Kensington, VIC 3031

Easily the best suburb I’ve ever seen or lived in! Especially if you love good urban green space design. Close proximity to the maribyrnong river trails, local wetland. There’s little parks and gardens around every corner, and with old buildings and colourful houses, the suburb just feels village like and vibrant. There’s nothing like it this close to Melbourne CBD.

Just a dull, lifeless, inner-city, Greens-loving, snobby suburb.

Kensington has some incredibly beautiful buildings, a lot of older buildings too! Great cafe options and shopping opportunities. This is a great suburb to live in, not far from Flemington. Neighbourhood is friendly and quite safe in my opinion.
Steve Mac - House Land Co

A lovely community close to the CBD, with lots of public transport options. The suburb is growing quickly.

A gem, with a great mix of young families and professionals. So close to the city and the suburb is well serviced with schools, transport and shopping nearby.

We have been living in Kensington for over 4 years and had 2kids while living here. It is just a great area for kids with a lot of playgrounds, a wonderful community with lots of families. Nice walk along with the stalls that lead along the river. Lot's of lovely restaurants and coffee shop to go out. 10min train ride from Parliament station, i think around 20min from Victoria market via tram. Moonee ponds is great for shopping. Just a wonderful area.

When buyers/renters reference Kensington as prospective suburb in which to live I often think they are sub consciously seeing Kensington/Flemington as the same – the two share the same 3031 postcode. The two suburbs I think should be viewed separately - with Flemington to the north of Racecourse Rd - the poorer cousin- to Kensington to the south of Racecourse Rd. As evidenced by Kensington’s higher median house price.

PLUS
“Village” like feel
Good range of cafes & restaurants – Laksa King in adjoining Flemington is one of my favourite Asian food spots in Melbourne & The Premises in Bellair street my favourite Kensington café.
Very good public transport with three train stations accessible depending on what area of the suburb you live in
Easy access to Citylink
Good for cyclists re access to the river bike paths
Some leafy streets with relatively consistent historical (predominantly Victorian) architecture
Relatively affordable for the inner city e.g. a double fronted Victorian here may be bought for circa the same amount as single fronted Victorian inner bayside e.g. Albert Park or inner south east e.g. South Yarra
Access to the Maribyrnong River & various parks inc. Royal Park
Easy access to the CBD
The CBD's drift west - towards Docklands - favours Kensington

MINUS
The elephant in the room is the large volume of Housing Commission in the locality
Crime, vagrancy, drug users in the locality are noted by some residents as being a downside of the suburb
Nearest large supermarket is in North Melbourne
New multi-unit housing stock both townhoses & apartment blocks - a lot of which is of dubious architectural merit & poor build quality is impacting the “charm” of the suburb. However this is consistent with what is happening across Melbourne, not just in Kensington

Scott Hall – Buyers Advocate – 0457 513 124

The past six years in Kensington have been great.

Three train stations and only two stations away from the City Loop, or 15 minutes in the car to get to the city makes for convenience.

The local shopping strip is great, with good take away options (the old-school fish and chips are delicious), brunch / coffee (The Premises), and nice homewares stores (Dwell, Tempted). Newmarket and North Melbourne for Woolworths are close, and Highpoint / CBD shops are also easy to access.

The stock route trail makes for a lovely walk, with pretty small parks dotted along the route to the Maribyrnong River.

This area has always felt safe and homely, and it is nice to be close to the city and to feel as though you’ve ‘escaped’ it as soon as you get home. Great community feel.

Great suburb that is close to public transport, as well as the city. It has a great community spirit and is very family friendly. It has a great range of neighbourhoods that are perfect for families. It includes a range of restaurants and cafes which are good value. Definitely recommend this neighbourhood for anyone looking to live close to the city.

Kensington is a small town-like leafy pretty suburb, with three train stations (Macauley, Kensington, and South Kensington) and buses at your doorstep, primary and secondary schools, basic shops, medical services, gyms and pools, cafes and some park patches. Some old streets are very pretty with traditional terrace houses and small picked fenced homes that are really lovely to walk by; however, the suburb is also full of cookie-cut apartment blocks used by Public Housing and Unison.

