InnerMelbGirl

Fitzroy is great from a social aspect but day-to-day living can be more difficult. For example, the main supermarket on Smith St is often surrounded by people hassling you for money etc. Most of the banks left Brunswick St as it was taken over by fashion and cafes.

Make sure you check before you buy that you can get Foxtel! Some streets are not allowed cables and if you're in a body corporate situation you may have problems with a sat dish - this happened to me.

Public transport is only okay in my opinion as you don't have trains close by. A tram into the city is easy-peesy of course.

The streets are mostly pretty (particular George St and aorund there).

I've lived in inner city Melbourne for 15 years and never thought much about Richmond. I was turned off it due to the traffic on Punt Rd, but when I finally spent time here I realised the traffic only affects the people coming in and passing through, not the people that live here so much. I've been living here for 2 years now and don't ever want to leave.

What I love about it is the community vibe. Because of the mixture of white collar professionals on high income and the low income via the commission flats you end up with a great mixture of people and a wonderful community vibe that isn't often experienced in the inner city. This is reflected in the types of stores too. Cheap and expensive catering to both markets and a wide variety sometimes not seen in other inner city locations.

Best places to buy IMHO are north of Swan St, south of Highett St, west of Burney St