Some people love living in suburbs and locales that boast latest trends and hipster populations. Others simply can’t be bothered trying to keep up with trends. Then there are those that choose a location because it is almost anti trend. In many areas, being on trend or being in a trendy suburb means that your rent is all of a sudden on the increase and you and your flatmates might consider moving to somewhere slightly less groovy.
How can you tell if your ‘hood is becoming too hipster? Here are a few signs that might help.
Across Australia, suburbs are changing. In the 90’s we worried when grunge rockers moved in to our apartment blocks and in the early noughties, it was crews of emos invading our streets with their dark and brooding mascara and couture. Today from Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Paddington in Sydney and Fitzroy in Melbourne, bearded folk in tight skinny jeans, underwear bands showing as they pedal along on their fixed gear bikes, are taking over.
If you start to spot beards on boys that would make the Kelly Gang blush, thick rimmed glasses, pointy boots that could kick in a brick wall and jeans so tight you can almost tell someone’s religion, then the hipsters have hit your neighbourhood. And the girls, in their floral print dresses and polka dot blouses with matching head scarves with large baskets on the fronts of their vintage Dutch bicycles or fixies.
They love to cycle, the hipster and if they need something that has a tad more velocity, then its vespa scooters or trams all the way. Or they are part of the local car share that can be found in all of the gentrified suburbs in all of our major capitals. They don’t care too much to have their own cars.
Watch what they eat – the hipsters. If it has kale or quinoa, they are all over it, and if it is made in a food truck then they love it even more. Washed down with gallons of cold filtered, drip coffee that is of single origin and is imported from the dark depths of Colombia or Papua New Guinea, either Eritrea or Ethiopia. No hipster will be seen sipping a latte or cappuccino with their vegan burgers, creole inspired sandwiches, wagyu tacos or lime infused ceviche – all again much better if served from a food truck. Tricked up sushi and seaweed salads will also be on the menu of the modern cashed up hipster. You wont find them hanging around the doors of food chains or franchises – only locally produced, sustainable and environmentally sound nourishment for these people.
They will be drawn to record stores, vintage clothing outlets or be found tattooed in a tiny little space on the street not much bigger than a broom closet where people will queue forever for a short black made from the aforementioned single origin coffee beans. They sport vintage t-shirts and old fashioned sweaters on work days in the art studio, charity office or advertising space. They love the irony of wearing old christmas sweaters on a cold June day in a baggy hand knitted thrift store beanie as they waste away the afternoon with some old vinyl records and hand rolled cigarettes. They drink warm herbal tea from mason jars and wear very large scarves with flannelette plaid shirts and a pair of button braces to hold up their rolled up vintage pants.
The hipster wont be found falling from a nightclub in the wee hours of the morning. They will more likely be found at a slam poetry event in a beer garden, only if it serves the coolest of craft beers. They chase music adventures with bands that no one has ever heard of, and can be spotted sitting in graffiti’d laneways tapping their cons and rolled up jeaned legs to indie folk music. The hipster has a love of vintage and kitsch as well, and will walk with their hessian or burlap bags to farmers markets to find the best organic produce.
There is nothing wrong with the hipster – we all need something to follow. But if you are perturbed that the rent of your 2 bedroom semi detached or 3 bedroom art deco flat is going to rise, have a look around the neighbourhood and see if the hipsters are on their way.
