Aussies are known for their friendliness. When the Dutch national soccer team visited Sydney a few weeks ago, they were shocked by the cold weather but the friendly, open en warm welcome was commented upon in the Dutch press as a typical Australian feature. And I believe this to be true. The other day I wrote my bike over a narrow path and had to warn some 7 year old schoolboys that I wanted to pass them. One of them jumped over to the side saying: I’m sorry mate! He called me `mate`, a seven years old! This camaraderie can be found at tourist attractions, in shops and at sports games. Why is it then that so many international students who study in Australia complain that it is hard to make contact with locals? Maybe it is because many students live in the suburbs. But surely then, they have never watched the soap series Neighbours, where life in the suburb is like one big friendly oasis? Everybody knows each other, shares coffees or starts a romantic relationship with someone in the street. Isn’t that real? Well......no! I’ve lived in Melbourne inner suburbs like Hawthorn and Kew and nobody ever said anything to me. If you go a bit further out you will often see nobody around the whole day. Houses have walls `old Berlin style`, surrounding the property so you cannot see what happens in the gardens or behind the windows. In the morning, people in the suburbs get in their car parked in their drive way and leave as quickly as possible. After coming home at night they shut the gate behind them and stay out of sight. Children don’t play on the streets or in the parks, but are kept `prisoner` behind doors as the parents are afraid something would happen to them (Australia is one of the safest developed countries in the world!). It all means that I never spoke to anybody in the suburb, did not know my neighbours, never saw any children or mums and felt like I lived in a ghost town.

 

But things changed dramatically after we were forced to move for the fourth time as the owner of our rented house wanted to sell the property. We looked everywhere, saw more than 30 houses and finally ended up in Elwood, just south of the tourist town `St Kilda` and at walking distance from the beach. I found out that Elwood is not only the name of a cool fashion brand. I now own an Elwood T-shirt which is quite appropriate as I am living the Elwood life. We have a house with a front garden and balcony next to the only canal in Melbourne, making a Dutchie feel at home! We love to sit on our balcony having dinner with friends or family, while our son plays in the front garden. And then strange things happen: neighbours were actually walking through the streets and stopped to have a chat over our low garden fence. Complete strangers started telling stories about their kids and were asking where we came from. Kids played in the park alongside students throwing Frisbees or Indians playing cricket. It feels very much like a Dutch or French inner city park, but even stranger was that people all talk to me. A friend lives in another suburb. She came down to Elwood for a stroll and she was amazed that at least five people had stopped her for a chat: “In my suburb nobody ever says anything to me”, was her surprised reaction.

 

I found that a lot of foreigners live in Elwood. In the park or at the playgrounds you can hear French, Dutch, German, English, Irish, Spanish and Indian. Maybe that has influenced the locals to open up. By being more typical `Australian friendly`, Elwood is actually very `un-Australian`. We were looking to buy a house in Elwood, but the problem is that many people have discovered the great features of our suburb and house prices have gone through the roof. So please visit us and be happy talking to everyone, but don’t try to buy a house here. Please give us a chance to own a place, we will be grateful!