I used to live Strathfield, a suburb situated 12 km away from Sydney city. The nights were bright, the shops were a mere 5-minute walk away, and the sound of trains could keep you awake till midnight. But life changed once I moved away from Sydney CBD, to a beautiful residential suburb 40 km away.
Creepy Crawlers
I wake up to the sound of songbirds in my backyard, although only once or twice have I been able to spot them among the tall Gum trees surrounding my house. Come summer, and they will be replaced by different species of Parrots; Rainbow Lorikeets being the prettiest of them all. You can easily spot them flying across the backyard, a flash of brightly colored plumage searching for food. Thankfully, there are no Cockatoos around my area, else waking up to a bunch of screaming Cockatoos is no fun. The summer is notorious for Bats. You will find them swarming above your head in the evening. Their wingspan long enough to stop your heart.
One of Australia’s most iconic reptiles has found a home among the rocks in my garden – the famous Blue Tongue Lizard.
A shy little fellow often found basking in the sunlight, among a lounge of Penny lizards (also called Common Garden Skink). Out of all the species, these tiny lizards are the ones that give me heebie-jeebies. But they mean no harm, in fact, they are good for the garden.
Garbage Day
You may forget your swimming class, but don’t forget the garbage collection day, unless you want to live with another week of kitchen wastes rotting in the bin. The garbage collection trucks drive by once a week, on an allocated weekday. Usually, the residents place their garbage bins outside the house the night before. And that is how I remember to put mine out because I have to walk past rows and rows of garbage bins while returning from work.
A quiet place!
Life in Sydney suburb is quiet. I mean really really QUIET. At night you can only hear cicadas singing a rhapsody in the moonlight. The sky is clear enough to trace the tail of Scorpion in the sky.
It’s been over 3 years since I moved to this suburb and I still haven’t heard my neighbors. The only time I heard a human voice, it was the sound of a girl singing Karaoke two houses away from mine. The sunny weekends are filled with the noise of lawn mowers trimming an overgrowth and cars/driveways being washed by Gerni. Still, no sound of humans, unless they walk past you and wish you a cheerful “Good Evening”.
Can you imagine a train station devoid of human chattering? Sometimes all you can hear is the sound of footsteps, marching up and down the stairs. You will find me and my husband talking in whispers while waiting for the train. 😛
All the suburbs have their own parks, schools, medical centers, and shopping complex. One major disadvantage of living in the suburbs is the time it takes to reach work. You spend a lot of time on public transport during weekdays. I chose suburb because I had always wished to own a house with a backyard. It reminds me of home and my childhood days.
I love wide spaces and the sight of trees and beautiful flowering plants along the pathway. But most of all, the parks. During summer, when we receive daylight till 8 pm, a nice walk in the park is all you need to unwind after a long day at work.
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Related Post – Girls day out in Sydney
Linking to camera critters, our world tuesday, image-in-ing, jeshstudio,wordless wednesday, skywatch
Wow the photos are absolutely beautiful! It’s so relaxing to be awaken by birds in the morning. But where I stay I don’t really hear that guess it’s too busy haha😀
This looks absolutely stunning! I have to visit this part of the world someday! You really have a wonderful ability in storytelling and your writing is so captivating.
Please tell me you’re planning to write a book one day, Rajlakshmi. Your posts evoke so many thoughts and feelings, your writing is so beautifully descriptive, you can make a simple topic like living in the suburbs come alive. And those images are gorgeous too! Thank You for your musings. It’s such a pleasure getting to know you and your world.
I love your suburban world… so quiet, so peaceful and so beautiful. The Jacaranda trees add to the beauty and serenity. Guess, all this would be so welcome after the exposure to 24×7 noise pollution here.
Just yesterday, I saw blue tongue lizard on TV and today I am reading about it. Great pictures, as always!
Wow! The suburbs of Sydney sound superb. I would love the quiet. I do not like the city because it is so noisy and the lack of privacy but this sounds right up my alley. Although I would never live in Australia because of all the deadly animals lol I’m an arachnophobia big time.
Is it true about the crazy scary spiders and reptiles there? Or is that more out of the metro and in the country areas? Idiot American here 😛 love your pictures!