eliser

I moved there and moved away again. Armidale is the only town in Australia where the cafes close early on the weekend. And when I say early I mean midday on a Saturday and not open at all on a Sunday. WTH? The weekends are the busiest trading days for a food business and essential if you want to cash in on any kind of tourist trade. Tourists generally aren't visiting Mon-Fri. What food outlets there are, are under the impression they are the most hipster and happening thing in Australia. Even though a menu consisting mostly of Turkish bread hasn't existed in any cafe since the 90's. In their defence you can find a decent coffee in town just don't go looking for it on the weekend. The more ordinary eateries are still serving Coles white sliced for toast. The one and only pattiserie charges you $6.50 for an eclair just because it has berry coulis in it. The local bakery is serving packet mix delights from the 1970's.

It has the usual lineup of shops, which is to say every major franchise discount store, Bunnings & McDonalds. It's sadly lacking in any kind of boutique or artisan shopping especially if you are not a 60yr old female. The mall is a ghost town any day of the week and the eastern end of it is home only to Real Estate agents probably because of the cheap rent. I currently live in a town with less than half the population and easily 3 times as many things happening in it.

Armidale is a very sleepy, staid country town where nothing ever changes. If you ever wondered what living amoung a large community of academics, and healthcare workers is like, move there now. Otherwise there are many other places with better employment prospects, more happening culturally and a livelier community. Armidale isn't a tree change town, Sydney people aren't flocking to the cheap real estate and starting artisan boutiques. That's happening in Bellingen & Dorrigo. The entire CBD looks like it had it's last upgrade in the early 80's. There's been zero investment in public parks or infrastructure and the entire time I was there I encountered zero advertising for the local events even though I was signed up to the local FB groups. I received more advertising about things happening in Glenn Innes for goodness sake. If this town wants to do anything except slowly die, it needs to send some representatives to anywhere on the coast and have a look at the jam packed events calendars and the amount of advertising going on.