10 years today!!!
Aug 4th 2008, 10:04 pm
#1
...giving optimism a go?!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane (leafy, hilly western suburbs)
Posts: 2,202
10 years today!!!
Wow.....
So life in the UK had kind of fallen apart, relationship had dies, job was uninspiring and I was right on the age limit for getting a workinging holiday visa for Australia (somewhere I really wanted to explore better since visiting briefly when I was 16). I called the Aussie consulate and discovered the only sure way to get one of the visas was to show up in person, so I took a sickie and went in to London to grab one just before my birthday.
A few short weeks later and I had decided there was nothing left in UK for me - I quit my job and picked up a ticket to Brisbane. I had no clue what was waiting on the other side.... I talked to a few locals in a chatroom (technology in its infancy back in '98!) and managed to persuade a young lady to meet me at the airport and show me around Brisbane.
As I stepped on the plane at Heathrow the feeling of freedom was envigorating and at the same time terrifiying - was I embarking on an expensive adventure into lonelyness, or was this a genuine test of character? A chance to find out what I was made of?
Shortly after 7am on 5th August I landed at Brisbane havign smoked my last ever cigarette in transit at Osaka and generally feeling like crap. I got through the immigration controls and emerged to the 'meet & greet area' where an attractive but veyr short woman I'd seen a couple of photos of and had no more than 5 minutes conversation with on the phone approached and said "Hey - you must be Adrian right?".
Stepping out from the airport the sky was grey and cloudy there was a hint of drizel but it was a comfortable temperature. I was shown to a car (a 25yr old clapped out toyota station wagon) and we hit the road with me still kind of dzed and confused with the mental muddle that comes from long haul travel together with the adrenaline of being in a completely new situation.
.... to be continued!!
So life in the UK had kind of fallen apart, relationship had dies, job was uninspiring and I was right on the age limit for getting a workinging holiday visa for Australia (somewhere I really wanted to explore better since visiting briefly when I was 16). I called the Aussie consulate and discovered the only sure way to get one of the visas was to show up in person, so I took a sickie and went in to London to grab one just before my birthday.
A few short weeks later and I had decided there was nothing left in UK for me - I quit my job and picked up a ticket to Brisbane. I had no clue what was waiting on the other side.... I talked to a few locals in a chatroom (technology in its infancy back in '98!) and managed to persuade a young lady to meet me at the airport and show me around Brisbane.
As I stepped on the plane at Heathrow the feeling of freedom was envigorating and at the same time terrifiying - was I embarking on an expensive adventure into lonelyness, or was this a genuine test of character? A chance to find out what I was made of?
Shortly after 7am on 5th August I landed at Brisbane havign smoked my last ever cigarette in transit at Osaka and generally feeling like crap. I got through the immigration controls and emerged to the 'meet & greet area' where an attractive but veyr short woman I'd seen a couple of photos of and had no more than 5 minutes conversation with on the phone approached and said "Hey - you must be Adrian right?".
Stepping out from the airport the sky was grey and cloudy there was a hint of drizel but it was a comfortable temperature. I was shown to a car (a 25yr old clapped out toyota station wagon) and we hit the road with me still kind of dzed and confused with the mental muddle that comes from long haul travel together with the adrenaline of being in a completely new situation.
.... to be continued!!
Aug 5th 2008, 2:59 am
#4
...giving optimism a go?!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane (leafy, hilly western suburbs)
Posts: 2,202
Re: 10 years today!!!
..continued....
As it turned out my hostesses (hereafter referred to as 'D') neighbour in Holland Park (inner south suburb) had a spare room and was feeling generous - so I was saved the bother of going to a backpackers place. We tossed my bags down and went into the city to have a look around. I was surprised by the smallness of Brisbane - I expected a city, but found a medium sized town centre. We wandered around South Bank in the light rain and through my jetlagged haze I suffered the perculiarly numb sensation of having absolutely no clue what my life was doing....
Over the next few days I found a room in a shared unit (flat) in Spring Hill with Brad & Charmaine and within 3 days had visited employment agencies and got myself a job in the city with a small 3 person IT company. I worked 4 days week walking to fro and had long weekends often with D visiting various local tourist destinations. Before long I'd settled into a routine, had money to burn (rent was dirt cheap and my tastes are simple). Our friendship grew and even her parents began to talk to me like I wasnt a complete freak.
