My first trip to Australia to visit a good friend of my was back in the 70′s. They treated me to a traditional backyard Aussie BBQ. The backyard area was big and roomy with plenty of outdoor kitchen cabinets and a built-in grill. These people were serious about their BBQ. They purposely built their home up instead of spread out just so they could have their lovely traditional Aussie backyard. A backyard built to entertain while they put one on the barbie.
My second and final trip to Australia was in 2007. My friends have moved on and are now living in Thailand. My next stop by the way. But, being here now, in Australia, I’ve notice somethings changed. It seems that today’s home lack a backyard. The newer homes are on just has much land as what my friends had, but instead of building up the new homes spread out. Single stories. No room for a backyard, really. No room to entertain, to put on on the barbie. This is a dramatic change which started in the 90′s. It seems that people are spending their money on floor area instead of backyard area.
These new homes contradict the open-air lifestyle for which Australians are internationally renowned for. I guess I can understand that it’s cheaper to build a single-story house, but to lose a culture over it? I don’t know. It saddens me really. I had such fond memories of the time I spent in my friends backyard and looking forward to telling all my friends in the States that I was treated to a traditional Aussie ‘putting one on the barbie’. Which I did, I even wrote about it for my local newspaper. Australia’s changing, for the better? I really can’t say. As I’ve said, though, my second trip to Australia was my last.
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