The choice of the neighborhood you live in very much determines the whole vibe of the stay. It sets the tone, the places you discover, the people you meet…

After five weeks in Melbourne I can say: I am Fitzroy. This is my area. I really like this tiny little rectangle, bordered by Nicholson and Smith streets to the West and East, Alexandra and Victoria Parade to the North and South.

It’s the tiniest post code in Melbourne, VIC 3065 by the way, only measures 1.4 square kilometers and is home to only 9430 people, according to the 2011 census. It was named after Charles Augustus FitzRoy, who was Governor of the Colony New South Wales between 1846 and 1855.

Fitzroy is buzzing. The number of restaurants and bars along Brunswick, Smith, Gertrude and Johnston Streets is crazy. If in all my time I had visited one place for breakfast, one for lunch, dinner and maybe a bar at night, every day, I would still not be through with it.

With the exception of four high apartment buildings dedicated to social housing, the houses are small, and are mostly only one, at best two stories high. Many of them still have the metal ornaments on their verandas and balconies, and many houses and cottages still carry a name, presumably of the first family who built them.

It was planned as the first suburb to Melbourne in the 1800s. And planned it is, strictly rectangular. But then, a lot of lanes intersect the rectangles, creating new spaces and other angles, as they will not necessarily run straight through.

Fitzroy also had its problems in the past. It was a working class district with factories and warehouses, but with the decline of industry, it went downhill. Kate told me that in the 80s the area was problematic. Unemployment, drugs… the usual urban problems that have hit many cities.

But Fitzroy bounced back, changed, and gentrified. It’s bohemians, it’s hipsters, it’s tattooed and bearded guys with slim fit pants and weird hairdo’s. However, it gentrified only to a degree. It still feels alternative, slightly rugged, full of graffiti… and it is still housing its own, original stores.

There simply are no chains. No Starbucks, no McDonald’s, not even a Seven Eleven, I think. Two supermarkets of national chains seem to be the only major ones. So you get a unique shopping experience that won’t be the same as everywhere else.

The trams rumble through Fitzroy, I can chose between three lines running towards the CBD. Bike lanes are well planned, indicated… and respected!

I feel at home in Fitzroy. As great as other areas may be in Melbourne, this is the one I would move to.

Melbourne has a weird north-south divide, determined by the Yarra River. The southern parts like St. Kilda seem to be richer, nicer, and were the centre of cultural life, until the north bounced back. Cool now is North of Yarra.

I can’t really grasp that after a couple of weeks here, but the divide is real. Many times I heard: nah, we don’t go out south/north… depending on who said it.

So I ended up in Fitzroy. If I had lived in St. Kilda, or Brunswick, Richmond or Prahran, my experience of Melbourne would have been great, too, no doubt, but also very different. I’ve explored these places too, but not as much as I would have liked.

Next time, Melbourne. But this time around, the award goes to Fitzroy.