After a few months my flatmates Brad and Charmaine began to resent my intrusion into their domestic world and tensions began to mount (perfectly normal shared house stuff!) - So I took the decision to move out. D also needed to stop living at her parents so we scoured the rental listings and got ourselves a place - then placed and ad and filled the second room in our unit with couple from NZ.
I changed emplyers a couple of times, each time needing to persuade the new employer to sponsor a temporary residence visa and each time having no trouble. I got myself a small car (Corolla) and our life of weekend explorations and partying continued for quite a while. Things were GOOD!
After a year or two D and I had travelled to Philippines and met her family and back to the UK and met mine and our enviable lifestyle seemed unstoppable. I had (and still have) occasional bouts of nostalgia - but the sunshine, generally upbeat attitudes and kept me happy.
Eventually my ex back in UK decided that renting our old house was no longer working, so we sold it to our tennants (avoiding estate agent fees) and split the money 50/50 - It was the easiest money I've ever made! At that time our friends and flatemates from NZ moved to Melbourne and we found ourselves considering the rent/buy dilema. We looked around and soon found a house we liked in The Gap (leafy western suburb). It meant me turning into a commuter but the space was fanastic and to be honest the 'get-up and go' of city living was getting tiring.
We bought a house (same price as the 1.5 bedroom place in Newbury but 4 bed + pool) and in no time at all had a dog. Clearly I'd settled in for the long haul!
Immigration concerns started to plague me as I worried about future employment prospects if I relied on employers having to sponsor me (I.T. industry was clearly slowing down and Brisabne is a SMALL town IT-wise). Fortunately I had a good relationship with my boss and she agreed to help sponsor permanent residency. There was a lot of paperwork a lot of stressful bureacratic hjopps to jump through but it happened.
In 2002 - after 4 years in Brisbane D and I got married. We sent invites to lots of my friends back in the UK with mroe than 12 months notice so they could plan holidays around the trip, but despite all assuring me intialy that they would come one by one they all backed down. I was disappointed, but it cemented for me that life had clearly moved on. I was in a different place now - and loving it. My family all made the trip for the wedding and despite it being a bit of a squeeze in the house for a while, it was a great day.
.....to be continued........
As it turned out my hostesses (hereafter referred to as 'D') neighbour in Holland Park (inner south suburb) had a spare room and was feeling generous - so I was saved the bother of going to a backpackers place. We tossed my bags down and went into the city to have a look around. I was surprised by the smallness of Brisbane - I expected a city, but found a medium sized town centre. We wandered around South Bank in the light rain and through my jetlagged haze I suffered the perculiarly numb sensation of having absolutely no clue what my life was doing....
Over the next few days I found a room in a shared unit (flat) in Spring Hill with Brad & Charmaine and within 3 days had visited employment agencies and got myself a job in the city with a small 3 person IT company. I worked 4 days week walking to fro and had long weekends often with D visiting various local tourist destinations. Before long I'd settled into a routine, had money to burn (rent was dirt cheap and my tastes are simple). Our friendship grew and even her parents began to talk to me like I wasnt a complete freak.
After a few months my flatmates Brad and Charmaine began to resent my intrusion into their domestic world and tensions began to mount (perfectly normal shared house stuff!) - So I took the decision to move out. D also needed to stop living at her parents so we scoured the rental listings and got ourselves a place - then placed and ad and filled the second room in our unit with couple from NZ.
I changed emplyers a couple of times, each time needing to persuade the new employer to sponsor a temporary residence visa and each time having no trouble. I got myself a small car (Corolla) and our life of weekend explorations and partying continued for quite a while. Things were GOOD!
After a year or two D and I had travelled to Philippines and met her family and back to the UK and met mine and our enviable lifestyle seemed unstoppable. I had (and still have) occasional bouts of nostalgia - but the sunshine, generally upbeat attitudes and kept me happy.
