My suburb is fine. There’s an invisible dividing line and the other side is definitely nicer

August 3, 2026 — 7:00pm

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A place can be many different things to many different people. An objectively beautiful place may be a place of sadness or regret for some. A seemingly ugly, unattractive place may inspire a feeling of joy. Objectively, my suburb is neither. It’s not beautiful or ugly. But looked at from the right way, it is something more.

My experience is narrowed by the fact that the majority of my time is spent in a small, older pocket of the suburb. While it goes unsaid, busy Stud Road is the invisible dividing line between the nicer side and the more average one and crossing over to the nicer side seems like a bridge too far. But the few times I’ve travelled across, it’s definitely nicer. Newer houses, wider roads. Trendy eateries. My side is more pedestrian, a little older, ordinary.

I’ve been in Scoresby for over a decade. Like many who have since moved to the area, it provided an opportunity for a reasonably sized house, on a reasonably sized piece of land. It’s not the more desirable Wantirna South over the border. It’s not the Rowville down the road with its beautiful modern houses in parkland settings. But it has its advantages. It’s more affordable. And while public transport is poor, it’s not as poor as Rowville where the promised rail line continues to languish and likely will forever more (after all, if an idea first mooted in 1969 hasn’t happened in 2026, it’s probably never........

© The Age