Today my guest post is from my Aussie friend Jade who blogs at An Invisible Crown.
I started reading her blog several months ago and followed her on Twitter. It was obvious very quickly that she has a huge heart! I can always depend on her for an encouraging word or a cyber hug. When we moved to Blackheath, I was excited to find out that she lives just up the road, so we made a lunch date. It felt like meeting a long lost friend.
My name is Jade and I'm a seven year expat originally from Sydney, Australia but now calling London, England my home. I am currently taking a blog break for the summer, however you can normally find me over at An Invisible Crown.
When Selena kindly asked me if I'd still be interested in posting whilst she's on her cruise (lucky duck!), I was excited to accept because if there's nothing else I like talking about, it's about my experiences living life as an Expat.
When I think about the person I was, living in Australia, I can see a huge change. I was only 24 when I left Sydney and I was six months newly wed. It was an exciting time and it's had it's ups and downs but it's an experience I thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for an adventure of a lifetime.
I've become more confident - I had a close knit group of friends in Australia & was pretty self conscious. Since I've moved to the UK, apart from distant family members, I knew no-one. I've now met loads of people through different ways and I have a new close knit group who I love dearly. Blogging has been an amazing outlet for this - I've met Selena and a few other bloggers in London who are fast becoming some of my favourite people. I'm no longer the shy girl who fobbed off situations I felt I couldn't deal with to my husband. I'm not scared to ring the Home Office to chase up my visa application or stop someone from pushing in when I'm waiting in the bus queue.
I've become more organised - Living life as an expat means you have to be organised, which wasn't a particularly strong point with me back in Australia. Things like visa applications, work permits, travel arrangements, housing & setting up a whole new life means you have to work on being organised at all times. If I stuffed up a visa application, I could have wasted £900 or even have been kicked out of the country, so it was important to me to work on being a much more organised person!
My mind has been opened - I love how I can fly for an hour and cross two countries. If I did that in Australia, I'd be in the same state! I also love the history of London & the UK, everywhere I go, I'm seeing buildings that are hundreds of years old and structures that are even older! I also love that I meet people from all over the world, living in this tiny city with amazing stories. I've also been lucky enough to travel all over the Northern Hemisphere and my eyes are truly open to the wonder of the world!
I'm still the down to earth Aussie girl I was when I was twenty four, but I've changed in so many amazing ways, I don't think I could ever say that I'm even close to being the same as I was before I became an expat.
I know that if I'm ever struggling with being an expat she will understand.
Be sure to leave her a comment!
Aren't I a lucky girl to have all of these great new friends?
Nothing can take away from my friends back home in the States.
I miss them so much and can't wait to get back for a visit.
But, these ladies have certainly been lifesavers for me.
I Thought I was an organised person until I had to do all the legal paperwork to stay in Italy! Joke's on me. Now I try to accomplish a few tasks a day pertaining to a goal. Paperwork is always messy and you always have to dig up old things that are hard to find. That's when I'm "Mooooom"! She helped me dig up old documents that I was never going to find while in another county. Now I'm a resident and am set for a few years! Nice meeting you both as it's my first time on Selena's blog. :-)
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