My first year abroad - how is it going?

As I write this blog post it has not long passed the one year mark from when I left home and the last time I saw British soil. Truth be told, when we left I had no idea what to expect really. I had very little expectation on what life would be like once we moved.

Let me set the scene of the climate of the UK when we were leaving. It had been almost a year of being locked down in our small London flat. It was relieving when we were able to go down and visit my parents, sister and family cat. Being home was quite nice although I knew that leaving my family was going to be difficult.

What followed then was the ability to be a bit more relaxed once we were in New Zealand. It was very nice to spend time with Colin’s parents and family. When we finally arrived in Australia the first few months it took me to find work. I did become a very good home cook in those months, and I very much enjoyed homemaking.

It took me about four months to feel like I had settled into what life is in Australia. We have had much more freedom here than in the UK in general. Especially during the first year of the pandemic in London.

The house that we have been renting in Sydney is larger than what we had previously. The outside space allowed me to start a raised bed vegetable patch. (I didn’t want to touch the owners garden). Something else that I decided to was to join Girl Guides Australia. I am in training as a leader as another way to try and integrate myself into the local community.

As I write, we are preparing to move down to Melbourne. This is the next exciting chapter where we are hoping to find our first home. A separate blog post will be coming later in the year of that process.

One of my favorite things about exploring Australia is the nature and wildlife. I met a kocobkookaburra in the back garden very early one morning. We have had lizards the size of my arm in our garden and been around many golden crested cockatoos.

On the other hand dealing with insects hasn’t been fun. We have had cockroaches, ants, spiders. Locals tell me this is just a part of Australian life. Whilst I am now inclined to agree with them I wonder - are we terrible at choosing houses. Or are landlords all over the world universally awful?

Overall, I would say that year one has been brilliant. Challenging at times without a doubt. I’m not sure there is much that I would do differently to be honest. Except perhaps to travel back home and or to New Zealand to be reunited with friends and family once again.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Coming up on the blog: The Wonderful treasure troves that are charity shops.

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Credit to the main photograph on this page goes Eva Darron on Unsplash