Honestly, I have to ask myself where on the earth the year has gone? Today we are enjoying the beautiful hospitality of our family in Perth after spending the last few months planning (sort of) packing (sort of) and bidding farewell to our friends in beautiful Edinburgh.
We are home (sort of)
We landed on the wrong side with the intention of travelling ’round a bit’, visiting friends and family, before heading ‘home’ to knukle down into real life….. whatever that is….

We are now stuck (sort of).
There are worse places to be stuck, I know, but still there is my sense of guilt, and the impending overstaying of our welcome worries me. (maybe I need a PLEASE DONATE button somewhere on here to help get us home

That being said, It’s the leaving of Scotland that’s been the hardest. Her thorny brambles have entangled my heart and stolen my soul. I’ve never felt so sad about leaving a place before.

Is it possible after moving fairly constantly since sometime in my eighteenth year that I’ve found somewhere that feels like home?
Is it possible to feel content and ‘at home’ so far from your native land?

A while ago I was speaking to a colleague who had moved back to Scotland after many years in Kenya. I asked her how her ‘adjustment period’ was and she gasped almost imperctively at the question and replied like this. “People just think you’re OK because you’re British and you’re back in Britain” and when I asked how she felt she replied “I miss it desperately every day….”

And that is it… in a nut shell.
xx

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The Scottish Storytelling Centre

A personal favourite. A retreat in the centre of Edinburgh. If you’re in a sudden down pour, having a ‘bathroom emergency’, need to regroup your herd (and your own sanity), or for no reason at all, the cafe in the Scottish Storytelling Centre is the place.

Enter through the ancient and rather dark John Knox House, the reception to the storytelling centre, go straight ahead and emerge in a light, airy, quite spectacular space. Let the kids escape into it, and they’ll find a wall of little doors revealing all kinds of treasures, a basket of dressups, and maybe even a story being told. Make yourself comfortable on the carved wooden chairs, feast your eyes on the array of home made cakes and try to decide which one to order with your beautifully prepared coffee. Enjoy the table service, which for a flustered parent, without any grown up help, is more a necessity than a luxury, and have a personal moment while the children explore. The food is fresh and home made.

So where do I find it?
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1SR
UK

Facilties

High chairs, Baby change, big open indoor space to play.

For more information visit their website

Debenhams Cafe

On the top floor of the Debenhams Princess Street department store, this place is worth a visit, just for the view. On a snowy, rainy, windy day, enjoying a bowl of hot soup, with Edinburgh Castle filling the entire top floor window, there cannot be any forgetting where you are. It is a typical push your tray along, pick up your tab at the end type eatery, which can be a challenge with children and buggy’s in tow. However the staff are friendly and will help you to your table if needed. If the weather is really bad, It’s also  a great opportunity for a little shopping after lunch

Where do I go?
109 Princess Street, Edinburgh

Facilities
Bathrooms, Baby change. High chiars, Lift.

As it is a national department store the Debenhams website doesn’t have any specific info on this particular restaurant.

The Gyle Centre Food Hall

Not strictly speaking a cafe or restaurant, this place is still worth a mention. Tucked away at one end of the food hall is the ‘family area’. Don’t be put off by the connotation, as families can sit anywhere, however the beauty of this is the large, fairly well enclosed space. There is only one, relatively small exit into the main area, instead of 2 escalators, a stair case and a lift to avoid. There are fairy tale murals on the walls and right in the middle of the room are play tables surrounded with new friends to play with. You may find yourself (as we did) sitting, relaxing over a coffee and having a proper conversation.

Where is it?

Gyle Shopping Centre
Gyle Avenue, South Gyle, Edinburgh, EH12 9JY

Facilities

Toilets big enough for buggies, a dedicated changing room, high chairs

Sainsbury’s Cafe

This is my most regular ‘haunt’ as it is attached to my local supermarket.

A cafe attached to a supermarket…. really?

In Australia this brings up images of pre cut sandwhiches sitting in glass cabinets and chocolate mousse in plastic wine glasses with not so fresh cream on top.

