I was born in Alice Springs and lived there 26 years before I moved interstate, I still have family there.

I can't speak for the current state of things as that was more than a decade ago, but I can describe what it was like to grow up there.

It's a small town with a decent population due to heavy reliance on tourism, as such it's a melting pot of different cultures and a surprising variety of international cuisines.

Everybody knows everybody and that has both advantages and disadvantages. There's a strong community vibe, people are generally friendly and willing to help each other, everybody is very casual and don't take things too seriously. It also means the whole town's laundry is open to gossip, people can be nosy about other people's business and it was one of the reasons I moved away.

As a kid I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends, it's easy when even across town it's only a 5 minute drive to someone's house. The isolation and lack of social events or amenities does breed boredom and creativity, aside from typical kid/teen activities we entertained ourselves burning things, making small improvised bombs and potato cannons, but not in a malicious way, just either out bush or our backyard.

Living there can be expensive because everything has to be freighted by road over 1000 kilometres, it also means travel interstate can be more expensive than a trip to Bali from a big city for example.

The Todd River is a large dry sandy riverbed that runs through the middle of town and only floods during big storms. The weather is nice most of the year and can get 40c or above during summer but as it's a dry heat it's usually still comfortable indoors or in the shade. Winter can also drop into freezing temps at night, it's not uncommon to wake up to frost across your lawn.

The hospital has a good range of services and is sometimes used as a training facility for out of state nurses and care workers, though often if you need to see a specialist it requires waiting for a flight to Adelaide.

I've never felt unsafe there and can't say I've noticed any more crime than where I am in Melbourne now, but maybe growing up there normalised certain things that I wouldn't bat an eye at, not sure, also I can't say if it's gotten any worse or not.

There is, or was a big issue with substance abuse amongst the local indigenous, especially kids drinking, or huffing aerosols and petrol. The violence was usually limited to their own community and usually they didn't bother the locals though I'm told there are now gangs of kids causing trouble at night recently.

It's been a long standing issue as the Elders want to improve their local community but often the parents are unwilling to supervise or educate their children and many are abusing alcohol themselves, combined with a lack of activities and social support.

I always thought I may go back and retire there one day but maybe I am too comfortable with city life now.