Living in Australia: Our Third Full Year

I launched this blog on 1 January 2009 with a post and video called Our First Full Year Living In Australia. Unsurprisingly, the video was about our first full year living in Australia, which would have been the calendar year 2008.

I followed that up on 4 January 2010 with another post and video, this time rather imaginatively called Our Second Full Year Living in Australia. It won’t surprise you to learn that the video was about our second full year living in Australia and that would be the year 2009.

I’m nothing if I am not a man of habit, and my intention was to create a video about our third full year living Australia and to publish it in January of this year. I can’t remember exactly why that didn’t happen, but I suspect it could have had something to do with the gazillion megatons of rain that descended upon us during that month, completely submerging many of my neighbours homes.

But quite why it has taken me almost 8 months to realise my omission I just can’t explain. Anyway, as they say, better late than never.

Before we hit the movie though, I have to say that 2010 was not my favourite of the three full years I’ve lived here so far. Both 2008 and 2009 were better. So does that mean the honeymoon period of my life in Australia has passed and I am now seeing the country in a more realistic view?

Well, yes, I suppose I am, but that wasn’t the reason why 2010 was such a damp squid (there is a clue) compared to the other two years. It was, of course, the incessant rain that really spoilt last year.

Australia is such a great outdoorsy place, but not when it’s bucketing down. And as the year grew older, the rains just seemed to get heavier and heavier until they peaked, as you know, early in 2011. As a result of all that rain, we probably didn’t go to as many places as we had in previous years.

But we didn’t do bad either, it was still a good year. Here’s the highlights, slightly later than I imagined. This time I dug deep, thought long and hard, until I finally came up with a much snazzier title…..

Living in Australia: Our Third Full Year

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{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Jannicke August 25, 2011, 10:59 pm |

    Hi Bob,
    I moved to Australia myself about 1.5 years ago, and I though your note about how you are looking at Australia in a more realistic way after your ‘honeymoon period’ had passed was interesting.
    Even though I have not lived here as long as you, I have also recently noticed how I find Australia not that exiting anymore. I personally feel that the reason for this might be that I am living in Perth, and since it is the most isolated city in the world, not a lot of stuff is happening here, and I do sometimes feel very isolated. I also think another reason might be all the rain, as you mentioned. Being a Norwegian I am used to rain, rain and more rain, but that is in Norway! Moving to Australia I pictured sunshine and going to the beach everyday, probably a bit optimistic there.
    Watching your video I could tell you obviously travel a lot, but as a student that is unfortunately not something I can afford.
    Do you have any good tips for what I have to see or do in Australia to get more out of my stay here?

    Thanks for your time

    • BobinOz August 26, 2011, 7:51 pm |

      Hi Jannicke

      I think the thing with Australia is it’s very much an outdoors kind of place. Normally you can expect around 300 sunny days a year with rain on the others. When it turns around the other way, as happened for us in Queensland recently and sounds like it’s happening to you in Western Australia now, it does make the place far less enjoyable.

      Added to that, yes, Perth is pretty isolated and I’m not sure how much there is to do around there. I’ve never been.

      I travelled as much as I can, I love seeing new places. And living in Brisbane, I can jump into my car and go to the Sunshine Coast (Australia zoo, beaches, beautiful hinterlands) or to the Gold Coast which is much more commercialised and surrounded by theme parks and more beaches.

      I’m not sure what you have got around you in Perth. Maybe someone else who knows the area better might pop by with some advice. But I’m sure things will be much better when it stops raining, which it will.

      Let me know when it does and how things turn out.

      Cheers

      Bob

  • dave August 5, 2011, 7:30 pm |

    Brilliant Bob thanks, keep them coming. My wife and family are hoping to be living in Oz in three years time (after my PhD) so your videos are really an insight.

    • BobinOz August 8, 2011, 2:14 pm |

      Oh, I’ll keep them coming alright. Cheers

  • Michael Riecken August 3, 2011, 9:32 pm |

    Better late than never. Good on you, Bob. Happy (very belated) anniversary.

    • BobinOz August 3, 2011, 10:05 pm |

      Thanks Michael, I’m going to try to be a little more punctual next year. Cheers!

  • Frances August 1, 2011, 10:10 pm |

    Great presentation.

    What software did you use to make slideshow.?

    • BobinOz August 3, 2011, 8:49 pm |

      Thank you! I use Pinnacle Studio 14, it’s movie editing software. I’ve been using it since version 8.

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