Why I Hate High Rises

Fire Brigade with Bystanders,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

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.