Transitions
Transitions are difficult. In whatever sphere of life. Adjusting from one way of being, one way of living, to something very different is hard. It is a process. As humans, we usually avoid change. Our brains see it as a threat to the status quo. Our amygdala kicks in. And we resist. Try to cling to the relative safety of the “known”.
If we don’t move out of the “known”, explore new things, we don’t grow. We stagnate. And I don’t like stagnating. With this in mind, I like to throw everything up in the air and see where it lands. Chart a new course every now and again. And this is what we chose to do when packing up our lives in Australia in June last year to explore the world.
Our travel journey
Many of you came along on the journey. Reading the blogs we shared of our trials and tribulations. The amazing ups and, relatively few, downs of long term travel. You will have seen our pictures, and maybe got a sense of what we saw, and maybe how we felt. It was truly a life changing trip. It changes how you see the world. How you come to realise that we are the same. Part of one big family. Granted, a family with almost 8 billion family members.
You come to realise how arbitrary the borders are. How much of what we take for “geography” is just a social construct. Some countries we have to get visas for. Others, we just jump on a train, leaving one country, and entering another. A bus takes us from France to Spain, with no discernible demarcation of the border between the two countries. In Switzerland we could look across the river in Basel, looking into the windows of apartments on the other side, in France. Look in the other direction and you could throw a stone into Germany. Nothing but a river separating three countries.
Arriving back in Australia
Ten months later, we flew back to Australia. A country with very strict borders. A country that forbids you to even bring in an apple, woe betide it introduces a threat to the ecosystem. And with our return, we have to re-adjust to a life where we don’t move every few days. Where we have more options of what to wear other than what we have in our backpacks. Deal with the reverse culture shock.
“How much!?”, became a common refrain as we converted the price of a pizza from Australian into Indonesian rupiah.
The biggest shock was the price of accommodation. In a rental market that is crazy beyond crazy, we had to start out bouncing between AirBnBs. And the cost was killing us. With no money coming in, and lots going out, we needed to find a rental. Fast. This was no easy feat. For each of the four viewings we had in the first week, there were an average of 20 people showing up to view. With a viewing window of only 15 minutes, for everyone, we were like rats running around a maze. Bumping into each other as we all raced to get a good look around, and take a few photos.
Finding a home in Perth
One viewing number five, or was it six, we managed to turn up early and got to view an apartment in relative quiet. It also allowed us to use our well refined stakeholder management skills, chatting to both the owner and her partner. Showing an interest in them and not just the apartment. Asking a few questions and showing our genuine interest. This apartment was above our budget, but with our options dwindling, and with this being a great apartment, we wanted it.
A phone call whilst we were at yet another viewing brought very good news. We had secured the rental. However, as neither of us were working, our offer of paying the full six months rent up front was accepted. A large chunk of our savings gone, temporarily, but we had a home for the immediate future. A huge milestone in our “settling back into normal life” plan.
Whilst we were looking for a rental, we decided to review our priorities for settling back into Western Australia. And what came out on top was a visit to Margaret River. The wine region that we hold close to our heart, more so we got married there in 2021. We spent a great few days, hunting down new wineries, and checking out a few recent additions to the brewery scene, before heading back to Perth.
In Perth, we are now in a modern two bedroom apartment in a great suburb called Leederville. A suburb full of cafes, bars, and restaurants. And on the bus, only 15 minutes into the city. When we left Perth last year we were living just up the road in Mt Hawthorn. So we know the area very well and love it. If only we weren’t doing “dry May”. It is a killer walking past everyone enjoying a glass of full bodied red wine, or a hazy pale ale. Roll on June!
Transitioning back to work
Our life plan hit top gear when shortly afterwards, Victoria secured a full time job. Again, at the first time of asking. She has a perfect record of applying for a job, and getting it. Other people must also see how special she is. For me, I had already been back working, albeit part time. A friend runs a consultancy in Perth and I had been partnering to deliver training to some of the companies in Perth. This work is now expanding, and I will be complementing the training with some dedicated coaching and consulting for one of the clients.
My new life involves me trying to work Monday through Thursday. I am keeping Friday free to build up my private coaching practice. To that end, I had a call with a previous client in Sydney and we are having discussions in further developing our working relationship. I hope this could be the start of a new chapter and a new approach to work and life.
As I shift more in to coaching and mentoring I continue to see the benefits that are brought to others. Having a coach, holding the space for you whilst you think through a challenge. Be it professional, or personal, having a thinking partner provides immense benefits. I would love to share more, and even have a coaching conversation if anybody out there thinks they would get value from this.
Is the travel itch scratched?
If you are wondering whether travel features in our new life chapter. Yes. And I would be off again today if I had the money. In fact, if I had the money i would be on the road more than I would be at a “home base”. The experience of travel, the “grabbing life by the balls”, the making the most of every minute becomes ever more important. You never know what life is going to throw at you. When you least expect it. As a family, we have all experienced this over the last year.
Seize the day
If you have a bucket list, what is stopping you from doing the things on that list? Tomorrow might never come. Take steps today to get you closer to the things in life that you dream of. We have a short time here, and we never know when the bell is going to ring for us, telling us to come back in, our time is up. Tell those around you that you love them. Tell them every day. You don’t know when your opportunities to do this will end.
With this, I love you. I love you for reading this blog. I love you for sharing our amazing journey over the last year. And I hope you will continue to follow on as we transition back into life in Australia.
Memento mori.
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