On Moving to Sydney
Coat: & Other Stories
Jumper: Uniqlo
Jeans: Weekday
Boots: Dr Martens
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my latest news: my boyfriend Adam and I are moving to Sydney next month. We're leaving the north of England behind in search of a new adventure, a lot more sun and the taste of a different kind of (more relaxed) lifestyle, and I honestly cannot wait.
We went to Australia for the first time last April for a wedding in Perth and during our few days in Sydney I think it's safe to say we both became enamoured of the city within a matter of hours (I was expecting to feel that way about Melbourne but it was Sydney that I felt most at home). I remember sitting in Abu Dhabi airport on the way home, having just paid about £12 for a stale croissant and mediocre coffee, discussing what our lives would be like if we took the plunge and moved, but at the time it felt like more of a pipe dream rather than something we would do in reality.
So we went back to Manchester, trying to get back to life as normal. But the post-holiday blues lingered a lot longer than usual and as much as we loved living in Didsbury, we couldn't shake the feeling that there's so much more out there for us both.
And the thing is, my outlook on life and what I wanted from it changed a lot when we were there. The laid back culture, healthier lifestyle, and balance of city and beach life is probably what appealed to me most - and it's those things that made me happier than any amount of money of material things ever will.
I also realised that I was just going through the motions of what I thought I should be doing in life. A good, steady job. Saving for a house to get on the property ladder, probably followed by marriage in a few years' time.
So we were saving, saving, saving. But post-Sydney I asked myself: why? Why am I placing so much importance on something I'm actually not that fussed about in this point of my life? I feel like as a nation we have this obsession with owning property and that if you're nowhere near even having the deposit to buy a house in an ever-competitive and difficult market, you're failing at life.
Honestly? I love my freedom and the fact that we were able to leave our rented Didsbury terrace with just a month's notice, and I don't want to spend the remaining few years of my 20s worrying about mortgages.
We're doing what we want to do, not what society dictates we should be doing. And it feels amazing. At the moment, our visas give us a year in Oz with the option to extend while we're out there. We're planning on spending our first few weeks travelling up the east coast before settling in Sydney and trying to find jobs, a flat, and everything else that comes with moving to a new city. After that, who knows. I like not knowing.
New Year, Same Style
Scarf: Hermes
Coat: McQ Alexander McQueen (similar)
Jumper: New Look
Bag: Zara (similar)
Trousers: COS
Shoes: Zara (similar)
Happy new year! Somehow we saw through the year that was 2017 and made it through the other side. I've been pretty quiet on here recently, mainly because December was a really busy one, travelling all through the UK visiting various family members, a couple of weddings, Christmas, and work in between (documented all on Instagram of course, which you can see here).
The next few months are gearing up to be the same but I'm not complaining - 2018 is already promising to be one of my most exciting years yet, and one that I can't wait to share. For now, here's another all-black outfit with a red silk scarf because, y'know, I was feeling festive.