Living in Sydney in the noughties: Part 1

Well, my lovely followers (and thanks to my new ones - you now number 28, up from 16 only five days ago. Woo hoo!), so now you have an idea of how I found working as a young solicitor in Sydney. So how did we find it living there? Well, the noughties were a heady time in which to live in such a spectacular city. It was pulsing with vitality, the housing market was booming and confidence was up. The bright young things were making money and life was sweet.

Our view from the ferry stop at Milson's Point, just under Luna Park

It had a whole new vibe for us, so different to Melbourne. Back then, it was far more common for our peers to move from Hobart to Melbourne, rather than Sydney. Melbourne was only an hour away by plane and the closest big city. We had spent many a holiday there, catching up with our friends and enjoying the cool, moody, arty vibe, revelling in the laneways with their hidden treasures tucked away.

Dining al fresco in a Melbourne laneway

For us, Sydney seemed brighter, shinier and more confident. It really felt like a happening place. Preparations for the Olympics were almost complete and Sydney stood ready to show itself off to the world.

We were struck by the white brightness of Sydney's light and heat, arriving on a 36°C day. The humidity was suffocating and all enveloping. I woke on my first morning feeling like a bus had hit me, so draining was its impact on my unacclimatised body. It also caused damp problems. We discovered Damp Rid and the need to air our wardrobes after expensive visits to the dry cleaners with our mould-covered clothes.

We were captivated by the leafiness of the Lower North Shore (those capital letters seemed very important to the locals), the verdant lawns (despite the drought - water restrictions soon put paid to them), the neatly clipped murraya hedges, the fragrant jasmine, the rampant wisteria and the lacy, mauve glory of the jacarandas. We learnt that our friends always realised HSC exam time was imminent when the first jacarandas bloomed. In a good season, there were special ferry cruises around the Lower North Shore to view them. We looked out over the neighbouring suburbs which were studded with mauve bursts. It really was a picture, gladdening our hearts.

Jacaranda time

Of course, that was only what we saw in our neighbourhood. We didn't move far from the Harbour. Our concepts of time and distance changed - travelling 30 minutes to go shopping at Chatswood Chase soon seemed like zipping around the corner. We grew used to having to plan our travel and organising to catch up with friends weeks in advance. Life wasn't as spontaneous as in Hobart as it took a long time to get anywhere, so choked were the major arterial roads.

Sydney's incredible ethnic diversity sprawled around us, in every direction. We grew to understand the different opinions on areas and the local lingo such as 'The Shire' (the Sutherland Shire - doesn't that remind you of the Lord of the Rings?). The geography of the place was an important divider - whether you lived in the Eastern Suburbs, the Shire, the Inner West, the Western Suburbs, the Blue Mountains, the Northern Districts, the Lower North Shore, the Upper North Shore or the Northern Beaches. We also discovered that each suburb had its own distinct identity, Woolwich in particular.

Woolwich was reached by driving past the grand old sandstone Hunters Hill mansions with their lawn tennis courts and spectacular water views to the peninsula at the end. There, the ferry terminal awaited the locals at the bottom of a hilly street (we often flew down there in haste to jump aboard in the nick of time before the gangplank was hauled in). Magnificent waterfront mansions abounded like this one.

Isn't it just divine? I want to live there!

We embraced the relaxed summer vibe and enjoyed the sweet scent of jasmine in those hazy, lazy evenings, firing up the barbecue and sitting on our balcony, wine in hand, gazing onto the Lane Cove River. We joined the locals fishing off Clarkes Point at the end of the peninsula and watched the New Year's Eve fireworks there with the Harbour Bridge in the background. Yes, life was good!

Fishing off Clarke's Point, Woolwich

Then the Olympics energised Sydney in spectacular fashion when the Olympic flame arrived. 

The vibrant logo abounded

We streamed out of work, lining the streets with thousands of others to watch Pat Rafter and Dawn Fraser run with the torch through the city to Town Hall. The place was abuzz during that glorious fortnight. International visitors thronged the Olympic venues and relaxed at the specially erected entertainment areas and free concerts in the Domain. We travelled to work in the dark on the ferry as our workplaces changed their opening hours to accommodate the demands on the transport system. I had the thrill of being an official volunteer. And that, my friends, is a story for my next post. I won't leave you hanging long, I promise!

Jane