Jay

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Jay. I'm originally from the UK and arrived in Australia in 2011. I'm an Australian citizen now, in that strange position where I don't feel Australian or English, I'm a visitor to everywhere.

I lived in Darwin working in community arts for 4 years before moving to Melbourne to study theatre. I was a professional performer for a while, in street theatre and puppetry.  I stayed in Melbourne for the cultural scene.

What brought you to Nightingale Preston?

In 2018, I realised being a professional artist is completely ruinous financially. I left the arts and got into white-collar work. I had been renting, absorbing the instability and precariousness of it and decided that renting wasn't something that I wanted to continue with.

For a couple of years, I looked around for different ways to own my home.  I spoke with housing cooperatives, communes, and other different kinds of models. Eventually, I realised that Nightingale took care of almost all of the things that I was looking to invest time and energy in. And they’d had a chance to make a decade's worth of mistakes and learn from those things. It felt like I was buying into the accrued wisdom of that.

You moved in earlier this year, how has it been so far?

It feels really lovely and very satisfying to be grounded somewhere and to be surrounded by community. I remember when I first arrived in this building, it almost felt like the first day of uni where everyone is new and there’s an excited bustle to the place. I'm on a journey with everyone else here and that's quite exciting. It's wonderful to see the development of these things. 

I hear you joined the Owner’s Corp Committee? 

I did. It’s a really great way to have a hand in the evolution and development of the culture of the building and the social fabric that binds it all together. That was such an important part of why I wanted to come here in the first place. There's so much going on out in the world but there's also so much richness in depth to this place and the people I'm surrounded by. 

I'm really happy to invest time in it. It feels like a bit of upfront work but it’s going to make such a difference in the next five to ten years living here. It’s a great way to get to know my neighbours.  I find that solving a problem or working on something together is a much more effective way than everyone going nuts on the chat.  I’d love to help foster a culture of participation rather than criticism here.

There aren’t any private car parks here. How do you get around?

I don't have a car. My work is 20 minutes by bike and the train and tram are very close. Having said that, my mate has lent me her car while she’s overseas. For the first month, it just sat there, I didn’t use it at all because I didn’t need to.

Do you use the shared spaces much?

Well, I have to use the laundry. It’s the evil genius of this place, the incidental contact with people. It’s really nice.

It's something increasingly hard to engineer. Even at work, it's possible to go to your desk, put your headphones on, and just completely block people out. Coming across people when you’re washing your clothes or hanging them on the line is such a simple, elegant thing. 

We’ve had OC Committee meetings in the rooftop dining room and a couple of level-two shindigs up there too. I’ve also used the dining room as a co-working space with a couple of neighbours. I’ve used the bath house a couple of times too.

My family came over to stay in the guest house recently. They are a couple with 2 kids and stayed for about six days. It was cheaper than them getting an AirBnB or staying in a hotel. It was an interesting trial with two very energetic kids.

Favourite neighbourhood spots?

There are so many incredible spots within a stone's throw. I'm spoilt rotten.

I had a really fun trip to The Keys for some bowling with the other OC committee members. We drank White Russians and got competitive.

Pausa Pranzo - everyone speaks in Italian, it’s very authentic.

The Preston Market, is seven minutes away on the bike. So much great stuff all under one roof.

The Thornbury Picture House is a real treasure.

There’s even a cool funeral parlour! - The Last Hurrah.

Are you looking forward to the cafe opening downstairs?

Yes. A cafe in this area is a no-brainer. So many people have moved into this precinct recently, and it will be the closest, most convenient joint fixing people up with their caffeine hit. It will be great to see the park and decking more activated.

You opened your apartment as part of Open House Melbourne. Did you enjoy being part of that?

It was a lovely experience and a really strong validation of where I’ve chosen to live. There was such a great turnout and the enthusiasm and excitement from visitors was a great endorsement. It felt almost like a housewarming. (I know we shouldn’t seek external validation from others, but it doesn’t hurt!)

I also appreciate that's part of the function of Nightingale -  not just to build homes for people to live in, but for Nightingale to be a clear example of a different way to do things. The promotion of that is really important. Unless people and the industry see a different way, then they won’t consider anything that could be different.  There’s so much about housing and community that’s broken, I am really happy to actively participate in the promotion of this project, this endeavour.

Well, thank YOU! We really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us. 

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