Eventually my ex back in UK decided that renting our old house was no longer working, so we sold it to our tennants (avoiding estate agent fees) and split the money 50/50 - It was the easiest money I've ever made! At that time our friends and flatemates from NZ moved to Melbourne and we found ourselves considering the rent/buy dilema. We looked around and soon found a house we liked in The Gap (leafy western suburb). It meant me turning into a commuter but the space was fanastic and to be honest the 'get-up and go' of city living was getting tiring.
We bought a house (same price as the 1.5 bedroom place in Newbury but 4 bed + pool) and in no time at all had a dog. Clearly I'd settled in for the long haul!
Immigration concerns started to plague me as I worried about future employment prospects if I relied on employers having to sponsor me (I.T. industry was clearly slowing down and Brisabne is a SMALL town IT-wise). Fortunately I had a good relationship with my boss and she agreed to help sponsor permanent residency. There was a lot of paperwork a lot of stressful bureacratic hjopps to jump through but it happened.
In 2002 - after 4 years in Brisbane D and I got married. We sent invites to lots of my friends back in the UK with mroe than 12 months notice so they could plan holidays around the trip, but despite all assuring me intialy that they would come one by one they all backed down. I was disappointed, but it cemented for me that life had clearly moved on. I was in a different place now - and loving it. My family all made the trip for the wedding and despite it being a bit of a squeeze in the house for a while, it was a great day.
.....to be continued........
Aug 5th 2008, 3:54 am
#5
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2005
Location: Canberra, ACT
Posts: 1,222
Re: 10 years today!!!
Should we get a comfy seat and a cup of coffee?
Seriously, hope you are still in the honeymoon period and long may it continue. Here's to the next 10 years.
Only been here 5 months and it feels more like home than home did! (UK)
Seriously, hope you are still in the honeymoon period and long may it continue. Here's to the next 10 years.
Only been here 5 months and it feels more like home than home did! (UK)
Aug 5th 2008, 4:09 am
#6
Oiiii.. You slaggg!
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Brisbaneshire
Posts: 5,209
Re: 10 years today!!!
..continued....
As it turned out my hostesses (hereafter referred to as 'D') neighbour in Holland Park (inner south suburb) had a spare room and was feeling generous - so I was saved the bother of going to a backpackers place. We tossed my bags down and went into the city to have a look around. I was surprised by the smallness of Brisbane - I expected a city, but found a medium sized town centre. We wandered around South Bank in the light rain and through my jetlagged haze I suffered the perculiarly numb sensation of having absolutely no clue what my life was doing....
Over the next few days I found a room in a shared unit (flat) in Spring Hill with Brad & Charmaine and within 3 days had visited employment agencies and got myself a job in the city with a small 3 person IT company. I worked 4 days week walking to fro and had long weekends often with D visiting various local tourist destinations. Before long I'd settled into a routine, had money to burn (rent was dirt cheap and my tastes are simple). Our friendship grew and even her parents began to talk to me like I wasnt a complete freak.
After a few months my flatmates Brad and Charmaine began to resent my intrusion into their domestic world and tensions began to mount (perfectly normal shared house stuff!) - So I took the decision to move out. D also needed to stop living at her parents so we scoured the rental listings and got ourselves a place - then placed and ad and filled the second room in our unit with couple from NZ.
I changed emplyers a couple of times, each time needing to persuade the new employer to sponsor a temporary residence visa and each time having no trouble. I got myself a small car (Corolla) and our life of weekend explorations and partying continued for quite a while. Things were GOOD!
After a year or two D and I had travelled to Philippines and met her family and back to the UK and met mine and our enviable lifestyle seemed unstoppable. I had (and still have) occasional bouts of nostalgia - but the sunshine, generally upbeat attitudes and kept me happy.
Eventually my ex back in UK decided that renting our old house was no longer working, so we sold it to our tennants (avoiding estate agent fees) and split the money 50/50 - It was the easiest money I've ever made! At that time our friends and flatemates from NZ moved to Melbourne and we found ourselves considering the rent/buy dilema. We looked around and soon found a house we liked in The Gap (leafy western suburb). It meant me turning into a commuter but the space was fanastic and to be honest the 'get-up and go' of city living was getting tiring.
We bought a house (same price as the 1.5 bedroom place in Newbury but 4 bed + pool) and in no time at all had a dog. Clearly I'd settled in for the long haul!
