With a Monzo notification reminding me that I still pay for a domain name, I thought it apt after 12 months to give this thing another shot. Ironic that I started a blog to document travel, and yet the only time I really wrote in it was when I couldn’t travel?
And, does it count as travel if it’s a move? Let’s give it a go regardless. Here I am. Quite literally the other side of the world. And it’s raining. It’s been a hectic few months settling into life Down Under, and while moving to the other side of the world sounds glamourous and spontaneous, it actually involves a lot of admin, a lot of money, a lot of tears and a lot of stress. Worth it? 100%. Absolutely. No doubt about it.
I travelled over to Australia for the first time in September, having already committed to the move, to actually have a look and help James move in. I was greeted by drizzle and a London cityscape like the one I was so keen to avoid. Internally, I had doubts which quickly became external. I panicked James, with all his possessions already in boxes around him. Was this a good idea? Have we thought this through? It happened so quickly, is this what we want? It was a bit late to start asking those questions, and frankly I never know what I want until I jump in with both feet.
It’s bizarre wandering around a new city, exploring somewhere new, knowing already that you have committed to living there. I had to check my opinions and keep an open-mind, not judging every experience by what I knew from home. On the Sunday, 5 days after arriving, the sun came out. We had taken the ferry to Manly and it was the first time I had properly set foot on a beach. And it was sunny. That’s all it took, I was sold. (And Manly still very much remains my favourite beach.)
I was clearly clinging to some form of the exotic, some reason to live far away from friends and family, on a different time zone and away from what we knew and found comfortable. But then, if you’re never uncomfortable, you’ll never know what you’re missing.
We spent the 3 weeks in a strange hybrid of holiday and admin: beach visits interrupted by calls from estate agents, appointments at the bank dotted between lunches, document mornings followed by afternoon surf lessons. At the end of the trip, we’d found a flat, opened bank accounts, sorted James’ sim, got him organised at work, applied for his tax documents and even had his suit dry cleaned.
3 months later, I found myself back at Heathrow but with a hell of a lot more luggage and a visa granted much longer in advance! I hopped on the plane to Abu Dhabi, had a glorious Christmas adjusting to sunshine again - and our last in the UAE for now! - and then got on the plane once again for the final 14hr stint to Sydney with even more luggage. I landed at 8 o’clock on the 30th December, ready to ring in the new year with a new life.
Feeling excited and ready to embark on this new adventure, I realised the first step was to actually get some furniture. Anyone else know a man who lives with just one of every piece of crockery and then a sofa and a bed?
Two and a half weeks followed of exploring, walking, surfing, sunbathing, eating, drinking and life planning. It all didn’t feel real. Then, the middle of January whisked around and I started my Aussie job. Is this what it would take for life here to feel real and more permanent?
I have been in Australia for exactly 3 months and I can safely say, no. I hate my commute, I have days filled with meetings, I complain about my workload - nothing changes there. But this is all punctuated by sunrise dips in the sea, days off filled with surf lessons and açai bowls, evenings at the pub watching the sun go down, festivals in Olympic venues, drives to empty and endless northern beaches, gelato shops on every corner, the smell of BBQ on every commute home and each day ending in a little house with a yellow door on a quiet street where the dogs always say hello. There is no one big thing that is different here, but the difference comes from those little moments. The fact that the weather is better so everyone wants to be outside, that people want to leave the office and get home to their families, that I have 3 day weekends every week, the sea is slightly warmer, the sand slightly smoother, the fro-yo just that bit creamier and strangers are a little bit chattier.
It’s Easter weekend next week and we are heading a bit further afield for our adventures. Sydney is a tough act to follow, but I’ll keep reporting back. For anyone questioning it, if the opportunity comes knocking then absolutely grab it with both hands and don’t you dare let it go.
コメント