Making the jump & moving to Australia!

One month in to living in Sydney and it's starting to feel like home! From the moment I decided to leave my job in the UK, pack up my life and fly solo across the world to embark on this little adventure, I had no idea what to expect! Recently, I've been thinking what better way to get back in to writing my blog, than sharing my experiences over in Australia with you all. Who knows; it may make you want to up and go yourself!

I will be completely honest, the last month has been challenging. I don't think I realised just how settled I had become living in Cheltenham over the last 4 years. Not only that, but I'd completely forgotten what it was like to move and know no-one, even though I've done it a fair few times before! Starting something new in life can be tough, even if it's moving jobs down the road and all else remains the same; same house, same friends, same hours. The mind loves routine and familiarity, so it's only natural to feel that any small change can be a little unsettling. That said, if you stay in your safe bubble for your whole life, you are restricting yourself more than you know. I'll be the first to tell anyone that this is HARD at first, but ask yourself - what's the alternative to change? I was so ready for a shake up in my day to day routine, it's easy to look back on your old life with rose tinted glasses when you're feeling low but actually, change is the best thing you can do when you aren't 100% content with how things are. - Be it your job, your relationship, your hobbies or opportunities. Everyone deserves to be happy and it doesn't get handed to you without you getting out there and finding it! Moving out here is not at all a small change, but my god I can tell it's going to be such an amazing adventure! All the uncertainty gets more and more worth it with everyday that I wake up in this beautiful city. It really has given me such a great opportunity to get out my comfort zone and grow as a person (Oh yaaa gap yah, finding myself jokes aside!) ;-)

So a few weeks in to Sydney; I've found (and quit) my first job, lived in an 8 man room in a hostel, been to Bondi beach more times than I can count, rinsed about 40 'free trial' gyms across the Eastern Suburbs, been on several nights out & walked what feels like the whole of Sydney!
Here's a quick run down of the details ;-)

Wake Up! Sydney Central & the cafe next door where I spent most mornings eating breakfast in the sunshine!

Week 1 in the hostel; I stayed at Wake Up Sydney! which is the most ideal location from the airport. A quick train to Central station gets you right across the road from your temporary home, which believe me, after 27 hours of travelling was much appreciated! The hostel was clean and pretty straight forward. The reason I booked to be in an 8 bed mixed room was purely on recommendation on your chances of meeting people you get on with are much higher in a big room. I was so lucky that my roommates were all great people who were up for getting up and out the hostel to explore the city. On my second day we went to Bondi and walked the coastal walk along through the neighbouring beaches. This photo, taken at Tamarama Beach, still makes me smile. - The hilarity of self timer is just as funny with 4 complete strangers as it is with your best friends! We still never got us all jumping but at least we had fun trying!

A Scottish, Dutch, German, Slovakian & an American attempt a synchronised jump. . . 

Team Hostel Morning HIIT Session 

Thursday Night 'Backpacker' night at IVY 

The main thing I made sure I did in the hostel was get stuck in and say YES to all the social plans, you are there solo, so even if you're not sure, you really aren't in a position to pass up some company. Worst thing that can happen is you don't have the best time and you can bail! Guaranteed you will get more out of the experience by getting involved. The hostel are amazing at putting on daily social events to get involved in. Some other highlights of my week in the hostel are in the pictures surrounding; We hit the gym, had a fair few nights out & ended the week on the Sunday sunset Seadeck Boat Party  with my new Canadian pal that I'd met on the Monday night at the hostel & kept in touch with throughout the week before 2 of her party left for NZ and she was needing company too. We thought why not do something fun for her last day in Sydney! This is what happens when you put yourself out there, circumstances go in your favour! :-)

Seadeck Sydney boat party - Every weekend in Sydney! 

The weeks since, I've been staying at a friends house while he's home so his room was going spare. This has been ideal, It's given me the chance to really get to know the area in Bondi Junction before committing to an apartment, the beach is just a 30 min walk away and I have the Westfield shopping centre and my gym right around the corner too! I would definitely recommend asking around friends if anyone has a room going if you're moving out, as that extra time I had to get to know areas around Sydney was great. I am now in an Air b'n'b while my friend is out visiting on hols, but will then move in to my new apartment next week which I'm so excited about, to get properly settled in & unpacked!

Finally, when I started telling people I was moving to Aus, I got a lot of reactions of 'OMG on your own!? Do you know anyone out there?' I brushed these off saying yeah on my own, I know a couple of people but I'll be fine, I'll befriend anyone me! Of course it's hard when you feel like an outsider, but my friends who I know 'loosely'-  instagram or only met a couple times, haven't seen them for years etc have been amazing!! Everyone is like one big family out here in terms of Brits sticking together, so even if you know someone who you think you haven't kept in touch with and not sure whether to message them, I was the same and I can tell you just do it! It opens up so many other opportunities to meet people and it can feel a little awkward sending that first message but It's got to be done! So aside from a sense of adventure, and a bit of grit to pull the trigger and go, what else do you need to do when moving out to Australia!? I'm going to write my next post on this so you have all the details for you or a friend who fancies the move! :-)

For now, I'm off to enjoy the Easter week in Sydney with my friend & my new friends! Thanks to everyone who supported my move or gave me advice, I'm truly living my best life! 

Linds x