Immigration concerns started to plague me as I worried about future employment prospects if I relied on employers having to sponsor me (I.T. industry was clearly slowing down and Brisabne is a SMALL town IT-wise). Fortunately I had a good relationship with my boss and she agreed to help sponsor permanent residency. There was a lot of paperwork a lot of stressful bureacratic hjopps to jump through but it happened.
In 2002 - after 4 years in Brisbane D and I got married. We sent invites to lots of my friends back in the UK with mroe than 12 months notice so they could plan holidays around the trip, but despite all assuring me intialy that they would come one by one they all backed down. I was disappointed, but it cemented for me that life had clearly moved on. I was in a different place now - and loving it. My family all made the trip for the wedding and despite it being a bit of a squeeze in the house for a while, it was a great day.
.....to be continued........
As it turned out my hostesses (hereafter referred to as 'D') neighbour in Holland Park (inner south suburb) had a spare room and was feeling generous - so I was saved the bother of going to a backpackers place. We tossed my bags down and went into the city to have a look around. I was surprised by the smallness of Brisbane - I expected a city, but found a medium sized town centre. We wandered around South Bank in the light rain and through my jetlagged haze I suffered the perculiarly numb sensation of having absolutely no clue what my life was doing....
Over the next few days I found a room in a shared unit (flat) in Spring Hill with Brad & Charmaine and within 3 days had visited employment agencies and got myself a job in the city with a small 3 person IT company. I worked 4 days week walking to fro and had long weekends often with D visiting various local tourist destinations. Before long I'd settled into a routine, had money to burn (rent was dirt cheap and my tastes are simple). Our friendship grew and even her parents began to talk to me like I wasnt a complete freak.
After a few months my flatmates Brad and Charmaine began to resent my intrusion into their domestic world and tensions began to mount (perfectly normal shared house stuff!) - So I took the decision to move out. D also needed to stop living at her parents so we scoured the rental listings and got ourselves a place - then placed and ad and filled the second room in our unit with couple from NZ.
I changed emplyers a couple of times, each time needing to persuade the new employer to sponsor a temporary residence visa and each time having no trouble. I got myself a small car (Corolla) and our life of weekend explorations and partying continued for quite a while. Things were GOOD!
After a year or two D and I had travelled to Philippines and met her family and back to the UK and met mine and our enviable lifestyle seemed unstoppable. I had (and still have) occasional bouts of nostalgia - but the sunshine, generally upbeat attitudes and kept me happy.
Eventually my ex back in UK decided that renting our old house was no longer working, so we sold it to our tennants (avoiding estate agent fees) and split the money 50/50 - It was the easiest money I've ever made! At that time our friends and flatemates from NZ moved to Melbourne and we found ourselves considering the rent/buy dilema. We looked around and soon found a house we liked in The Gap (leafy western suburb). It meant me turning into a commuter but the space was fanastic and to be honest the 'get-up and go' of city living was getting tiring.
We bought a house (same price as the 1.5 bedroom place in Newbury but 4 bed + pool) and in no time at all had a dog. Clearly I'd settled in for the long haul!
Immigration concerns started to plague me as I worried about future employment prospects if I relied on employers having to sponsor me (I.T. industry was clearly slowing down and Brisabne is a SMALL town IT-wise). Fortunately I had a good relationship with my boss and she agreed to help sponsor permanent residency. There was a lot of paperwork a lot of stressful bureacratic hjopps to jump through but it happened.
In 2002 - after 4 years in Brisbane D and I got married. We sent invites to lots of my friends back in the UK with mroe than 12 months notice so they could plan holidays around the trip, but despite all assuring me intialy that they would come one by one they all backed down. I was disappointed, but it cemented for me that life had clearly moved on. I was in a different place now - and loving it. My family all made the trip for the wedding and despite it being a bit of a squeeze in the house for a while, it was a great day.
.....to be continued........
Aug 5th 2008, 4:14 am
#7
FREE TIBET
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 18,840
Re: 10 years today!!!
Typical IT bod,gets off plane and marries first woman he meets
Aug 5th 2008, 7:03 am
#8
...giving optimism a go?!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane (leafy, hilly western suburbs)
Posts: 2,202
Re: 10 years today!!!
