16 kilometres north-east of the CBD, Watsonia offers great access to trains, school proximity and decent scores for walkability, tree cover and topographic variation. Eltham has shot up the ranks to enter the top 100 mostly because of the addition of new cafes to the area and roads free of congestion. Malvern scores well for retail, cafes and trams and employment, thanks to Glenferrie Road. It’s also reachable by tram and has copious amounts of open space. There’s most room for improvement in the crime and congestion fields.Southbank has shot up to 13th largely because of its walkability (the first time this criterion has been measured in this study) which is the fifth best in Melbourne. It also achieves a great culture rating and has a healthy amount of open space. East Melbourne consistently performs well in this study is due to … Bayswater’s neighbour Heathmont is located 24 kilometres east of the CBD and benefits from having a central train station, low crime and decent topographic variation. McKinnon ranks number one for train access and second for secondary education. Coolaroo is located 19 kilometres north of the city. Clarinda scores lowly in most other areas assessed, mainly culture, cafes and proximity to schools.Scoresby is 29 kilometres east of the city next to Wheelers Hill. The suburb also has decent cafes and performs above average for culture and employment. Scores for crime, cafes and congestion are average, otherwise, Patterson Lakes shows significant room for improvement in all remaining categories. It ranks in the bottom 10 suburbs for both retail and cafes, but has the benefit of a low crime rate, generous open space and great topographic variation. Maribyrnong has come leaps and bounds thanks to its retail sector which this study ranks the best in Melbourne (based on the percentage of local workforce employed in cafes/restaurants along with the proportion of suburb covered by commercial/retail land area). More cafes, shops and trees would improve Albion’s overall rank.Getting to Pascoe Vale via train or nearby trams is relatively easy, and the suburb offers good proximity to schools. More shops and cafes would also help the area’s liveability. It also scores poorly for proximity to schools and walkability. Other masterplanned communities have seen their rankings inmprove with time.Hillside is next to Sydenham and 23 kilometres north-west of the CBD. Glen Huntly scores highest for trains, trams and walkability. Where West Footscray scores the worst is education, cafes and topographic variationProximity to primary schools, walkability and trains are Reservoir’s best qualities.
Armadale’s rank has dropped largely because of the crime rate and congested roads. Mont Albert North ranked 15th overall in the 2011 iteration of this study, but its liveability has been affected by the new inclusion of walkability to the criteria along with the suburb’s increasingly congested roads. What’s holding Elwood back is a lack of secondary schools and its relatively flat landscape.Port Melbourne is a suburb with fluctuating liveability over time, largely due to changes in the methodology over time. Cranbourne East is a new addition to this list due to its outlying location 45 kilometres south-east of the CBD. The suburb is also in the top 10 for culture, cafes and employment. There are few areas it doesn’t do well in, with the exceptions of crime and congestion.Culture, buses and retail in particular are strengths of Forest Hill, located between Blackburn South and Vermont. The suburb also encompasses abundant open space and the crime rate is decent. Lower Plenty ranks very well for topographic variation, tree cover, crime and open space but most of its other individual category scores are poor. The suburb is a strong performer in the topographic variation category and does decently for crime and congestion.