National

Victoria

Life in the ’burbs

Opinion

David Ryding Contributor September 29, 2025 — 7.00pm Opinion pieces from local writers exploring their suburb’s cliches and realities and how it has changed in the past 20 years. See all 53 stories .

Hadfield could be anywhere. Seriously. Anywhere. Close your eyes, put your finger on the map and pick where you think it is. You’ll be wrong.

We found this out shortly after we moved in.

We’ve moved to Hadfield.

[Silence]

Hadfield!

[Awkward silence]

Hadfield … North Pascoe Vale.

No one quite knows where exactly it is, and when you live there, it could be anywhere! It is inner-city enough to give you a choice of two train lines, with a takeaway coffee from one of the five coffee places, but outer-suburban enough to be almost

See Full Page