And this is probably where I'll be spending most of my time in the new house. In the foreground is the dining room, with the hardwood floor. The door off to the right leads to a stairway to the back garden, and also if you turn right at that door, you reach a 1/2 bath. Then there is the remodeled kitchen with granite counter tops, lots of cabinets, and a two basin sink. Through the double doors of the kitchen and out to the covered back deck that is almost surrounded by leafy tropical plants. Great stuff.
Friday, 29 February 2008
My New House
Here's the front side of my new house. I'm getting out of the high rise and into a new home. It's really wonderful, huge interior, great backyard, shade, landscaping, and so many great features. It's vintage mid-20th Century, and the interior has been nicely renovated. It's typical Queenslander style, which means the main house sits on top of an open ground level, timber frame, corrugated roof, and so forth. This is not old-school Queenslander, but a passable mid-century rendition. The thing is, it has 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a garage, a covered deck in the rear that opens up to the kitchen, a front and rear garden, a white picket fence, palm trees, and a huge shed in the rear of the lot that's big enough to hold a 10m boat easily. Oh, and behind the house is a park. I don't really need all the space, but it sure is nice to have some for projects. And, with a big old Land Rover and a desire to gt some big toys (like a sea kayak and a 4m rod and reel), it will be great to have enough space to store it all. Having space to work on the Landie is also important...that will save me lots of money on simple things like oil changes and fluid checks.
Anyway, I'm thrilled. It's taken me quite some time to find this place. It was my second choice when my first choice didn't work out. I sign the lease tomorrow and take possession next Wednesday. I'm really excited, and looking forward to a new life in a more traditional Australian home.
Anyway, I'm thrilled. It's taken me quite some time to find this place. It was my second choice when my first choice didn't work out. I sign the lease tomorrow and take possession next Wednesday. I'm really excited, and looking forward to a new life in a more traditional Australian home.
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Heat Wave, or the Beginning of the End of Summer
Yesterday, it was sunny, clear, and 30C. Today, it's expected to be sunny, clear, and 36. That's 86F and 97F, for those in the States. Plenty warm. In fact, Brisbane is likely to be among the hottest places in Australia today, on par even with Alice Springs, in the middle of the Central Australian Desert. The local newspapers described this as the end of Summer, though I'd put it as the beginning of the end of Summer. I think it's likely we'll get more rain in the next month. But it's awfully nice to have some warm, sunny weather again, after months of gloom and rain. I remember posting about water running in the streets sometime in November, I think. Well, I've seen plenty of water running in the streets since January. In fact, I saw and drove through a tropical rain that resulted in flash flooding, and forded a stream nearly half a meter deep that hadn't been there two hours before. Water running in the street...if I'd known then what I know now, I would still have been happy, but not hardly as impressed. Once it gets raining down here, it really rains. There's a saying: Australia is a desert interrupted by floods.
I'm continuing my house-hunting, and also hope to get out of the city for a little four-wheeling in the Defender.
And speaking of Defenders, I seem to work in an office park with a nest of them. Including mine, there are three Defenders, all roughly the same era, all the same general model, and all with the original paint. It's awesome! And, this week, I've seen a few more on the road, including a model 90 and a model 130, all in great shape. The 90 is the short-wheel base version, and is coveted as the ultimate off-road version of the line, while the 130 is a HiLux (king cab, in the States) typically with a pickup bed or drop-down tray for hauling.
It's absolutely amazing to see so many Land Rovers, of all kinds, on the roads, especially of my own most-favorite model. I've finally sorted out there don't seem to be many import restrictions on Land Rovers in Australia, and it does seem there is the general belief that Landies are well-respected for work in the Outback. Whereas in the States, I've come to understand the company only exported 500 North American Specification Land Rovers per year ... for many years. So, necessarily, Land Rovers in the States are rare vehicles, on par with Ferraris and Lamborghinis, at least the older models. Not so, here, and in fact, they seem to be wildly favorable amongst the tour companies based in Brisbane.
Whatever the reasons, my Defender is really enjoyable, and for all it's bulk and age, gets pretty good mileage, at least as good as my light pickup built in the same era, and the Landie weighs nearly twice as much as my Dodge did. Go Turbo Diesel with direct injection! Once I secure a new place to live, I am very much looking forward to tricking it out with a snorkel and a roof rack and taking some serious trips into the bush.
I'm continuing my house-hunting, and also hope to get out of the city for a little four-wheeling in the Defender.
And speaking of Defenders, I seem to work in an office park with a nest of them. Including mine, there are three Defenders, all roughly the same era, all the same general model, and all with the original paint. It's awesome! And, this week, I've seen a few more on the road, including a model 90 and a model 130, all in great shape. The 90 is the short-wheel base version, and is coveted as the ultimate off-road version of the line, while the 130 is a HiLux (king cab, in the States) typically with a pickup bed or drop-down tray for hauling.
