…And we’re back! February has been an incredibly busy month for me, hence my disappearance from the blog world. I’ve spent most of my time searching for, inspecting, moving into and furnishing a flat. Other than that, I’m still on a search for the perfect job, while trying to make the most of my unemployed time in Sydney. And with the little spare time that Dan and I have managed to find, we’ve spent it relaxing at his family’s beach house in Shellharbour or indulging in schooners at local pubs.
At this point, I’m incredibly happy to have finally found a home...and a bloody good one at that. Dan and I are currently living in a bright and spacious one-bedroom unit in an art deco building on Bland Street (sounds exciting, doesn’t it??) in the suburb of Ashfield. As I mentioned in one of my previous entries, finding a decent flat to rent in Sydney can be as difficult as avoiding the sunburn. Week after week, we attended flat inspections in some of the more desirable suburbs: Newtown and Redfern. Being close to the CBD and Sydney University—while maintaining a trendy and hip urban feel—these affordable suburbs are really popular areas to live in Sydney. Every inspection I attended housed at least 20 other vultures ready to put down a deposit. Needless to say, the competition was ruthless.
In the end, thanks to my go-getter boyfriend, we decided to expand our horizons and search for flats in other suburbs in Sydney’s Inner West district. This is how we ended up in Ashfield. Ideally located with the commerce-laden streets of Parramatta to the west, the hustle and bustle of Sydney city to the east and the super-authentic Italian cuisine of Haberfield and Leichhardt to the north, Ashfield is pleasant and unique town. The High Street (Liverpool Road) is packed with restaurants, fruit and veg shops, butchers, junk shops, Indian and Chinese grocers and the Ashfield Mall, making it very easy to find exactly what you need.
What I love about this town is that although we are technically a part of a modern city, we can still feel the old-world quaintness and personality of the British-style High Street. We can make friends with the local butcher, getting his recommendation on the special cuts of the week. We can opt to buy local produce at a small fruit and veg shop, instead of the overpriced and all-too-perfect-looking apples and oranges at the supermarket. We can even become regulars at the local pub, the barman already pouring the schooner as he’s asking us, “Will it be the usual?”
What’s more, since the population of Ashfield is mostly Shanghainese, I have had the pleasure of sampling some very authentic Shanghai cuisine. Their specialty is dumplings, and trust me, they do them so well. Being a lover of any meat/vegetable combination stuffed into a carbohydrate shell, I have found the local dumplings to be absolutely superb. And because there’s a lot of competition here between the many restaurants, you can generally get delicious, good quality food at low prices. The service isn’t super attentive, but the noodles, wontons and dumplings are freshly made on sight, always luring me back for more.
To top it all off, Ashfield is an undoubtedly safe community. With several primary schools just down our street and the family-friendly Ashfield Aquatic Centre within 20 minutes walking distance, it wouldn’t take much to convince us of our town’s wholesomeness. The leafy streets are lined with palm trees and frangipanis, and although the CBD is only 15 minutes by train, you don’t have to feel like you’re in a big city if you don’t want to. There are bike trails and parks throughout the residential areas of Ashfield, and even the calmer waters of inner Sydney Harbour are not too far away. In fact, if I felt the sudden urge for a seaside picnic, I would need only to head straight north for a few kilometres…et voilà, la mer!
So there you have it, the latest and greatest details of life down under. A new town to explore, new restaurants to sample, and a new home to make my own. And being that there is so much space in our awesome new flat, we would be more than happy to house any overseas visitors (wink, wink!). Come hungry and don’t forget your sunscreen!
