In love with the inner city

living area, but Campbell has turned the bedroom into a home office and set up her bed on the raised platform of the study nook.

is a really good friend, and we often swap our baking or special meals, or have a wine on the balcony.”

Campbell has now been living in a South Yarra apartment for two years, which she describes as cosy, eclectic, full of indoor plants and brimming with “too many books”. It’s a one-bedroom apartment with a study nook in the

As is often the case with apartment living, Campbell has found a strong sense of community in her building.

“I have wonderful neighbours and we all look out for each other, “ she says. “My neighbour in the flat next door, Lauren,

While the Royal Botanic Gardens were the biggest drawcard for moving to South Yarra, there were other considerations, too.

“It’s an hour walk into the CBD, so it’s pretty accessible,” Campbell says. When she isn’t working at her regular job, which involves connecting with social enterprise leaders and founders making an impact, Campbell moonlights as a Dolly Parton wedding celebrant. Living so close to the city allows her to easily zip around to various weddings on the weekends.

Plus, she’s found some firm favourites in the hospitality sphere.

“Canecutters bar is my local, run by some lovely guys,” Campbell says. “I like to swing by there. You always make new friends.

“France-Soir is my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. It’s so eclectic, and you always bump into people and, you know, having a steak frites and a glass of burgundy is a real treat.

“There’s an amazing little Italian cafe right near South Yarra station that does the best paninis and focaccias ever, and hand-piped cannoli.

“That is South Yarra’s best kept secret … it’s called Italiana Delicatessen.”

Among her other favourite things about the area, Campbell lists being able to grab a coffee and browse through the shops on Chapel Street, visiting the historic Astor theatre, and walking down to the river and across the bridge to Cremorne to visit her “old haunt”, the Cherry Tree Hotel.

Even though most of her friends still live on the north side and she frequently finds herself driving up Punt Road to visit them, Campbell stands by her decision to install herself on the other side of the river. When comparing the two areas, she doesn’t believe one is better than the other.

“I think when you’re younger there’s this idea of this divide and north versus south, and as you get a bit older it’s nice to just ignore that and appreciate both sides for what they are and not buy into that division,” she says.

Campbell says she loves both sides, “but also the south side comparatively is kind of more affordable, weirdly, in terms of

Below: The Tan is a 3.827-kilometre value for money, and maybe it’s because there’s a bit of a premium on the cooler suburbs in the north.”

Campbell says she believes there is a common misconception that South Yarra is more expensive.

“And there’s a lot of good stock,” she adds. “[There are] older flats that have been well-built and well maintained.”

Campbell believes that one of the key differences is that the south side doesn’t boast as many natural wine bars or vinyl shops or as much “hipster cool stuff”.

Natural wine bars are close to her heart as Belles Hot Chicken was conceptualised around serving interesting, minimal intervention wines alongside “tasty, high-calorie dude food” inspired by Nashville in the United States. The first store opened in Fitzroy nearly a decade ago.

“It’s pretty mainstream now, but at the time very few people were pouring natural wines in the way that we were,” Campbell says. “We knew all the makers; they were the people coming by and eating chicken and showing off their wines. So, that was the genesis, and it was just like a party. We really fostered a spirit of hospitality that everyone who walked in was welcome and was here for a good time.”

While South Yarra “feels very different” to somewhere like Thornbury, Campbell has managed to find a similar spirit of hospitality where she is.

“There are beautiful establishments like Cosi and France-Soir that have been here for 30-plus years, and that feels really nice; that established sense of hospitality history,” she says.

Still, nothing can beat being close to the 38-hectare Royal Botanic Gardens while in such an urban environment.

“You’ve got this garden oasis around the corner, and I love it,” Campbell says.

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