Earlier this year, Windsor was named as the tenth coolest neighbourhood in the world, on Time Out's annual global list – beating out buzzing 'burbs across New York, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. This buzzing pocket in Melbourne's inner south is bound to become even more popular, and the real estate insiders over at Domain are onto this, having pulled together the data on how much it costs to live there. So if you're wondering how much living in Melbourne's coolest suburb would set you back, read on.
As the grungier sibling of Prahran and South Yarra, Windsor has been overlooked in the past – but not anymore. As you wander through its streets you can rummage through epic vintage stores (hello, Shag and Stupid Vintage), admire art in boutique galleries and soak up the hip vibes that lure in an eclectic crowd keen for a good time. A recent slew of hot new restaurant and bar openings have transformed the neighbourhood into a go-to for curious foodies, with venues championing everything from regional Nepali fare to sushi and saké with a twist.
So if you're keen to get amongst the cool vibes, Domain have crunched the numbers for you on how much you'll fork out. The median price for a house in Windsor is $1.505 million, while units have a median price of $525,000. This sits a bit above Melbourne's median house and unit prices, at $918,350 and $554,306 respectively. And when you consider that Melbourne's most affluent suburb Toorak (which has a median house price of around $4.7 million) is just 4 kilometres away, that seems like quite a good deal. If you're wanting to move to Windsor but without the mortgage, the median weekly rent for a house is $800 and $520 for a unit, according to the latest Domain Rent Report.
If you'd like to suss out the locale and make up your own mind, we've got plenty of ideas on how to spend an ideal day in Windsor. We suggest fuelling up with a coffee and smørrebrød from the Scandi-inspired Öppen, before getting your culture fix with a visit to Mars Gallery or the historic Astor Theatre for a remastered classic or double feature. Spend the arvo wandering through the quirky assortment of boutique shops and marvelling at the street art, or take things up a notch by doing a trapeze class at the National Institute of Circus Arts. Once you get hungry, there’s a banquet of offerings: Studio Amaro for classic Italian with a side of vinyl-spinning DJs, Tombo Den for elevated Japanese and karaoke or Borsch, Vodka and Tears for… well, you get it. Finish your night with a boogie at Lucky Coq or Young Hearts and don’t hate us if you stay out past your bedtime.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.