By Rick-Michael King
It was love at first visit. Over the years I’d come to the city of Melbourne a few times for weekends away or to conduct training for work and had always enjoyed it.
I’m Sydney born and bred and lived in a suburb called Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west. I’d always felt some sort of loyalty to my home city and couldn’t have imagined living anywhere else. That was destined to change as I began to lose my affinity for the city and came to the realisation it wasn’t where I was meant to be. Sydney is not the city it used to be and doesn’t offer the appeal it once held. There is something about Melbourne that feels right, so a few months ago my partner and I made the decision we wanted to move here. We had inspected a few areas including Carlton, Fitzroy and Avondale Heights but after visiting Melbourne’s inner west it was Yarraville that won our hearts.
It’s funny how the energy of a place can impact you because all it took was one visit and the transition has been very easy. I remember stepping off the train instantly feeling ‘This is home’. Yarraville offers the sense of community we’ve longed for, the village has everything we need and it is just the right distance from the city centre. We were surprised Yarraville had the Newtown feel of bohemian culture mixed with modern necessities and old-school hospitality. There is a broad, diverse demographic here also which speaks well for the suburb.
There’s a lot to be said for common pleasantries. The people here are warm, friendly and more than willing to help, whether it’s a person in the street assisting me with directions or our neighbours looking after our place while we’re away. Receiving a smile with ‘Hello’ or ‘Good Morning’ when you make eye contact with someone is almost non-existent in Sydney. Here, people greet you in the street, they say thank you for holding the door open and pull over in their car to let you go first down a narrow street…Wow! It’s a nice change and something that makes me feel really at home. This is the Australian way I remember and this community brings me back to those roots.
We’ve discovered a few favourite places to go, such as; Little Advi or Java Café for a great breakfast; Feedback Café for a really good coffee; Vault for trendy and sophisticated dinner atmosphere; and a surprising find is Yarraville Club. The staff are very attentive and helpful with local information, not to mention great service and fantastic food. We became members of the club within a week of being here. Cruickshank Reserve is a beautiful, well-kept parkland for walking or a picnic. The Yarraville Psychic and Wellness Expo was another great discovery as this coincides with my business, Ecliptic Holistic Development, helping people evolve themselves mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
It’s clear to see the inhabitants of Yarraville are proud of living here with their manicured gardens, beautifully maintained homes and taking great care for what happens in their neighbourhood. I am proud to show off our new home town to our interstate friends who visit and I happily admit this is now the place where I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
