You can tell a lot about a city based on its trees (or lack thereof). I recently moved from a wealthier neighborhood to one with half the median household income, and let me tell you. There's not even close to 50% as many trees here as in the "nicer" neighborhood. Before moving, I didn't realize how much it would bother me, but I can feel the difference, even subconsciously.
And you can feel it because you've grown up with trees, and you know what you're missing. Imagine being a kid growing up in an inner city without nature; you'd never know what you've missed. Actually, this reminds me of an interesting article on the notion of the extinction of experience. I'll dig it up. Update: Here's a relevant article.
It would be great to see you there (I'm travelling for work on the other side of the world at the moment, but will be back there in a week). How long since you last visited? The pandemic hit Melbourne hard. It's back on track, but the scars are still there in the number of people asking for money or living rough on the streets. We're also in a severe rental crisis that I think Kiwis can probably relate to.
Almost a year now! My partner and I went over for a wedding, and we tacked on some holiday time either side of the wedding weekend. All up about 12 days there, and we barely scratched the surface of what we wanted to do. Definitely letting you know when I get over there next! We heard that from the locals, that things were slowly rebuilding but there was a lot to do. What we want to do next visit, is spend a lot more time in the suburbs. Try out commuting in for things, getting around during the peak hours. Not the whole time, but we want to understand life there outside of holiday mode. The rental side of things is a doozy though. We have a painfully won house here, and we'd either have to rent it or sell it off beforehand, and jump straight into renting over there. Lots to consider, but again, loved the place. We're likely heading back over there this year!