The reason for the population growth was fairly simple. The center of the US is emptying out. People are moving to the coasts where there are jobs and nicer weather. Seattle was a particularly attractive place because of the mountainous scenery and mild climate. This trend would only continue in the future. After all, the reason why people moved into the interior in the first place was because of the armies of workers needed for farming. Mechanization is slowly reducing the workforce needed to farm, and anyone without a job is forced to move to a city. Having a choice of cities they head for the nicer ones along the coast.

Meanwhile, I had decided to leave corporate life. Not being in a relationship, I decided that if I was going to move away from the Seattle area I'd have to move soon. Otherwise, I'd end up with stronger friendships, maybe getting married, kids, and the works. By the time the hypothetical children left the house it would be 20 years later. Seattle would have 50% more people and the Tacoma/Seattle megalopolis would start rivaling the Bay Area. (Which was only one step away from the mess in L.A.) And, by the time the hypothetical kids would leave, I and any hypothetical wife would be too attached to the area to get up and leave.

I had traveled around Australia two years before and liked it. Taking a chance, I applied for permanent residency. To my surprise, I was granted it a number of months later. I had to take the opportunity.

I scheduled one more trip in Australia, this time in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Previously I had visited Queensland and New South Wales. While on the trip I looked around for a place to live.

My criteria was:

1. English speaking. I'm lazy and don't want to learn a new language.
2. Nice weather. Some snow was acceptable, but not too much.
3. Low population. I had learned enough from L.A. and Seattle.

The area I liked best was Darwin. While it doesn't have mountains (something I sorely miss), it has great weather, enormous parks, fantastic storms, and isn't likely to become overpopulated in my lifetime. On the flip side, it has a large enough population that I can actually find people with interests similar to mine, and buy whatever I need at the local stores.

I think it started in the Whitsunday's when something the sailboat's skipper said got me thinking. Someone asked him why he decided to work as a skipper and answered (in effect), "Why would I want to live anywhere else. This is paradise." The Whitsunday's are beautiful, but that's not what impressed me. It was his decision to live in a picturesque area, live the relaxed life he wanted to live, and forgo some of the money he could have made working a real job. Such a statement was completely opposite to the life I was living in Seattle: Big city. Lots of stress. High salary.

But it wasn't just him. Wherever I traveled I encountered people with the same general attitude: Work to live rather than live to work. Life is an adventure. Go your own way.

Recently I saw a television interview with a miner in Coober Peedy that summed it up. When asked why he was mining he answered: "Lots of people work a normal 9-5 job all their lives, and then tour around Australia when they retire. Many stop in Coober Peedy to see what it's like to mine for opal. To see what their life could have been like if they had taken a different path. I just decided to skip the 9-5 part and live the dream." (Unfortunately, I don't remember his exact wording, but that was the gist.)

As for "Why the top end?" My justification is even more elusive. All I can say is: "It just feels right." The stars. The storms. The infinite horizons. Sixty thousand years of Aboriginal inhabitation. The two billion year old rock formations. I decided that I had to move to Darwin when I stood atop Ubirr (in Kakadu) and watched the sun set in the west while a violent thunderstorm flashed over the east. A feeling came over me that I can't really explain or describe. The land is alive.