NEW CITY, NEW LIFE
My wife once described Wagga Wagga as a ‘A Nation within a City'. When we first moved to Wagga (only outsiders call it Wagga Wagga), we were pleasantly surprised at how cosmopolitan Wagga's 60,000 people were.
As an ex-Sydneysider (I can now call myself that), I used to think Sydney was the land of milk and honey. I had everything that I could ever wish for. However, after completing my HSC in the mid 90s my tertiary studies and work moved me around Australia and overseas.
Over the years, I headed back to Sydney for further study, holidays or special occasions like weddings and birthdays. I started to loathe the smell of air pollution, delays in traffic, crowded beaches and increases in the cost of road tolls and parking. I also started to loathe the ignorant city views about regional living. For instance, a Sydneysider's country visit consists of visiting exquisite and charming ‘boutique' havens like Leura, the Hunter Valley, Bowral, Berry or Kangaroo Valley. If one visits anywhere else (that's not on the NSW coast), then it's seen as bogan or yobbo.
In December 2007, my work moved us to Wagga. We hesitated. It took us a while to digest this information. Wagga had never been on our radar. Was this some sort of joke? Where could we go shopping? Would my wife get a good job? Within our first week of moving to Wagga, my wife was offered a full time teaching job. We were both happily shocked. We didn't expect a full time teaching job to be offered straight away. We noticed a lot of major companies across most sectors and professions are actually based in Wagga, or have a satellite office or plant.
At the time, we also noticed how affordable real estate was in comparison to the capital cities. So, we bought a house for a reasonable price in a charming suburb. We have a large garden with pets and plenty of space. Our house is within minutes walk to shops, a primary school and a lake where we walk most mornings and afternoons. Compared to a capital city we have saved a lot of money and stress knowing that we can afford to pay off our mortgage and enjoy our lifestyle without foregoing or missing out on much. As materialistic as it sounds, I'd much rather be rich in Wagga, than poor in Sydney.
Meanwhile, family and friends (in their late 20s to early 40s) in Sydney were making opportunity costs, and foregoing one thing for another. For instance, some people opted to have one child or none instead of two or three; renting instead of owning; buying a townhouse instead of a house with a garden; living in a unit instead of a house; living in a small space with no pets. It was pretty clear that the things that we took for granted whilst growing up in Sydney, were now unaffordable and unattainable.
However, for us, this has not been the case. I take great pleasure taking my regional lifestyle for granted. Knowing that one can drive five to ten minutes to get to work or play takes the stress out of dealing with traffic delays, air pollution, road rage and ridiculously expensive road tolls. I know that if I was to own a horse it would be cheaper to own and ‘run' in Wagga, than keeping it in a Sydney stable at Centennial Park or Terrey Hills.
Access to recreation and sporting facilities is excellent. There are plenty of sports teams to join, water sport recreational activities, cycling and bushwalking tracks. I've heard people say, ‘There's nothing to do in Wagga', but that's not entirely true. If I was still living in Sydney, I'd probably be doing 90% of the same things I am doing now. There are plenty of places in Wagga that will avail my occasional ‘yuppie' urges. Wagga has markets, festivals, national and regional sporting events, regional galleries and wineries, major retailers, a University, TAFE, a flying academy, eateries and cafes, a RAAF base, an Army base and it is close to the Snowy Mountains. The scenery around Wagga is spectacular!
Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a Banjo Patterson poem, a Nicole Alexander novel, or a Sidney Nolan painting.
Text by Toby Anderson - Happy Wagga Wagga Resident