...continuing......
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!
)
I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Sure we've had this conversation before - I grew up in Basingstoke, went to uni in Keele, Stoke-on-Trent and ended up buying a small cottage in Speen just outside Newbury (opposite the speed camera).
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!
)I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Did you grow up in Newbury? Where did you live?
Aug 5th 2008, 9:21 am
#9
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Hampshire to WA
Posts: 95
Re: 10 years today!!!
...continuing......
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!)
I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Sure we've had this conversation before - I grew up in Basingstoke, went to uni in Keele, Stoke-on-Trent and ended up buying a small cottage in Speen just outside Newbury (opposite the speed camera).
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!
)I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Sure we've had this conversation before - I grew up in Basingstoke, went to uni in Keele, Stoke-on-Trent and ended up buying a small cottage in Speen just outside Newbury (opposite the speed camera).
Alex
Aug 5th 2008, 10:24 pm
#10
Oiiii.. You slaggg!
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Brisbaneshire
Posts: 5,209
Re: 10 years today!!!
Oops....sorry. I remember now....
Aug 5th 2008, 10:44 pm
#11
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Where the sun always shines
Posts: 3,627
Re: 10 years today!!!
Fab update and an enjoyable read, may you continue to enjoy
Aug 6th 2008, 6:43 am
#12
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Tropical North QLD
Posts: 21,434
Re: 10 years today!!!
Great update!
Aug 12th 2008, 9:41 pm
#13
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Lived East Adelaide, now Essex
Posts: 207
Re: 10 years today!!!
Excellent update. Well done and may your happines continues forever.
You have summed up your story at the end very well. A spur of moment decision can work out all right. I feel much better now... at times I have those moments of doubts of thinking what on earth are we doing moving to another country.....
I personally moved to UK 10 yrs ago (in Sep 98) from one of the eastern European contries and yes I also married the first person that was nice to me(my husband James) and had 2 kids....but this time around...moving to oz seems harder for me...(sorry I went on a bit...)
your post was very nice and inspiring.
thank you
Eda
You have summed up your story at the end very well. A spur of moment decision can work out all right. I feel much better now... at times I have those moments of doubts of thinking what on earth are we doing moving to another country.....
I personally moved to UK 10 yrs ago (in Sep 98) from one of the eastern European contries and yes I also married the first person that was nice to me(my husband James) and had 2 kids....but this time around...moving to oz seems harder for me...(sorry I went on a bit...)
your post was very nice and inspiring.
thank you
Eda
Aug 15th 2008, 4:09 am
#14
Where traffic lights rule
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Brighton QLD
Posts: 2,460
Re: 10 years today!!!
We lived in Shaw before we moved out here , small world
...continuing......
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!)
I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Sure we've had this conversation before - I grew up in Basingstoke, went to uni in Keele, Stoke-on-Trent and ended up buying a small cottage in Speen just outside Newbury (opposite the speed camera).
Well without going into any more dull detail - we now have 2 kids (girls 2 & 4yrs old) and 7 passports between the 4 of us! (I got the full lobotomy).
Was going to Australia the right thing for me? To be honest I have no idea! Ultimately life here is probably not all that different than it would have been if I'd stayed (or at least returned). Of course somethings here are better than back home (UK will *always* be called 'home' to me), some not so good. I tend to think that actually where I was physically 10 years ago was less important than the mental excercise of changing everything. Had I moved for example to Manchester -selected arbitrarily at random- I might have been able to be equally happy (and still married the first girl who was nice to me!
)I didnt 'give up' on living in UK - I just happened to grow up and grow roots when in Australia! now the logistics of ever returning are sufficienty complex that I dont think we'll ever do it....
Moral of the story?.... nope none - just proof that a spur of the moment decision to head to the other side of the planet can work out ok!
Sure we've had this conversation before - I grew up in Basingstoke, went to uni in Keele, Stoke-on-Trent and ended up buying a small cottage in Speen just outside Newbury (opposite the speed camera).
Aug 15th 2008, 4:34 am
#15
Oiiii.. You slaggg!
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Brisbaneshire
Posts: 5,209