Massive life update: I am leaving the UK!
Big news alert: I am moving to Australia!!!
I know, right, told you it was big news. One of my best pals, my housemate, my partner in crime and business (we run
together) has been wanting to go for the last 2 years, and for those 2 years has continued to drop sporadic ‘COME WITH ME’ comments. The thought of being in London without her sent shivers through my spine yet the thought of not being in London made me feel uneasy. I was comfortable; I love my little East London abode, I know the local area like the back of my hand (when sober) and have lots of friends and family here in the UK - yet I still felt the need to do something different?
Gabi (AKA the Aussie pusher and life go-getter) had a turbulent time getting a visa - she’s Polish so the application process is a little different and it took a while to get it secured. In that time many things changed for me; friends around me fell seriously ill, a very good friend of mine left London (Carmen I am looking at you BBZ – I am still not over it) my job spec changed and the routine I once loved became mundane.
Luckily for both Gabi and I, the time it took for her visa to come through was a blessing in disguise. It gave us another summer in London to make even more memories (ones we will never forget), have more fun adding to our dating portfolio, be there in a time of need for our good friend and housemate Lauren (watching her go from poorly to well again was one of those cherished memories, not to mention a blessing), persuade another good friend to join in on the adventure (Leigh, we’ve gone from Portsmouth to London to Sydney together baby!) and above all, we had time to make sure we were both ready for such a big move.
I was at my best friend’s wedding in April and ended up chewing the ear off of an old pal. I told him all about Australia, the possibility of going, people who I have met who have gone and loved it and the fact that Gabs wants to go. His parting words to me after the party were, ‘Abbie, the next time I see you, you better have booked your tickets to Oz’. And would you believe it, some 5 months later I bump into him on the underground (ON THE UNDERGROUND, I mean, it blows my mind when I see people I know on the tube) on the very same day that I got my visa accepted. If that’s not fate, then I don’t know what is. So, Dan, without even knowing it you pushed me in a super exciting direction and I still think about that day I bumped into you at Bank station!
We booked our flights (do you know how exhilarating it is to book a one-way ticket BTW) some 7 weeks ago and have been on lockdown ever since. It’s been a long 7 weeks of staying in; focusing on the gym, new Netflix series, selling our souls on eBay (turns out I was sleeping on a small fortune), job hunting and just generally getting excited about having a permanent tan.
So, with the most supportive family ever behind me, a new-found attitude to the word YOLO (seeing close friends and family poorly will do that to you) a one-way ticket to Sydney, plenty of pals down under already (some Aussie -
Yolanda,
we’re coming babes, some old school friends), and Gabi and Leigh by my side, I’m ready to embrace the next chapter. Who knows what it will hold, but one thing is for sure,
ya’ll
better get ready for some beach Insta spam.