Melbourne holds the largest South Asian population in the country, spread across three distinct arcs: the western growth corridor through Tarneit, Truganina, Point Cook and Werribee; the northern corridor through Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park and Mickleham; and the established south-east through Clayton, Springvale, Dandenong, Glen Waverley and out to Cranbourne and Pakenham.
That geography matters for matchmaking more than people expect. A match between Werribee and Berwick is a ninety-minute drive each way, and "we're both in Melbourne" can quietly mean two different lives.
Melbourne's Bengali-speaking community — from both West Bengal and Bangladesh — is spread across Clayton, Glen Waverley and Mount Waverley near the universities, with a strong Bangladeshi concentration around Footscray, Sunshine and the western suburbs. Academic and medical households are common, and the community's social calendar runs on two poles: Durga Puja in autumn and Pohela Boishakh in April.