Sainsbury’s cafes are nothing like this

Another ‘push your tray along’ type, this one does have a selection of sandwhiches/paninis (for toasting and serving with chips), as well as fresh baking, cool drinks, and great healthy lunch bags for the kids (fantastic when they need to eat immediately). Freshly brewed tea or coffee, and any hot meals are ordered at the end of the line…… The hot meals are large and excellent value for money. The only thing delivered to the table is the hot food, so with kids and buggies in tow, it can take 2 trips. We tend to go at the beginning, before the shopping as I find the resulting full tummies can reduce the amount of nagging…. a little. On the other hand if you save it for after, it can be a great bribe

How do I get there?

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And I’ve been thinking a lot about the pros and cons (of being away that is)… I mean why did we stay?… and is feeling overcome by homesickness a good enough reason to book tickets and start selling off our UK appliances?
I finished work the other night and spent 15 minutes checking my emails. In that time I found out someone in my family is very sick….. It is about 12 hours before we are due to sign the lease on our new flat… a month long work in progress and a much anticipated event. Despite wanting to, we just can’t go home.
I’m feeling emotional talking about this, but it’s worth talking about. How do you cope with a family sickness when you are so far away?

And while we’re on the subject, how are you supposed to handle missing all the good stuff too? It feels like everyone went and started having milestones just after we left.
One of my best friends in the world turned 40, my brother got engaged, my uncle got married, 4 of my ‘best girls’ have had, or are about to have babies, my cousin got engaged, my cousin turned 21, my brother turned 18 (and 19), long time family friends got married, and all the kids have just keep having birthdays…… the list is as long as a piece of string.

I know it sounds like I’m having a large sook (I am), and I guess since the day I left home for a life of travel, I chose to miss out on things. With that choice however has come a large sense of guilt and longing. Torn between where I think I want to be, and where I feel I should be….? Does that even make sense?

Moving ‘away’, especially with my family has given me a sense of independence, pride and somehow a new freedom to be whoever I want to be. The complete lack of history that brought this freedom has also fed my isolation at times, and left me feeling unsupported (no free nights out when mum’s on the other side of the Earth ).

The fact is friends and family back home do carry on with life. Babies are born, milestones are celebrated and people even get sick. They have not stopped their lives awaiting our return (did I expect that I wonder?).
Where will we pick up from when we do return? Will we just slot back in or have we set ourselves up to always be missing someone, somewhere?
How do you ‘cope’ with being away?

No related posts.

Addition is the narrative of a woman teetering on the edge of madness (of which kind I’ll not tell) and occasionally diving head first all the way in.

The ‘back story’ is gently revealed. The story behind her madness. The story that is her, teased from the pages as each chapter unfolds.

Her voice changes markedly……. through her ‘normal’ life….. to her sinking completely into the depths…… and her period of ‘recovery’….. yet it is always satyrical and humerous and completely self justified.

There is wisdom, pain, sex, swearing and completely unexpected tangents.

I laughed out loud

I almost cried

And I loved that it was set in Melbourne, my home town, spoken in my language. I felt I understood her…and felt her madness…. as only someone who has lived in Melbourne can truly understand her distaste for Melbourne weather….. it, in itself is enough to send anyone mad

You may also enjoy my review of Richard Brason’s Losing My Virginity.

No related posts.

Being just the four of us this year, we decided to give ourselves the best possible chance of a white Christmas, and travel to the beautiful little town of Aviemore in the North of Scotland. (As it turns out we would have had a white Christmas in Edinburgh!)

Far far away from our usual Melbourne Christmas… which is admittedly not always hot.. but absolutely NEVER covered in a blanket of snow, Aviemore is a wee winter wonderland….

A gorgeous 3 hour train journey took us North through the Scottish country side to Inverness Shire. Aviemore itself is located about 10 Miles NW of the Ski fields in the Cairngorms National Park and is also only 50 miles East from LochNess.
The snow fell almost the whole way, giving only glimpses of blanketed villiages, frozen streams and heavily laden trees.
I have to say, it was absolutely dumping when we arrived and hauled our luggage (more than we had for our original trip overseas I think!) accross the platform and out into the ‘big snow’. D was having a ball in knee deep (for him) powder as we got our bearings (sort of) and found a taxi. R wasn’t so sure .

Our first ‘local’ encounter was with a taxi driver grumping about the weather… (live somewhere else?) who also succeeded in confusing us, in what eventually turned out to be a fairly simple trip from town to our accomodation. (thats a whole other story).

That aside… we arrived safe and sound with our white Christmas a certainty…YAY

From that first day, it snowed buckets everynight, and cleared most days…. perfect.

