What I will miss about living in Melbourne

Oh Melbourne. I've hated this city, accepted this city, enjoyed this city, left it and returned pretty swiftly, but now I have finally, FINALLY, really left after living there for almost an entire year. I've had a very on-again off-again kind of relationship with Melbourne, and whilst there are lots of things I definitely will NOT miss (to name a few: the erratic weather, waiting a MILLION years to cross the road, breaking into a hot sweat and flustered panic when the MYKI inspectors get on the tram) there are plenty of things that I definitely will miss. 

Being surrounded by street art

This is something I became so complacent about as time went on, but when I first arrived in Melbourne I was so excited and inspired by all the amazing street art EVERYWHERE. There are places likes Hosier Lane which have become a tourist  for graffiti and urban art, but when you get out of the centre and explore all of Melbourne you notice that every suburb is it's own ever-evolving art space. I stopped taking pictures in the end, it just goes to show how complacent you can become over time. Here are some of my favourites when I had my eyes open in appreciation:

Melbourne's creative scene

Melbourne is a huge creative hub with amazing gallery exhibitions and an array of art classes, workshops and events. I dropped art after my second year of University but continued to draw and paint for years before I just completely stopped around 2 years ago. It  was so difficult not to be inspired and motivated with all the street art around me, so I found a life drawing class in St Kilda (St Kilda Life drawing - check it out if you're in the area. Good people, good music and just pure drawing for 2 hours) and went from there. There's also a good space called Work-Shop Melbourne which has so many amazing courses, work shops, taster sessions, classes. I did a calligraphy class there and met a lot of cool people. Once I realised that there are so many like-minded people around me just being creative for the pure joy of it and not letting anything stop them, it motivated me to start drawing again (even if I think what I create is rubbish).
After being so down-and-out when I first arrived here I thought this would be the least likely place for me to reignite an old passion, but life is full of surprises, so thank you Melbourne for motivating me to create again.

The brunch scene.

Melbourne turned me into that person who takes pictures of food before they eat it, and I don't even care. The brunch scene in Melbourne is as delicious as it is instagrammable (that's officially a word now, right?) I ate at a different cafe every weekend and still didn't scratch the surface. Whether you're veggie, vegan, paleo, gluten free, sugar-free, lactose intolerant, raw, all of these things or none of them, you will find a cafe that caters to you and you won't be short on brunch options. Shout out to some of my favourites - Fourth Chapter on Chapel Street, Monk Bodhi Dharma in Balaclava, Manchester Press in Melbourne CBD for some excellent bagels, Uncommon in Windsor and Sister of Soul on Acland Street in St Kilda. 

Living by the ocean

When I first arrived in Melbourne I lived in the CBD for the first two months. It was hectic, busy and a little isolating. As soon as I moved to St Kilda I immediately felt a tension I didn't even realise I was carrying release from my body. There's something so calming about living close to the ocean. This was one thing I never, ever took for granted and I loved running along the beach at weekends and evenings. In the Summertime we would all head down and sunbathe for as long as we could stand the 38 degree heat. I never did get up early enough to catch a sunrise despite my best intentions, but I did catch some amazing sunsets on walks down to St Kilda Pier in the evenings.

FRIENDS <3

I saved the best until last :) Being so far away from home and from your friends and family is one of the hardest parts of moving to Australia. I would have left a lot earlier if it hadn't been for the amazing people that I lived with and who became close friends over the past year. Everybody is in the same boat and understands you when you are feeling homesick or hopeless or a little lost. Moving into a big house share was a lifesaver. We had some huge house parties, Christmas day on the beach was unforgettable, there is always somebody to talk to, eat with, or just chill with.

Melbourne is a hub for people in Australia over on working holiday visas and there's a huge backpacking/traveller community. Once you feel connected to it and a part of it it really does make the experience less daunting as everybody really does try to help each other out. The friendships that I made and the people I met over the year really did make the experience and it wouldn't have been the same without them. So, thank you everybody for being a part of my year. And thank you Melbourne, for being my temporary home, and teaching me a lot of important lessons along the way.