Population is a a mix of locals and foreigners, something that I always love. I'd say that people in their 30s form the majority of my neighbourhood.

What makes a suburb great is not just the facilities in it, it's the spirit of the community. Despite what some newspapers say about Kensington, this is the most unfriendly neighborhood I've ever lived in. In my block, a good deal of neighbors are unfriendly, rude, noisy, prone to malicious gossip, no manners or friendliness whatsoever, with a dubious behaviour some of them. Greetings aren't returned, people tend to leave space and stop on the stairs just not to come across anyone else, they avoid looking at you or totally ignore you when coming across, you open the door for them and not even a thank you, you are a bit friendly and they look at you as if you wanted something from them; slamming doors at any time of the day and night is common. As I've said, that is not just one weirdo or two, this is common behaviour among a lot of my current and past neighbours. I've never ever experienced this kind of behaviour anywhere else. Many people would think that I'm talking about immigrants, but they aren't. One could argue that it's just my floor or a couple of neighbours; however, people change very often in this building, so I've had many different neighbours, and too many of them are of the same kind, unfortunately. One could argue that I'm the problem, right? but I've lived in many neighbourhoods in Australia and I have never experienced this kind of behaviour.

I'm sure if I lived in the posh side of Kensington, when houses are lovely and you see neighbours talking with each other and greeting passers by, my experience would be different; however, my experience is way different and as valid as anyone's else, and it is the only experience I have in Kensington.

Blocks of apts are massive in some areas of Kensington. At first sight the blocks and apts look fab, but once you live in, you'll notice the poor sound proofing, the easy-peeling painting, the poor building structure, the hollow tiling, the bad plumbing, that main doors slam with barely touching them, etc. A good part of the structure is not solid concrete but timber, which is great if you have a home, but not so great if you live in a block that gets the building alarm beeping if you steak is sizzling on the stove a bit too long. Great places if you are going to stay for two years or so beyond that, you'll want to move.

Renting is quite expensive for apartments that are impersonal and poorly built. The blocks in my area are badly oriented, and some get too much sun or too much shade, depending on the apartment, or sun in summer and shade in winter in some others. No lift is the norm, so forget it if you have a disability or become sick.

I feel safe in Kenso, that's a good thing. I love the location and environment and some streets are really pretty, but my experience in my block has never been satisfactory mostly because of a good deal of neighbours have been unfriendly and unwanting to engage, scared of a simple hello. One stops saying hello because one doesn't want to great the walls or come as interested on anything, but that's never a sign of a good neighbourhood. This is my experience, if it is not yours, good for you, but don't come to insult me because my experience is different from yours.

After living in various share homes in St Kilda, South Yarra and Kew, I decided to make the move west to Kensington and haven't looked back! For me, Kensington is the perfect blend of convenience, being only 2 train stations or 20min away from the CBD whilst offering a quiet village like vibe one would expect from a rural town. I have spoken to all my neighbours and they have lived in the area for 10-20yrs...it definitely has a more laid back vibe to the hustle and bustle of South Yarra and St Kilda, although is not as boring or sterile as Kew.

There are some nice old houses in Kensington, but there's also some ugly areas full of council housing. Overrated, expensive suburb.

Full of typical Melbourne snobby Greens voters, as well as having pockets of State Housing areas.

Kensington has a wonderful village feel. We have lived here for 4 years and it feels like home. People are friendly when you're out walking your dog and there are lots of smiles from familiar faces. The old Stockroute walkway is particularly nice to walk on a daily basis. The trees and gardens are very relaxing and well-kept. Maribyrnong River has nice spots to walk/ride to including Footscray Park and Footscray Arts Centre where you can get breakfast. JJ Holland is another favourite with sports teams always on the go, beautiful trees and a BMX park filled with kiddies. Easy to walk to train stations and buses, as well as the 57 tram/supermarkets. Highpoint is a really quick drive. Loving all of the new restaurants opening up (e.g. Mexican tortilleria.. also keen to try the new Korean) and Hardimans is a great local pub. Especially love the trivia nights there. I'm not sure if some of the previous comments about safety are relating to the Flemington side of the tracks, but we feel very safe in Kensington and love walking around the area. I've found the old stigma about the area means you can get much bigger and nicer apartments/houses on this side of town than the East/South side for your money (I've lived on both sides). Eastern suburbs friends have been really surprised when they see how nice the area is for how much we pay.

