Do you ever wonder where you should live? Are you providing the best environment for your kids? Is it rich and full of opportunities for learning?
While Imogen and I were on holiday together, we wandered around Kiama where we were staying, taking photos and chatting about the differences between this coastal town and our village in the bush. Would we prefer to move to the beach? How would our life change if we did? Would we miss anything at home?
We did lots of real world maths as we estimated the population of Kiama and compared it to that of our nearest local town. We checked the figures online and discovered that we’d be part of a bigger community if we moved. Then we estimated the price of a similar house to ours, and did some more checking, and then decided we can’t afford a house on the beach. Obviously, Kiama is higher up the liveability index than our village.
We discovered the liveability index a few years ago in the school syllabus for our state of NSW. At the time, we had no idea what it was, so we did some research.
The Liveability Index is a composite score based on measures related to aspects of liveability including Social Infrastructure, Walkability, Public Transport, Public Open Space, Housing Affordability, and Local Employment
And then we had some very interesting conversations, comparing different places, both close to home and around the world. As unlikely as it seems, good things are sometimes lurking in the school syllabus, the syllabus that homeschooling kids in our state are supposed to follow!
So, while I took photos of the harbour, the shops, and the ocean, Imogen and I chatted about the criteria that placed Kiama at a higher place in the index than our village. We did some real world geography!
While my kids were growing up, I questioned whether we were living in the best place for them. Had we chosen a home high on the bringing-up-kids liveability index? We wanted to give our children the perfect upbringing in the perfect house in the perfect location. Of course, that never happened.
For many years, we moved from one rental home to another, and then one day, following a dream, we packed up and moved to a fish farm, thinking a self sufficient lifestyle on a big property would be a wonderful experience. It wasn’t. Did you ever hear that story? It’s in Radical Unschool Love and is called Is Our Unschooling Life Rich Enough? While living on the fish farm, we experienced drought and a never-ending rat infestation and a neighbour who threatened to shoot our dog if it jumped over her fence. We also experienced the grief of finding out our son was going to die after birth.
We learnt a lot from that farm adventure:
‘… we discovered that it’s not important whether we live in a yurt or a campervan or a tumbledown cottage on a fish farm or an ordinary house in town. As long as we love. It’s love that enriches our lives. It’s what our kids need to experience. It’s love that will change the world.’
So, even though we love Kiama, we’re not moving to the beach. But that’s okay. We can still drive to the coast for day trips. We can sit on the sand and soak up the sun and then return to our home surrounded by gum trees, the place where we experience unconditional love.
So, have you ever looked at the liveability index? Do the criteria used to rank different places matter to you? Our village doesn’t have a high school or similar facilities, lowering its attractiveness for some people, but we don’t care about such things! And do you love where you live?
