Adventures of an Urban Nomad - Living in the East

Laurence Harrould - Sunday, January 15, 2012

Eastern Suburbs people are really interesting - they see the world in a special way. 

Danita and I both grew up in the Eastern Suburbs and for the last few weeks we've been housesitting very close to where we both lived as children. Since we leave here next Friday we decided to do the Eastern Suburbs thing today and be tourists. This involved a visit to Bondi Beach, Watsons Bay, The Gap and driving past houses we lived in.

Now when I say Eastern Suburbs people see things differently I'll share a couple of quick examples. These both involve friends of ours so no names :-)

Firstly, a friend living on the upper North Shore was arranging to get together with a friend of hers from the East. When discussing the venue the Eastern friend said (in all seriousness): "You come to me - it's closer".

Another friend was buying a new car which happened to be a four wheel drive. The salesperson, possibly thinking he knew his clientele well, facetiously remarked: "Going to the top end are you?" To which our customer friend promptly replied: "Oh yes we go to Watson's Bay often."

The Gap is intriguing and probably another good example of Eastern Suburbs thinking. On arrival the first thing you see is a prominent sign telling you to call a friend. No, it's not a ad for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" but a sign for LifeLife - the crisis support organisation. So The Gap has the unenviable reputation of being Sydney's suicide capital. Now what I found really intriguing is the other sign that's there. There's a fine of $150 if you climb outside the fence and $300 if you have a dog in the area. Given the cost and risk if someone is on the outside of the fence (not only to yourself but others who have to risk their lives if you should "slip") this seems a tab disproportionate but "hey" it's the Eastern Suburbs.

Visiting the place we grew up in has been interesting for us. In many ways we know it well - the streets are familiar and many of the landmarks are the same. And yet, it's somehow disorienting. You meet up with people you haven't seen for a lifetime. There are big gaps in your knowledge of what these people have been doing in the 30-40 years you've been away. So many things have changed and yet so much is the same.

One of the people we remet today is Rebecca. She has a shop at Bondi Beach called So Gorgeous. It has an amazing variety of goods ranging from diamond rings and fancy furniture items to Perfect Pets and a vagina lamp (it's a lamp in the shape of a woman's torso with the globe located as the name suggests). It's a real treasure trove.

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