You see a city differently when you know you’re going to leave. Moving around town, you wonder if it’s the last time you’ll be in this suburb, the last time you’ll get coffee from that place, the last time you’ll see that stunning view. You imagine how it might have changed by the time you return.
To be honest, I hope it’s unrecognisable. For while Sydney is wondrous, it needs to change. A lot.
You see a city differently when you know you’re going to leave. Credit: Marija Ercegovac The start of summer is always a sunny reminder of why we live here – a pre-work swim or evening stroll, long Sunday afternoon at the beach, a boat party or harbourside picnic. The stuff we put on the brochure.
Water is our muse, but it’s also our kryptonite. It creates two cities – the postcard Sydney and the other one, the Sydney of long commutes through hot, dreary suburbs and back again, to homes people can barely afford. As our premier keeps reminding us, people are opting out of this.
Young people, people of prime working age, young families – they’re going elsewhere, to Newcastle and Orange, Melbourne and Brisbane. And why not? You can still rent a new one-bedroom flat in the middle of Brunswick for less than $500 a week. A comparable property in Surry Hills or Newtown is more than $750 a week.
Think about the stark reality of that choice for a moment. If I’m 25 or 30, and I want to live a fun and active life near the city, why would I live in Sydney? The water is ou.