There is a lot to do around Aviemore, such as the Steam Train, Wild Life Park, Brewery and Funicular (transport to the tobagan park ‘up the mountain’). They also had some very Christmassy events throughout the town. We didn’t do any of that though….. why? Mainly the weather. The boys just didn’t cope with being out in the cold for very long… despite snow suits and thermals… too long meant tears. We spent our days building snowmen, sledging, throwing snowballs, and of course finding yummy places to eat. The rest of the time we spent in our lovely, large, warm apartment, taking in the views (and the odd Christmas drink!) The boys also had enough baths for the next six months! In fact I think the bath tub may have been R’s highlight for the whole trip ;D. (he pronounces it ‘bart’)

Christmas eve we had an early tea and watched some beautiful carols on the TV. After making sure the milk and shortbreads were left for santa, and the carrots for the reindeers, the wee boys were easily off to bed. The snow was falling as we wrapped the last of the gifts, enjoyed a drink or two and chatted to friends and family back home (where it was already christmas day).
And finally off to bed to eagerly await the pitter patter of little feet

Fancy a wee look?…….. The best pictures are at the bottom

Welcome to Aviemore

D Just loves it

R is not so sure!!

Chistmas Eve

Hanging the stockings

Christmas Morning

Opening Presents

Christmas Lunch

Our wee Christmas Spread

And the afternoon in the snow

Dashing through the snow

The Scenic Tour

Getting to Aviemore

By Train

Trains Depart Edinburgh and HayMarket Stations approximately 2 hourly throughout the day, with more frequent departures during peak times. The journey takes about three hours and there are comfortable seats and refreshmets on board. For more information please visit the National Rail website.

By Car

According to GoogleMaps the drive from Edinburgh to Aviemore is 127 miles and takes just under 3 hours. Given the recent conditions, I would leave more time to travel, and carry with you a shovel and a bag of sand.

For more information on Aviemore go to VisitAviemore.com

My personal recommendation for accomodation is Aspen 198

Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Stories – On Holidays for Christmas

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I’m originally from the north of England. I was born in Durham (the home of the Pink Panther) but we moved to Yorkshire when I was 8 where I grew up and went to university. After graduation I moved to Nottingham for a couple of years before making the biggest leap of my life and relocating to Tokyo, Japan. Originally I came here for one year but somehow, with one year in Singapore from 2006 – 2007, I’m still here 9 years later!

Where do you consider your home to be?

This is a tough question. My roots will always be in England as that’s where my family is and where I spent all my formative years. England is undoubtedly an integral part of me. Still, if you ask me where home is at the end of a hard day or when returning from a vacation, it’s definitely Tokyo for now. I think I’ve changed during my time away from England and wherever I am now turns into my home. I don’t feel particularly tied to one place. More it’s a case of I’ll make my home wherever I happen to be. Perhaps the Tokyo lifestyle is partly responsible for this as apartments are tiny and I’ve moved several times so there is no one fixed abode.

How many addresses have you had?

Blimey! Hang on a minute. I need to work this out. In England I’ve lived in 8 different places. 1 in Durham, 5 around the Yorkshire area, and 2 in Nottingham. Then there’s the one address I had in Singapore. Finally there have been 6 different addresses in Tokyo. So the grand total is 15 different addresses.

Can you tell me about the different jobs or careers you’ve had?

When I first left school I figured I’d study law as it seemed like a sensible option and one with good future prospects. I really had no idea at this stage what I wanted to do in life. After one year though I found this just wasn’t for me. After passing my first year exams I decided to quit and find a job while I worked out my next steps.

Over the next 4 years or so I worked in a variety of sales roles including car sales and then as a manager for Clinique. Finally I realized that I love working with people and seemed to have a knack for teaching. My personal beliefs about education are strong so I decided to study to become a primary school teacher. While I studied I worked part time in a call center as a floor supervisor at weekends and in the evenings so I could pay for my tuition.

I guess perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned about myself throughout my life is that I don’t like to be managed. Although I loved teaching I didn’t like the system and the trail of paperwork that took me away from this main objective. I moved on to work with the unemployed in the UK and teach some basic skills but was frustrated with the way every job tried to box me in and limit me to certain roles. I like my independence and am pretty strong minded – for good or bad!

