It's all a matter of perspective honu. I grew up in the Central West of NSW, so when our family moved down here when I was in high school, I thought Canberra was a pretty cool place. During my years in the RAAF I lived in Toowoomba during my years at uni, then the outskirts of Brisbane, Newcastle and back to Canberra, with short stints in Townsville, Melbourne, Richmond and Darwin. When I came back to Canberra, I decided that I didn't want to leave. I love the outdoors lifestyle and the access to facilities that are comparable to the big cities.

By your description, it sounds like you live in one of the smaller communities on the South Coast, like Pambula or Tathra. I'll get to see a bit more of the coast over the next few years as my father and his wife have recently retired and bought a house in Merimbula. They've kept their house in Queanbeyan and will divide their time between the two, so I'll pop down to the coast after the ski season is finished. They decided to have two places because they like the Canberra lifestyle and are pragmatic enough to realise they'll need easy access to Canberra's excellent health facilities as they get older.