If you grew up in Melbourne, you probably consider yourself extremely lucky to experience the riches of the world’s most liveable city. Here are your most likely identifiable features:
Melbourne is an extremely multi-cultural city, with only 23% of the Melbournian population identifying their roots as ‘Australian’. Made up of families from all ends of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and many more, Melbourne is truly such a colourful place to grow up culturally.
Every friendship group I have made from childhood has always been made up of different colours and flowers of the background bouquet, which always makes for great historical stories and meals upon visits!
Ever worn a jumper, shorts, sunhat, scarf, and had to carry an umbrella all in one day? If not, welcome to Melbourne!
Stable weather conditions really do come as a shock to us.
Melbourne has been recognised worldwide for the quality of its coffee. Home to some of the most inventive and technical baristas on earth, people travel far and wide to bask in the coffee culture that dominates our city streets and alleyways.
In a way this can work against us, as our standards for coffee have been set extremely high when trying coffee in other cities!
Along with coffee, Melbournians are extremely passionate (and fussy) about their food culture. It is home to over 5000 restaurants (the most in the world per capita) including cuisines from all over the world catering to breakfast, lunch, dinner and even desserts, we hardly ever disappoint.
Our food is also obnoxiously photogenic. Just ask Instagram!
The Melbourne / Sydney rivalry has been around since the beginning of time.
Ask any true Melbournian at heart, and you’ll hear countless stories of proof that “Sydney sucks!”
Those who haven’t even been to Sydney, still just ‘know’ with their sixth sense that it’s “shithouse”. Now that’s loyalty.
Every country has their own fashion capital, and for Australia, Melbourne is it!
Home of the country’s fashion week, as well as being home to the most successful and creative of independent designers, when fashion happens, it hits Melbourne first.
Melbourne also celebrates individuality, its streets are filled with people sporting different fashion styles from other decades and nations.
Beginning in 1861, the Melbourne Cup is dubbed one of the biggest horse racing events in the world, and really lives up to its slogan “The Race That Stops The Nation”. Its lead up and following events run for a course of weeks, and thousands every year scrub up in traditional ‘fashions on the field’ attire for a day of champagne and gambling.
Everyone gets a four day weekend out of it too, what’s not to love?!
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Personally, I had no idea this word was strange at all until friends from interstate acted blown away. Where did it come from? We’ll never know.
At least a good mystery is always grouse!
Melbourne is the proud brewing birth mother of craft beer in Australia, and Melbournians hold to this fact with great pride.
Many areas of Melbourne have taken on their own adaptions of the traditional ale (see: Brunswick Bitter), attracting people from far and wide to try their craft.
Melbourne is made up of an extremely creative community, including that of visual art and theatre. The Nation Gallery Of Victoria is running exhibitions all year round, and is open seven days a week, attracting both tourists and locals alike.
The city’s streets and lane ways are also filled with contemporary street art from the endless stream of local talent.
Theatres run shows all year round, including the hottest musicals of the time, so there’s always something to go and watch!
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While the notion of the traditional music festival in the bush has been around since the 1960’s (see Woodstock), recently Melbourne has taken it to a whole new level of partying with its ‘doofing’ culture.
Patrons go as far as designing their own creative costumes for the three day events, and travel from near and far to attend them.
Based in regional areas of Victoria, techno ‘doof’ raves truly have become the new nightclubs of Melbourne (making the older generation scratch their heads)!
Known as Australia’s sporting capital due to holding the most stadiums in the whole country, Melbourne is the place to be when it comes to live matches.
We are also home ground to ten out of eighteen AFL teams (the long weekend public holiday for the grand final also really helps get into the spirit)!
While live music gigs happen all over the country, Melbourne is certainly the most diverse and interesting when it comes to its music scenes.
From jazz bars in the city, to pub rock and punk bars in Collingwood, there’s always a live show for everyone!
Ah, the Melbourne show! The most exciting time of year for any kid.
Rides, the food pavilion, live shows, and most importantly, showbags!
I know I’m far too nostalgic to throw out my old showbags, my wardrobe is like something off of the show ‘Hoarders’. But hey, if you didn’t come back with literal showbag loot as a kid, did you even go?!
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Mykis… Making Melbournians miss their trains and flirt with ‘hefty fine’ death since 2009.
Ask any Melbounrian and they’ll shudder at the very word.
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