Well it's been about 4 months since I left Sydney and moved to Albury and so I thought I would put on a post of how I think and feel about the move to Albuy.
The first thing I noticed about myself is the stress is gone ,I'm not speeding and rushing anymore I feel my heart rate has slowed up.
The traffic and cost of Sydney and the general rushing for everything or to get anywhere does not exist here.

One thing I like is I'm in the city in 5 minutes , parking is free in the city and the Malls . There is plenty of it.
Albury is full of old houses, some areas it's full of federation houses and buildings and in other areas it's street after street of 50s and 60s houses.
This really appeals to my personality because I feel much happier around old houses and buildings.
I live in a old 50s house with a big yard ,3 bedroom, under storage, carport , it's old and a bit run down but I like it.
I'm 5 minutes from the city and 5 minutes the other way where I'm seeing horses , alpacas .
I have started a veggie patch in the yard with my daughter pearl.
Like all cites I can see there are good areas where people have lots of money and if I head out of Albury I can areas where don't have much money.
Housing is cheap in Albury and it appears to start from 250k and goes upwards.
But I know one guy here who paid 180k for a old house 2 years ago!
The city or CBD has everything I need, infact I can get as all my wood stains and materials here that I couldn't buy in Sydney anymore.
The city has a beautiful central park and many old buildings where ever I go.
The cost of food is the same as Sydney,but I shop in Victoria , it's no cheaper but for some reason the meats and fruit are much better quality in Victoria.
The petrol cost here is about 1.29 per Lt for unleaded and my car Rego insurance was less then half price compared to Dee why Sydney.
Lots of old cars here! I see them ever day . Two doors down is a 68 Firebird.

I have found the people to be extremely friendly and want too chat all the time ,most of the people I meet are not from here,they have moved from either Sydney or Melbourne and I've not met one who regretted it.
There are jobs in Albury so that makes a big difference compared to other town.
Last week I had to go to Melbourne as I bought a" new bed", A 1950s solid maple haha.
It's a beauty !
Melbourne is 290 km from here and boy I was so lost Melbourne!!!

Markets and old stuff!
Lots of op shops here and they are much better over the bridge in Victoria. Like they use to be years ago ....Vinnie's still has Gems !
In Albury there are a few markets.
The Saturday farmers markets is not a place to buy if your looking for a bargain, it's like a yuppie culture food market of local wine or a 12 eggs for 18 bucks !
But the Sunday market of trash and treasure is very good with lots of old stuff to be had.
Once per month there is also a Vintage market on the border.

There are 2 tips that have large shops ,one is in Albury and the other is across the border in wodonga.
I've spent lots of time driving around on both sides of the border learning where all the good places are,,, I've also done trips too the surrounding towns picking up old stuff or just having a day out .
People have been nothing but great here , now I don't know how they know I'm not from here ,whether it's the way I speak or what I wear?
But they all asked where I'm from ?
Then they welcome me.
Well at this stage I love it here!
I don't miss Sydney at all!
Bloody rat race!
I do miss some people and my good friend Ian Robertson came to visit me last week which was great.

Pete

Oh the weather , the summer was stinking hot with many days in the mid 4os and this old house was like a oven and I'm told the winters are freezing ! But I'm only 1and half hour drive to the Victorian ski fields so I'm sure my daughter who is 5 will like that .
Lots of cafes here with live music which is wonderful for me.

Albury is a nice place and as noted, close to the snow fields both NSW and VIC so sure the kids will be pleased.

Its a lot colder in the country and a glowing log burner with fan assist can do wonders. However keep in mind the sourcing of fire wood.

Its good to leave the Sydney rat race, I could not contemplate living in the big smoke.

Hope the employment situation if favourable to you.

Enjoy your new found home !

Thanks Simplex.
Quality of life is much better here.
I'm not too worried about jobs , because I not trying to earn a fortune.
I lived in the country as a boy , in the snowy .

Pete

It's good that you like it there. I had heard the place was rampant with ice users, but I guess it must have been fake news.

Petrol currently about $1.20 here.

Seems the Victorians still have lots of vintage shops. I'd probably visit them if it was a bit closer.

