Last one out, turn off the lights

Posted on | July 2, 2006 | No Comments

A few weeks ago my PhD student Ian used this phrase to sum up the sheer number of people he knew leaving Brisbane. As someone who still feels like I only just got here, I didn’t relate to it very much at the time, and given how much we hear in the media about Brisbane being a boom town, it’s hardly a quantitative assessment of demographic change. His lament might be seen as an example of what Raymond Williams called a ’structure of feeling’: a sensibility that is generationally-specific, dependent on shared cultural reference points but no less meaningful because it is partisan. Ian’s descriptions of the changing Brisbane ’scene’ often remind me of what it was like living in Hobart while I was trying to finish my Honours degree. Not only is Ian working on a similar commitment (in the knowledge that people of our generation aren’t known for making long-term investments), but just as Melbourne is the natural move for Hobart kids, so it seems to be for Brisbane ones too.

This week I’ve had two farewells, one of which resulted in my photo appearing in The Sunday Mail today – sheesh! – with the lovely Michelle. I bet that spread is the most number of academics to ever appear in that newspaper! The other departure has me especially forlorn. It feels as if the water buoying me for the past year has been drained away, leaving my little boat damaged and run aground. To patch it up again seems like it will take such a long time, without the added problem of finding some new waters and some direction for it to sail in.

I also found out this morning that a third very close friend is packing up to head overseas much sooner than planned. She and I have shared a unique bond because we’ve made the same move from Hobart to Sydney to Brisbane to pursue our careers. We’ve also both lost our mums to cancer, and it can be pretty hard to deal with being lonely in another city when you realise such an important dimension of what ‘home’ means can only ever be in your head, wherever you are, from now on. She is one of very few people who understands that big part of my personality. For all these reasons I’m going to miss her, and it’s because she’s someone who knows me for other things than my job. She is the only person I’ve had in Brisbane who can take me out and talk about anything but work. This is something increasingly important for my sanity at a time when the prospects appear ever smaller for its realisation.

With all this in mind, Brisbane: Year 3 now involves finding a non-academic flatmate so that I can get to know this city in somewhat more depth. Do people have recommendations for good flatmate finders online? The ones I’ve used before still only work out of Melbourne and Sydney, and I’m not sure whether it’s worth investing much time in finding something local. I guess most people in a city this size are connected enough to find flatmates through ‘word of mouth’. To wit: know of anyone looking for a place in New Farm with city views, wireless internet and ridiculously good transport/shopping/Valley/river proximity? Someone who likes vegies more than meat, cleans without being asked to and knows how to handle a couple of academic neuroses? Let me know.

Category: Events, Out in Vegas, Work

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