FREDDIE'S EXPERIENCE OF MOVING TO THE SUNSHINE COAST

Hey! My name is Freddie. I’m 25 born and bred in Berkshire, England. I lived a fairly standard life in the UK. School to Uni and then straight to work. No gap years, and I spent most of my holidays either doing bar work or playing semi-professional rugby. On the 20th of September 2019, I decided to give myself the best birthday present. I quit my fantastic job in the UK and set my sights on my dream of living abroad.  Okay, I have left out the minor detail of my girlfriend - Celina - who I met on holiday in Greece earlier this year. She's an Aussie living near Noosa, Queensland. Was I going to make her suffer the rain and cold in England or was I going to join her in Aus? I think you know the answer! Making the decision to leave the UK wasn’t easy. I would potentially not see some of my grandparents again, not see my family and closest mates for ages and potentially be risking my career I had worked so hard to build. Was it a risk though? No. Why? I wasn’t my happiest self in my job. The world is a big place and I had spent most of my life on a tiny island. Furthermore, getting all my family and friends sign off wasn’t easy. Actually, my mum said ‘when can I come to visit you’ so that was easy but my Dad said something along the lines of ‘what the f*ck!’. Ultimately it was about my happiness and the thought of seeing Celina; moving to a dream country like Australia was what I had set my heart on. Once I succumbed to this epiphany, it was easy to share my mindset with my friends and family ‘If you want me to be happy, this is what I would like to do’. If they love you, they will understand. In addition, I had been working hard all my life to give my self the freedom of making such 'big' decisions. Saving money, learning how to make decisions and taking on responsibility had been my bread and butter - I was "ready" to leave the UK and my comfort zone. Here I am! Australia! Been here for 50 days, and honestly, the only question I needed to be answered was; why didn’t I do this sooner? In these first 50 days, I have been to the most beautiful beaches most noticeably Noosa Main Beach and Sunshine Beach (100% would recommend visiting), seen all of the wildlife (kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, etc..) and experienced the sun every day! Alright, you got me, wildlife does include snakes and spiders but who cares. They have koalas *insert love heart emoji*! In actual fact, the snakes and spiders are not as prominent as you may perceive. Don’t believe memes you see on Facebook! Not only this but I am fortunate enough to have joined the local rugby team - the mighty Noosa Dolphins - and they have fully integrated me into one of their own. More importantly, I have started to make some great friendships. I have also had the time and a newfound passion for starting doing Hot Yoga, meditation and reading all the books I promised myself I would one day read. I had the headspace, time and motivation to hit the big reset button, purging the bad habits and developing the new improved habits. 'Make Freddie great again'. People keep asking me ‘what do I miss about the UK?’ In a nutshell, nothing (other than the people obviously). Maybe the occasional rain shower or cloud wouldn’t go a miss but the food, lifestyle, and wildlife are second to none. Ensuring I am always excited to embrace every day and experience something new. Alright, 50 days isn’t long - if you were in a relationship, this would be called the honeymoon period - but I really don’t see my mood or mindset changing negatively at all. I had been almost brainwashed in thinking that the system I had been bought up in was ’the norm’ but what moving to Aus has taught me is there is no norm and you can do anything you like if you are willing to step outside your comfort zone. If you are thinking of doing it, do it! The worst thing that happens is you get a flight home, have an awesome holiday and tan!