Great place to live! Multiple supermarkets, gyms and parks. Cafes, Hardimans, White Rabbit Record Bar in Kensington. Laksa King/Chef Leganda/Spicy Tofu in Flemington. So close to everything, 2 train lines, buses and a tram: $15 cab to Brunswick/Lygon St/CBD/North Melbourne.

Community based, unpretentious, hipster-free zone. Could do with a few more places to go get a drink and would be better if there were more things open on Sunday.

I like Kensington, because it's close to the city. Nothing better than that. Everything else is bad, the neighbours are nice, I met a few ppl for a year living here. 2 weeks after we moved in someone broke into our brand new car (Audi) smashed the rear window and got inside tried to steal or drive away with our car, unfortunately, because of the deadlock and the security he was unable to succeed. We found out earlier in the morning when we approached the car and we saw that it was covered in blood inside and out. We called the police and with their assistance, they took blood samples and they were able to find the guy - a month later, it was a drug user. A few times when we walk on the streets walking our dog after 7pm, we've seen a person with a sharp metal stick in his hand waking around the cars and the buildings. During the day, I feel safe.

No, I am not from Africa! (Yeah I still get email notification of your racist comments, even after the admin removes them).
No, I won't move out!
Suggestion to anyone who cannot take criticism regarding their suburb - just relax and take it easy!

Perfect Area to live - close to everything

Kensington has a good community spirit. There are are good and bad aspects, like all suburbs, but some of the less desirable aspects add character. The high street has everything you need and proximity to public transport and bike tracks is great. We have a young child and we are not concerned about raising him in this area. We understand the local primary schools have a good reputation.
We have had our house burgled once but our level of security wasn't too good.

Don't let the high rise housing commission and dodgey looking chinese food put you off. Beyond the perceived negatives (and I say perceived because the chinese food is actually really good, make sure you try the lemon chicken at Chop Chop!) is an up and coming area with a real sense of old school community. You know - neighbours who know your name, take you bins in, and invite you to the neighbour hood party in the local park - no? Well, believe it, it's here, it still exists, here in Flemington.

It's the real sense of community along with beautiful old houses, tree lined streets, and great cafes (not to mention i get to sleep as my train trip each day to the Docklands is only 15mins!) that's going to make Flemington the next big thing.

Having previously lived in Prahan, Collingwood, Fitzroy and East Melbourne when we were looking to buy a house approx two years ago Flemington was not initially at the top of the list. However, having lived here for the last two years we have discovered that Flemington has a number of the benefits of each of these locations (specifically – it is close to town, well serviced by public transport, close to shops and supermarket), but also we have the added bonus of living in a double fronted house on a tree lined street with back yard! It does have some of the cons of other inner city suburbs (high rise towers) albeit that there was a much more noticeable presence of "undesirables" in Collingwood... Over the last two years we have certainly never witnessed any of the issues referred to by other reviewers. We regularly walk through the area (including Kensington) at night and feel entirely safe. One thing we have witnessed has been the progressive "professionalization" of this suburb. A number of houses in our street have been renovated (or are in the process of) and there are also number of new restaurants on Pin Oak and Race Course Rd. With further passage of time I expect Flemington and Kensington to continue attract more young professionals and families and take on the popularity of a number of other inner city suburbs.

I will admit the proximity of high density council housing made me a reluctant entrant to Flemington but despite living just a block or two away we have never experienced any harrassment or crime. Many reviewers mention undesirable behaviour on trams, and the street but I beleive any inner city suburb has an element of this and have found it no worse in Flemington than the others. The council housing brings a cultural diversity to the suburb that many other inner city suburbs lack, not only are there great cafes but a multitude of different cuisines to choose from.
Pinoak crescent has some great little cafes and shops - thoroughly recommend the bircher at Made!
There is a great community spirit.People are friendly, we know our neighbours, passersby will say hello, a dropped wallet is handed in untouched, some water for the dog as you sit outside the pub or cafe is never too much trouble. This to me has been a big contrast to other melbourne suburbs I have lived in.
Along with many public transport options (2 trams, 2 trains) you're right by the capital city trail bike path, a leisurely bike to work takes me all of 15 minutes! Head the other direction on the trail and ride through Royal park, past the zoo & enjoy lunch in one of the northern suburbs. Royal park is right on your doorstep and Princes park easil accessed.
You have easy access to City link, the freeways, bikepaths, parks, cafes & all this with quiet leafy streets. What more could you ask for??

