I love living in Queensland so much. It’s strange to think that we almost didn’t make the move. We debated about moving for years before we actually took the plunge – it felt like such a huge, overwhelming, terrifying adventure. We were scared about whether my husband would find a job here. We were worried about missing our family back in the UK. We worried about the cost of living and how much a house was going to cost (Wanted Down Under made it all sound so expensive!). We worried about whether our kids would settle in an Australian school. We were very aware that funding the move from the UK was expensive and it would eat up a big chunk of our equity.
But we were also certain that we didn’t want to regret not taking the opportunity to follow our dreams.
Maybe you can relate?
Moving to Australia feels absolutely huge. Until you’ve done it.
When you’re looking back from the other side, things feel very different. It doesn’t feel like such a big deal after all.
The truth is when you’re doing something you’ve never done before it can feel challenging. When you come out the other side, you realise that you were more than capable of achieving the thing all along.
Moving from the UK to Australia showed us that we can achieve anything we set our minds to. It also taught us that you get to choose which direction to take your adventure and there are always many opportunities available to you in every moment – there are no ‘wrong’ directions as you can always course-correct as you go.
We moved here hoping we’d love it and that we’d want to stay for the long-term. And it turned out that is exactly what happened!
7 things I’d miss if I left Australia
We have no intention of leaving Australia. We’re citizens now and I feel like Australia offers us the lifestyle we were always dreaming of. But just for fun, here are seven things I’d miss so much if we did leave and go back to the UK…
The weather in Australia
Of course, this has to be the top of the list. I love living somewhere sunny, even when it’s the middle of summer and it’s stinking hot (like it has been recently with 90% humidity!) I love not having to de-ice my car, and I don’t particularly miss snow. I love never needing to wear a coat and it makes me happy seeing my kids walk around with bare feet most of the time (there have been plenty of times we’ve arrived at school only to realise they were missing shoes and socks!). I’m not sure I could ever live somewhere that gets really cold now. Sunshine and blue skies just make me happy.
Room to breathe in Australia
I always felt claustrophobic in the UK. While we were thankful to have our own home, it was pretty small. Our garden was overlooked. I didn’t have a dedicated space to work (which is really important when you have multiple babies and work as a freelance writer!). We didn’t have a garage or second bathroom and our street was always packed with cars. Here, our home is large enough for us all to enjoy our own space. It’s not a flashy house (and it still needs so much work doing to it) but we aren’t overlooked, we have a pool, I have a dedicated office and we have nature on our doorstep. We live a little further out of the city to get access to this amount of space and house for our money but we could never have afforded something like this in the UK, even outside the cities. I’m not someone that needs lots of material things, but I really value my own space so I’d find it difficult to move back to a tiny home again.
The people in Australia
I love the people in Australia. It’s so friendly here. People in shops and restaurants go out of their way to give good service. We’ve been shown such kindness during our time here and felt so welcomed as soon as we landed. We’ve made some great friends here and I’d really miss them if we didn’t live here anymore. (Of course, we miss our friends and family back in the UK too, so this one works both ways).
The wildlife in Australia
I love spotting a turtle or dolphin when we go for a walk on the beach. I love taking my annual whale watching trip. I can’t get enough of seeing wild koalas and kangaroos near to where we live. The novelty will never wear off, and my kids love it too. We also love going along to big wildlife attractions like Australia Zoo, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We didn’t very often see wildlife where we lived in Hampshire as it was so built up. It would make me sad not to have all of this incredible wildlife around us.
School in Australia
I love the opportunities my kids have been able to have at their school (school camp to Cairns and the Barrier Reef, rock climbing, taking part in large scale arts events…) and I love the fact it’s a prep to year 12 school so we only have one drop-off. My twins have just started high school with all of their friends, many of whom they’ve known since they started prep when they were five. It has made the transition to high school so easy for them. I remember my own move to high school – I went from a tiny village primary school to an absolutely huge secondary school where I didn’t know anybody. I found it so tough. I’d be gutted if we had to leave Australia and leave behind the school and community they love so much.
BBQs in Australia
Cooking BBQs is part of our lives here. We cook one at home at least once a week and we often take our portable BBQ to the beach too. There is nothing like cooking food outside. In the UK, we’d be lucky to have a handful of BBQs a year. I’d really miss the ease of cooking up a BBQ if we didn’t live here, and I know my kids would really miss it too. It still feels like a massive treat!
The beaches in Australia
Australia has some of the world’s best beaches. Beaches are so important to Matt and I (so much so that I’m currently working on a brand new site about living the beach life in Australia). We even went backpacking around the world before we had kids in search of the best white sandy beach! I still feel in awe every time we pull up to a Gold Coast beach and see the dazzling white sand and the rolling ocean. Australia’s beaches make me feel happy and content. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but here.
So there you have it. These are seven of the things I’d miss if we had to leave Australia (there are so many others that I didn’t include too!).
Good job we don’t have plans to go anywhere else and we get to enjoy all of this awesomeness every single day!
