Hating on Brunswick Street while hanging out on Brunswick Street

White Melburnians scathingly refer to Brunswick Street as 'the Chapel Street of the north' (which is the worst form of insult they can come up with) but what they really mean is that Brunswick Street is a lot like Chapel Street on weekend nights. Any other time of day Brunswick Street is just Brunswick Street. What people should be saying instead is that Brunswick Street is just like Chapel Street - only better! The vomit is ankle-deep rather than knee-deep and drivers prefer to brake rather than accelerate when they run you over. But the best part is punching-on because you can be assured that your friendly Brunswick Street brawlers won't keep stomping your head after you lose consciousness (because they're nice guys once you get to know them).

Chapel Street can be quite dull sometimes. But this is only because of the high number of clothing stores relative to the high number of clothing stores. Brunswick Street's more diverse array of shops means that even the most caffeine and YouTube stunted attention spans can survive a little longer. White Melburnians don't really hate Brunswick Street. Actually, they love it! They just want to experience it on their own terms. Pretending to hate it is their way of saying they saw it first. So if you are new to Melbourne you are better off ignoring whatever you hear about Brunswick Street and just go there yourself. You might actually enjoy it.