Australian Suburbs Make ‘World’s Coolest’ List

Yarraville in Melbourne and Marrickville in Sydney are officially named in the world’s top 10 coolest neighbourhoods, according to a global survey.

And it's kind of a big deal since this year we’ve all been spending a lot more time in our own local areas.

Based on the opinions of locals, the annual Time Out rankings surveyed thousands of people around the globe to uncover the world’s “coolest neighbourhoods”.

Up to 38,000 people took the index survey this year to share what makes their city a great place to live right now for fun, food, culture and community.

Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west, ranked as the tenth coolest place in the world right now. Which Time Out says is due to its multicultural community, food options and liveability.

But it’s Yarraville, in Melbourne’s inner west, that has taken out the fifth spot, and top-ranking neighbourhood for Australia.

Located eight kilometres from Melbourne CBD, Time Out praised Yarraville for its food selection and sense of community.

“For a relatively small suburb, the cross-section of food, drink and things to do here is pretty remarkable, ranging from landmark, Art Deco cinema Sun Theatre to restaurants like the Indigenous-owned restaurant Mabu Mabu and tiny, contemporary Australian fine diner Navi,” Rebecca Russo of Time Out Melbourne, said.

Yarraville followed the likes of Esquerra de l’Eixample in Barcelona which took first place, Downtown LA in second, Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po and New York’s Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Time Out editor James Manning says 2020’s coolest neighbourhoods are the ones with a fascinating mixture of people, innovative and inclusive food, drink, arts and culture, affordable rents and living costs.

“And that hard-to-define buzz that draws people from across the globe,” Manning said.

“But this year, more than ever, they are the areas where people, community and businesses have helped each other through shared tribulations: places that represent the soul of the city.”

The World’s 40 Coolest Neighbourhoods

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