Look, full disclosure, I did *not* grow up in the country.
But my parents did move to what I guess would technically be classified as regional Australia when I was 20, so I'm sort of like a half-half country gal.
Okay, alright, I'm a quarter country - I never actually... lived there, but I visit enough times to feel like I belong, ya know? I know how things play out in the remote reaches.
If you hear a banging on the roof, you know it's just a couple of pythons mucking around.
If the dog's going nuts, it's probably because a snake has decided to join them on the balcony for a bit of sun.
And if you forget to close the screen door? Well, you can bet your cute butt that those same snakey bois are going to come slithering inside looking for a cool drink/a tasty mouse/a fridge to hide behind (this... has happened to me).
Watch: Australia's youngest snake catcher. Post continues below.
I feel like I spend enough time at my parents' place that I am unofficially indoctrinated into this way of life. (By which I obviously mean, snakes. Everywhere, all the time.)
And the nearest supermarket being a half-hour drive down the flippin' freeway. (And... closed on Sundays, like everything is.)
And not being able to get a decent flat white unless you go to the nearest big town, approximately an hour's drive away.
All this got me thinking - there are so many things that you can just count on when you live in the country. Things that city folks don't really get because they're so far removed from life amongst the skyscrapers.
So I went out and asked my (fellow? Can I say that?) country girlies - what do you just know to be true when you live in outback Australia?
"Very random NT vibes - making sure you close your lid bins and not leave them out overnight as dingoes will get in them and cause chaos. Also - there was a big sand dune out the back of my place, and in the afternoons we would go as a family, sit on milk crates and watch the sunset. But the catch was that you had to bring the big stick with you from the garage and wear enclosed shoes just in case the snakes came out... there were snake holes all throughout this sand dune." - Isabella.
"Where I grew up, shoes were optional in pretty much every setting, even my primary school. And we had to drive long distances to do literally anything (including getting to school). We also had to catch our own cane toads to dissect in science class (I wish this wasn't true)." - Courtney.
"The front door is always unlocked. And if you've got excess fruit or veg growing in your own garden (lemons!), just chucking them into a bucket or basket and putting it at the end of your driveway for anyone to help themselves. And the bucket/basket won't get nicked either because that's not the small-town vibe." - Shell.
"We had a police officer come into school in Year 11 and teach us how to hit a kangaroo with your car because they caused so many accidents. Not how to avoid it - how to hit it, because that's the safer option." - Liv.
"Always having HopStop Cane Toad Spray, Croaked Spray, or something similar handy. A lot of my family in regional Queensland have to deal with cane toads frequently, especially as they're a risk to pets in the backyard if they come into contact. So each night, my aunty goes out and has to spray the cane toads she finds in the backyard and keep her dog away from them. (FYI you're allowed to kill cane toads, but the law says to do it humanely). - Isabella.
"If you’re leaving home before 8am to go anywhere, you have to factor in extra time as a buffer in case you have to sit in traffic waiting for cows to change paddocks (ie. 100 cows crossing the road verrrrry slowly)". - Shell.
"S**tty man-made beaches in towns that are so inland haha. Usually attached to a shitty dam/dirty body of water. Oh, and having a roommate who’s a vet who brings home a baby lamb to monitor overnight was totally normal!" - Gia.
"You get real comfortable with killing rodents and can come up with some pretty inventive ways to lure them in and end them as humanely as possible. Most of them involve peanut butter. When you go to 'town' you buy as many things as you can in one go because it'll be a while until you're back at a decent shop again and online shopping deliveries can be slooooow. People will greet you at the local pub like you're in an episode of Cheers, and the pub will ask people to remove their boots before entering. Your hairdresser knows literally everything about everyone in the whole town. Also, sheep will hold you up more than you imagine." - Claire.
"In primary school if it rained too hard or reached 40 degrees, we got to go home. We also had a rotating roster to ring our own primary school bell, which came with elite social status." - Michelle.
"I'm from the country and my husband is a city boy and one of our main differences is our responses to inspects and spiders - he freaks out and has a tin of Mortein in, like, every room in the house and I don't think I have ever used it once. Either just leave them alone or safely take them outside. Also our response to injuries. He will need medical assistance for the most minor things and take sick days from even the thought of a sore throat. I grew up with the mentality of 'If you're not bleeding/dying then you're fine and you can go to work/school' so I have very little sympathy or care for his minor problems. But in saying that, when my mum was like seven, her legs were run over by the family ute on the farm and by the time she got back to the farmhouse she was running around, so my grandfather assumed she was fine and never took her to the doctor. So I am definitely not saying my way is best - I guess there is just a 'toughen up' country mentality." - Grace.
Country girlies, what do you know to be true of regional life? Let us know in the comments below!
Feature Image: Supplied.
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