If you are sitting around moaning and whinging that there is nothing to do because all the shops are closed, get out there and explore.

Growing up, making sure you had milk, bread and chocolate before 6pm was just a part of ‘normal life’. Everything closed except for that expensive 24/7 Convenience shop and the petrol station. On the weeknights we played with the neighborhood kids until we were called in when it got dark. On Saturdays, I would wake up early, get the paper and a bag of lollies from the Milk Bar with my Dad and read West Kids over my bag of lollies. The rest of the weekend was spent at the beach and playing ‘flashlight’. Thursday nights we went to the shopping centre for late night shopping and a movie and my Mum always organized little road trip weekends away to different places in Western Australia.

‘Dullsville’ was never ever even in my vocabulary!

‘Perth is TEN YEARS behind every other state’ is something I heard often. I remember walking through the city after 630pm on a weekend night and it being very similar to walking through Narrogin, except with tall buildings.

After reading the Mayors interview in ‘Perth’s coming of age’ (https://soperth.com.au/perths-coming-age-2508), I have a presentiment about Perth. Perth is different to other capital cities but that is what makes Perth unique. It’s not buzzing with 24/7 supermarkets, shopping till midnight and trying to walk around the city between hundreds of people. It’s like a very big town that just happens to have very tall buildings.

I’m not adverse to the development and transformation taking place in Perth. I’m very very excited about the new library and I saw a video on what the Elizabeth Quay will look like when finished, which looks exciting and reminds me of Dubai. I just don’t want to see Perth lose it’s exquisiteness.

Western Australia has so much beauty, nature, things to do and explore, we are like a secret oasis that takes up a good portion of the country and are hidden in plain sight. Do we really have to change our laid back culture and become a hustling 24/7 city just so we can be put on the map and be just like Sydney and Melbourne? It’s like every ‘coming of age’ teen movie where they change who they are to fit in and be liked, but in the end they realise that although some change is good, they don’t have to be a totally different person to be liked and popular.

I come into contact with hundreds of backpackers at work and I always ask them ‘Do you like Perth?’ and ‘Where else have you been in Australia?’. Usually Perth is the last place they visit on their travels around Australia and nearly all of them say Perth is the best place in Australia. Quite a lot of them, who once finished their traveling around Australia had planned to live in Sydney, Melbourne or even Brisbane, had told me they changed their plans to move to Perth instead. When I ask why they choose Perth, their answers are all similar. Perth is the perfect city to live in with it’s chilled and laid back lifestyle, friendly people, it’s so different to every other city in Australia.

#didyouknow all the amazing things you can do in Western Australia?

Whether your a snorkeler or qualified SCUBA diver, you can explore the reef, sharks, stingrays, turtles and fish at AQWA. Have you been to Rottnest Island? Have you walked across the sandbank to Penguin Island? Swim with wild dolphins. Visit Freo prison and do a tunnel tour. Visit a shooting range. Find your inner Katniss and try archery. Did you know there is an abandoned theme park, mental hospital, power station and bakery? Visit the Gingin Space Observatory. Swim with seals. Learn how to sail with so many sailing clubs to choose from. Learn how to kite surf. Learn how to paddle board standing up. Learn how to fly a Cessna with lessons at Jandakot airport. Road trips! So many road trip opportunities in Western Australia. Visit Lancelin and go sand-boarding, quad-biking or 4WD. Check out the Pinnacles Desert! Have you been across the Nullabor Plain? Been to the South West? Been up North? Swim at Karijini! Visit the many abandoned towns with ruined buildings and spooky stories. Check out Mystic Clue and try a prison room escape. Have you heard of Jetsurfing on the Swan River?? Go see Wave Rock. Capture a Quokka Selfie!

The Guide (https://theguide.com.au) has a list of every single thing happening in Perth on every single night of the week. Poker, $10 cocktails, $10 pizzas, open mic, what bands are playing and where, comedy, orchestras, fairs, markets, events, warehouse sales and even xbox gaming nights at the Brass Monkey.

There is already so much to do and so much going on in Perth City and Western Australia. We are already ‘cosmopolitan, dynamic and confident’! If you are sitting around moaning and whinging that there is nothing to do because all the shops are closed, get out there and explore or move to the east side!

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In my next article: Climbing Bluff Knoll – Highest peak in South West WA

In my last article: How to become a YouTube Partner https://soperth.com.au/become-youtube-partner-2579