I noticed this article about how a recent study has found that a third of people in this city feel lonely. It seems that lack of time is a big factor.

I don't have the hard data, of course. But I suspect that the number of people here feeling this way is substantially higher than several years ago.

I don't feel lonely as such. But I certainly feel I have less time to devote to traditional social activities. That's partly to do with where my own life is heading, and would be the case wherever I was living. But there's certainly a local factor, too. Perth's increasing size has provoked a faster, busier pace. Weeks just seem to whiz by these days!

Perth residents are clearly more rushed than in decades past. You see it in the CBD. Not only are there so many more people there at all times, they also seem to be moving about more quickly than they did even ten years ago.

One thing that really struck me when I left Perth in 2002 to live in Sydney was the difference in life pace between the two cities. Sydney felt much more "full-on" than this city. But now it seems that Perth is catching up. If I went back to Sydney now, I think I would sense little difference in this regard.