The people of Coober Pedy live underground for a reason
Coober Pedy is a small Australian town known for its bizarre living conditions. Because this remote community is located in the Australianoutback, it endures seasonal dust storms and temperatures that can reach up to 51 degrees in the shade. To keep cool in summer and warm in winter, the inhabitants have built underground, troglodyte houses(dug-outs) that protect them from the harsh conditions. But why, you ask, do these people live here? Opal. Coober Pedy is the world’s largest opal mining region.
Although the name « Coober Pedy » comes from the Aboriginal term kupa piti, meaning « white man’s hole », the town itself is made up of over 45 different nationalities. It’s not necessarily the place to dream about, or even the fact of living underground, but the opal mines bring in so much money that sacrificing a few years of your life to live and work there in exchange for getting rich might just be worth it. No ?
In this waterless environment, little activity takes place above ground, but a community of some 1,900 inhabitants exists in the underground network, living inside 1,500 houses and dwellings located between 2.50 and 7 meters below ground. Apart from living underground, these homes include all the comforts your own home could provide.
Coober Pedy began attracting curious tourists in the 1980s when the first hotel was built – underground, of course. As well as the attraction of sleeping underground, the town has a network of underground bars, stores, museums and churches to visit.
Coober Pedy lies on the road between Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Sources : Distractify, Messy Nessy Chic, Wikipedia