There’s a saying in Byron Bay: “The hippies found it, the surfers made it, the yuppies fucked it”
This is wrong. the hippies didn’t find it. The Bundjalung people found it 22,000 years before the hippies got there. The rest of that quote is true though.
The first Europeans in Byron Bay were shipping out logs, milking cows, growing pigs, and shooting whales. It was a tough and un-glamorous town. Travelling surfers in the early 60s found great waves at The Pass and the counter culture revolution came to town in the late 1960s.
Slowly Byron gentrified (or is it yuppified) and it’s now a premium beach holiday destination with sky high rents, amazing food, exciting pubs, and boutique shopping. The beaches are still stunning especially since whale parts stopped washing up on the sand after the whaling station closed in 62.
Byron is well and truly on the backpacker route, and most travellers heading up or down the Pacific Highway will stop in for a look or a longer stay.
There’s a high rotation of hospitality staff in the town’s cafes and hotels, and the owners would happily hire people for longer. Lots of people work for a month of two and then leave, not because the jobs are bad (they are really well paid) but because accommodation is so tight. Eventually people get sick of hostel life , Vanlife, or having zero privacy because you need six room-mates to afford the rent, and move on.
If you do plan to have a long stay please note the following:
- You need stable accommodation and it’s hard to find. Long term locals have been forced out of their homes due to significant rent increases. There is a homeless crisis in town.
- The traffic is horrendous so biking is a much better option.
- Byron has a seedy side with drugs and theft.
- If you can handle all these problems and find a decent place to live, it’s still a great place to work and hang out for a few months or more. You will meet interesting people
- If Byron’s problems are too much for you, head to Yamba, Pacific Palms, Casurina, Port Stephens or another coastal town for a more relaxing place to work and play.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously and have a laugh at the video below.
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