Hipstroy

Last week was a holiday weekend and I traveled back to Melbourne to visit friends.  I have spent the past 6 weeks living in Nowra and needed to get out of town.  When I lived in Melbourne I lived in Fitzroy. It seemed like one of the cool neighbourhoods that everyone talked about at the hostels when I arrived. I was lucky to find a sublease when I did. The house I stayed in most likely dated from the 1860's and was not very modern. The front of the house was two bedrooms and the rear was a stable, which now is another bedroom and lounge. The kitchen and bath are added on and I had to walk around the old stable to take a shower in the crisp mornings. I was reminded that I was paying steep rent because of the location and because Fitzroy was such a “hip” neighbourhood that the lifestyle would pay for its self. The location was cool. I was a 10 minute walk to parliament train station, and tram lines ran on the main streets on either side of my place. There were many bars and restaurants within a few minutes walk. Also very close by was 2 large public housing blocks. Apparently 20 years ago Fitzroy was very blighted and store front rents were very affordable for artists to set up their studios.

As with many places where hippies and arties take up residence, real estate prices creep up as well over the period of several years. This was no exception for Fitzroy. The people who called this enclave home were mostly hipsters or rockabilly or something in between. Is hipster style the same across continents,? I am from Nebraska and have no idea! Girls always wore skirts, but had some sort of crazy designer leggings. Guys would roll up their pants so their upper ankles would be showing or tuck their trousers into their boots. Girls sometimes had hair dyed two colours, half blonde/ half pink, sometimes vertically, sometimes horizontally. Work boots were deemed to be cool and the dirtier looking the clothing the more in vogue you were. I was lucky I finally fit in somewhere when I walked home from my construction jobs covered in mud in grubby clothes. The 1950's are back with regards to men's haircuts. A lot of guys would have their hair slicked back behind the ears like John Travolta in Grease. Another style is the t-shirt with rolled up sleeves. There was a rockbilly dance club on Smith street where swing music was the norm.

I had major issues with weird people in general. Hobos from the public building projects run rampant on the streets. When I wait for the tram on any given day I'm asked for my spare change at least once. It could be a big city thing, but I don't remember anywhere I have lived that had some many mental cases. I had many experiences at the local McDonald’s(another story) with these people. On the day I moved out my flat mate and I ate a burger for lunch at Huxtaburger, a Smith Street staple. We sat outside on the pavement and within in 20 minutes we were pestered by hobos asking for spare change. This happened right in front of the restaurant in outdoor seating separated from pedestrian traffic! The second dude asked at the exact time our food was brought to us and the staff did nothing!

 I know Melbounians are very proud of their city, but I’m sure that these things I have brought up are no strangers to other cites of comparable size. It was impossible for a single guy to find a cab at night because of the rash of mugging and murders. The entire time it seemed like the whole city was seedy and crime ridden, and all of this before this awful crime happened. I have come to the conclusion that Melbourne is definitely not the world's most livable city, unless you enjoy strange haircuts, crime, grime and  doin time.