Suburbia

A coffee catch up with a friend at the Botanical Gardens (where the first three photos were taken) also provided the chance to re-visit a favourite part of my city. North-East Valley.

I first got to know this suburb when I worked there in my fifties. It struck me as an organic, low profile gather of creatives and alternatives in a sun-spattered valley running in a nor’easterly (hence its name) direction between the western and eastern hills of Dunedin. Full of modest brick and wooden bungalows and villas popular as student flats, it naturally enough has a student vibe.

The photos below are a selection of snaps taken in my own neighbourhood.

I hit town only occasionally – to attend my gym, to catch a movie, have a look around the art gallery or meet someone for a coffee. I’m not so much into shopping.

For the rest of the time, I’m living the suburban life with its mailboxes, iron gates, mysterious doorways, painted bus stops and front garden foliage. Living the good life in the burbs.