It's absolutely amazing to see so many Land Rovers, of all kinds, on the roads, especially of my own most-favorite model. I've finally sorted out there don't seem to be many import restrictions on Land Rovers in Australia, and it does seem there is the general belief that Landies are well-respected for work in the Outback. Whereas in the States, I've come to understand the company only exported 500 North American Specification Land Rovers per year ... for many years. So, necessarily, Land Rovers in the States are rare vehicles, on par with Ferraris and Lamborghinis, at least the older models. Not so, here, and in fact, they seem to be wildly favorable amongst the tour companies based in Brisbane.
Whatever the reasons, my Defender is really enjoyable, and for all it's bulk and age, gets pretty good mileage, at least as good as my light pickup built in the same era, and the Landie weighs nearly twice as much as my Dodge did. Go Turbo Diesel with direct injection! Once I secure a new place to live, I am very much looking forward to tricking it out with a snorkel and a roof rack and taking some serious trips into the bush.
Friday, 22 February 2008
House Hunting
I'm still looking for a house. Brisbane is definitely a seller's market, as far as any kind of real estate goes. There are ridiculous conditions for obtaining a house, outrageous fees, long waits to see a property, multiple bidders or applicants, and it's all rather expensive. I've been looking every day for a new place. Every weekend, I've been visiting 4-8 houses. I've seen more neighborhoods in Brisbane in the last three weeks than in the last year. I've seen horrible places in great neighborhoods and find places in nasty neighborhoods. I finally found a wonderful section of town called Newmarket. There are a couple of nearby suburbs called Wilston, Windsor, and Stafford. All of them seem to have been built up during or just after World War II. Probably the high density housing of its time, there are huge swaths of two bedroom, timber frame housing. The locals call them "workers cottages."
It's been a challenge to find the right combination of size, price, location, amenities, neighbors, shops, train station, and off street parking. I've learned a lot about the housing market. After quite a bit of time, I finally found the right combination. Big front lawn. Big kitchen. Dishwasher. Covered back deck. Covered front deck. Basement with termite dishes on all of the wooden piers. Big back yard. Fences all around the property. Hardwood floors. Well kept garden. Three blocks from a train station. Shopping and food shops within an easy walk. There are plenty of bonuses, like a real local downtown about 1k away, the CBD is 5k away, there's a view, it's not too far from one of the major roads out of town, I can park the Defender off the street and behind a fence if I like, there's plenty of room for a washer and drier separate from house, and the neighbors work for a living. It's also less than a kilometer from a place that's reputed to be the home of rugby in Queensland, Ballymore.
In contrast, I found a great house the other night. But...the commute in the afternoon would have been a bear and the neighbors were very young, and very loud. There were some minor problems with the place, nothing that I couldn't work with, but dealing day and night with a house full of adolescents who like to play loud music day and night, living 3 meters from my living room, and then facing a 30 minute commute every night in bumper to bumper traffic? No thanks.
There was a house I had high hopes for last week. It was located on a ridge, looked great from the outside, reasonable price. Unfortunately, the place was an absolute pig sty, tiny kitchen, filthy rugs, and filled with the smell of mold and mildew, fiercely overgrown garden, torn up sprinkler system. It was sad, but for the money they were asking for, I had no intention of putting my sweat into such a place to clean it up. Plus, the thing with mold and mildew is you never know how far it goes...I wasn't going to commit to living in a place that could be potentially toxic. No, no way.
Then there were the places that were beautiful, but kilometers away from train stations, or 45 minute commutes by car from work, or too expensive or too small or kitchen too small or electric stoves, or uncovered deck or no off-street parking or no yard or too exposed to the neighbors or no air conditioning. Perhaps I'm too particular, but I suppose I can afford to be choosy.
Enough about house hunting for the moment.
Queensland has been under water for weeks now, literally. At least, large portions of coastal Queensland have been flooded for some time. And yet, we are still technically in a drought. The reservoirs are filling, though, which is great news. It's been the wettest year in almost fifteen years. And the state government is thinking of relaxing water restrictions. Great news, overall, but the people of Mackay, Rockhamton, and Gladstone are not feeling it.
It's been a challenge to find the right combination of size, price, location, amenities, neighbors, shops, train station, and off street parking. I've learned a lot about the housing market. After quite a bit of time, I finally found the right combination. Big front lawn. Big kitchen. Dishwasher. Covered back deck. Covered front deck. Basement with termite dishes on all of the wooden piers. Big back yard. Fences all around the property. Hardwood floors. Well kept garden. Three blocks from a train station. Shopping and food shops within an easy walk. There are plenty of bonuses, like a real local downtown about 1k away, the CBD is 5k away, there's a view, it's not too far from one of the major roads out of town, I can park the Defender off the street and behind a fence if I like, there's plenty of room for a washer and drier separate from house, and the neighbors work for a living. It's also less than a kilometer from a place that's reputed to be the home of rugby in Queensland, Ballymore.
In contrast, I found a great house the other night. But...the commute in the afternoon would have been a bear and the neighbors were very young, and very loud. There were some minor problems with the place, nothing that I couldn't work with, but dealing day and night with a house full of adolescents who like to play loud music day and night, living 3 meters from my living room, and then facing a 30 minute commute every night in bumper to bumper traffic? No thanks.
