Just so we’re clear, this is not a photo of us at home

… it’s not as bad as you’d think.

It’s been 3 months since my boyfriend and I returned from our 16 month trip. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown! I’ve had so many questions about how hard/crappy/boring being home must be compared to the adventure of the open road. But last weekend, Andrew mentioned that “life is better than it’s ever been” and I have to agree. It’s definitely not the same as when we were travelling, but it’s amazing in another way.

We’ve both managed to find interesting and challenging jobs, we’ve moved into an amazing townhouse with excellent people just off Victoria Street (Melbourne’s Vietnamese district) meaning we are surrounded by delicious restaurants and close to great bars, we’ve caught up with old friends and spent quality time with family. What’s not to love?

There’s definitely been an element of good fortune in our return. We are fortunate to have degrees and experience in industries that happened to be hiring. I am so fortunate and grateful to have parents who’ve let me say with them and supported me in getting back on my feet. It would have been much harder without them. But I feel there’s also an element of chance-taking and things just working out. Quitting our jobs to travel long term was a risk, for sure. But we both believed that it was worth it and that things would work themselves out, which they have, Sure, applying for 25+ jobs wasn’t particularly fun but it led to Andrew and I landing pretty awesome positions, pretty fast!

I just googled ‘returning home after travelling’ and what I got was a slew of articles about combatting ‘post-trip depression’. They speak of everything being the same when you get home, of no one understanding your new, cultured self… Seriously?! What a wanky, privileged problem to have. It’s all about attitude. Think about how fortunate you were to travel, print off your photos, work hard in whatever job you can land, save money, plan for the next trip, try new restaurants, learn a language, learn to dance! But don’t for a second complain. Life is absolutely what you make it, whether at home or on the road.

Lecture over.

So what next for this blog? Well, it existed long before this trip and it will exist long after. The whole point of this blog is that there is something special (bloggable even! 😉 ) in every day (remember that time I blogged about waiting in line for coffee? a bizarrely popular post!). So I will continue to tell thrilling tales of not putting things on your face, waiting at medicare, of the stuff inside my fridge and of soggy Tuesdays. Glad to have you along for the ride!