An A to Z of Me: C is for...

C is for Coolangatta

It feels kind of weird writing about Coolangatta right now as though it's home, but it is and so I am. Moving here in January was a decision about 2 years in the making. I knew it was coming at the start of year 12 but I never would have guessed that I would have a long-term boyfriend by now who would make it all oh-so-much easier and harder at the same time. You could say that Jake and I are off to a rough start! I've been here almost 3 months now with Jake paying half the rent but only making an appearance on weekends, and it is terrible! We miss each other so much through the week, but he hasn't found a job up here yet and there is no way we can survive unless he keeps on working at Byron Bay. When we first got here, I thought the whole thing was a giant mistake. I had a car crash, and the public transport here is crap, my centrelink money kept on being cut off, leaving me with no way to pay bills, I was here all by myself with no transport and no friends to turn to, and Jake was getting dicked around by some jerk who had promised him a job. Now, three months on, with a job (which is yet to be fruitful), family and friends to support me and some transport, things are much easier and I am starting to love this beautiful place I live in. Of course, things are still far from ideal without Jake here (he is my rock and I struggle without him) but I am getting by and I am beginning to see the merit to the choice Jake and I made by moving here of all places!

I was going to show you all snapshots of our unit, but it is a total mess after a weekend at home with the boy and without proper use of my leg, so instead I will just run you through a few things I love about Coolangatta and the Gold Coast in general.

I don't quite know how to convey just how awesome the lifestyle around Coolangatta is. You see, Australia as a whole is pretty laid-back. My tiny, little, beachside hometown was the king of relaxed living, but to be living in a city and having a laid-back lifestyle - now that is pretty special! The Gold Coast as a whole is pretty laid-back in comparison to, say, Brisbane or quite a few other cities in Australia, but Coolangatta is something else! Cooly is 40 minutes from the city centre. It is the southernmost point of the Gold Coast and of Queensland too, for that matter. It is the suburb behind some of the most famous surfing beaches in Australia, as well and that translates into an extremely laid-back lifestyle. 

The beaches around here are amazing! Not just from a surfing point of view, either. They are always crystal clear and so good for swimming! Coolangatta (and the Gold Coast in general) is built to make the most of the beautiful beaches, so rather than the city expanding outwards from the city centre, the Gold Coast stretches lengthwise across the coast. Every beach has a Surf Club and every Surf Club has a restaurant and a bar, so you can basically get merry with a view no matter where in Coolangatta/Kirra you are. You've got to love that!

Julian Wilson AKA my future baby daddy at the Quiksilver Pro

(extra large for your viewing pleasure)

Some of my favourite things about Coolangatta:

• The beaches are amazing!
• The Quicksilver Pro - which was totally amazing and which you can read about here.
• O-Sushi is my favourite sushi train and Japanese restaurant. They're licensed and they have live music on the weekends too! talk about stylish Japanese food! Plus, they're right across the road from the beach.
• Gelatissimo has my favourite ice cream ever - pistachio! I never used to be able to get it in my hometown, but now I can, and it's right across from the beach!
• The cinema has those liftable arms on the seats so you can get snuggly. Plus, it's across the road from the beach so when it starts pouring with rain right as you get to the beach, you can just cross the road and go see a movie instead (you'd be surprised how much that happens to me).
• The beaches.
• All you can eat Pizza Hut! Anything all you can eat is awesome, but all you can eat pizza is awesomest! Plus they have ice cream with mini marshmallows at the dessert bar, and I saw the Gold Coast Titans NRL team training out the front of it once - it's right on the beach. It made me feel fat because instead of sweating my butt off like they were, I was in my jarmies ordering a pizza feast.
• Close enough to the grotty city centre to go there when I want to, but far enough away that I don't have to deal with it every day. I really dislike Surfers Paradise. I don't know why yes i do it's because almost every time i've been i have been drunk, at night making a fool of myself and it's super dirty and grotty and busy and gross.
• Close enough to go home to mum and dad's whenever I want without any hassle. I miss mum. And my dad, brother, sister, boyfriend, cousins and friends. 
• Did I mention the beaches?

And there you have it - my current home in a nutshell. Anything in particular you love about your current home? My only disappointment with Coolangatta is it's lack of culture and history, being a relatively new suburb. That is one thing that the capital cities have over these smaller ones. Lucky I'm taking a trip to Brisbane on Thursday night! Gotta get my fix and consume large amounts of alcohol with my best friend.