I have not seen anything to make me think that,but Ice is everywhere no matter where you live you can buy it in double bay or cooma.
I don't see it , because I'm not involved with those type of people, I don't think like that .
I don't even drink .
Also I moved from Dee why to here and Dee why use to be called the drug capital of sydney.still I did not see it there , because I don't socialise with people who think like that.

Pete

I'm told the winters are freezing !

I can vouch for that. In the 1970's I had a girlfriend whose family lived there and we went down to visit them one long weekend by the Southern Aurora. I got off the train at Junee for a smoke -- as we did back then -- and went for an involuntary ice skate on the platform. Pub in Albury (forget the name now) had a huge wood fire.

The only colder place I've personally encountered is Canberra. I'm not a fan of snow and ice so I normally avoid such places in winter.

"The only colder place I've personally encountered is Canberra".

What does one expect there. Pollies do not seem to be able to warm to anything.

Haha so that was the end of the girl friend G !
The cold killed the moment.

Pete: She lived at Summer Hill. We lasted about a year until she was accepted into Goulburn Teachers College (another cold place).

I should add that Albury trip was my version of 'The Lost Weekend' combined with 'Wake in Fright'. She came from a large family and her father, brothers and uncles drank like there was no tomorrow. They emptied a bottle of Jim Beam on the trip to the pub. I was trapped for days in this environment. Took me about a week to recover.

Yeah sounds like it was not meant to be!
I remember as a kid in the 70s though that everyone seemed to drink like that .
I think it became out of fashion as time went by and people changed.
Or perhaps it was in fact the only way to keep warm !

Winter is the best time for camping. I will be camping this weekend but to me, it is still a bit too warm for it and there's still the flies, mozzies, spiders and snakes about. In winter, I don't need to worry about shutting the tent during the day and the fresh crisp mornings mix well with a mixed grille for brekky.

Yes the Albury - Wodonga area is very pleasant; my wife and I often go down to Rutherglen for a long weekend stay near the river. Having lived in various parts of Sydney, including Dee Why, over the years I think that you and your family are in a much healthier environment now. ( I still have to visit Sydney every couple of months to attend meetings and two days is about all I can stand of the place now.)

As for cold places try Ballarat! I well remember being at the old airfield covered in heavy snow three days before Christmas. Then there is Stanthorpe in Queensland. I have also lived in Canberra off and on since 1959 and it is nowhere as cold now as it used to be when there was much less housing, roads and masses of concrete. We no longer get snowfalls and at least most winter days are clear and sunny even if you have to wear a jumper. My original home town was Geelong and I well remember the four months of depressing grey drizzle over the last weeks of autumn, all through winter and the first two weeks of spring.

And as for the federal pollies, remember they are YOUR pollies not ours. They fly into town for a few weeks, infest the place like rats, live it up on allowances and then slink back to their electorates. Sadly here in the ACT, with a population of only 400000, we have a dysfunctional town council with delusions of grandeur, an obsession with multi-billion dollar trams and a stated goal of making Canberra a second New York City.

RalayAtomatc
The River is beautiful.
When I arrive here the river was down due to the drought. I drove out to Hume Dam it was way down also.
Not a blade of geen grass on my lawn .
But now the grass is green and a foot high and the river is flowing much better.
Down by the river on hot days there can be hundreds of people having BBQs and swimming. I was amazed at how busy it gets down there.
There is also a ww2 plane that flys above my house.
I don't know if it's a copy of not.
Yep no regrets about moving here.

Pete

Pete do they still have the old picture theatre there. I think it was called the Majestic. When working there for telecom I used to go there and share the theatre with 3 or 4 other people. Cinemas were nearly dead then but thankfully they have revived. That was a beautiful old building. I always thought of Albury as a nice clean town.

Hi Carl .
The Regent? It's a 30s deco cinema and is still there. Heritage listed.
But down the street from there a Globe building which is a huge old building and it's empty! I saw a redevelopment offer in the paper about it ! " When will we learn"
The town Holbrook is loosing it's old building which are about 150 years old due to Mr fluffy.
The telecom buildings are still in Albury .
All copper lines still here ! ! Yippee! Hopefully I can use all my old phones again , I miss that Ring.
Pete