Lived
I'll start my answers with Jesse's (first) question: Were you born in Australia, or did you move there later in life?
I was born here in Perth something close to 26 years ago, and I've spent my whole life (bar one year) living here. The one year? My family spent about a year living in California before I started school, so I don't remember much apart from being vaguely scared of the giant Goofy character and being too short to go on half the rides at Disneyland (I'm taller now, but I think I'm still scared of Goofy).
I've been meaning to move somewhere new for a while. I remember putting my hand up to move over to the Melbourne office at my first job, I was probably 19 at the time. Somehow the plans have never worked out. I'm working on that.
One day I'll be posting similarly abstract photos of Melbourne, London, Vancouver, Tokyo or Copenhagen...
My turn with the questions: where have you lived your life?
Posted on Monday, April 3, 2006 and filed under Life, Photos.
Comments
I was born in a wooden shack on a tiny island north of Darwin, one of the last Aboriginal reserves. The nurses refused to take care of me because I was white, and they had never seen a white baby before. For the next two years my home alternated between a filing cabinet drawer and a fruit box in my fathers office. He and my mother taught english to the children on the island. They had to keep constant watch over me, otherwise the children would pinch and punch me to see my skin change colour. My one memory is of eating snake and kangaroo, which I liked. We then moved to Perth and I have been here ever since.
Posted by: Loren on April 3, 2006
Born in Melbourne back in '82. Spent three years living in Bahrain in the Middle East. Back to Melbourne a few years before the first Gulf War finishing my schooling here before I headed up to the Gold Coast where I attended uni and acquired a healthy appetite for Bundy Rum.
I distinctly remember not putting my hand up to move to Perth for my first job but it happened anyway and after 12 months I escaped back home and have been here ever since taunting Si from two time-zones away.
Posted by: mot on April 3, 2006
Well, this is a good oppertunity for my first comment on your blog(Hi! I've been reading for prob about 6 months. I'm in Perth, my husband is a graphic/web designer, and at the moment I'm getting into it all a bit myself, and trying to take better photo's).
So, my answer to this question is quite long, but I like it.. ;)
1982 - 1987. The Netherlands, where I was born.
1987: Migrant Centre in Perth for 8 weeks, then 6months in Maida Vale.
1988- Around Oz for 4 months, then Kalamunda till end of 1990.
1991: Bidyadanga / La Grange Mission, an aboriginal community 200km's south of Broome.
1992: Nullagine, an aboriginal community/mining town 200km's north of Newman.
1992-1996: Bridgetown in the southwest
1996-2004: The Netherlands
2004: moved back to Perth with my husband, lived in Mt Hawthorn and now bought a house in the southeast(only corner we can afford!). One day I want to live in the hills or the southwest again. But who knows, maybe we'll even move states or countries. Anything can happen!
Right, enough blabbing!
Enjoy the photo's and posts (I've told Pascal he has to go to that Port 80 reading), thanks!
Simone
Posted by: Simone on April 3, 2006
Ha, Loren, how funny! (see my comment above!)
I was older when we lived in two aboriginal communities(about 9), and luckily don't have any bad memories, just fun ones. There were (of course?) plenty of problems behind the scenes, mostly due to racism and alcohol unfortunetly!
Simone
Posted by: Simone on April 3, 2006
I lived in Vancouver for two years in the mid 90's but have lived in Perth for the remainder of my years.
Posted by: Krissy on April 3, 2006
Hm... perhaps not as exciting as Simone's but certainly a story to tell anyways.
I was born in the Philippines where I lived for three years. We then moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where I lived for 12 years. And then we moved here: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I'm hoping to make another move soon, but this move will be sans family: To Dublin, Ireland!! Wish me luck!
Posted by: fragileheart on April 4, 2006
I was born in Viet Nam and came to Australia with most of my large family as a refugee in 1983, having had a 12 month stopover in the Hotel Kuala Lumpur courtesy of the UN Commissioner for Refugees. I have realised now, having visited Viet Nam for the first time last year, that my "memories" of Viet Nam are actually memories from the KL refugee camp.
