of heavy vehicles and commuters from the outer suburbs. This has given back the area some of its 19th & early 20th Century ambience in most areas. There is a lack of competitive retail shopping and consumer services in the suburb but being so densley populated means little room for retail and commercial development. Food shopping is noticeably poor quality and very expensive and there are better choices on quality and price 5 to 10 kilometres away. Dining out is good and there is a variety of cuisine for all tastes. Employment in the area is very limited and is declining as small scale manufacturing and business is eliminated by imports and high rents and taxes. The high value of land almost assures redevelopment of any parcel of land or warehouse to concrete block appartments which sell at exhorbitant prices compared to their historical average. Whilst this is not a medium for commentary on real estate economics it is something to consider. The area is characterised by its period housing which attracts a lot of young people. They tend to share houses as groups and even though the rents might be very high, apportioning the cost over several couples of singles makes it affordable. You can always pick the young renters, rubbish on the porch, long grass, beer bottles on the table. But then there are home owners who are like that also. There are a lot of nice people living here from all walks of life and they all tend to be sociable and friendly. Public housing blends in with the rest of the housing but it also suffers from a lack of care. To be able to live long term in this suburb you need to be affluent and not worry about the cost of the property you are buying or renting. I have seen rentals increase by 20 to 30% each year for the last two years and owners maximise their returns. Subsequently rental turnover is high and this has forced a lot of younger people to move out to Thornbury and Cobury to the ends of the tram and zone 1 areas. Whilst I think that it is a nice place to live and it suits us for the time being, I could be just as happy elsewhere. Home is where the heart is and the food does not taste any better no matter what the suburb is.