rebelu

So, since this section generates a lot of debate I think it helps to know the position the reviewer is coming from. I'm a tertiary-educated professional in their 40s, but not wealthy by a long shot. I've been both dirt poor and doing all right at various stages in my life, most often leaning towards poor. However, education is key. I bought in this suburb as there was no investment value in anything I could afford in Melbourne. You can't really understand Norlane unless you talk about what it feels like to live here, which is it doesn't feel good. And it's the people, not the houses or infrastructure that make the feel. It feels rough. To say it's a feral suburb is accurate. The people, whether they are unemployed, living with challenges, or working, have a really rough mentality. They aren't kind or good - selfishness and disrespect of other's boundaries is the norm. Bullying, harassment and abuse abound. Again, education is key. While it is better for people to be living above the poverty line, and working if they are able, it won't do anything but create 'cashed up bogans' in Norlane. They'll still have their four cars on the nature strip, if not a boat, their cattle dogs that have gone mad in their backyard, barking. They'll still be screaming abuse at their families, smoking up a storm in the garden and making their neighbours' lives a misery. I say this as someone who did not come from a good or stable home but who chose education and acting with generosity towards others, rather than replicating abuse. The only hope for the suburb is mixed housing. In this respect, the gentrification of the suburb by educated Melbournians is what is going to save it. It's already begun, and the faster it happens the better. Having said that, location-wise, the suburb has massive potential. Cowrie Creek and the waterfront. Train to Melbourne and Geelong. Shopping mall. Shopping strips. An active grassroots community. Schools and parks. Walking paths. Give all this the facelift and upgrade it needs and you have the next western Melbourne suburb, like Footscray, Seddon etc.