Preston

In this review series, I’m going to be going in depth and study important criteria and attributes revolving around a suburb’s access and ability to provide a safe & healthy lifestyle, work & education as well as a supportive community with easy access to local public facilities.

Safety & Lifestyle

Preston is known as one of the safest suburbs in Darebin, let alone Melbourne and has an inclusive community. Most of its population lives a healthy and free lifestyle.

Your suburb must have low to non-existent crime rates. Preston had over 3,600 recorded cases in 2021. This has since decreased impressively by 16% in 2022, with 3,024 recorded cases. General theft decreased by 3-0% as well as over 50% in burglary. There have also been several updates under the Victorian government for work safety, which is constantly reinforced to ensure harm minimisation and necessary compensation for injuries in and around the workplace. The latest act, established in 2013, is the ‘Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. 

‘Having grown up near Preston and living here now, I'm just blown away by how many cool new businesses keep opening up along High Street and Plenty Road - especially all of those past Bell Street and towards Reservoir. There's a nice kind of nightlife with lots of little hip bars without the noise and parking issues of inner city suburbs. When I go and visit other areas of Melbourne many of their shops have closed down during COVID but Preston just seems to get more and more lively! Echoing what a previous reviewer has said - it's great to live near High Street as you get access to the train, shops, restaurants, schools and nightlife.’

Work Safe Victoria & the VIC government have taken great measures to ensure that bullying is eradicated both on work sites and schools, with a plethora of helplines and programmes. Another factor that can be detrimental to someone’s lifestyle is access to and an abundance of leisure time. This includes public facilities and reasonable work hours. Preston has a public library and several small communities filled with different ethnicities and cultures.

Overall, Preston’s cultural diversity, lack of crime and abundance of activities set its score for overall safety and lifestyle to a score of 8/10. Although it has outstanding attributes, showing its security, some improvements on criminal cases as well as easier local access, is what sets it back in the grand scheme of things.

Education & Employment

My second criterion is education and Employment accessibility in Preston. I'm going to be looking at a few schools and assessing their curriculum as well as seeing the job opportunities, income and self-sustainability.

For this I’m going to be looking at one school from the four different school types in Preston, these include government primary, independent primary, secondary and combined schools. The schools I have chosen to assess for this criteria are Preston Primary, Sacred Heart Primary, Preston High and East Preston Islamic. Now, Preston Primary, the second oldest school in Preston, follows the government footprint in terms of tertiary education. It also has two campuses, one dedicated to preps and grade 1s and the other for grades 2-6. Next is Sacred Heart Primary, which is an independent catholic school, that also follows the outline of the Victorian curriculum but states that their approach is ‘dynamic and personalised’ to better suit their students. As of 2023, there are no private high schools in Preston but the most notable public school would have to be the 2019 founded Preston High, which is situated next to the suburb’s local library and council. Its current highest year level is year 11 and it follows the standard curriculum while also offering a few unique aspects like French. Finally, the combined school, ranging from kindergarten to year 12 is East Preston Islamic, which is made for one of the biggest religions in Preston, the Muslim and Islamic community; this school also follows the guidance of the Victorian Government but has several extra curricular activities appropriate to its community.

To conclude I have to say judging the overall education in Preston, I’d have to give it a 9.5/10, its diversity and plethora of educational opportunities. The only complaint I have is the lack of secondary schools and no local universities, (other than Melbourne Polytechnic Institute's Preston Campus).

‘Could be a great place to live, if you choose the right part of the hood.’

Preston's a bit of a mixed bag. Depending on where you're living/staying, you could be a lengthy walk from the tram line, plus a 30-45 minute tram ride away from the CBD - or, you might be lucky enough to live close to the train station, which is just a 20-minute ride to the city centre. If you're on the eastern side of the suburb, the most interesting thing nearby is the Northland Shopping Centre. The fast-developing Plenty Road runs through this side of the 'hood, but unfortunately, this stretch of it has more shuttered storefronts than lively establishments.

Moving on to the employed aspect of Preston which makes up for over 3 quarters of its population. Job opportunities in Preston are higher than ever before with 45% of its population fully owning a house and the most popular occupations including Intermediate Clerical/Sales/Service, Professionals and Tradespersons/Related Workers. A whopping 94.7% of Preston in 2021 was employed, which gives it one of the highest employment rates in the entirety of Darebin. 

So thanks to its impressively high employment rates in terms of people in the workforce, make it an outstanding place to raise a family. The only aspect where Presto may lack in is accessibility to physically getting to work, but all in all I give it a 9/10

Community & Public Access 

Finally, I would like to discuss the Community and Public Access in Preston. This includes access to stores and public facilities, including libraries, cafes and supermarkets. Secondly, access to the city which also includes public transportation. Third and most importantly, the neighbourhoods and downtime in the area.

Since Preston is one of the suburbs located on the edge of the city, it has easy access. This does not take into account the traffic in Preston because of this, it means that it is constantly bustling with traffic and pedestrians and makes getting from one place to another during work hours nearly impossible. Another cause of this, which is also considered a solution, is the tram system looping around the busiest streets of Preston including Gilbert Rd, parallel to popular Preston Market. According to Google Maps, travel time between Preston and Melbourne can take up to 30 minutes by car, train and bike. Which escalates on normal work days to around 50 minutes a trip.

‘Preston is one of the most popular suburbs in Melbourne. Known for great cafes, proximity to the city and ambience. With a newly designed train station and vibrant market, it really is a good place to live.’

Let’s talk about the stores and public facilities in Preston. There is an abundance of shopping centres around Preston ranging from the 50+ year old Preston Market, to the largest mall in Darebin, Northland. There are also several parks like Newman Reserve and Ray Bramham Gardens, renowned for their open space and enjoyment of recreation. Another public facility that I’ve gone on and on and on about is Preston library, With its cultural diversity, enjoyable activities and endless supply of books is one of the most popular places throughout Preston, located next to the Darebin Council and across the street to Preston High. Finally, for this criteria, I have taken the opinions of members from around Preston to give me first-hand insight into the neighbourhood quality in Preston. Reviews like:

‘Preston is an area that certainly has its pros and cons. Parts of Preston are absolutely beautiful, with parks, shops and cafes it has become quite trendy and a great place to live. Other parts aren't so nice, questionable people live in the area and a lot of crime occurs in these areas. Pick your spots!’ 

Along with the other reviews in this article, clearly show the diversity and beauty of the suburb and all the unique experiences and establishments it has to offer. Although they also show that not all of Preston is calm and homely and the importance in location.

So to conclude with Preston’s Community and Public Access, it can be said that it has got it all, with almost each corner of the suburb being a hotspot and having a large and healthy all-around community. The only setback, that these reviewers have made evident is the cluttered traffic and the lack of safety/security in certain areas. So for all the reasons above I can confidently give Preston an 8.5/10.

Averaging my four scores will give you 8.75/10, which shows that Preston is a thriving suburb throughout and constantly growing to support its diverse and flourishing population. It is well known for its safety and sweet community.