When
people ask me about what East Gosford is like, I often respond “it's an
open door rehabilitation centre/nursing home where the inmates can
wander around freely”. I would like to think that I'm being satirical,
but the truth is, I'm being honest. Every day, from my vantage point in
the loungeroom, I often see the same derelicts wander by, with their
own set agendas. On occasions when I have to venture out of the house,
I'm often brushing past the same people everyday, with blank, bored
expressions, brightly dressed in the case of old spinsters, or clad in
the tre-fashionable Lowes tracksuit pants and matching top for a
majority of the male population. There's a small area, with fixed metal
tables and chairs, where I often pass pensioners drinking out of brown
paper bags. It's a depressing thought thinking that with so many places
one can go to (considering pensioner excursion tickets cost $2.50 and
last all day), the best they can come up with is a cigarette and a
longneck of New in a public area. Mind you though, hardly a week goes
by without a traffic accident or two at the nearby traffic lights, so
you wouldn't have to go far for some entertainment, even if it is a
trifle morbid.
It's not a bad place, but it's not
a good place either. The area reminds me of a downmarket inner Sydney
suburb, without the street crime. Unlike downtown Gosford, at least all
of the shops in the main drag are occupied. Surprisingly, it has seven
coffee shops/cafés within a two block radius. I have only recently
discovered the pleasure of hot chocolate (I don't drink tea or coffee)
and have singled out one of the cafés to go to, based purely on the
fact that there's a waitress there that I quite like, but that's
another story in itself. Besides, I can go there with a book and read
for half an hour and pretend I'm an intellectual, which isn't that hard
to do in this suburb! If I really want somewhere nicer to go, then I
can always walk over to the Japanese gardens, which is just around the
corner from my unit in Melbourne Street.
For
covenience sake, there in an IGA across the road which is very handy
when I'm looking to grab a few things without having to hop on a bus
and head into Gosford or Erina. There are bakeries, takeaway joints,
and Thai and Chinese restaurants, so it's not all bad. There's even a
post office that's open on Saturdays at the back of the newsagency,
which can be quite handy sometimes if I've forgotten to pay a bill
during the week.
Still, I can't see myself spending the rest of my life here. If I do, I'd probably end up habitually going to the local TAB and wind up sitting in public drinking from a brown paper bag.
And if that happens, please, shoot me!