This is when I decided to take a break and a spend a year overseas. I wanted to test myself and my capabilities to see if I could manage. I stayed within the field of education and, as the first year was a year out from regular life, worked for a conversation (or eikaiwa) school. It was fun and a great way to experience Japan and its culture without having the stresses of a mainstream job. Once I decided I wanted to stay beyond the first year though, I had to rethink my goals. I worked with returnee children and international school children for a number of years before moving into my current position which is teaching cross cultural skills to corporate employees.

My personal goal, however, is still to break the traditions of having a ‘job.’ I want to work for myself and am steadily developing my own website, TokyoTopia.com. I love Tokyo and want to encourage others to experience this city and Japan for themselves. That’s how I got started writing and developing my own online presence.

I’m now working on my second site which is not yet live but will be up sometime in 2010. I really want to make 2010 the year that I push to become truly independent of the ‘salary’ machine. Developing my own income streams has been one of the most freeing feelings I’ve experienced!

Can you describe the process behind deciding to move to Tokyo

Honestly? There wasn’t much of a process to this. I found myself a job before I left with a company called GEOS who happened to be advertising in England at the time. I went for training in Edinburgh and then received my position details about 1 month before I left the UK. My flight was booked and my bags were packed and that was it. I took only the essential items with me so one suitcase and one piece of carry on luggage was my limit. My apartment was arranged by GEOS so I didn’t need to worry about anything like that. I started work the day after landing so there was little time to feel homesick or to worry about the soundness of my decision.

What do you enjoy most about living there?

Again a tough question. There are many things I enjoy about living here. I think the most important one though is the sense of freedom I have here. I can be whoever I want to be and, as long as I am respectful of local culture and rules, I can do just about anything I like.

Is there anything you miss about ‘back home’? If so what is it?

Yorkshire pudding and roast beef!

How has travelling/ becoming an expat changed you as a person?

Like I said earlier, I think I’m a far more confident person these days. I can make myself feel at home just about anywhere and know that, whatever happens, I can pick myself up and dust myself off to start again if necessary. Life and the changes it brings are not so scary anymore and change is an exciting thing I look forward to.

How has your lifestyle changed?

I’ve got used to living in an apartment the size of my old bedroom back home! No kidding. I used to be a hoarder and would never throw anything away. Now I’m the first to say, “Do we really need that?” If we haven’t used something for more than 6 months my instinct is to get rid of it. It’s obviously not something we need and it’s taking up valuable space!

Did you move with your family?

No I moved with me, myself, and I : ) Now that part was scary.

Any last words…..?
If you’re reading this and would like to try living overseas somewhere but feel afraid to make the first move… go for it. If it ends up that you don’t like where you go the worst that can happen is that you return to your original life. Make sure to leave doors open when you leave and gain the support of those around you and you have that safety cushion in case you need it. If you never try though you’ll never know and that, I think, would be a real shame.

TokyoTopia.com is an excellent resource for anyone interested in visiting Tokyo. Might I add, It’s also a fantastic example of how a travel/ destination webite should look.
Pay her a visit at TokyoTopia.com or follow her on Twitter.

Oh and in the words of Honor herself ‘Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu’ – Happy New Year!

Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Leighann
2. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Elizabeth Briel
3. Sunday’s Stories – Interview With David Miller

What is IamExpat?
IamExpat is an information guide conceived and developed by expats that live in the Netherlands. It refers to the expat community in the Netherlands and covers the needs of any expat related topic; from official issues, careers and housing, to education, lifestyle and more. Apart from the website, the concept comes together with the popular online social networks LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and an interactive Expat Forum that provides the opportunity for interaction among the members.

Where did IamExpat originate?
IamExpat was born in the Netherlands and currently resides there. With the team welcoming new members, IamExpat will soon consist of multiple cultures, being established in more countries among the world.

How did you come up with the idea?
Being expats ourselves we identified a gap in the information and services that are provided. Therefore, driven by our own experiences and motive to cover the expat needs in the Netherlands in a better way, we decided to create IamExpat. In this way, we aim to facilitate the process of establishing in the country, and give the opportunity for expats to improve their social and professional life. Consider that the Netherlands is a country where English is widely spoken, internationals however still encounter difficulties, especially with official issues e.g. taxation. Also, the opportunities for a better expat lifestyle are always limitless!

