Larissa Dubecki

Time has seen Hawthorn continue to keep up with the real estate Joneses of Melbourne.

To eyes untainted by the history of the Windy Hill footy ground and Essendon Airport, however, it’s a haven of quiet affluence where the good life is an attainable ideal.

Mere mortals can dream but there’s no price on wandering the streets, some with a thigh-burning gradient, where historic showpieces have been renovated into modern marvels.

“People are waking up to the fact that the Mornington Peninsula offers more than Portsea and Sorrento.”

“The people who live there are very proud of it, and they’re very loyal to each other.”

“Even in winter we get 50, 60 or 70 tourists a day coming to photograph the beach boxes.”

Will it surprise you to learn that Northland Shopping Centre is four years older than the Preston Market?

The Gippsland town is thriving in the post-pandemic era

Just 25 kilometres from the CBD homes can be snapped up for a fraction of the price. It’s not hard to see why the Melbourne West Growth Corridor boasts some of the city’s fastest-growing suburbs.

It attracts avid rock climbers and adventure hounds, but it’s also a magnet for people whose idea of roughing it is a shared bathroom.