A Home Called Sydney

Have been taking the recent down time writing a lot on the beach. Living in Sydney, Australia, is really a blessing. You got all the great beaches and the fairest weather you could imagine. Ran into an Irish guy at my local beach Coogee the other day 3 times in one day and thus started chatting. He started a business here and moved his whole family over after a trip down under. He loves it here and said it was one of the best decisions he ever made. His kids are enjoying Sydney greatly and settling in very well. During the conversation, he also mentioned he does not understand why a lot of Sydneysiders complain about the heat and cold during summer and winter. He said they would only appreciate it when these were all taken away from them. I couldn’t agree more.

Sydney is a blessed city geographically and weather-wise. It is far away from any earthquake zone, it does not have cyclone attacks, it is relatively distant from bush fire zones, and the list goes on. It has some of the best beaches in the world and they are available all year round. You got one of the most beautiful harbours in the world with the sails of the Opera House greeting you every time you walk pass. There are a lot of great parklands around the city if you want a weekend picnic or just to enjoy the sun during lunch breaks. There is really no place like Sydney.

However sometimes I do wonder whether we, Sydneysiders, have taken these for granted and forgot how blessed we are. A lot of times people would tell me how hot and humid Sydney is and couldn’t cope with that. To be honest, as someone who grew up in Hong Kong, hot and humid would not be a description I use for Sydney. I have been repeatedly telling people the so called humidity in Sydney is nothing when you compared to Hong Kong where you have consecutive days of thirty something degree Celsius coupling with 98% humidity. During those days you just sweat and do nothing else. When I was living there, I frequently tell my friends that I could throw myself up against the wall and stick on it. Anywhere out of air conditioning is just a giant steamer with no escape. During those days, I learnt the skill of getting out of my air conditioned apartment quickly, get into the car and turn on the air conditioning immediately, and then dash into the air conditioned office in no time. I enjoy working because of the air conditioning. That’s how humid Hong Kong is.

As for the cold, Sydney, like many places has it own winter. Winter is not too cold as compared to places like Toronto. On a good autumn or winter day, you could still sit on the beach and enjoy the warmth of the sun (as I am doing now). In many places like Toronto, it is still freezing even when the sun is in the sky. I brought a few thick jackets with me when I first moved over and all these years, I have only used them twice. So this is how cold Sydney is. Another great thing is that if you are into snowboarding and skiing, ski fields like Thredbo are just a few stone throws away.

Nature-wise, Sydney offers a lot of greenery around the city. You can see a great variety of marine lives just going to some local beaches. I love a small family beach called Clovelly because it is shielded from big waves and because of that you see vibrant marine lives around you the moment you enter the clear water. This morning as I was having my coffee on the beach, a whale swam across off shore during its migration. It was a spectacular scene. And this is what Sydney’s natural lives could offer. Also I would like to think that Sydney is one of the less polluted cities in the world. It is still dusty sometimes but where in the world is not?

Sydney is an extremely vibrant and natural city in my opinion. I am glad that I chose Sydney as my home, as I don’t need to deal with four seasons in one day (sorry Melbournians, just need to rub that in :P) and we are save from a lot of natural disasters. When I complain about Sydney, it is the people, and mostly the governing bodies (who in my opinion helped pushing up the cost of living) that I am not happy about. But Sydney as a city to live in geographically, there maybe no other better places to call home to.