“I can’t picture you working on a farm for three months.”

“You don’t think I could do it?”

“No”

“Me neither.”

***

I’ve been living in Melbourne for eight months now and during that time, I’ve learned how to take care of kids, how to drive on the wrong side of the road, kick-started my freelancing career, landed an internship at an AWESOME media website, unwillingly became a fully functioning adult with minor glitches, fell in love, became more confident in myself and learned how to be Australian. I’m exhausted!

So what now?

I didn’t know that I could fall so deeply in love with a place, but Australia stole my whole heart. So much so, that I’ve decided to stay for a second year. Woohooo! But in order for that to happen, I need to move to a town that lies above the Tropic of Capricorn (annoyingly specific requirements) and work for my second year visa for 88 days. Ugh.

United States citizens have the option to work in farming OR in hospitality/tourism (other countries can only do farming, sucks man). As much as I would love to pick avocados on a farm in the Australian Outback for 88 days, I’m moving to Townsville, Queensland to work in a café or a restaurant. Thanks to my previous work in a New York City noodle shop, I think I should be okay.

I was nervous to tell Jack that I wanted to move up north and work for my second year visa. He had just moved down to Melbourne and now I’m telling him that I need to leave. But without blinking an eye, Jack agreed to go with me. So on April 8, we’re packing the car with endless snacks and driving north to Queensland. We’ll be doing an east coast road trip for a few days to finally end up in Townsville. (If any of you have suggestions for podcasts to listen to or places to see, hit me up!)

Why Townsville?

When I was looking into places to move up north, I noticed that there weren’t a lot of big cities. They’re either touristy beach towns (Cairns/Airlie Beach) or rural farm land. The two mini-cities that I initially considered were Townsville and Darwin.

Darwin appealed to me because it’s at the very top of Australia and I knew nothing about it except that they have crocodiles. But I felt like Northern Territory didn’t offer many things to do. The cool thing about Townsville is that it’s off the coast of the Great Barrier Reef. So it’s in an area where there’s more opportunity for exploring and work for both Jack and I. Plus, it has more than five restaurants #score.

I’m so excited and nervous for this next chapter of my life. I know it’ll only be for three months, but packing everything and moving to a new city can be overwhelming. We still need to find a place to live and jobs, but I think that will be easier once we’re actually in Townsville. TBD…

After my 88 days are up (sounds like a prison sentence…), I’ll hopefully be granted my second year visa. I don’t have to use it right away (I can use it any time before I turn 31), so we plan on backpacking South America for a few months beginning in August (anyone wanna tag along, holla!).

It’s weird to think that one year ago, I was on my first solo trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen.That was an eye opening experience for me because ever since that trip, I’ve learned to prioritize what’s important to me and go after what I want 100%. Queensland, here I come!

Comments

comments