The words “I can’t believe we are moving to a city neither of us know” were the first to come out of my mouth as we flew into Brisbane. All of a sudden I felt very nervous and disorganized. “Where are we going to live… where am I going to work?”. Reality is a funny thing. I had been so busy dreaming about our move but didn’t actually have a concrete plan. Thankfully everything came together for us at the last minute. Michelle was a saving grace and offered us a room for our first few nights, and Nat’s uncle rented us his flat in Morningside until we found our own place (into which we have yet to move…).

I am not going to lie and say it has all been dreamy. The weather, our friends, the food and the coffee have all been amazing but getting settled back in has been a pain in the arse! There is so much stuff you have to do that no one tells you about. We have been here for a month now and there has been chore after chore to sort out. We spent the best part of two weeks searching for a flat. The rental market here is insanely competitive, with up to 30 people viewing at a single flat viewing. We managed to find a two-bedroom flat in Bulimba which we will finally move into on the 28th October. With that vital chore down we had to sort out bank accounts, tax file numbers, medicare cards, phones, internet and the list goes on. I am also on the job hunt and the ball is rolling very slowly. I am starting to get out and about meeting with recruitment agencies and people in the sustainability industry. I find it difficult having to sell myself but I must admit it gets easier the more you do it!

On a positive note Brisbane is a great city and we both are very happy here. We have been really active getting out and about meeting people and checking it out. Some highlights so far are the West End, a very multicultural and young area which has a fabulous market on Saturday and loads of good restaurants and pubs (I love Lock & Load); the beautiful, winding Brisbane River, which really makes the city; Queensland wines – who would have thought you can get a good shiraz from Stanthorpe; and the State Library, which has free wifi (a rare thing in Australia).

We are starting to get our routine together. Mark is beavering away with work. We have found an electricity provider which has 100% green power and a not-for-profit which delivers local organic fruit and vegetables. The public transport system here is fantastic, despite what the locals say. There are trains, ferries and buses which can get you just about anywhere and they are very reliable. We are going to try and live without a car here as long as possible, and for Christmas we plan to buy each other bikes.

This weekend we are going down to Ballina to sort through my stuff in storage and get it ready to move up next week. I have a feeling it is going to be like opening Pandora’s box.

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