Packing Up 

Packing up, giving away or selling – was the motto I kept on saying over and over as we were preparing to change our life and way of living.

Packing Up a Huge House

Not one family member or friend could understand why our family wanted a different way of life.

Actually some of our boys couldn’t understand it either, and still don’t get it.

You see we had already sold our family home and were renting a house for a year. While we were renting David stayed home so I could re-enter the work force.

Seeing a Different Lifestyle

One day I was so fed up with life and how we were living (or not living but just existing). That day changed our whole family dynamics.

Who Said It Can’t Be Done?

A lot of people said “You Can’t Sell off everything, or pack it up and move into a small Motorhome”

Or even “How can you travel with all five of your boys?”

Easily – watch me was my reply. And we did just that! We sold the family home in 2010 and then rented a house from 2010 to 2011.

A massive 4 bedroom two bathroom home, where we filled it up with more stuff…more than we really needed!

Yet we had a desire to travel. We wanted to show our boys a different way of living. We wanted our boys to grow closer together. That was our number one dream. A dream that we wanted to become our reality, our new lifestyle!

We sold off everything that we could, packing up our house and brought a smaller home. It was very small – smaller than what any of us was used to. Yet it was perfect in many ways.

This was not your normal home. This is our home on wheels – we now own a Motorhome – where four of our five boys travel and live together with us.

Packing Up

As we prepared for the changes of moving from such a big home into a small motorhome there was a lot of adjustments along the way. Packing up was maybe the hardest part – what would we need or what can we store, or sell off? Now that we have lived this lifestyle for about six months we realise what we do need!

We also had to get used to smaller spaces. We were all used to our own personal space (or even bedrooms that we could escape to!) To overcome this we had to learn to accept each other, have more patience, and to respect each other’s personal belongings.

First things first – after packing up our rented house we moved into smaller quarters so that we could get used to sleeping closer together.

The next thing that we have to deal with is a lack of space. Each of our boys now have one shelf each – for clothes, toys and school books. So we have packed up (or sold off) what we do not really need. We only have onboard what we need instead of what we want.

It’s amazing how little each of us all need to be happy.

With less space means less is allowed to be left lying around. There is no room to let clutter and build up of stuff. Everything has a space and needs to be packed up when it not is being used.

After we moved into our Motorhome, we soon realised how much stuff we did have, and didn’t need. Again we were packing up what we did not use. Now we live a simple lifestyle.

There is less in the way of “Stuff” travelling with us, but more “memories” are being made. We get out and about every weekend – exploring new areas.

We are also homeschooing our boys so our new home means new life experiences. That is why when someone tells us “It can’t be done” we smile and say “But we are doing it”.

This is our new way of life and the only thing we wished we had done was deciding to pack up everything sooner and move into a Motorhome years ago!

Could You Look at Packing Up and Moving On?

Cheers

Continue reading “Packing Up – Guest post by New Life on The Road” »

Today a guest post from Leanne Stevens – Emergico

Relationships, however strong, can be seriously stretched during a relocation to Australia. 

Coupled with this, in many cases an overseas move is a result of one partner’s employment – meaning that the other partner is “along for the ride” – for better or for worse!!    What happens when one person is keen to move but the other is not?

When you consider that before and during a move, there’s so much happening in a short period of time, it’s hardly surprising that it’s stressful.   You will have to think about all sorts of important things such as:

• Where shall we live?
• What about the kid’s schooling?
• Will we be able to afford our new lifestyle?
• I  don’t like Vegemite -is there a cure??
• How will I learn to live with cockroaches and spiders?

These concerns, along with fatigue, fear, stress and excitement, can all give rise to a potentially rocky time ahead!

So how do you make sure that your relationship survives the move?

It’s important to talk about how you are both feeling.  It’s much better to talk it through BEFORE you leave home.  Once you are on the way, and arrive in your new destination, there will be such a whirlwind of emotions and new experiences that any lingering doubts and issues will quickly become catastrophes.   Talk through the things which worry each of you, and make a plan for how you will both help each other to deal with this.  Regularly revisit and add to your list.

Research your new destination thoroughly before you arrive.  Make some contacts in your new place, and try to engage people who will help you to settle in.  Social networking sites such as Facebook, are great for this.  If you are coming to a new job in Australia, ask your employer to nominate a “buddy” from the workplace, who can give you some on-the-ground advice before you arrive, and who will become an instant “friend” when you arrive.

Develop an appreciation for the local culture, and try to become immersed in it as soon as possible after you arrive.  This will not only help you to adapt, but you will be accepted into your community much more quickly.   The famous Aussie Backyard BBQ is never far away!

Work out how you will retain ties with your country of origin which are important to you.  My husband immigrated to Australia from the United Kingdom over twenty years ago, and to this day he still seeks out English shops which sell pork pies, Branston pickle and black pudding!

Make sure that you look after each other and regularly “check-in” to see how the other is coping.  If one partner is at work all day, surrounded by new colleagues, it can be easy to forget that the other partner at home can be feeling socially isolated.

Oh…and I almost forgot, securing your Visa is often the number 1 stress.  One of your best investments will be a credible Registered Migration Agent who will do their absolute best to make sure the visa and relocation process is as smooth and painless as possible – leaving you free to concentrate on the things that are more important to you – making the most of your new life! 

Continue reading “Relationships can be seriously stretched during a relocation to Australia” »

It is now rapidly approaching the time to pack up our home and to start our adventure. I am now in the time I struggle the most with every time I move far away. 

The one thing I struggle the most with at this time, the one thing I always struggle with during a move, is how some people act as though I have already gone. They don’t do it on purpose, it is a natural reaction, a natural adaptive response to a new situation which the majority of people are unaware they are doing. 

All of a sudden I find myself not asked to join in on certain occasions and not included in certain conversations. Anyone who has moved far away from home  will have experienced this to some extent. 

People will often say “you are not here anyway” as if I have already gone. To which I always reply “I am still here.”

This is also normal in other situations such as leaving a job, getting married, having a baby. In all these situation others will often do one of two things. 1.They make an assumption about your new situation and automatically decipher what they believe you need, such as quiet time, time to adapt etc. or 2. They protect themselves by pulling away before you leave in order to adapt. 

I know this is normal, I know nothing is meant by this but it can be difficult for the person leaving, in this case me.

In my book The Happy Migrant I have talked about this process and how to cope. Communication is always top of the list. So time for me to communicate these feelings to my friends.   

I am also blessed with friends who wish to spend as much time as possible with me before I leave so I am not complaining, I am just observing. 

Have you had a similar experience? How did you cope? 

Continue reading “I haven’t left yet – early goodbyes” »

Recently you may have noticed that I have started a Forum on The Happy Migrant. I started the forum due to the amount of comments I receive on a particular post I wrote almost a year ago. The post is “3 Reasons why moving to a new country or state can be emotionally difficult” Some of the replies to this post are heartfelt, emotional and full of decision making questions.  

Because of this amount of response I have decided to include a social network on The Happy Migrant. The social network will be an expansion of the forum but with the possibility for you to interact with others and to discuss on a more personal level.

I will be available on Wednesday’s for discussion as I am on Facebook and Twitter  to answer question and help with decision making+ I will be able to add to topics in between.  

I will let you know when this new expansion is up and running so you can add your profile and start chatting to each other. 

Do you have any ideas for The Happy Migrant? We would love for you to share them with us. 

Continue reading “The Happy Migrant Social Network … Soon” »