Blogjune Day 6 - Our castle and our keep.

Today's question: Why do you live where you do?

Today's song:

I moved to Canberra in October 2016. It's now the city where I've lived the longest since first moving away from my home town of Melbourne in 2006.

At the time, it was the right place for me. After living overseas for a number of years, moving back to Melbourne didn't feel right for me. I wasn't ready to live in a big city yet, but at the same time I was keen to move back into the cultural sector. Canberra is small, yet has many cultural institutions - perfect!

It's also not the first time that I thought about moving to Canberra. I very seriously considered moving there in 2008, but the time was definitely not right for me, and Canberra was also a very different place back then. I'm glad I didn't - my life would have been very different if I had.

But in 2016, the timing was absolutely right. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time to step into some great job opportunities. I've enjoyed a moderately active social life, it's so easy to get around (especially if you have a vehicle) and I love how close it is to parklands and the bush, if I just want to escape the urban environment. Of course, even the urban setting here is pretty magical at times with the local birdlife saying hello every morning.

I also live in the inner suburbs. The main reason for this is because I always wanted to be cycling distance from work, and right now I ride about 25 minutes each way every day. My whole life, I've always preferred inner-city living over a house in the 'burbs - I like being close to the action - though Canberra is unlike most other cities in that sense. Much of the action happens in little pockets here and there - more often than not in one of the suburbs rather than the city. So, I'm getting to the point where I'm ready for a change - somewhere with a yard for a garden, and room to be creative and make noise without disturbing neighbours with adjoining walls.

So, I'm moving!

We've been planning the move for a little while now, but in two weeks I'll have vacated my little apartment where I've lived for the past four years. It's an odd feeling, especially given all my complicated memories of this place through that time, but I'm looking forward to some new adventures.