After living abroad for 5 years, coming home to Flemington was a welcome relief. All the new cafes and restaurants along Pin Oak crs are a welcome addition to a great suburb. The upgrade of the park in Farnham Street is another big plus to a young family.

Flemington when talked about by realtors will talk about the beautiful quiet treed streets with the quaint houses (which is true). What they will miss is the lack of good social, cultural integration in the area, and complete lack of proper policing. Flemington is a suburb left to languish in effect, and when walking down racecourse road at night or day, the presence of people sniffing glue, on drugs, drunk (or getting there), is quite obvious. The large public housing community at 120 racecourse road is a large source of this problem, not completely due to the people in it, but more due to the lack of community services or integrative facilities. The local council and police force has really made a mistake in how they have handled the situation in this community. The large somali community in the area is also not been handled effectively, and needs to be dealt in a manner that will give immigrants a sense of purpose and pride in the local area and country they move to; not to be shoved into public housing given welfare payments and left to fend for themselves, leading to some of this gang culture in flemington. Not a safe place for lone women.

Strict examples of the drug problem would be, glue sniffing seen at the townhouses behind newmarket supermarket, also right along racecourse road. Drunk and offensive behaviour on the 57 tram, people even drinking out of wine casks on the tram. Paint sniffing on racecourse road. Homeless people drinking next to the public toilet all day in the main centre of racecourse road. No noticeable police presence.

Flemington is not safe for your family. last year I rented here and my car got its windows broken two times.(nothing was stolen). Gangs constantly walk the streets and is not safe for women to walk any time due to constent sexual harrasment herbally and physically.

They only plus to flemington is its public transport and vacinity to the city

WOW, What a Gem in the Rough, this place is trully amazing, London all over it, I lived in the UK for some time and this place makes me feel like I'm still there. The tree Lined streets, to the delightful cafes, the people, the streets its all here, Im blessed to have bought here a place not known to mankind, Timeless Character fills the place, the Family feel is superb, I have 2 boys 9 and 4, they have all the foundations for a great future, the local school is a diamond Harry Potter look out ! To all looking to buy, buy now or forever hold your piece.............Property here does not come around everyday....GOLD GOLD GOLD.

On the Melbourne landscape, few suburbs have gone through such a dramatic transformation in recent times as Kensington has. The sale yards re-development (Kensington Banks), the popularity of Macaulay Road shops and Bellair Street’s delightful boutique cafés makes Kensington a unique and highly desirable suburb – and only 3-4 kilometres from the CBD. Sharing the same 3031 postcode as Flemington, the two suburbs are now neatly divided by Racecourse Road – Flemington to the north (City of Moonee Valley) and Kensington to the south (City of Melbourne). Distinctly Victorian in style, Kensington offers an abundance of single-front homes – ideal for first-home buyers and professionals whilst larger double-fronts provide families the opportunity to experience this unique inner-urban lifestyle. The medium-density townhouse-focused Kensington Banks development of the 1990s has seen the population expand dramatically in the suburb giving local traders a much bigger local market to service. There’s also great access to the Maribyrnong River with its reserves and numerous bike trails. Public transport is also a key feature of the area with Kensington, South Kensington and Macaulay Stations providing quick access to the city.

