Tonight’s edition of Rambling Blaugust Tiredposting is
written with me offline! Gasp! The
horror of it all! I suspect that my changeover to fibre to the node NBN was
somehow botched, or perhaps I am simply failing at following configuration
instructions for my router. Or perhaps a tiny man is blocking my data with his
butt-cheeks somewhere along a series of tubes.
In any case the effect is the same, and I am having to fight withdrawal.
One of Thom’s writing prompts from his blaug yesterday
caught my eye. I can’t look it up because of the aforementioned issues I am experiencing, but I think it
read something like, “What do you take into consideration when choosing where
to live?” This is a subject I have given some serious thought over the last two
and a half years, both in regards to selecting the place I am renting now, and
my plans for the future. I’ll divide my considerations into some broad
categories. Let’s go with proximity, function, and beauty. I’ll also limit this
post to questions about the location, not about any structures on the property.
I’ll leave that for another post.
Proximity
I hate commuting through city traffic, and less travel time
is always a good thing as it leaves more time for relaxation (or chores). So it
is great that I don’t have to drive to work on busy suburban arteries any more,
instead zipping along the freeway in a leisurely 35 minute commute. I’d like to
do something similar at my next place.
I don’t like noise that I consider intrusive. This can be
traffic, or yowling cats, or dogs that just won’t give it a rest. As such I try
to live in a quieter area. I have failed at this, as I ended up on a corner
that is a local thoroughfare in peak hour. I inspected the place in the middle
of a quiet day, and took it at face value as a quiet location.
It is nice to be in proximity to one’s friends. I have failed
at this one with this place, and I suspect I will to a degree in the future as
well, as most of my other considerations can’t be met while meeting this one.
That said, if I can score a place that does meet this consideration, I
certainly will. That or I will consider guest facilities in any home I build.
Proximity to shops is nice. It is useful to be able to grab
groceries within a ten minute drive from home, especially on the way home from
work. Particularly important is a source of fresh fruit and veg. Being close to
Tea Tree Plaza used to be amazing, but I make do with what I have now. The
additional bother involved in going to the shops makes me see how frustrating
it would be to go a fair way out of my way for supplies.
Function
What am I going to do at my place? Eat, sleep, entertain,
all the usual stuff, yes. But also indulge in my hobbies of gardening and
sitting on my butt staring into the middle distance. The usual stuff is easy to
cater for in most places, though it is worth thinking about situating yourself
somewhere that your rowdy friends won’t bug your neighbours when Australia gets
douze points. Gardening is a bit more difficult, as I want space in which to
plant an enormous variety of things and do all sorts of weird and wonderful
junk in the garden. It needs to be big enough that I can keep doing things
while I’m waiting for other areas to grow fully. It also needs to have enough
reliable rainfall to fill some tanks, and soil that will grow me a decent food
crop.
The location also needs to be suitable to build on. I’ll
talk about my plans for a house another day, but for the purposes of this post,
the land needs to be stable and have space for a house to fit with a minimum of
fuss. Fire safety is an important part of this too, but that is also a great
topic for a future blaug as I actually know some stuff about it.
Beauty
The area has to look nice, sound nice, smell nice, and feel
nice. Rather straightforward! Some decent trees are an absolute must, otherwise
I feel entirely out of place.
I’m flagging now, better do other stuff before sleep.
Goodnight.
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