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I live here but I didn't grow up here. Over the years I've come to know several original Dayborian families - some friendly, some slightly less so. My immediate neighbours are the nicest people you could wish to meet, but it is true when they say that on the whole the 'old' families keep much to themselves. I have lived here long enough to observe why outsiders are viewed with suspicion. For many of these original inhabitants and citizens of Dayboro, their own families have grown up and left the area because of the lack of job availability, on the whole. Through growth and demand, housing prices have risen sharply over the years, making it impossible for many of these families to buy into or even return to the area to set up home. Perhaps the most annoying trend, courtesy of the newly formed and less involved Moreton Bay Regional Council, is the emerging culture to 'split and divide' the double lots around town. These minute and compromised parcels of land are shooting up all over town, and more houses are being squeezed onto these postage-stamp sized properties, leaving little or no wriggle room for kids or pets to play outside and enjoy a healthy outdoor lifestyle. With this new mindset comes lack of privacy and the space that's usually symbolic with making the move to the country and away from the suburbs in the first place! Sadly, with this culture comes another trend - investment properties! Don't get me wrong. Development has its place, provided it is done right and doesn't compromise the feel of the town or the values of the towns folk. The new developments do compromise the country feel of this town.

Unfortunately, what we're seeing in Dayboro is the growing trend to fill these rental properties with a steady flow of transient renters who are neither interested in laying down roots, nor have any desire to fit into the community. Landlords generally do not vet their renters; this is left to the real estate agents who have a vested interest is in filling these empty houses, regardless of turnover numbers or the impact it's having on a previously close community. Fortunately we do not experience the "weekender commute" of second-home owners - a problem that often plagues so many other communities these days, giving these townships the appeal of a "ghost town".

I will add that the increased volume of new builds around Dayboro is putting a huge strain on the water supply in this township. Dayboro draws water locally from a bore. Sounds good? To a certain degree, yes it is. However, during periods of high rainfall or flooding, the bore has to be shut down due to contamination. In these circumstances water has to be trucked in! When people move into the area they automatically assume that because they're on town water, there is a never-ending supply of water being pumped into the town from the nearest dam. Wrong! Leave that logic back in the suburbs. During adverse times our water travels a long way and is therefore a precious commodity - a fact often not recognized nor appreciated by newcomers. With the new split-and-divide blocks blighting our landscape, thus creating "Little Brisbane" outside of Brisbane, we could end up facing higher water rates from more frequent droughts - if global warming has anything to do with it. It's therefore incredibly naive and short-sighted of this Council to push for further development in this area. There is another downside with the water in Dayboro. Due to the risks involved with bore water, higher than usual doses of chlorine are pumped into the holding tanks on a regular basis. This has led to an increase in health problems in the area, particularly with those who suffer from asthma and skin issues. The water company that services this area does not respond favourably to complaints! At great out-of-pocket cost to ourselves, my husband purchased a water filtration system which is plumbed into our own water supply. This is primarily because we both suffer with skin problems and myself with asthma. Now that the chlorine has for the most part been removed from our water supply, we regard our household water as if it's tank water - bearing in mind that tank water creates scum build-up on porcelain household items such as toilet bowls, baths, basins, sinks, making them harder to keep clean - an issue which chlorine usually addresses. The benefits outweigh this minor hiccup, and we are experiencing cleaner drinking water and taking showers that don't overwhelm us with sulphur fumes from the chlorine! A worthy investment.

And here's a thought, when many of us make the move to the country it is with the intention of escaping the rat race of the suburbs and the cramped, unnatural conditions of living on top of our neighbours. We make the tree change looking for the new sense of 'belonging' that comes from living and intermingling with a much smaller community, and giving our kids the right to roam freely and enjoy a healthy outdoors life, safe from 'predators' and peer influence. It does beg the question of why we swap one way of living for an 'identikit' lifestyle by opting to buy into these smaller, divided plots of land? Do we like living on top of one another? Do we need to move to the country to replicate the lifestyle we enjoyed in the suburbs? Are we genuinely looking to change our lifestyles and integrate ourselves fully into an old and established community? These are questions I would urge anyone thinking of making the change to ask themselves. I'd also ask them to bear in mind that they will be swapping a short commute for a much longer one, which in turn is exhausting over a period of time and leaves one with little or no inclination and time to mingle with the community. If you really want to make the move to Dayboro, you have to change your mindset, embrace the culture and adapt to the slower pace of living in a small community. Make time to make friends.