annet12

The Positives: West Footscray is a hidden gem with Barkly St Village and great public transport (via Buses at least), and generally lovely people who live there. It seems to be a huge mix of different types of people: young families, young couples, elders, and renters. There appears to be a melting pot of different groups of people from different backgrounds but it is slowly gentrifying as the house prices soar. Generally some streets are whisper quiet while others are quite busy. I love the elders who are still living here; they're friendly and smile with a 'good morning!'. The younger residents (such as couples walking their pets or babies) keep to themselves and appear quite happy. Everyone seems to have a pet dog and there's a dog park that's frequently used, as well as a footy oval and another large park. Internet speeds are good and maintained with little down time, so working from home is good but...

The Negatives: I'm on Essex Street and I can say that despite it not technically being a main road, it may as well be. There are many cars that exceed the speed limit of 40km/h and have loud exhausts which causes noise pollution at all hours of the day and night, some property destruction (our mailbox and neighbour's fences were smashed in), and theft (car was stolen earlier this year, packages have been stolen from front porch). I don't feel safe when cycling (I'm an experienced rider with 6+ years of road cycling in CBD and inner east) and have been almost run over several times despite indicating when turning or having right of way. When we first moved in back in 2018, there was a clearly drug afflicted individual roaming the street shouting at the top of their lungs at 3am. Over the past 3 years of living here, it's worsened. It's not as bad as when I lived in Footscray in the 90s but at least I could enjoy magpie songs in the morning back then.

West Footscray is great but Essex Street is a massive shame. Please beware if you're thinking of buying here.