2016: Setting up home in Sydney, Australia

Moving to Sydney Australia from New York USA during summer, was the best decision! A major move (via London and New Zealand) but I had the opportunity to enjoy summer at Bondi Beach while looking for work.

Sydney is a fabulous city - edgy, bright lights, big enough for most city slickers, and famous sites such as the Opera House and Bondi Beach.  You can't be bored here as there is something for everyone - though mostly an outdoors environment - which is great for those who would describe themselves as water babies.

It is costly living in Sydney, no denying that.  Clothes and shoes are not cheap, but then again, most people live in their gym/beach gear and flipflops! Food is also not cheap - but it is fresh, local and delicious - so most times it's worth the price. As for the coffee....to die for!

If you want body-beautiful then head to the Eastern suburbs, if you want clubby, head to Paddington, and if you want chilled then head north. There are festivals every weekend, sports activities every day, and fitness bootcamps in the morning and evenings.  There are no excuses for being a couch potato when living in Sydney. 

Also having joined up with a dragonboat club (Mavericks) has meant I've been able to meet a lot more people in a short time, keep fit, enjoy the outdoors and see Sydney from the water.

To sum up Sydney so far:

Dec 2015-March 2016: Moving to Sydney, Australia

Moving from the US to Sydney via London, Netherlands, Wellington and Brisbane

Alas it was a goodbye to New York and hello to 'down under'!  I also quit 9 years working at Credit Suisse which was a very hard decision, but as I didn't want to relocate back to London and there were no roles going in Australia, it was the best option.

I also had the opportunity to see all my friends and family in the UK, Netherlands, NZ and Brisbane. 

Spending Xmas with my brother, sister in law and adorable two nieces in London was the icing on the cake! That and spending New Year's with very good friends of mine (Vicky/Conall), catching up with other close friends such as Sera/Jasper/Alex, Wai, Jacky and having the chance to go over to Gramsbergen and see my Dutch cousins Hilga and Jacco (and their kids), and my aunt and uncle.

Then I flew downunder to stay with my folks in Wellington for 4 weeks and enjoy the Wellington summer (which was pretty decent), and also fly across to Brisbane (which was very hot) to catch up with my sister Pen, brother in law and very lively two nephews!

Been an amazing (busy/stressful - but so wonderful) 3 months and so happy that I was able to catch up with everyone. 

18-26 January 2014 - Brisbane, Australia

What a wonderful way to have a family reunion - the wedding of my little sis. She and Mike finally decided to tie the knot and the great thing about this is that my two adorable nephews - Dash and Kylar - will be there to witness it (and be able to remember it as well)!

Family reunion
We all live around the world, so I flew in from New York, Geoff from Boston, Jason from London and Mum/Dad from New Zealand. We stayed in the same apartment and had 9 days to explore Brisbane, catch up with each other and to be part of Pen's wedding. Really enjoyed the time together and getting to see a lot of Pen, Mike, Kylar and Dash.  Just a shame Geoff got extremely sick and couldn't enjoy the visit like he hoped.

 

Sightseeing in Brisbane
We did have quite a few days to sightsee around Brisbane which included the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and the city center.  It was quite hot during the days so we didn't end up doing too much, but enough to get a sense of what the city is about.

 

Pen and Mike's wedding (21 January)
A gorgeous sunny day, radiant bride, two very overexcited boys, and an eager groom!  It started off with a registry wedding where the two boys were the ring bearers. Very cute seeing them playing around and being 'boys' during the ceremony! We all headed out to the park for photos and then gathered for a drink and cool-down before heading to the dinner venue. Everyone was chatting outside where the drinks were being served, before going into the restaurant for a delicious meal and beautifully written speeches from the bride, groom, friends and family. The day went off without a hitch (well, other than the hitching of bride and groom) and its certainly one I will remember with very fond memories.

 

Just a shame that the Lind family reunions don't happen more often - who knows when the next one will be!