Heart to Heart with Christobel Munson
Christobel Munson has lived in some of the world’s biggest cities including New York, Sydney and Hong Kong. But when her travelling days were over ten years ago, Christobel and her partner made a b-line for Bangalow, buying into a multiple occupancy in Fowlers Lane on the outskirts of the village. “When we got back from overseas we decided to cut to the chase and move straight up here. We used to come up here on holidays and always wanted to move here,” she said.
Christobel said she had seen a lot of change in the 2479 area since moving here, but was glad the residents had managed to embrace innovation while maintaining Bangalow’s way of life. “Each decade brings amazing new ideas. The challenge is to integrate new ideas with the local ways.” she said.
Christobel has met a lot of innovators through her articles for Heartbeat. She has written about local people using technology to run their businesses and people doing interesting things in the 2479 area. She also meets a lot of people through her business Not Just Words, which keeps her busy providing professional writing services to private and public organisations.
Christobel was involved in setting up the Bangalow Community Alliance and has learned to jump through bureaucratic hoops in her efforts with the Rural Land Sharing Steering Group. “I have learned how to be a community activist because it is the only way to get things done,” Christobel said.
She has also learned to love her new home. “I love the sense of community here, that you can walk down the street and bump into people who are involved in making Bangalow what it is. You can feel you have the opportunity to do something for the community and make a difference.”