Saturday, December 6, 2014

What is it with Perth?




While for most people Perth is just a place where live and don’t have a strong opinion on this city either way, recently I have been thinking about those love it or hate it.

We have it so good here but why can’t we take it a step further and make this city slightly more interesting?

Since I have found this clip on You Tube, it has been funny to see the different perspectives, although the ‘haters’ are a little more entertaining than the corporate spin.  

  





But what is it about Perth that makes people want to laugh at it?

Maybe because Perth has so much to offer but it still seems like a small town.

It has skyscrapers and a growing café, bar and restaurant scene but the CBD is literally deserted after 7 and it is almost impossible to get a good coffee after 4pm.

Not to mention a transport system that assumes that after 7pm no one needs to go anywhere.

I completely understand why Perth fans love it so much; the great weather, the outdoors lifestyle, the beaches, the opportunities to spend national holidays in Kings Park (Perth’s botanical gardens) waiting for the fireworks to start while dancing in bikinis to tunes pumped out by commercial radio, etc, etc!

Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone but a city’s climate and beach culture is unappealing to someone like me who isn’t interested in the superficial, appearances or even the good weather.

This outdoorsy and appearance driven narrative seems to be so strong that if you are not into that, you soon feel that there is no alternative aspiration.   

Bluntly (some of you will kill me for saying this) Perth is like a beautiful person with no personality. Appearances, the beach and sport are held in high esteem and there is not the population size to leave the geeks and the nerds (like me) with enough alternatives to feel satisfied.   
   
What makes Perth different from…..?

Having move from the UK to Perth when I was 15, the first thing I noticed was the small town mentality. The rest of the world (including the other parts of Australia) seems very far away and almost irrelevant.    

I also noticed that people were friendly and welcoming but it was harder to make friends. I just put this down to because Perth crowd (generally) had been there all their lives; they had their posse of friends and weren’t interested in making new ones. It was ‘hello, how are you? And chat for awhile…… then, see you later!’

It takes a longer to find where the cool people hang.

Moving to Sydney for work was interesting. I soon found a group of mates that weren’t from Sydney and were more than happy for newbies to join their posse. After all most of them were new to the city once and knew what it was like to arrive and not know many people.     

What I do love

I love the coffee culture in Perth and while there are some duds of cafés, there are many great places that make an awesome cup!

The tradition of going out for breakfast is something that I love (although the prices ,compared to Melbourne, isn’t so cool) and can’t get enough of.

I love the Perth International Arts Festival and think this Festival is amazing!!! For a few weeks during the year, Perth comes this vibrant city that is filled with life and interesting stuff.

I am also so glad that Perth is so close to South East Asia as if we had moved back to the UK as planned, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to explore this interesting and diverse part of the world. 

I also love how the city surprises me. Just watch the clip below...





Isn't cool?
         
The future

A bigger population here in Perth is almost inevitable. The more people move to Western Australia, the more diverse the community will be. I hope that Perth will become a truly cosmopolitan city with a melting pot of cultures rather than multiple cultures and lifestyles operating side by side.  



Perth does have so much to offer and that with a commitment to economic development, progressive urban planning and investment in public transport and community development, I think the future looks bright!!   


1 comment:

  1. I think almost every city has those who love it and those who hate it. It's same for the city I live in. I've never heard of anyone bad mouth Perth though!

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

    ReplyDelete

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