So why do we live where we live, or do we live where we grew up, and dont just say there was work there.... as there is work almost every where (excuding current world situation).
So what made "your" city or town the one for you?
Do you live for the view, the sailing, the waves, the isolation, etc,etc...
And if you had to or wanted to move where would you go and why?

We live where we live because its close to my work and a major railway station. So I walk to work and my wife walks to the station to catch the train which is 20 minutes away by train. Where we live is also within walking distance to a major shopping centre with plenty of cafes and restaurants nearby. We looked around the area for a while and found a place thats in our budget, was half decent and would generally suit our lifestyle.

Its not perfect but its not too bad. At the very least we will keep our unit when we move out, hopefully back up the coast.

I dont know the full details of my family history but I kinda know the basic story.
My dads side of the family settled in Margaret River around the 1900ish?
My grandma was born there. They then moved up to Mandurah. Dawesville to be exact. Their name is Dawe. Melros if I can recall is my dads great great uncle?
My mums family settled in Perth and were the first electricians in the city. Im fifth generation sparky.
Anyway to cut a long story short my dad grew up in Bayswater. He finished his Apprenticeship, met my mum and built a home in Stirling where I grew up. Trigg, Scarborough, Innaloo and Karrinyup were my stomping grounds. North of the river so to speak.
My wife was a western suburbs snob who grew up in Nedlands and then Churchlands, Wembly Downs, and Woodlands where some of her friends hung around with my friends which is how we met. When we came to buying a house we wanted to be as close as we could to our stomping grounds. We ended up near Hillarys.
My upbringing and life revolved around the ocean. Unfortunately windsurfing came later on in life. Im stoked to have grown up in WA where the waves are sick and the wind is even sicker hehehe.
And thats why where I live is where I live

On a more serious note, after growing up in north Tas and having windsurfing, sailing, surfing, fishing, diving, bushwalking, trout fishing etc etc all within half an hours drive, then going to uni in Bendigo, living in Vic (Eildon, Melbourne, Natimuk, Mallacoota); spending 3 years in WA (Tanami Desert, Broome, Timber Crk, Margeret River); 6 mnths in NT (Darwin, Pine Crk); 3 years in QLD (Airlie Beach, Cracow, out bush everywhere)
Anyway I decided that I'd prefer to live somewhere where there's bugger all flies and mozzies, no crocodiles, no peak hour traffic, and you can wear shorts and t-shirt one day (today) and expect snow on the mountain tomorrow night.

In 1860something my great great grandfather emigrated to Aus and built one of the first shops in High Street Northcote, an inner northern suburb of Melbourne. My great grandfather lived just around the corner from there. My grandmother grew up there as well and when she got married in 1929 she moved about 5kms across the paddocks to a new suburb called Rosanna. My dad grew up there but moved to the other side of town when he got married so I grew up 20kms from where I now live.
I have no idea why I live here, except for the fact that I like this area, but I now live less than 3kms from where my dad grew up and grandparents lived, and 4kms from where my great and great great grandparents lived. Just kinda feels right. Could be some weird kind of affinity with the land, an innate need to be close to the ancestral hunting ground or maybe the spirits calling me back. Spooky really.

Ever watch 'Everybody Loves Raymond'?

My wife, 2 younguns and I live an hour away from where we grew up...it means that it's too far away for regular visits, but close enough to not have to sleep over!

Honestly, work brought me to the coast from an hour inland, and I decided to stay here...

---Relaxed lifestyle & work (so relaxed that we're practically lying down)
---Know many of the locals, and consider them as friends
---100m from beach
---Live well within means on minimum wage (apart from living expenses, money doesn't drive me at all!)
---Can fill a weekend with all sorts of activities that don't include large crowds, big spend-up, travel, etc.
---Very little crime (don't lock car when out on the water...actually don't lock house much either!)

I understand that there's alot of places out there that are 'better' than this one...but we're happy/content here, so why would we move?

cranky said...

I live here for the convenience of my family, If it was my choice I would head east.

Obviously your not a windsurfer

cranky said...



The truth is Greeny, after 25 seasons of windsurfing the novelty disappeared long ago and I still get more of a kick out of a quiet surf.

No wonder you're cranky.