Definitely, our entrepreneurial attitude and familiarity with the internet have given a great boost in coming up with the idea, designing, developing and growing IamExpat. For us, the pleasure of sharing common ideas and beliefs, and the ability to transform a vision into a concrete reality is comparable to few things

Who would you consider to be an expat?
You can find various definitions for the word expat and/or expatriate, with all of them focusing on the fact that an expat resides in a different country from the one he/she was brought up, as well as emphasizing on the “attribute of mobility”. In that direction, we consider as expats: the international professionals that work in a country different from the one of origin, either because they were relocated by their companies or they chose to follow a career abroad, the governmental agents / representatives like diplomats and ambassadors, the international students and those that follow their family in the new country of residence.

Also, the wanderers / adventurers / travelers that move in a new country and look forward to meeting people from other cultures, experiencing a different way of life and expanding their horizons; “attributes” of most expats, but in a more romantic way..

What do you think are the needs of an expat?
One of the key elements that characterize an expat is his/her ability to adjust rapidly to a new country/environment. Taking that into account, proper housing and dealing with local authorities play a really important role, especially at the beginning i.e. newcomer into a town/country. Work permit, taxation, registration with local authorities, pension planning, international education system are the core topics an expat needs to consider once decided to relocate to a foreign country. As any other local, expats want to have all the necessary information available in order to make relocation as smooth and fast as possible.

Among other reasons, a person chooses to live in a foreign country to take advantage of a business opportunity or explore a career move if he/she is working for a multinational company. Therefore, career and the ability to switch jobs surely qualify as a major need for an expat.

Last but not least, an expat moving into a new country has the need to socialize and establish a local network. Expat organizations, websites, blogs, forums are always the starting point for an expat to start building his/her network. It’s a fact that expat people are generally quite active and social, which makes it easier to adjust to a foreign environment.

What are the difficulties that an expat encounters in the Netherlands?
Generally speaking, the Netherlands is an expat friendly country and local people have a really open-minded mentality, which makes it quite easy for an expat to adjust quickly. Nevertheless, the Dutch language can be quite a challenge to learn and to understand, but with the proper support within a couple of years one can have a pretty satisfactory level of Dutch. Surely a pain for expat people in the Netherlands is to find the ideal accommodation, as prices can differ a lot. Especially in the largest cities the market is moving really fast, so you need to be quick and efficient. Next to that, Holland is a country with one of the highest taxation systems across Europe with the taxation rate being as much as 50%. Definitely, something to consider when you sign a local contract even though we have to admit that the quality of life is equivalent to the high taxation in the Netherlands. Having said that, quality comes with a price and the cost of living is considered to be on the high side depending on the person’s choices in terms of lifestyle.

It’s probably also worth mentioning the special attributes of the Dutch weather; you can start with a lovely sunny morning and by the end of your day with a strong wind storm, making it sometimes quite difficult to plan properly. If you end up cycling under heavy rain don’t panic, just look around you and you will realize that it’s quite normal!

What are the different backgrounds in your group?
Our team consists of 4 people with various educational and professional backgrounds. All of us experienced the Dutch upper education system, while studying either on a Msc or Mphill level. The areas of our studies in Holland were Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Finance. This multi dimension was one of the factors that triggered the development and evolution of the IamExpat concept.

We are all young enthusiastic professionals that for one reason or another decided to live in Holland and explore our academic and professional ambitions. We have all worked for different kinds of companies from small-medium size to multinational ones that are active not only in Holland but have a broader market perspective.

Since September 2009 we have been focusing on our first project IamExpat, at the same time looking forward to new challenges. An important contributor on this conquest is the fact that the entrepreneurial ground remains fertile in the Netherlands, even in the crisis period.

What do you enjoy most about the Netherlands?
The Netherlands is considered  one of the most attractive countries for expatriates. The open-mindedness of the people, the multicultural identity of the population and the ability of the Dutchies to speak the English language fluently creates a friendly international environment. In addition, the strategic geographic location of the country makes traveling around the world more accessible and affordable. The pace of the daily life is very relaxing, people are easygoing and using your bike as the basic means of transport contributes to a smooth and easy integration for an expat. Furthermore, in the Netherlands you can find restaurants serving international cuisine for every taste, big outdoor markets and many international events and festivities, which are organized every year.

