Back to Basics: City Living

I can't emphasize enough how great it is to live in the city versus living in the suburbs. You have the whole city at your fingertips. We've been looking at apartments online to see what selection of places we might be able to look when we start apartment hunting next week. Some of the top criteria on my list are: an open plan kitchen/living area, a balcony and windows with a view. The more photos I look at the more I want to live in Southbank. It's swanky, chic and right next to the Yarra River. The views from the apartments are fantastic and the apartments themselves are just breathtaking. Who wouldn't want to enjoy a glass of wine or two while taking in this view from your balcony?

There's something about dinner parties, warm weather and balconies that go well together. The only downside to living in Southbank is that technically it's an inner city suburb--not quite inner city, not quite a suburb. The area used to be an industrial park, but as a part of an urban renewal plan heaps of highrise apartment building, restaurants and shops have sprung up in the area. Our previous aparment was in the perfect area of the city, right on Swanston street -- what I consider to be the city's main street. That aparment has so many downsides to it the main one being that both of our windows faced a wall and hardly any sunlight came in. The location was perfect: right next to Melbourne Central shopping centre, across the street from the QV shopping centre, public transport dropped you off right in front of the building, etc, etc.

I think I'm sold on Southbank on the swankyness alone!