Northcote has taken out the title of the best Melbourne suburb to live in, in a new study by PWC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers).

One of Australia’s “big four” accounting and consultancy firms, it recently released the
findings of its yearly City Pulse analysis, which charts liveability across the state.

“Covid-19 has rewritten the entrenched habits and norms of the way Victorians live, work and play,” the report reads. “We’ve seen years of disruption and digitisation accelerate as the pandemic forced individuals, families, businesses and governments to adjust to a vastly different world.

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“Once upon a time, higher … scores were predominantly the domain of suburbs on the cusp of the CBD,” it continues. But, “changes to the way we live mean that suburbs offering more open spaces, larger homes and easy access to key essentials are, in many cases, valued as much as those close to the city”.

Northcote ascended five spots from its 2020 ranking to top the list, and Kew and Coburg also featured in the top 10.

But while liveability scores in the city’s “inner ring” suburbs are still high, the family-friendly “middle ring” is on the up and up. Leafy Rosanna in the north-east climbed from 47th in 2020 to second in 2021. Meanwhile, Wantirna in the east, and Montmorency and Greensborough in the north-east, also skyrocketed up the list to earn spots in the top 10.

The 20 best Melbourne suburbs to live:
1. Northcote
2. Heidelberg – Rosanna
3. Essendon – Aberfeldie
4. Wantirna
5. Montmorency – Briar Hill
6. Greensborough
7. Blackburn
8. Kew
9. Ringwood
10. Coburg
11. Mulgrave
12. Wantirna South
13. South Yarra – East
14. Burwood
15. Eltham
16. Rowville – Central
17. Fitzroy North
18. Malvern – Glen Iris
19. Glen Waverley – East
20. Camberwell

Find the full report here.