How has becoming an expat changed your lifestyle?
Being an expat can be very exciting for many reasons. Meeting other expats and sharing personal experiences, as well as explaining the different reasons why each of us left his/her country of origin, always results in interesting conversations. A person, who travels abroad and resides in different places , may gain valuable experiences, explore new horizons and mentalities as well as business opportunities around the world. From a recreational perspective, expats become familiar with leisure activities from other cultures and that makes their lifestyle more appealing. This international experience is nowadays something really highly regarded. Being an expat makes you more open minded and contributes to your self development. Last but not least, expats build a wide international social network, which enables them to travel more and adjust to multicultural environments easily.

Any last words…..?
Being expats has defined a new way of living and thinking for us. Residing and doing business in the Netherlands has positively influenced our personal development from a social and also business perspective.

Netherlands is an ideal location for expats, which can be explained by the fact that many Dutch people have been expats themselves, making them really open and tolerant towards expats from all over the world.

This positive expat experience in the Netherlands has given us an even greater boost to further grow our entrepreneurial endeavor and embrace even more cultures and mentalities by taking this idea outside the borders of the Netherlands.

We would like to thank Emma O’Connor for the opportunity she has given us to share our own expat story, hoping that we can inspire other expats and urge people who are skeptical about living abroad to take the step and live the expat experience.

With warm regards,

The IamExpat team

To learn more about IamExpat visit www.iamexpat.nl
Feel free to contact IamExpat at info@iamexpat.nl We are always glad to interact

Twitter: @IamExpat
LinkedIn Group: IamExpat in the Netherlands
Facebook Page: IamExpat in the Netherlands

Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Sharon
2. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Leighann
3. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with The Accidental Expat

Tomorrow we board the train at Hay Market station for a 3 hour journey through the beautiful Snow covered Scottish Country side to Aviemore. (Stay tuned for some photos). We should arrive in time for lunch and have it on good authority that our holiday appartment (because they got the dates wrong and thought we arrived today) is already warm (thank goodness). Even though it’s only a mile, they’ve recommended a taxi, as it’s too cold to walk!! I’m glad we invested in some thermals today.

Looks like our wish for a white Christmas is going to come true!!

Some of the early Sunday’s Stories are;

Interview with MikeCJ

Interview with Leighann

The Intrigue of Anonymity

Or you may enjoy my Autumn Gallery,

Or why not take a look around at some older posts
The Party at the Palace
The Museum of Childhood

Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Mike CJ
2. Christmas in Aviemore
3. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with The Accidental Expat

(I know it’s late… But i’m sure it’s still Sunday somewhere right?)

GULP… Here goes

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I am origianlly from Melbourne and after spending around 10 years travelling around Australia (the slow way) I settled back in Melbourne again to study, marry and start our family. After around 5 years the opportunity came for us to travel overseas for the first time. Not to do anything by halves we decided on our first ever trip abroad to move to Scotland. We now call Edinburgh our “Holiday Home” and Melbourne our “Far Away Home”

Where do you consider your home to be?

I definitely consider Australia my home, it’s where my heart belongs, where my family are, and my closest friends. In saying that, I feel at ease in Edinburgh and have made some lovely friends.

How many addresses have you had?

Honestly I’ve lost count…. I’ve lived all over Australia and had postal addresses in Darwin, Jindabyne, Thredbo, Perth, Carnarvon, Broome and Melbourne. I also spent a good amout of that time at ‘no fixed address’. I’ve lived in many and varied forms of accommodation too, from my tent, to a couple of caravans, various standards of ski chalet, houses verging on derelict, a tipi, a bungalow in Broome with only fly screens for windows, a sailing ship, a four wheel drive, a van, goodness, the list grows long!

Can you tell me about the different jobs/careers you’ve had?

I haven’t exactly worked my way up any corporate ladder…. sideways accross some form of scaffolding may be a better analogy. My first business was in High School, I only remebered the other day, I used to make ‘Fergie Bows’ (ok I’m giving away my age now!!) and sell them to my friends. My first ‘employment was as a cleaner, and I’ve done it various times since… it’s a great travelling job… easy to get… easy to give up. Kitchen hand, waitress, and bar person complete my hospitality repertoir.

I also used my skills to make money for travel, creating little temporary cash businesses. I know it sounds bazaar, but I’ve tied ‘hair wraps’ at markets, taken photos, fire danced and even played classical piano! (In one place I was a kitchen hand on week days and classical pianist on a Saturday Night)

I did finally get sick of not having any qualifications, and have in the last few years become a remedial therapist, and then a swimming teacher…

Currently I’m using neither of those and working as a receptionist at my local gym, I’m hoping to mix it up though as they have both swimming lessons, and a Spa…. so I’ll keep you posted!!

