On the geographical betterment of the Fricholsons

What flared up back in May last year with weekly Domain searches across target neighbourhoods, then gathered supposed momentum at an open house inspection of a little unit in Neutral Bay over three months ago, seems now like our way of life – the perpetual fantasy of not living in Gordon.

The promise of a new address has loomed tantalisingly close to us time and time again since we stepped inside Unit 2 at 'Laurel Gardens' and felt the feeling. Our offer was accepted, we clinched the purchase with a deposit, our lender eventually did get around to financing us and we even survived the six weeks till settlement. Then we got the keys and have been able to come and go as we please, allowing ourselves to fall in love with our real estate and its neighbourhood and its place in the Sydney metropolitan area. We started packing boxes and buying appliances and picking out carpet, but all in the name of this fun but seemingly inconsequential project. So it didn’t feel so surprising when the move date came and went and we found ourselves still calling Gordon home.

As to our little flat on Kurraba Rd? Well, it’s had its soggy hole fixed, its carpet ripped out, the bath resealed, its flooring removed, the slab dug out and the walls splattered and chipped with the installation of the new floor surface. Over the next few weeks, the walls will be patched and repainted, our new carpet laid and the wardrobe will get new guts. And on October 17, I am renting a big truck, slinging our junk into the back of it and chugging it over to make a new life for itself in Neutral Bay. By hook or by sweaty crook. As for Noodle and me? Well, who can say. I find it very hard to believe we’ll be living anywhere other than Ridge St. We’ll probably be sitting at Heather May’s kitchen bench at the end of the day, toasting our sofa’s good fortune at scoring a place SO CLOSE to some really handy parts of Sydney. "Well la-di-da, sofa. Neutral Bay! Indeed!"