Why this Port Melbourne couple will never leave their dream area

Port Melbourne homeowners Jessie Grant and Steve Fitzgerald with their children Oscar, Cormac and Alby, and their dog Jazzy. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.

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Port Melbourne’s Jessie Grant and Steve Fitzgerald love their suburb so much they’re planning to stay there for life.

And it’s no surprise they consider the inner Melbourne suburb to be one of the city’s best, after a report revealed it’s among Victoria’s best lifestyle areas.

Research commissioned by MCG Quantity Surveyors using data from real estate analytics company SuburbTrends analysed the state’s top lifestyle spots with the best long-term growth potential and lifestyle offerings, based on factors such as access to amenities such as childcare, schools, beaches and open space, and 10-year median price growth.

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While areas such as Armstrong Creek, Barwon Heads and Newtown in Greater Geelong and Winchelsea on the Surf Coast topped the list, plenty of Melbourne suburbs were also included in the Top Lifestyle Areas report.

Cheltenham, Highett, Mentone, Newport, Beaumaris and Williamstown were all mentioned alongside Port Melbourne.

More than 25 years ago, Ms Grant and Mr Fitzgerald fell in love with the beachside suburb while visiting Mr Fitzgerald’s mother who lived in South Melbourne.

“We walked every day in ‘Port’ and we just decided this is where we want to be,” Ms Grant said.

People swimming at Port Melbourne beach. Proximity to the beach was a key measure in the Top Lifestyle Areas report from MCG Quantity Surveyors. Picture: Jason Edwards

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390 Graham St, Port Melbourne, is a two-bedroom house sale for sale with a $1.1m-$1.2m price tag. The suburb’s median house price is $1.55m, according to PropTrack.

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They’ve been in Port Melbourne since 2010, first buying a cottage and later a three-bedroom townhouse.

Since then, they have welcomed sons Oscar, Alby, and Cormac, now aged 14, 12 and nine respectively, into the world.

However their growing family, including rescue dog Jazzy, meant they needed more room.

“We looked for about two or three years at four-bedroom houses in Port Melbourne and we just couldn’t stretch the budget,” Ms Grant said.

They eventually decided to renovate their “skinny little townhouse just to stay in the area” with its close-knit community, beach and parks to walk Jazzy in.

There’s also plenty of sports facilities for their sons who participate in football, basketball, cricket, baseball and boxing.

Jessie Grant and Steve Fitzgerald with sons Oscar, Cormac and Alby – who play football, basketball, cricket and baseball – and their dog Jazzy. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.

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Beachgoers keeping cool in Port Melbourne. Picture: NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascuia.

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When some friends were going to sell their four-bedroom house in Port Melbourne, the couple jumped at the chance to secure it.

“You know, we could get a much bigger house for a lot less money out in the ‘burbs,

but we just love living in Port Melbourne,” Ms Grant said.

“We love everything about it and we just couldn’t see ourselves leaving.”

In the future, after their boys grow up and move out, she and Mr Fitzgerald are set to join a group of their friends intending to buy apartments in the same Port Melbourne building.

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White Fox associate director Cheyne Fox said Port Melbourne’s parks, schools, shops, restaurants, friendly community and nearness to Melbourne’s CBD meant many locals looked to upsize or downsize within the suburb.

The “slightly softer” market was now allowing buyers to purchase homes in the suburb they might not have been able to afford three to four years ago, Ms Fox added.

“So whereas something might have been sitting on $3m or just above a few years ago, it’s now dipping down to $2.6m, $2.7m and it’s making it more achievable for those people,” she said.

“And I’m seeing some savvy purchasers who are aware of that fact, snapping up some really good properties at very reasonable prices given what they were a few years back.”

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