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Tuesday 12 March 2013

Canberra, more like Can-BORING!



James and I, 2009 Parliament House roof, being bored.

When I first moved to Canberra I thought I was going to OWN this place. I thought, here I am moving from Melbourne to poor little boring ol’ Canberra. They won’t know what hit them.
Boy did I get a shock when nobody gave a shit. Or more surprisingly, people told me that had made the move too. They wanted to, “escape all that pretentious shit!”

Uh, yeah, me too?

No. I moved here for love. I wasn’t very happy about it. I thought Canberra was a hole. I thought it was boring. I mean I was busy every night. I was busy every day. I went to all the music festivals, and could actually get tickets to them. I got a gig at a radio station hosting a show. I met some really cool people. I worked in a camera store. I went to art galleries, I picnicked, I drank alcohol LEGALLY in parks, I saw fire works, and danced, and partied and had a blast.

But I thought it was boring. I thought it wasn’t very cool.

I don’t know what I was thinking. It was actually the best time of my life. I didn’t know it at the time. James got a posting to Sydney and I was so excited to get out of here and move to a big city.  You know, it’s pretty trendy to live in big cities.

Only about six months after we moved to Sydney I started to long for Canberra. I missed the lifestyle.

You see the thing I hated most about Canberra, (apart from a few nasty’s), was the reaction from people when you told them you lived in Canberra. It was a mix of pity and belittlement.

“Oh, but we’re originally from Melbourne!” I would quickly follow up.

The thing is, that’s not exactly true. I mean, technically speaking the suburb I grew up in is considered Melbourne but its 60km away from the CBD, a place called Frankston. You may have heard of it. It doesn’t have a great name for its self. I did, however, have the best childhood. I never really cared what people thought of Frankston until I started dating a guy that lived just out of the Melbourne CBD, and started frequenting the Melbourne CBD, and by being told by people that Frankston was a hole. And then finding out these people had never been to Frankston.

That’s just like Canberra. I saw on The Project last night Carrie spoke down of Canberra, and then mentioned she’d never been here. I love and admire that lady, but she definitely lost some street cred there. I mean, come on Carrie it’s our nations capital and it’s actually a pretty cool place!

We have been back for three weeks now and I am a better person here. I care less about what people think, and just actually live. I love the view of the mountains. I love the wide-open roads. I love the parks. I love the galleries. I love the shopping. I love the people. I love the art scene, and the music scene, and the uni kids, and the cafes and well I love Canberra.

Have you been to Canberra before? And NO, your year 6 school camp doesn’t count. 

James, Pandora, and I, 2010, bored in Canberra again. Obviously.



2 comments:

  1. I've always wondered if I would like Canberra. I know I wouldn't want to live there (I need beach nearby!) but I think I'd like to visit.

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    1. I certainly struggled with the lack of beach here, especially the missing sea breeze and the views. But the mountains really take your breath away, and you just get used to swimming pools and lakes. You should definitely hit it up!

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