Stuff I like about being in Melbourne

So its been more than five years since we moved over to Melbourne from Singapore. What was initially a short stint of a couple of years became a couple more, and after having an addition to our family, we kinda decided Melbourne will be our home for while more. How long more? I can't really say for sure but just like what James 4:15 says, if it's the Lord's will, we will be in Melbourne for a long while.

Anyway, occasionally when I chat with some old friends via social media or email, I tend to get the question: what do I like about being in Melbourne? Or a somewhat similar question. So here's a list of what I like (not in any order of preference):

1.  The suburb we live in is nice and quiet; especially at night after dark. I remember there was one time when my bro-in-law came for a holiday and he was in our backyard having a smoke at night and it freaked him that the neighbourhood was so quiet and he could actually see the stars.

2.  Lots of parklands everywhere. Just around our house, there are at least 3 parklands that are within walking distance, each with a playground for kids. I think that is a fantastic thing to have especially having a 19 month old boy who has lots of energy to expend.

Gideon roaming around a park 

3. Many interesting places to drive around. I can't say we are very adventurous in our five years here but we do drive out to the country area at least once a year for a break. Either on our own, with family visiting us or with our church going for church camps. Some of the places we enjoyed include Daylesford (spa region), Grampians (national park), Phillip Island, Merricks (had a church camp there) and Lakes Entrance.

4. Work is flexible. At least the employers that I have had so far. I have changed my job from full-time to contract with the option to work from home, and having a part-time job that allowed me to switch days once in while. Taking time off for family emergencies or family matters is usually OK. It is also awesome that Mabel could get a part-time managerial position, so she can spend more time with the little man. To top it off, the work environment that me and Mabel have are awesome.

5. Awesome asian food. We don't eat out very often, but when we do, we often stick to our favourite malaysian or asian restaurants where they dish out our favourite stir fries - char kway teow, char hor fun etc. The other asian stuff we like are the vietnamese food, thai food, jap food and yum cha. I have to add we don't have very high expectations of food generally.

6. Sports engineering. This is one of the reasons I came to Melbourne, to pursue this interest and I have to say, I have been very blessed to have been able to do it for the past 4 years. There's probably going to be more opportunities going forward as a new industry network has been established last year to further this area.

7. Sports as a spectator. There are lots of interesting sports events in Melbourne that makes the weekends a bit more interesting like the Australian Open and the AFL. Cricket is also huge here but I haven't quite figured that out. My research in sports engineering also brought me to the local wheelchair rugby league a couple of times. One other event that I would be keen to go to (and obvious haven't) is the Motogp at Phillip Island. This year maybe?

Australian Open 2013

A Hawks game in 2012

8. Sports. Expanding a little bit on point 2, the many parklands also mean more places to run, not just on the roads but also on trails. There's the Yarra River which is a great place to paddle. There are also bicycle trails everywhere for riding - something I look forward to doing this year too (when I do get a bike); and if I feel 'strong', I may sign up for an adventure race like the Marysville to Melbourne which includes a total of 155km of paddling, cycling and trail running. Yeah, should be fun.

9. My walk with God. I have been challenged a lot more since I came to Melbourne. It might be the peace and quiet (and thus less distractions), or it might be being part of a smaller church (more opportunities to serve), or it might be age, or maybe a combination of everything. But basically I just feel the need to live my life more purposefully for the glory of God and somehow being in Melbourne brought that out.

10. Great friends. Although we don't have any immediate family here, but we do have great friends, friends who are like family to us. Enough said.

Of course there are stuff that I don't like about being in Melbourne but somehow I can't think of any right now. Might be the erratic weather that's messing with my brain...