Yarraville

[NicF]

Anyone know what Yarraville is like as a suburb? We are going over in July and my OH has found a place to stay in Yarraville but the outside looks a bit dodgy to me. Would it be a reasonable area to stay for a few days or are we best avoiding it?

[Allgood]

I don't think there is honestly anywhere in Melbourne I would say is dangerous to stay in if it's just for a few days.

 

I lived in the Western Suburbs for 3.5 years and have been through Yarraville many a time. It's not the South East suburbs but I wouldn't say it's overly rough. In fact I drove past through recently when the freeway was backed up and they have made some really nice new developments there.

 

If you there on a weekend go to Williamstown, it's really nice.

[Quinkla]

I don't think there is honestly anywhere in Melbourne I would say is dangerous to stay in if it's just for a few days.

Agreed - in the rougher areas the danger tends to come from feuds or resentments that build over time. You'd be more liked to get a random attack staying in the CBD I think.

[emu]

Yarraville is a cute suburb with a village feel. If anythjng it could be boring but is close to CBD and on the train line and not far from the beach. Is perfectly safe. It's a nice suburb. Look out for Cobb Lane bakery run by a British baker.

[NicF]

Thanks everyone for the responses. It turns out the place my OH was looking at was on a main(ish) road above a shop just a few doors down from a pub so I ruled it out on that basis. We've found another place near Fitzroy Gardens instead (East Melbourne side) which hopefully will be okay.

[boganbear]

YarraVille used to be rough many years ago but it's gone upmarket with young couples, yuppies and hipsters. I lived in Williamstown but it's good if you can't afford Willy.

[Kombilad]

Yarraville is a very hip suburb and like anywhere hip its not clean and perfect it has life about it. It's grown from an undesirable suburb where all the dock workers lived (and surrounding suburbs) to a migrant suburb now to a gentrified young family and Hipster suburb. This latest change has been of the last 12 years. I live nearby and would have to think hard about moving away from here.

[Petals]

Yarraville too noisy and polluted with trucks exhaust for me. Fitzroy home of the young and hip and close to everything.

[Petkula73]

Trendy in an "up and coming" sort of way - i.e. cool bars and restaurants, but parts of it better than others. If you like up and coming areas in London you'll like it.

 

As per a comment above, there are no really dangerous suburbs in Melbourne. Crime is pretty low across Australia.

[Kombilad]

Yarraville too noisy and polluted with trucks exhaust for me. Fitzroy home of the young and hip and close to everything.

 

With all respect Petals the hipsters in the last six years have moved on to other more affordable suburbs such as Brunswick, Northcote, Thornbury and incresingly Footscray for its arts community. Fitzroy has become a victim of its own success.

Like any once vibrant hip inner city suburbs once the developers moved in and all the housing have become gentrified it become too expensive to buy or rent in, so it's mainly the domain of high earners now who want to live close to the CBD. Fitzroy still has its high street (Brunswick St.) which still has some of its bohemian ways but it seems to be increasingly watered down in the last five years as long term renters move on and rents have increased. I've seen this happen to lots of my friends who lived there during there studies then moved away in the last eight years.

 

If anyone is farmilier with Sydneys Newtown its the same as what's happened to that.

 

Melbourne is a safe city and does have its fair share of interesting suburbs. There is a good reason it's been named the worlds most liveable City for the fourth consecutive year. Like all the inner suburbs (within 10 Kilometers of the CBD) there is a higher crime rate like any city in the world but these problems are nowhere comparable to the major cities in the UK.