Instead I decided to leave that to our wonderfully articulate journos, because it was five years ago this month since I started writing for the Goulburn Post.

My, how time flies, and yet I still love this place. It was often said to me when we first got here that my enthusiasm for the town would wane: just you wait, they said. It seems they were wrong, and for a cynic like me that is saying a lot. Now as the cold begins to close in and things start to feel a little miserable, I thought it was time to look again at what keeps us here. So in no particular order here are some great reasons I still love living here.

The People. Particularly those working within our local service providers. Being a mother of health challenged kids I spend a lot of time accessing nearly every kind of service in this town. Even with a lack of funding, understaffing or equipment, I find they will do the best for you however they can. People in Goulburn don’t hesitate to pitch in; if you need something there is always someone who knows how to help out. There are huge numbers of locals doing voluntary jobs, so much so that it is hard to get a spot to join in.

Living here gets you a reputation as being tough. What is the first thing people think about when you say you are from Goulburn? Isn’t the super max gaol there? The police academy? And it snows there right? That’s right, we are a town tough enough to keep the nation’s scariest people under lock and key, and train up New South Wales’s finest. The town is populated by prison guards and police officers, and we survive in these weather conditions.

“Oh you’re from Goulburn, so that’s why you don’t need a jacket here in the snowy mountains.”Yeah we are hard as nails around here.

Our artistic community. These creative souls who strive to make things interesting for us all. From the local galleries to the theatre groups, the organisers of fetes, markets, festivals, at least once a month you can find something on in Goulburn that is unique and interesting. Look at that big concrete sheep on the hill, that alone is a great big advertisement that crafty people reside here, people who think outside the box.

Lastly, location, location, location. I don’t think I need to tell you how ideally located we are. The beach is two hours east, snow is three hours south, Sydney two hours north and Canberra only an hour away.

Having previously lived in a town where two hours in any direction will not find you arriving anywhere of interest, you will understand why we think where we are living now is so good.

So the shine hasn’t worn off. Although I will admit there are times when things do get tough around here, but like I said Goulburnites are a tough breed and we pick ourselves up and move on.