Wednesday 18 July 2012

Sight unseen


When you move, you go house-hunting. You look at lots of different properties, wander around, open cupboards, peek in the attic, check the aspect. Is it a good suburb? Is it a good street? What about the schools? You get a 'vibe' about a place and all of the things you're looking for.

So, it's strange to be packing up our lives to move to a city, a country and a whole region that I've never set foot in. All I know about it is from what friends have told me and what I've read about on the internet.

And I've been pouring over the internet to get a sense of what it's all about. Looking at school websites and thinking: "Those kids look happy, my kids could be happy there too".

There are people who think we're mad. No doubt. Why would you want to leave Australia? Why would you want to take your family to a place like the Middle East? Three words that are usually followed by words like 'tension', 'crisis', 'war'.

I've had the whole scope of reactions from: "You'll love it!" to "I really hated it" or "Are you sure you want to go there?"


I'm not going to find Utopia. I'm not going to find a place to plant roots. We will come back.

So why am  I going? Well, when the offer came up I looked at our life. It was a good one, but the past six years have gone by so fast. I could easily stay here another six years and not really do anything other than the day-to-day. You only live once. I'd love to fill my life with experiences and people and places. And here is a great big opportunity to do just that.

That's why I'm going. Even if we only stay six months and decide that it's not for us, those six months will be memorable and we'll learn so much. It's an opportunity to see parts of the world we otherwise wouldn't. It's an opportunity for my kids and for us to be put out of our comfort zone. To challenge ourselves. To live a rich life. We're so ripe for it that it's not funny.

When I was small my family spent a short time in a small Californian town. It wasn't an ideal place to live. In fact it was a pretty average place. Over lunch recently, my mum, brother and I told tales about this time. There so many, much more than at any other point in our family life.

Basically I'm selfish and want this time in our family's life to be memorable, slow and jam-packed with amazing stories.

In a few weeks when we step off that plane for the first time, look around and wonder where the hell we are and what we've gotten ourselves into, I know I'll remember that moment and those emotions for the rest of my life.


10 comments:

  1. Good Luck. What an adventure you will have. I'm sure you will have lots of stories to tell about your time away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's going to be amazing. Truly. Look at the travel you will do - the time you can spend with the kids - it just WILL be. I'm sure of it x

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is nothing to fear except fear itself. Its better to have lived and lost, than never to have lived at all.. Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by.. I could go on.. and on and on.. you will have an amazing adventure. I am going to miss you amazingly. Life is for living not preparing to die.. ! JB

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not selfish at all.
    Opportunistic, clever, ballsy, adventurous - not selfish.
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Get out of here lovely and just look forward to the adventure that Team Draper are about to go on.

    I think its awesome and am very envious!!!

    xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think it's great!! I know that our experiences in London and now Hong Kong have been some of the best in our lives to date. The people you meet will be friends for life, the places you go will be ones you never forget. It's worth putting yourself out there. You'll never regret it xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yep, you summed it up perfectly Corinne. It's those moments where you really feel you're at your most stretched that will live on forever. The adventure you're about to undertake is an amazing one. I am actually kinda jealous that you get to go somewhere so incredible, so exciting. I've never been anywhere... apart from a few states in Australia. But like anything, you have to take the plunge to get the true thrills. Enjoy it, it will be great! xo

    ReplyDelete
  8. Planning a move from overseas is not easy. We've just done it from Sydney to England and it was hard as the internet can only tell you so much. Saying that - it was amazing how much I did manage to organise from across the pond via my little laptop. I found parenting forums really great places to get the nitty gritty on schools and such like. I also looked in to available classes for the kids (swimming, football etc..) and started them straight away, which helped to give us some structure early on.
    And as for it being the right decision - it will be. We did the same seven years ago and don't regret a thing. You'll have an amazing time. Good luck xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think you are amazing for doing this and it will be the best experience for you and your family, no matter how long you go for. Enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Do it & embrace it for all it will be - change, new flavours, experiences - you can always move back!! We move every 2 years from city to city, doesn't faze me at all, i love it, well right up until our eldest started high school & i stayed put, my husband moved on his own, it's hard but well worth it for all of us - my husband's career & finally some stable education for our bright children. Love Posie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your comments! I'm always thrilled to hear from you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...