Safe Melbourne Suburbs, do they still exist?

While safe Melbourne suburbs do exist, you first need to know what to look for. Some people get quite hung up on crime statistics but these figures can be skewed.

Even in blue chip areas of Melbourne there can be problems. This isn’t what you want to focus on. What you do need to look for are things that are appealing in a suburb.

To help you out, we have created a list further down the page.

This list includes things to be aware of when you are assessing whether or not somewhere is a safe Melbourne suburb for you and your family.

Firstly, though you need to think about what is important to you.

What is important to you in a safe Melbourne suburb? 

Do you want to know your neighbours well and have regular get togethers? Would you like your kids to play in the street and play with other kids? Do you prefer to mingle or keep to yourself?

Is privacy important to you? Are you looking for off-street or on-street parking? Would you like a more secure entry into your home?

For me, it is about being able to leave my kids at home for a while, knowing that my home is fully locked up and secure.

I need a secure entry into the property and a safe quiet street. Is this something you also need?

Are you wanting an area that is nice and quiet and you can be left at home in peace or do you want vibrancy and excitement.

What matters to you? What makes up safe Melbourne suburbs for you and your lifestyle? Are there some things that are more important than others?

Make a list and get clear on what you need and what safe Melbourne suburbs would look like for you.

Safe Melbourne suburbs tend to have a few things in common like: 

• Good Street scape
• Close to shops with a good community feel
• More shops that are updated and frequented by locals as well as outsiders
• Parklands with lots of families and/or good clean facilities
• Good schools nearby that have money spent on them
• Renovated homes and money being spent in the area
• Clean train stations that are also manned
• Lower crime rates than some nearby suburbs
• Clean streets
• Less cars on nature strips and in driveways
• Fewer run down properties

What do safe Melbourne suburbs look like? 

Many people say they want to live in safe Melbourne suburbs, but then they don’t really know what one looks like.

So we thought we would give you a few more things to consider when assessing your next suburb.

Firstly drive around a few suburbs. Have a look at the homes in the area. Check out how the homes are presented. Also look at who is out and about.

What type of people are they? Are there more singles or families with young kids? Are there more younger or older people there?

Neither are necessarily better than the other, however you want to make sure that if you are moving here that you won’t hate everyone around you.

Who will you be mixing with at the local shops and will you be happy here? What is the vibe like there?

Does this suburb or any suburb you spend time in feel like a safe Melbourne suburb to you?

A great way to check on the demographic is to go to the local shops. See if it is an area where a rougher demographic hang out all the time.

I grew up in a small country town and couldn’t stand the fact that every time I went to the local milk bar, the young “guys” were hanging out there.

I never felt safe going to the shops there and hated that I had to see these guys all the time. It was like that was all they had to do. “Stare at people, suss them out and make them feel uncomfortable.”

If you have kids, do you want them feeling too afraid to go the shops? Or worse, do you want your kids hanging out like this?

You just have to spend time there. 

Also when you do drive around areas, go at different times of the day. Things can look great during the day and not so good at night.

If there is a train station, drive the route to different places. Would you feel safe walking from the train station to your home? If you drive, would you feel safe getting off the train at night and walking to your car?

Knowing Melbourne as we do, there are some areas that we just would not want to live. For us this is usually based on how safe the suburb feels. We also investigate thing like the bus stops and the train station of an area. Are these well kept and who are the demographic using them.

The quality of the local shops and how clean a shopping centre is is something else that we tell our home buyers to look into.

You tend to spend quite a bit of time in your local shops and if they are dirty you can end up resenting where you live.

For example, most of the Coles supermarkets are generally pretty clean. There is one suburb however in Melbourne that always seems dirty and the shops around it are often dirty too. Funnily enough, the demographic around there is also a bit concerning. Hence I never shop here.

What don’t you like in your area now? What would you change about the suburb where you live?

As property advocates, we can help you get this right. Alternatively we can teach you exactly what to look out for so you don’t end up buying in the wrong suburb.

Crime Statistics

Remember, you want to enjoy where you live. You may also want to feel safe where you live and if that is the case you need to know what to assess.

Yes, crime statistics can be important and can affect your enjoyment of living. If you would like to check to see if a suburb you are considering is potentially a safe Melbourne suburb, then you can enter the postcode here.