"Partly Furnished"
Quick Jump: A New Place to Live | "Partly Furnished" | The Best Part | The Planes
8/13 Marion St., Leichhardt, NSW 2040 Australia
After a few months in the share house in Ultimo, we were feeling pretty cramped and wanted more space to ourselves. We began reading every flier posted on every utility pole, even visited some real estate offices and checked out some other places. Just when we'd given up on finding a place in our price range, D got an email from a former student of the Department of Performance Studies-- someone she'd never met-- who had a one-bedroom apartment she needed to sublet while she was out of the country.
So, we packed up all our stuff, left it with one of the professors in the department, went on a tropical vacation, and then moved into our own one-bedroom apartment when we returned to Sydney. It was located a little further out from the city, so a lot of our old haunts and the resources of downtown weren't quite as convenient. But, even with the added bus fare and other expenses, the lower rent and private space was too good for us to pass up.
We were told that the place was "fully furnished," which we figured was perfect since we'd only be there for five months. As it turned out, by "fully furnished," the leaseholder meant "partly furnished," which really meant it had a sofa bed, a bed frame, some shelves, and a desk.
So, our first week after moving in, we had to buy a mattress (shown above left), a dining table and chairs (above right), and a second desk and chair (the light one, shown right) so that we had space for us both to work. We also had to buy a refrigerator and a microwave (below left) as well as a set of dishes, pots and pans (some of which can be seen in an artfully arrangement, below center). The couch was present as promised, although the "bed" part of the sofa was fairly poor, and the shelves were in variable condition. The TV (below right) was loaned to us by Paul, the professor who had stored all our stuff and helped us move... and although it had precarious rabbit ears and snowy reception, it was a dearly appreciated appliance!
In the end, the cost of all the things we had to buy to furnish our "fully furnished" apartment just about offset what we were saving on the lower rent. When we figured in
the privacy, the quiet, and the personality of our new neighborhood, though, we still thought we had found a deal. We could watch whatever we wanted on TV (as long as it was Law & Order, which seems to be running continuously on both cable and "free-to-air" Australian television), we had our own bathroom
(with enough hot water for one brief shower an hour), and we didn't have to share our kitchen with anyone (except the cockroaches). Cynicism aside, once we got settled and through the hassle of getting phone, power, and internet service, it was a much nicer place to be than the first one!
The price and the privacy and the myriad local color and cafes are good, but the view from our apartment is hands down the best part of the whole deal. From the kitchen window over the sink, from the living room picture window, and from the large bedroom window over our bed, we have a sidelong view of the Sydney city skyline.
We can't see the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House from here, because we're on the opposite side of the CBD from them. Circular Quay is flanked by a sharp cliff called "the Rocks" (long covered with buildings and roads, so you can barely tell it's a cliff) that would block the Opera House from us even if there weren't buildings in the way. We can see the Sydney Tower (looks like the space needle) and the ANZAC bridge, though.
In the afternoon especially, the setting sun will glint off the glass and steel of the city, for just a moment so fleeting that it's hard even to catch pictures of it. Then, a few minutes later, the buildings start to light up for the night. It almost makes you want to do the dishes so you can stand at the kitchen sink!
(If you're wondering what that funny pole is in the middle of the photos... we were wondering for a long time too! There's a fire station two or three buildings down from us, and we finally learned that it's a pole they hang hoses on, presumably to dry.)
Leichhardt's a great little neighborhood, with lots of cafes, shops, little parks, and plentiful food. (They do call it Sydney's "little Italy.") But, one of its most distinctive features is its location relative to the main runway at Sydney's Kingsford-Smith International Airport. That is, Leichhardt is one of four or five suburbs right at the inland end of the runway.
The Planes
So, when the wind is right, which is a little more than a quarter of the time, all the air traffic coming into and out of Sydney airport is buzzing our house and our neighborhood at a rate that sometimes averages one every two to five minutes. Big planes, little planes... okay, mostly big planes.
The photos with the clock tower were taken at Leichhardt town hall, which is the building next to our apartment block. Fortunately for us, Sydney airport has a strict curfew-- planes are not allowed to take off or land between 11pm and 6am. We can't help but notice that they tend to push the evening curfew a little bit-- and right before 11pm there is often a mad rush. The morning planes come in ar a pretty regular clip, too, since many of the long-haul international flights (like from the US West Coast) are scheduled to arrive between 6am and 7:30.
We were assured that we would quickly learn to tune them out, and for the most part, we did. At times they come in quite low, and you can make out all the little heads in the little windows. Fortunately for D, she's marrying an aerospace engineer who likes to watch all the planes at such close range. Of course, some of it has worn off on her...
...And when the planes finally go away, there are the seven bus lines that go through the intersection at Leichhardt Town Hall!