Melbourne has once again been recognised as one of the planet’s finest cities to live in, an honour the Victorian capital accepts with the quiet dignity of a place where nobody leaves a key fob within four metres of a window anymore.
The latest accolade, a spot on a prestigious international list of must-visit destinations for 2026, sits comfortably alongside the city’s existing reputation for world-class coffee, a flourishing laneway dining scene, and a 20.1 per cent jump in recorded criminal incidents that locals have learned to fold neatly into the overall lifestyle offering.
“It really does have everything,” said Daniel Pruszko, 44, a marketing consultant from Surrey Hills who has motion-sensor floodlights on three sides of a federation home he no longer feels entirely comfortable in. “The food, the culture, the trams. You can get a flat white at six different places within a hundred metres of my front door, and I do, because I am not leaving anything in the car overnight, mate, not after Tony’s Prado.”
Pruszko was referring to a neighbour’s vehicle, which he says departed the street in March and has not been seen since, a detail he relays with the same easy warmth most cities reserve for their seasonal festivals.
The city’s appeal is broad. There is the Queen Victoria Market. There is the river, which they are trying to make swimmable. There is the new bollard the council installed outside the primary school, and the steel security door Pruszko’s wife ordered in a colour described in the brochure as “Heritage Sage” so it would not clash with the federation home.
Asked whether the dual reputation as a global cultural capital and 20-year crime high created any tension, Pruszko thought about it for a long moment.
“Nah,” he said. “Best city in the world. Wouldn’t live anywhere else. We’ve just got the dog crate by the front door now in case we hear the side gate, and the kids know to stay upstairs, and I’ve stopped parking the good car at home. But the brunch, mate. You can’t get brunch like this in Sydney.”
He paused.
“Although we are looking at Geelong.”
The international guide singled out Melbourne’s sport and its “ever-evolving culinary scene.” It did not mention the side gate.
More to come.