If you had told me a year ago that I would be living in Sydney by April 2018, you could’ve blown me over with a feather!! Whilst moving out of South Africa was something we had spoken about randomly over the years, it was never something we had seriously considered or discussed at any length. It was always mentioned in passing or as a joke more than an actual option!! So to say our move to Sydney came as a surprise, might be a bit of an understatement.

On a random Friday morning in October 2017, my hubby told me, out of the blue, that he needed our passports. Ever the optimist, I looked at him with a big smile on my face and asked him where we were going…thinking he was planning a fabulous overseas trip for the family. Needless to say, when he answered saying he needed them because he had a job interview that afternoon with an Australian company, I almost fell over.  “What job interview?” “When did you apply for a job in Australia?” “THIS afternoon?” all competed to be the first question out of my mouth at  the sudden and very dramatic change to my very normal Friday morning.

What happened after that Friday morning declaration (and subsequent job offer) was a whirlwind of discussions, pro’s & con’s lists, phone calls to friends already living in Australia…the big decision to make the leap and the start of what seemed like a never ending stream of admin and paperwork.

From the beginning it was more than evident that God had orchestrated this entire move. The whole process from that Friday afternoon interview to our initial arrival in Sydney (my hubby & the boys came over ahead of me while I tied up all the loose ends back in South Africa)  took a little over 5 months, which is almost unheard of!!  My hubby only submitted his resumé for the job mere hours before they contacted him and asked him to come through for an interview the next day – the Friday interviews were the last round of interviews in Johannesburg before the Aus executive was flying to Cape Town for the next leg of his recruitment trip (if my hubby couldn’t make the interview that day, he’d basically miss the opportunity).  The work visa took 16 days from submission to approval…we were told it would take an average of 12 weeks!!! Our house sold 10 days before I was to scheduled to board my flight to Sydney… Everything about the process fell into place with almost no hiccups. It was extraordinary and overwhelming and insanely scary all at the same time…we had never even been to Australia before!!

And so here we are!!! What a ride it has been. We are so happy that we threw caution to the wind and took the leap. Australia has and continues to surprise me at every turn. We have settled in North West Sydney, in the Hills district. We find ourselves sandwiched between the sea and the mountains. What a pleasure to drive a mere 40 minutes and find yourself at the coast overlooking the magnificent beaches and exploring the city or drive 40 minutes in the opposite direction to explore the sights and towns nestled in the Blue Mountains. Magnificent rivers, creeks and parks at every turn and don’t get me started on the birds!!

I LOVE the gorgeous cockatoos that frequently land in my backyard

As with all good things there are obviously drawbacks. Having lived in the same Johannesburg town for my entire life meant that I knew so many people and had a huge network of friends and family close by. I knew where the best bargains were to be had and had favourite shops and brands that were staples. Now…everything is new! Which is both exciting and daunting – who knew it could take over 15 minutes to try decide on which brand of peanut butter to choose… :p  But new forces me to step out of my comfort zone – and lets be honest, we all like our comfort zones and don’t venture out of it nearly often enough unless shoved…forcefully!! hahaha So I have learned to embrace the changes and choose the peanut butter. And like with anything new, some choices will be right, some will require a little tweaking…but in the grand scheme of things this is only the very beginning of our exciting new life and I am SO excited to see where this adventure is headed.

I can’t wait to share my journey with you. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come back soon.