There is nothing quite like the nostalgia of childhood on the Gold Coast.
Balmy days of bridge jumping and lining up for the Mr Whippy van in our togs; it’s enough to make most of us look back with a sincere sense of longing. Pleasant though these memories might be, the GC’s indescribable ways may also leave a few strange quirks in your adult self.
Here are just a few idiosyncrasies that prove you were raised—perhaps even born!—on the weird and wonderful Gold Coast.
1. You learnt to swim in the Gold Coast canals in the good ol’ days, before shark plague knowledge.
2. Driving down Hedges Avenue reminds you that your name could be worth $24-million if your parents were just a little bit wiser in 1984.
3. All of your best childhood memories involve the Quiky Pro.
4. Thongs will always be an acceptable decision.
5. You can remember the Gold Coast sans Versace and Q1.
6. Hearing the word “nippers” sends you into a flurry of memories, the most powerful being the taste of a sausage sandwich and a fear of drowning.
7. Family photo albums are filled with pitched tents in Byron and holiday homes in Yamba.
8. There are at least six car parks on the Gold Coast that remind you of getting high.
9. You once handed your entire weekly pay cheque (of $120) to a place called Cadillac Cowboy.
10. Nothing about theme parks excites you anymore.
11. Driving past Bundall Racecourse reminds you of cheap champagne and having a pair of heels thrown over your shoulder.
12. You drank a fish bowl of brightly-coloured poison at Melbas on your 18th birthday.
13. You’ve used the “I’m a dolphin trainer/Metremaid” line while interstate.
14. You’ve actually been on a Surfside bus (but thankfully not in the last decade).
15. All your school friends have dispersed from the Gold Coast…
16. … and slowly migrated back.
17. The anticipation for attending Schoolies at Surfers Paradise was real.
18. You can judge someone else’s historical Gold Coast knowledge by whether they remember the old McDonalds in Coolangatta. That party room was cray.
19. Speaking of Coolangatta, Roller Rink anyone?! Please remind us why that was removed?
20. You’ve witnessed the creation and evolution of complete suburbs. Hello, Varsity Lakes!
21. No Sunday sesh will ever compete with the ones at the Pink Elephant or Fishos.
22. The Broadbeach monorail once excited you more than a $30,000 pay rise could now.
23. Your first job was at Brothers Neilsen or City Beach… or you had an interview at the very least…
24. You could drive a tinnie before your tenth birthday.
25. It makes you feel proud when you drink an incredible coffee or eat a 10-out-of-10 meal on the Gold Coast. We’ve come a long way…
26. 16-year-old you was genuinely annoyed that your first car didn’t have an $85k price tag, unlike all the private school kids you knew.
27. You squeal and reminisce at photos posted to Facebook by “Have you seen the old Gold Coast?”
28. You find it odd when the news doesn’t have a surf report.
29. Were you even raised on the Gold Coast if you didn’t have your first pash at a PCYC Blue Light Disco?!
30. Thursday late-night “shopping” at Paccas was once the best few hours of your week.
31. The first time you applied mascara was for a TSS rugby game.
32. You remember going through a phase where it embarrassed you to say you were from the Gold Coast… but then you woke up to your senses and now wear it as a badge of honour.
So, what did we miss? What makes you smile when remembering the good ol’ days of #gclyfe?
Photo Credit: Claire Plush for Metropolist