SCROLLING through Mildura Facebook groups, as I often do as a journalist hungry for the next scoop, a few consistent themes tend to pop up.
Complaints about roadworks. What was that bang? Best chips in towns? Lost dog posts. All are standard for any regional community group.
There are some posts that have prompted me to ask the question, though. Where is the hometown pride?
At least once a week, I will see a post from someone who has moved to Mildura or is planning to move here and there is a disappointing theme.
“Don’t move here, the crime rate is high, we have inadequate health care, there is nothing to do, it is too hot.”
All of these are real and important issues, but issues that are not unique to Mildura.
I was born and raised in Adelaide, a city which I am immensely proud of despite the sneers and jeers of Melburnians and Sydneysiders who say the city as boring and not worth visiting.
After graduating from university, I got a job in Mount Gambier in South Australia’s South- East, where I lived for a year and a half immersing myself in the town, getting involved in local sporting clubs and taking up diving to make the most of the region’s picturesque sink holes.
It’s one-third the size of Mildura, with two sets of traffic lights and far less to do, the town experiences similar issues surrounding its crime rate, a lack of available health care and complaints about the weather (“It’s too cold”).
Despite this, there seemed to be a far greater sense of hometown pride.
This pride extends to other towns in the region with Millicent, Robe, Naracoorte, and Beachport all excited to share themselves with outsiders.
Of course, there were some complaints in Facebook community groups – what is social media for if not to complain? But it seemed on the whole people were proud of their little home in the South-East and would happily encourage others to move there.
It has been almost six months since I moved to Mildura, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here.
I have found the people to be kind and thoughtful, there are plenty of bars, pubs and restaurants to enjoy, the city is situated on the majestic Murray River and moving from Mount Gambier where the temperatures regularly plummet to one degree in the winter, I have been enjoying the sun.
Now please don’t think I am painting all Mildura residents with the same brush.
For every complaint and warning against moving here in a Facebook thread, there are just as many people staunchly defending their home.
Now this raises the question, is it a vocal minority that I continuously see bagging out Mildura?, is this commonplace for all regional towns? Or is there a general lack of hometown pride in Mildura?
Some of the people making these comments appear to be previous residents who make a point of staying active in the community groups and making their feelings known.
Others are people who have only lived here and have nothing to compare it to.
If an outsider like me is already proud to call this place home maybe some of the locals should be.
And for those who really do think Mildura is as bad as you say maybe promoting your city a little could improve some of its short comings and help shape it into the place you’d like it to be.
I understand the grass- is-greener mentality, we all look at our neighbours and think they are so much better off than us, but I think a place is what you make of it and truthfully the grass here is pretty green.
