Mmmm

Who in their right mind moves to the country expecting to indulge in constant retail therapy. This is as idiotic as rating a city on whether or not there are enough farms in the CBD to satisfy 'rural therapy'. I think this whole rating system would be more useful if you asked not only what the 'retail therapy' was like, but whether or not it was important to the ask-ee. In this case – ME.

Guanaba is rural, it's quiet, there is no traffic, it's clean and green with creeks and rivers and swimming holes and places for kids and pets to be kids and pets. People are nice to each other. We respect each others privacy but give a wave when passing each other in our cars. We even had a street Christmas party to meet all the new people. All this and 'retail therapy' rates as a negative...

Anyway, if you have to shop to amuse yourself you are about 12 klms from one of three major supermarkets (with one traffic light to slow you up), several large shopping centres, medical centres, the restaurants of Mt Tamborine, Coomera, Helensvale, Nerang etcetera, and the freeway. You can also drop a boat in near Oxenford (plenty of parking at the ramp) and be scooting down the Broadwater in no time.

Once on the freeway (the big, noisy straightish road that runs north/south along the coast) you are 15-20 minutes to Surfers and Broadbeach (depending on traffic) and 20-30 minutes to places like Robina, Varsity, Springwood, GC Airport and less than hour to Brisbane CBD.

But it’s not all roses up here. Some of the resident livestock get a bit noisy some times and you have to keep the flyscreens up to scratch to combat the bugs, but I can't remember the last time someone got robbed. Or mugged. Or glassed for that matter. The worst the Christmas party produced was bad jokes, some worse headaches and a pissed off carpet snake (long story).

Yep, the telcos could do better out here, but if you stick with the 'T' company it all works well (apart from their dang call centre). And you are off the sewerage grid and the water grid. People ask me, from their suburban homes, how I 'cope' without water. But I have more water than I can use and have not run out in the 5 years I have lived here (yes I water the garden and take long showers). I also don't get a bill. One other thing to think about is the necessity of a car. This is not negotiable.

And one complaint we all have is the electricity supply. More short breaks than I thought humanly possible for a company to produce. As soon as there is lightening the power goes, and comes back, and goes, and comes back. You get the picture. The major disruptions resulting involve watching DVD's, having to constantly reprogram the timer on the oven and being unable to rely on an electric alarm clock. Gee life is tough.

My views on certain aspects of the survey below:

Eating out – important to me and we eat out about once a month or so. I reckon a 15 to 30 minutes drive to a favourite restaurant is no biggie.
Retail therapy – could not care less. Shopping is a chore.
Nightlife – I drive to Brisbane for a concert if I want, but my night club days are behind me.
Pests and rodents – mice are mice and carpet snakes are your friends. It is the country after all.
Health & fitness – go for a walk, or join the gym at one of the above mentioned shopping centres. Or not.
Cost of living – electricity about $400 a quarter. $440 a year for the Enviro-cycle sewerage system. Council rates do not have charges for sewer, water or rubbish collection (drop it to the tip free on your way past). Rates about $1900 per year. Veggie garden, fruit trees and chooks, free.