Saturday Night

  The thing about living in the suburbs is finding exciting things to do, and when married with hubby and two gorgeous boys this can be a challenge. We could just stay home and watch television that would be so easy.  However that is not an exciting experience. I wanted us to do something different something special for my son’s upcoming birthday.  So off to Pearcedale about a 20 minute drive where we went to do a lantern lit evening tour at Moonlit Sanctuary a wildlife conservation park. We had been to plenty of zoos, and wildlife sanctuaries but we had never done a night tour.  At the entrance was a collection of snakes and lizards, where we got to meet a python and pat it. A wonderful way to start the evening, we were given are lanterns and of we went into the dark to get up close to some Australian wildlife.  My youngest son just loves animals it was great to meet a Barking Owl which sounds like it is barking. Then we met some Tasmanian Devils, these were two very excited active noisy devils. My son just said “devils they are so cute, I love them.”  The Owls were beautiful to see and hear.  We met with endangered Bettongs  which are like a rabbit sized kangaroos and some brush tail possums which are not endangered. Watching them jump around  and be fed was great experience.The boys even had an opportunity to pat them. We sore a wonderful fat wombat. Whilst at the end of the night we met a very big Koala. Also finished by feeding the Kangaroos and Wallabies. My youngest son was determined he was going to feed the kangaroos and wallabies, and yes he had them eating out of his hand.  It was a wet and cold night which turned out to be an exciting adventure.

You can find more about Moonlit Sanctuary at the following link http://www.moonlit-sanctuary.com/

Reflections on Suburban Living.

The suburbs are considered by many as cultural wastelands, the boring burbs, a place of conformity, boredom and loneliness. Yet the suburbs are a popular place to live, and where I am living the suburban sprawl is full throttle and growing exponentially. So I have decided to find my own suburban utopia, to enjoy the experience of suburban life, to immerse myself in local culture and events, and live blissfully in the burbs.

I currently live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, in a place called Berwick. Berwick is a pretty place. It still retains some of that village look as you drive down the main street. Its main street is alive with restaurants and cafes. The  housing estates are close to parks and gardens.

So why live in suburbia, firstly would be affordability, a larger home and block of land parks and good schools for the kids.  The Australian dream ,a home of ones own. Whilst the promises that are being sold to people are the following:

Real backyard living.

To build a future

Perfect for the family

A children’s paradise

Wonderful place to live

Family friendly at its best.

Resort style living

Whilst these suburbs are full of houses that exude style and functionality. Peaceful private homes. Dream homes, prestigious homes, and elegant homes.

Sounds like utopia, however sadly it is not. What they sell us is the idea of a ‘culture of affluence’, a desire for more, a reason to live beyond one means, and travel longer distances and more travel. In fact with all the time travelling we have less time to spend with family and friends. Then there is the isolation and loneliness that suburban living also entails. Plus the lack of excitement,entertainment, and those communal places to go hang out and mix with other people. Whilst boring architecture and the lack of art that exist in the suburban landscape is a contributing factor to suburbia being described as a cultural wasteland.

The suburbs have been severely criticized over the years such as claims the suburbs are guilty of spreading conformity. The  suburbs make people conformist in lifestyle and architecture. I personally have found that the suburbs lack the creativity and diversity of city/urban life. Plus suburbanites are so dependant on cars, because you need a car to get you almost anywhere. Then there is the idea of affluence, having it all, and ‘ keeping up with the Jones’ that encourages the consumer culture of the suburbs and entraps people into over extending their finances and defines success by what we have not by who we are.

Whilst if living in the city is rich with culture and experience why is it not that way living in the suburbs? If living in the country is getting close to nature and peaceful why  can we not have a little more of that in the suburbs? If living by the beach is relaxing and carefree why can’t it be that way in the suburbs as well? I think it is time we started defining suburban living in a more positive light, and also that we demand more liveable, sociable and enjoyable suburban environments. I also think we need to focus less on affluence and prestigious living and more on community, nature, family, friends and experience.

So in this blog I will be exploring suburban living its good points and areas for improvement. My own personal experience will be to live blissfully in the suburbs embracing community, nature, family, friends and experience.