As a person living in Sydney, I have to say that for a few weeks now you'd have to have been living under a rock not to know that the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has hit town, and the biggest party of the festival takes place tomorrow night. With literally thousands of people descending on this city to celebrate, it got me thinking about firstly what a well adjusted and, for the most part, accepting and friendly city this is, but secondly about what out of towners think of this place that I, like many others, call home.
I imagine for the hundreds that arrive for the festival via cruise ship, the impression of Sydney is a good one. Cruising into Circular Quay with the views of the city's two icons is breathtaking even for locals, and I don't know many people who can look at the apartments hugging the quay and not instantly think they'd love to live there. But that said, I think ultimately when many people travel, they compare their destination to wherever it is they call home and question if they could live in the place they're in. Realistically when you've made a life for yourself somewhere, it gets pretty hard to imagine living elsewhere, no matter how amazing your holiday may be. This rings true even for Australians, where I believe because of the sheer size of our country, even the decision to move from one side to the other is one not taken lightly.
Of course certain cities attract certain types of people, and this is when I think people are more inclined to make a more permanent move. That's when things like real estate become a focus as opposed to festivals and sightseeing, and people joining a new community need advice from the likes of real estate agents as to where they'd most feel at home. Which leads me back to Mardi Gras - Sydney is definitely on par with San Francisco when it comes to housing the gay community, and is internationally recognized as a gay-friendly town, which explains why a worldwide pilgrimage takes place to participate in our Festival every year, what helps to make it such an amazing event, and one that this city is so proud of.
Happy Mardi Gras!