Since 1983 I have lived predominantly in inner city Brisbane but spent a youthful (17-18 years old) stint in Melbourne pretending I was someone other than myself. I loved Melbourne but I was too young for it. I'm back in Brisbane, as boring me. If I live in Australia, I expect that I will live only in Brisbane - although if I remain with my current partner, the plan is that we retire to Tasmania in about 40/50 years.
I also hope/expect to be somewhere else in some other country sometime soon - it all depends on my partner and his PhD.
Posted by: OTT on April 4, 2006
In chronological order:
Born in England, moved around England, moved to South Africa, moved to Dubai (possibly via UK, I forget), moved back to Abu Dhabi, moved to England, moved around England, moved back to Abu Dhabi again, moved back to England, moved around England again, moved to South Africa, moved to Saudi Arabia, relocated back to England, emigrated to Australia, then moved to (simultaneously) Papua New Guinea and England, moved to Uganda, moved to England, moved around England again, moved to Australia, moved back to England (via Uganda for 3 months), moved to Australia, moved across Australia.
20+ school moves, 14 different schools (if you don't count pre-schools). Multiple nervous ticks and a high level of anxiety. And I left some moves out of the above list 'cos it was getting repetitive.
Anyway, I win.
Posted by: Lucinda on April 4, 2006
OMG, Lucinda certainly wins, ha ha!
But everyone's been places! (well, the people replying!)
Cool!
Mine isn't THAT exciting, 'fragileheart'. I was just a kid most of it. My parents were quite brave though, moving to Oz, having never been there, then moving to an aboriginal community 3 years later!!
I've now just migrated back to a place I already knew.
Not sure if we'll ever move to a place where we don't know anyone. Who knows though, I am one to get bored quickly!
Posted by: Simone on April 4, 2006
born in perth, moved to karratha for about 6 months when i was 1, moved back to perth... the end
oh and i'm 25, so thats (for you maths geeks) 24.5 years in the one place
sigh
this is why the only people replying are the ones who have gone somewhere, cos for the rest of us it just concretes the fact that we have haven't
Posted by: David on April 4, 2006
Thanks for answering!
Here are all the places I've lived:
1. Toronto, Canada (Birthplace, 1988-89)
2. St. Catherines, Canada (1989-91)
3. Caracas, Venezuela (1991-1999)
-My Dad's family lives there, so we wanted to be near them
for a while
4. Kitchener, Ontario (Canada, again, 1999-present)
-The declining government made us re-think our moves
nearly a decade prior
Now I'm here, but I will soon be moving to:
a) Kingston, Ontario (For University)
b) Hopefully Perth or Melbourne in the future. The pictures look
gorgeous
Posted by: Jesse on April 5, 2006
1. Born in Perth (Joondanna)
2. birth-3 lived around various central Aust Aboriginal communities, Broome etc.
3. 3-5 Kalgoorlie
4. 5-6 Sydney
5. 7-9 Perth (Greenwood)
6. 9-11 Meekatharra
7. 11.5-20.5 Perth (Duncraig, Kingsley, Padbury)
8. 20.5-23 Perth (Nedlands, Crawley, Daglish)
9. 23-almost 25 Japan (Moriya - Ibaraki Prefecture)
10. 25ish-almost 26 Perth (Crawley)
11. 26-> Melbourne (East Brunswick)
Jesse: Perth and Melbourne are gorgeous, you should move, or at least visit!
Posted by: n on April 5, 2006
Seeing how David is making allowances for maths geeks, I'll do likewise and express where I've lived as chronological percentages of my 25 years thus far.
48% Perth, Australia (Duncraig, Karrinyup)
10% Malang, Indonesia
10% Perth, Australia (Duncraig)
04% London, England
24% Perth, Australia (Hilarys, Nedlands, Como, Mirrabooka)
04% London, England
What can I say, I just keep on coming back to Perth!
Posted by: Matt on April 6, 2006
With all this fuss about Perth and Melbourne (along with Si's amazing pictures), I guess I will just have to visit. If I like it, I won't return home! :P
Posted by: Jesse on April 7, 2006
mmm lets see, Started in Canberra, then Sydney, then Curitiba- Brasil, then Miami- Florida, then Buenos Aires- Argentina, then Coffs Harbour- NSW, then Melbourne, then Perth. And by the end of this year i hope to add a nice place in Canada (for a short time anyhow)
Posted by: Gussy on April 9, 2006
