The end to what was, without a doubt, the best year of my life.
[This was written over multiple sessions and is all over the place but oh well, I sort of tried. And I'm back as of last Thursday.]
The amount that I want to be going back to the states is virtually 0. The one thing I'm looking forward to is seeing my friends but aside from that, in no way shape or form do I want to be going back. It feels a bit like I'm coming back from uni for summer break except I don't get to return. I've established a great little life here and really do not want to go back to the land of $8 an hour work, crazy high rent, hipsters, astronomical health care costs, and now Emperor Trump.
Because I've been asked this a million times, no, I can't stay. Permanently moving to another country is not something you can just do. You have to deal with visas and unfortunately it is very hard to get a permanent visa for Australia. There are a few ways it can be done which I will pretty much be devoting every free second of my life to trying to accomplish. I can come back for up to 3 months at a time on a tourist visa but you can't work while you're a tourist which makes things hard. The visa I was on is a one time deal so I can't do that again. So if any Aussies reading this hear of a job that would sponsor, or wants to be business partners and open something up, I'll be on the next plane there (seriously though - that's a 100% genuine statement).
I remember returning to Adelaide from my trip to Queensland. I was getting excited because it felt like I was coming home. I then had a terrifying realization that even though it felt that way, I'm not allowed to stay. The same thing happened when I got back from Kangaroo Island (haven't updated this in a long time - I went to KI). I'm well aware this is sounding like the biggest first world problem but this really is hard.
It's so frustrating that because I was born in a certain place, I'm not allowed to live in another. That's not to say the US is bad but from the start I've felt so comfortable in Australia. I feel like I get along so much better with Australians. The laid back style of life, casual attitude, and especially the sense of humour, are some of the things I'm going to miss the most. I've lived in 4 different cities around North America, Europe, and Australia, and Adelaide has by far been the one I could actually see myself living in long term.
This was the first time doing everything completely on my own. I had some help at the start getting logistical stuff together but after that, I figured everything out by myself. This was also the first time I was completely financially independent as well and it was a great feeling.
Like I expected, this experience wasn't always easy. There were some very hard times, especially towards the beginning. At the end of December/start of January, I seriously considered going back to the states. I was living in a hostel, had an exhausting job that barely paid the rent with no money left for anything else, had nothing to do during the days, and at times was overwhelmed with a feeling of loneliness.
Things got better though. I moved into a house, found a much more appealing job which allowed me to quit the other, started to meet some new people, and was settling in. Everything seemed great until the housing situation fell through without much time to find a new arrangement. With only days before I had to move, I found an even better house in a great location with the best housemates I could ever ask for.
I did most of my travelling when I was here last year but did make it to Cairns this time around and got to swim at the Great Barrier Reef. But besides that, the day to day life was such a unique experience. Just heading out to bars in town with old and new friends was always such a great time. My original plan going into this was to work for 6 months and then travel the rest of my time. I got so settled into life that I wanted to make the most out of living in Adelaide. Plus, as I have discovered over the course of this year, I'm not a massive fan of solo travel. It's fun every once in a while but I like to have someone else with me.
One of the biggest reasons I came over to Australia and pretty much the only reason I went to Adelaide was so I could spend more time with two people I met at CSU. They were only there for about 5 months and that just wasn't enough time for me. Although there were some speed bumps along the way, I feel like I got much closer to both of them and will forever be appreciative of having Liam and Vlad as friends.
So what's next for me? Please don't ask. I have no idea and being reminded of that constantly doesn't really help. My goal is to get back to Australia once a year. The ultimate goal is to figure out how to live in Australia permanently. Like I said, I will be on the next plane back the instant I can make it happen.
With that said, although there are too many to name, a few of my favourite memories that come to mind:
- Walking in thongs with some red tinnies looking at rock faces in the hills
- Weekend at Marion Bay
- Australia Day (+ carrying the West End case down Stephen Terrace)
- Watching local Saturday footy and later abusing monopoly money at the footy club
- Lucky's Beach Club
- My birthday evening/night
- Last day at the RCC
- Convincing people I was a pong champion at a housewarming
- My housewarming party
- Connect 4 at the Woody
- Jessica not putting us on the list
First off, yet again my Aunt Cindi for hooking me up with some crazy flight deals. Money would have been much tighter at the beginning if I had to pay full price to get there/back.
Second, the Rella family, who welcomed me into their home for about a month and continued to be absolutely wonderful the whole time I was in Australia.
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| The Rella Clan (minus Amy and Shane) |
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| A little rough at this point in the night. Best housewarming of all time. |
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| Jono in the back, Kieran, Liam |
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| Linda and Lynn |
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| The bosses |
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| Quite possibly the grossest picture of all time but I kind of love it. Me, Vlad, Cass, Haydos |
Thanks to everyone I met this past year. I miss you all already. I'll be back as soon as possible to sleep on all of your couches. If anyone is coming to the states, let me know and we'll have heaps of fun. Please stay in touch!
That's all for now, Australia. Bye. :(
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