We Moved from Coventry, UK to Adelaide, Australia!
7 minute read ⌚
We did it, we finally moved from the UK to Adelaide, and it has been an incredible journey so far.
First 3 weeks in Australia…What a whirlwind!
After years of dreaming and manifesting and months of the visa process and planning, we are finally here in South Australia! It still feels very surreal to be able to say that, and we are still very much finding our feet in our new home.
I am so proud of us all for making it this far, tackling some tough emotions and taking all of the newness in our stride. It has been an overwhelming journey so far, to say the least.
School
The kids have started a new school, which they are absolutely smashing. James is on the soccer program (football to us UK lot) and is enjoying the significant reduction in homework tasks compared with back home. Orlaith has taken on Market Day and has proved herself as a little entrepreneur. They are both enjoying being outside more at school, have made some friends and love working on laptops instead of writing all day.
Hobbies
In their spare time, James has been training with the local soccer team ‘Cove FC’ and is hoping to join their team following trials next month. The set-up there is amazing! Floodlit all-weather pitches, stands for spectators and a bar/cafe with seating inside. It seems as though grassroots football and sports in general are more heavily invested in here.
Orlaith has been heading down to the CBD (central business district) for K-pop dance lessons. She is so shy in her nature and has found it difficult at times to join in with the classes and perform. But she will get there. She is really good at it, and she loves all things K-pop so it’s definitely the right place for her.
Chris has been doing the ParkRun down at Christie’s Beach, and I tried a line dancing class to just try and make some new acquaintances. I have also been applying for jobs and have interviews lined up.
Setting Up
The setting up hasn’t been easy, and it was pretty tricky to know where to start with all of the admin tasks, shopping, and ordering of furniture and appliances. But one thing I can say is that we are both incredibly grateful to Marcal at Rental Search Australia for finding us a property before we made the move to Australia. Had we had to add searching for a rental to our list, it would have been horrendous, and I honestly think I would have had a breakdown. I have since found plenty of other things to have one over!
Admin tasks and shopping for the new house have been time-consuming but well-worthwhile now that we have the majority of things sorted out. It has meant that Chris and I have been able to focus our attention on having some downtime together, and I have been able to explore different work options, especially since the kids have been in school. We are currently enjoying walks along the beaches and in the hills, as well as little brunch dates. Reality is going to hit hard next week when he is back at work and the kids need entertaining, as they break up for the spring holidays. Although there is so much we can do, and most of it is completely free!
What I can say is that for all of the difficult moments we have had, there have definitely been more highs than lows currently, and the visits to the beach, the sun setting over the ocean outside our lounge window and the time we have spent together so far, outweigh the times we have spent being upset about being away from the UK. It is going to take a while for it to feel like home, and we are still experiencing holiday mode to some extent. But we have all needed that.
For now, we need to take each day as it comes and be kind to ourselves. If we feel like we just want some quiet time chilling in the house, then that is what we will do. If we need to hear the ocean and watch the waves, we will head down to a beach. We have trusted the process so far, and that is what we will continue to do.
Our First Impressions of Adelaide in Images
