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WAGGA WAGGA/WOLLONGONG

I have lived in Wagga Wagga my whole life, until I decided to go to uni here in Wollongong. I have been living in Wollongong for over four years now, although I don’t feel like a true Wollongongarian—not because I don’t feel welcome but because I haven’t lived here in my whole life. Although I do feel I have been living in Wollongong long enough to be able to know the pros and cons.

I will always love Wagga Wagga because it’s my home. I was born there and lived there until February 20, 2010. What I love about Wagga is that it’s not too small a town or city but not too big either, it’s one of the biggest inland cities in NSW but it’s about a third of the size of Wollongong. I love driving in Wagga as it’s not too crazy or hectic on the roads, there are no tolls or hook turns involved.

I have a love-hate relationship with the weather in Wagga. In the summer, the heat and the breeze are dry and it can get as hot as 40 degrees. In the winter, you need to hose off fog, frost and/or ice off your car every morning and it rarely gets above 15 degrees. Autumn and spring are lovely, however I’ve forgotten what it is like because I haven’t been home during these seasons during my years at uni.

I love Wollongong for many reasons. For starters it gave me the fresh start I needed four years ago and has changed my life for the better. It has provided me with the best creative writing and journalism education and friends for lifetime. It has also provided me with a career as I now work as a freelance writer. I love that Wollongong provides a coastal and metropolitan lifestyle at the same time.

I also have a love-hate relationship with the weather in Wollongong as well. The summer humidity and the four-seasons-in-a-day weather was a huge shock in my first few months. However I love how much kinder the coastal winters are, I discovered this for the first time in the winter break last year and since then I’ve been wondering why I went home for that break in my first three years.

I said that I love Wagga because it’s my home, however my life is not there anymore. My life is here in Wollongong, however I will be graduating in a few short months and therefore I don’t know how much longer my life will be in Wollongong and where it will go next. There is a saying, “home is where the heart is”, Wagga will always be my home because that was where I was born and where I grew up. Wollongong will always be my second home as it is where I became an adult. I know it sounds like a  clichè, but it’s a clichè for a reason.

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