The BIG Move Down Under

We have arrived!

I can not stress how exciting this is!!!!

Saying goodbye at the airport was the hardest thing ever. My mum cried, my Dad cried, I cried…it was horrific, heartbreaking. But I did it. We did it. We went through security, and other than looking like a pile of crap with panda eyes, it all went smoothly…

We boarded our flight – the Emirates A380 Airbus, which OMG is HUGE. It’s brilliant! It would be much better if economy were allowed up the ‘stairs of class’ to the bar and lounge area, but even economy was quite roomy. The food was good, the drinks were plenty, it wasn’t too stuffy, there were plenty of movies to watch and music to listen to.. it was just SO VERY LONG. It was 7.5hrs on the first flight to Dubai, we got through security within 45 minutes and were at the gate waiting for our flight to leave in another 45 minutes. This in hindsight, was not a long enough connection. A sleep or day in-between would have been WELL worthwhile, and I’ll be recommending family and friends do just that. Going from that…to a 14 hour flight…ahh, was crazy. It was okay, it was just lonnnnnggggg and seemed to drag! But, we did it. We celebrated on the plane with a few boozy drinks (supplied free with emirates!) and got to Sydney at 10.30pm local time.

We checked into the Ibis Budget Hotel at the airport, to save dragging our stuff through the city at night…and I would not recommend. It was cheap, it had a bed and bathroom – but it was more uncomfortable than sleeping on the plane!

We headed into Sydney and checked into our (first) AirBnB apartment in Potts Point… it was lovely! Small, cozy, right near the bus stop, close to the train station (Kings Cross), the famous Coke sign and to supermarkets…plus it was only a 25 minute walk around to the best views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House! Check it out on AirBnB now. I found AirBNB really easy to use and I’ll be using it again to book holidays, much easier to have your own apartment than a hotel room if your staying a few days. Its a little more expensive, but you save money by bunking in together and cooking at ‘home’ a few nights. Our host was great at keeping in touch with us and gave us loads of info about the best ways to get around. If you are heading to NSW (Sydney) I’d recommend getting an Opal Card as its cheaper than buying single tickets, and some buses don’t let you buy on the bus anymore – so much easier to get around.

We are now heading up the Coast to Brisbane and stopping along the way, read about our Sydney to Brisbane road trip to find out what we get up to on our trip! But we’ve got apartments lined up to go view in Brisbane on short term lease and we’ve both got job interviews lined up, so fingers crossed!

Not the most interesting post I know, but jetlag is a bummer and I’m knackered! But we are HERE and thats the main thing. As much as I stressed in previous posts about whether this is the right thing to do and how hard it was going to be – I did it. We did it. We moved to Australia. We are here and I’m 100% certain that this was the right thing to do. Just look at the views…

Check back for more about Life in Australia!