Although the suburb of Flemington occupies a substantial area, more than half of this can be attributed to the world-famous racecourse and adjoining showgrounds precincts – complete with their own railway stations. The residential area of Flemington though is surprisingly compact with its main borders being Ascot Vale Road (west), Kent Road (north), Mt Alexander Road (east) and Racecourse Road (south) – not much more than a square kilometre. What it lacks in quantity though is more than compensated for in the sheer quality of Victorian homes and elegant tree-lined streetscapes that dominate the area. From compact workers cottages to stately residences on a grand scale – Flemington has it all. Being just 3-4 kilometres from the CBD, this is an area where location is paramount to its residents. Everything is within easy reach – Newmarket Station and shopping centre, Racecourse road trams and cafés, plus quick access to Citylink. With an abundance of smaller homes and newer medium-density developments (such as the townhouses along Newmarket Way, Flemington is a popular choice for professionals, investors and first-home buyers looking for an affordable home close to the city.

So close to the CBD, great cafes, and beautiful tree-lined streets. Great parks for children and wonderful neighbours - such a diverse range of people. This is the best place I have lived. The only thing I would say is the tavern near the Supermarket should be closed down - it really ruins an otherwise lovely suburb.

It has everything you need.

Flemington- beautiful racecorse- filth suburb.
if you wish to be threatened, assaulted and scared for you life every night ont he way home from wor, flemington is the town for you. an un-policed and unstoppable army of drugged drunk and croming criminals roam the tramlines freely every night of the week. please under no circumstances allow your young sons and daughter to travel alone on the 57 tram.

We've lived here for 14 years in a number of different houses and bought in 2001. Moved here to go to uni from a country town and stayed. The neighbourhood and facilities are better than any place I've lived in Australia. The Venny, community garden, YMCA pool and gym, toy library, shops, coffee, Hardimans Hotel, Tonik, cleanskins, 3 train stations on 3 different lines, a bus accessing 5 major hospitals and a number of Uni's, tram at one end, the list is endless. Most importantly, the people are fantastic.

I lived in the Kensington Banks area for over three years. When this area was established phone lines were "split" or shared between neighbours. This means you can have your own private number however you cannot sign up to an ADSL internet connection giving you the choice of the inferior dial up product or the more expensive wireless product.

Flemington is just one of those suburbs that is so easy to live in. Its close to everything and has a chilled out feel about it. Lots of good local cafes like Pepper and MADE. Its good because its friendly, down to earth and not pretentious. The mix of cuisine is great - African, Asian, Modern Australian - its all here.

This niche suburb nestled in between Kensington and Ascot Vale is a real little gem. Quiet, friendly, gorgeous tree lined streets, beautiful village feel with all the great coffee, eclectic food, homewares shops, flowers, bakery's and deli on Pin Oak Crescent and around on Racecourse Rd. And all perched on the edge of the Melbourne CBD. Great community parks on Canterbury Street and Farnham St really make this suburb a 'home'.

I have been living in Kensington for 3 years and it just keep getting excellent.

I love the restaurants on offer near the Kensington Station, during the weekends especially during the Melbourne Cup season, you can just relax at the coffee shop and seeing all these "beautiful" communters going pass. Also around the corner, there is a beautiful and friendly flower shop where you can buy your flowers for all occassions.

The Kensington community is a co-operative and kind place. Great multi-cultural events from time to time and Sunday service for everyone and it is run by the Christian Hope Church. if you look furhter, there is even a Kensington Community Garden, where you can have your own Vegie garden for free and all the tools are provided.

Other main attratctions are the number of Gardens and parks arond the Kensington area, there is the Woman's Peace Garden, which can almost see the whole Kensington Bank, the JJ Holland Park and the amazing Footscray Park along the Maribyrnong river and dring the Royal Melbourne Show, that's where you get to see the best view of the Fire Works for the family.

All in All, come and live in Kensington and you will find out it is probably the greatest surburb in Melbourne!!

Kensington has a fiercely loyal neighbourhood community as witnessed earlier this year by the vigilance of supporters who successfully protested against the development of a road tunnel staging site at JJ Holland Park. Located 5 kilometres from the CBD, Kensington has several excellent access routes - Macauley Road/King Street, Dynon Road/Spenser Street, Footscray Road/Docklands. There's Kensington and South Kensington train stations, and well paved bike tracks along the Maribyrnong River and Footscray Road into the city. There's a brilliant Kensington Community Garden located on Westbourne Road, and new gym facilities at Kensington Community Centre. Close to shops, schools and medical facilities, Kensington is a great place to live for singles, couples, retirees and families.