There was a house I had high hopes for last week. It was located on a ridge, looked great from the outside, reasonable price. Unfortunately, the place was an absolute pig sty, tiny kitchen, filthy rugs, and filled with the smell of mold and mildew, fiercely overgrown garden, torn up sprinkler system. It was sad, but for the money they were asking for, I had no intention of putting my sweat into such a place to clean it up. Plus, the thing with mold and mildew is you never know how far it goes...I wasn't going to commit to living in a place that could be potentially toxic. No, no way.
Then there were the places that were beautiful, but kilometers away from train stations, or 45 minute commutes by car from work, or too expensive or too small or kitchen too small or electric stoves, or uncovered deck or no off-street parking or no yard or too exposed to the neighbors or no air conditioning. Perhaps I'm too particular, but I suppose I can afford to be choosy.
Enough about house hunting for the moment.
Queensland has been under water for weeks now, literally. At least, large portions of coastal Queensland have been flooded for some time. And yet, we are still technically in a drought. The reservoirs are filling, though, which is great news. It's been the wettest year in almost fifteen years. And the state government is thinking of relaxing water restrictions. Great news, overall, but the people of Mackay, Rockhamton, and Gladstone are not feeling it.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Anniversary
Today marks a one year anniversary. I left San Francisco one year ago today to live in Brisbane.
This time of year is common for me to make major changes in my life. I've bought three vehicles within two days of Valentines day. The big occasion last year was the move. This year, I'm searching for a new place to live.
I found a house with a great location and had a look inside today. What a mess! Apart from the disastrous housekeeping, the grounds weren't well cared for. But, the most worrisome problem was the smell of mold in the carpets. I declined to apply for the place. The best part was a quick chat with the realtor at the end of my visit, who pointed out a house in Newmarket.
It's just as well, because I looked at the outside of a very nice house to the North, in a suburb called Kedron. The home is very nice, on a quiet side street. The nicest thing is the backyard opens onto a fairly large public park that's definitely been built up over the years. It's about 11k to work, which isn't too bad a commute. It's about a kilometer or so to the nearest train station, but that's do-able. I'm going to take a look at that place tomorrow.
After running errands, I drove up to Newmarket to have a look at the place mentioned earlier in the day. Ideal location, about 300 meters from a train station, almost across the street is a shopping center, and it's a few blocks away from a major shopping district. And, it's on a dead-end street that ends in a park and playing field. Nice back yard, trees and shade in the front, deck in back, off street parking. It could be nice. I'll have to see if I can schedule a viewing if it's not already gone. Best of all, it's 4.5km to work if I choose to drive.
Anyway, happy anniversary to me!
This time of year is common for me to make major changes in my life. I've bought three vehicles within two days of Valentines day. The big occasion last year was the move. This year, I'm searching for a new place to live.
I found a house with a great location and had a look inside today. What a mess! Apart from the disastrous housekeeping, the grounds weren't well cared for. But, the most worrisome problem was the smell of mold in the carpets. I declined to apply for the place. The best part was a quick chat with the realtor at the end of my visit, who pointed out a house in Newmarket.
It's just as well, because I looked at the outside of a very nice house to the North, in a suburb called Kedron. The home is very nice, on a quiet side street. The nicest thing is the backyard opens onto a fairly large public park that's definitely been built up over the years. It's about 11k to work, which isn't too bad a commute. It's about a kilometer or so to the nearest train station, but that's do-able. I'm going to take a look at that place tomorrow.
After running errands, I drove up to Newmarket to have a look at the place mentioned earlier in the day. Ideal location, about 300 meters from a train station, almost across the street is a shopping center, and it's a few blocks away from a major shopping district. And, it's on a dead-end street that ends in a park and playing field. Nice back yard, trees and shade in the front, deck in back, off street parking. It could be nice. I'll have to see if I can schedule a viewing if it's not already gone. Best of all, it's 4.5km to work if I choose to drive.
Anyway, happy anniversary to me!
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Why I Hate High Rises
I've taken an active dislike to living in my high rise. I'm irritated by a number of things. I'm very far away from the things I'd like to do, such a bush walking, hiking, biking, and seeing the natural world. My lease will be up in a few months, so I've started looking for a new place. This photo was taken at an event that sealed my decision to move out of the city and into the suburbs. For the second time in as many weeks, I had to evacuate my building because of a fire alarm. Given there are 498 flats in the building, with a phenomenal number of them occupied by students, it seems inevitable. It takes about an hour for the fire brigades, police, and whomever else to investigate and call the all clear. It takes another 30-45 minutes for the five lifts to repopulate the building. This is not a great adventure; it's stupidity. This latest event was all the more annoying because I had arrive after a very long day, two business meetings, and an after-work business cocktail party. I was tired, footsore (having walked home from South Bank), and hungry. About the only good thing I can say about it all was that I was fortunate not to have had to walk down 38 flights of stairs -- I was already on the lower levels when the evacuation was sounded. All told, thouh, it only solidified my desire to find a new home.
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