I didn’t mean to spook the north shore woman in activewear, but I did

April 16, 2026 — 7:30pm

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The other day, on my morning walk, I smiled at a woman powering past in activewear. She looked confused, as if she was an alien learning to human via student exchange. “Morning!” I said, further raising the stakes. Her confusion turned to mild alarm, and she powered on. I imagined her thinking, “Why is this woman in her $12 nylon tights trying to initiate social contact? Is this a scam?”

These school holidays, I’m at my parents’ house on Sydney’s upper north shore, and I’m starting to understand my regionally bred husband’s gripes about “city folk” and their “unfriendly” ways. When I first moved to our coastal town eight years ago, the excessive friendliness felt foreign to me. We’d be driving around the neighbourhood, and my husband would wave at passing cars and pedestrians. “Do you know them?”........

© The Sydney Morning Herald