Can you describe the process behind deciding to travel/ become an expat?

When I left the first time, I was initially running away from my unhappy self…. I was young and thought travel was the answer… Obviously it wasn’t. It did give me the space to work things out for myself though, and by then, the travel bug had set in forever. On coming to Scotland, our initial trip was booked for 5 weeks to attend a wedding, then it gradually got extended. We ended up forfeigting our tickets home to stay and experience life here.

What do you enjoy most about where you live now?

I love the people and the community we have created around ourselves. I like how different it is, It’s subtle, but there. I love the language, the history, the architecture and the proximity to the rest of Europe. (Think more travel)

Is there anything you miss about ‘back home’? If so what is it?

Warm weather, the beach, and TIMTAMS (biscuits)

How has travelling and becoming and expat changed you as a person?

It’s hard to say, as I started travelling so young. I think I’m flexible, tolerant and fairly culturally aware because of my travels. I’ve also had to be pretty creative at times. This year in Edinburgh has been one of our most challenging, we’ve faced financial hardship in a year we thought would be all about jetsetting around Europe, and eating out at restaurants. This forced me into a state of creativity once more. My blog was born… a charity project for our nursery has been developed, and I’ve started writing some childrens books…

How has travelling and becoming an expat changed your lifestyle?

I have to say, I’ve never had a ‘fixed’ type of lifestyle, because of the temporary nature of my life. I’ve just ‘fit in’. There are certainly a few things that are very different about living in Scotland, compared with Melbourne! As I’m writing this, my friends are getting up on a hot summers day (maybe so hot that they have to turn the aircon on, and not leave the house). That just doesn’t happen here. Someone probably had a BBQ in the backyard…. here not likely… and there were probably Christmas drinks on someones balcony in the sun. It is literally indoors compared with outdoors, flip flops, compared with UGG boots.

Did you travel or move with your family?

I travelled on my own for years, meeting up with various people along the way for some fabulous adventures. At one of my longer stops I met my now Husband, and we went on some fantastic adventures together before settling in Melbourne. Four of us boarded our plane to the UK, Me aka mummy, ‘B’ aka Daddy, three year old ‘D’ and 9 month old ‘R’.

If so how has travelling/ changed your family life?

We are close, (partly because we are crammed into a 1 bedroom flat) but also because we have had to rely on each other, certainly for the first 6 months after all our family and friends went back to Australia. We have since developed a community of support (now we have baby sitters!).

Any last words…..?

I think this journey has given me personally a sense of pride and accomplishment, despite being unplanned, unprepared and accidental!

So thats me

Thank you to everyone who has already done interviews, and also to everyone ‘working on them’

If you’d like to tell your story please contact me via comments here, @emmaoconnor on twitter or email emma@theaccidentalexpats.com

Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Leighann
2. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with IamExpat
3. Sunday’s Stories – Interview with Honor

New Friends

For inviting us to your weddings, parties and for more cups of tea than I can count. For welcoming us into your homes and providing friendship and support (and lots of ‘stuff to loan!!)

Old Friends

For just being there and staying in touch. For not taking it personally that we’ve extended our stay, but still asking regularly enough ‘so when are you coming home?’ (You could’ve stopped having fun completely, stopped acheiving milestones and just waited for us…. but then we’d have nothing to talk about when we do get home) And for the most precious gifts, hand written letters and photos of the kids.

Family far Away

For still being as helpful and ‘there for us’ as you possibly can from the other side of the world. For the letters and parcels in the post. For the hour long skype calls even though It’s really late. For  making sure the insurance company coughed up when the shed burnt down! And for everthing else too.

Family here

For being my biggest joy, and my biggest challenge. For seeing the best and worst of me and loving me anyway. Simply for being you.

Here

For the experience. Because we are here my boys have played under the sprinkler in the backyard (no longer allowed in Melbourne). For the challenges, and rewards they have offered. For the opportunities… I certainly wouldn’t be a budding blogger on expat life, had we never left!!  For the glorious spring days, and the bitterly cold winter mornings, orange leaves in Autumn and the summer of festivals.

There are so many things!!

When you really start thinking about it, if you have a family, home, food (and an internet connection) you’re pretty wealthy in the whole scheme of things…

Life is good

What are you thankful for?

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