Finding the 'Country' in the City of Melbourne

Post

Subscribe

For many country people, moving to the city brings with it a bittersweet mixture of challenge, opportunity and homesick nostalgia. Adjusting to a new way of life, a new pace, is in itself daunting but reaping the rewards a big city life offers generally outweighs this.

When homesickness strikes, some turn to photos, some to teary phone calls and others to extended and often nostalgic blog posts. Whilst all these alternatives provide an emotional outlet and allow for a somehow comforting form of expression, their primary function remains to soothe, support and provide temporary relief

Sometimes the things we miss surprise us, perhaps you never knew how comforting the sounds of a sheep 'baaing' incessantly could be. Maybe you miss being able to walk across any expanse of grass for more than one hundred metres without the constant threat of running into a playground, drinking fountain or small child on a leash (city person quirk?).

When homesickness appears, luring me into a hermit-y, friend-rejecting guise, I often find that nothing else helps like getting that country 'fix'. Finding it in the city is the ultimate bonus.

1) You may long to simply sit and watch ducks and swans gliding across a vast dam...



... in such an instance, I often find the ducks along Melbourne's Yarra River just as comforting.



2) Perhaps you miss your equine friends back home, always nearby or just over the back hedge?



Luckily, Melbourne is a city alive with the 'clip clop' of shod hooves on asphalt as horse-drawn carriages traverse the CBD. If you ask nicely, you can can pat the horses as they stand waiting for passengers along Swanston, Elizabeth and occasionally Lygon St as well as many others in the CBD. This is usually enough to keep homesick pangs at bay.

3) When I miss those soul-searching walks along a trickling creek in the evening...

[IMAGE="http://www.weekendnotes.com/im/002/03/creek4.jpg" width="497"
link="http://www.weekendnotes.com/im/002/03/creek41.jpg" align="CENTER" thumb="http://www.weekendnotes.com/im/002/03/creek42.jpg" border="1" caption="" wrap="0" title="creek" margin="5"]

... I will find myself at one of Melbourne's many gardens, be it the famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Princes Park or Carlton Gardens, where the beautiful ponds and fountain are a more than satisfactory replacement.



Homesickness is a natural part of life when moving out of home, or even making the transition from country to city but with a few substitutions, Melbourne has more than enough to offer!

#outdoor
#misc
#lists
#free
#parks
%wnmelbourne