It has been amazing to watch Kensington come of age over the last few years... Blue stone lanes are being replaced, trees are being planted along its streets and there's a community spirit to rival any small town. It now hosts plenty of all-too-cute cafes, local designer markets, acoustic sessions on sundays and lots of shops to give your credit card a good work out. You can walk to parks, trains, trams, cafes and pubs. On a winter's afternoon Kensington can feel like a quaint English village with its grand train station and dappled light through the plane trees, and in spring it opens its arms to the racing festival and an annual flurry of frocked-up women and their fellas. I have felt entirely welcomed since i moved here, and with 4 more sleeps left till i leave, i miss living here already.

Have lived in Flemington for several years now, don't feel very safe around the neighborhood at night, several 20-storey public housings deteriorate the environment and led to hightened crime rate. My car windows got smashed once even though parked in an underground car park overnight... also heard of an armed robery at a local restaurant, can often seen drug addicts on the street. Don't find police very helpful except giving out parking tickets...am thinking moving out of this area soon.

Public transports though are very convenient with a short train ride to city and tram ride to Highpoint shopping centre. Traffic can get busy during spring race season.

Local cafe and eateries are nother big plus.

However wouldn't send my kids to local schools...

Kensington was a suburb i stumbled on after first moving to Melbourne 3 years ago, and after looking to buy in other inner city suburbs it offered great proximity, leafy streets, a village atmosphere and yet still only 4km from the CBD.

People are very friendly, neighbours are neighbourly and the old parts of Kensington are extremely well preserved. But look out as there is so much renovation happening it wouldn't be surprising to see prices starting to match those of other inner city hot spots.

If you want to live in the city, but still feel like you're away from it all, there aren't many suburbs that are better!

Having moved overseas for work around 12 months ago we certainly know exactly what we miss about living in Kensington. The freedom, the proximity, the coffee, the food, Willy Beach down the road, Flemington (especially at this time of year) and the City nearby make it the most convenient spot to live. Nice and quiet, peaceful and friendly we cannot wait to be moving back home in the near future.

Property prices tend to be nicely shielded from any wild value fluctuations seen elsewhere. It is not over the top but it certainly is no longer a 'rock-bottom' suburb in Melbourne. The rent we are receiving while we are away is good from an income point of view.

I'd say that if you were willing to get your hands dirty it is a great place to pick up a reasonably priced house with a bit of history and make it into your own restored but modern masterpiece. It took us a long time but it was worth it in the end!

Having lived in the outer suburbs, I expected more of a "city" feel, but Kensington somehow manages a "country" feel - with friendly people and lovely safe culture within the neighbourhood and local school. Small backyards are made up for with the fantastic outdoor playground/park areas. Access to the city is brilliant - being a 50-minute walk or a 10-minute train ride.

Flemington is just 6 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD.

The suburb is well-known for the Flemington Racecourse, which holds horse-racing events throughout the year. The area really comes to life in the Spring Carnival week which includes Australia's most famous horse race the Melbourne Cup.

It has a range of residential options, from large homes to modern townhouses to large apartment buildings offering cost effective high density living.

There are a number of schools in the area, and the CBD is at your fingertips and easily accessed by train. Racecourse Road is a popular spot, offering a huge range of cuisines and dining options.

Flemington is a great area. It is a friendly area with plenty of parks around the area for the active people who love to go for a walk or run. It’s good for kids too as you can take them and let them run free. For the families there are some good schools in the area.
There are some great tree lined streets in the neighbourhood with a good combination of old and new houses.
The area is well serviced by public transport with train providing easy access to the city.
There are plenty of good shops nearby so you can get all you need without having to go too far.

It’s a short trip into the city from this area making it ideal for those that work in the CBD but don’t want to spend hours on the train. The area is well serviced by public transport.
It is also well serviced by shops and some good restaurants around the area or close by.
If you want to get out for a few drinks there are some pubs close by as well and it’s also easy to get to a few of the bigger nightspots around town.
There are plenty of parks close by for young families.
There is a good blend of houses from apartments to townhouses to attractive homes. There are a lot of newer apartment blocks which are more attractive than the older style apartments often seen in inner city areas.