Moving Overseas

During a pandemic…

 
 

Good Morning my literary friends!

For those of you who know me personally, you know that life hasn’t been quite going according to plan for me of late. What I’ve been doing hasn’t been working, and it is about time I quit following the same plan, pack my life up and throw myself into the deep end somewhere new. Now, I’ll be honest with you, I wrote this update on the 4th September 2021. Today, I am finally ready to announce, despite my trepidation and the uncertainty in the world…

Today I have some exciting news! I have just hit ‘submit’ on an application for a T5 Visa (Youth Mobility) via for the United Kingdom. I’m riding on a high, but also about to realise just how much I have to do before I depart!

In a short life update, I had a minor breakdown and decided that I am tired of being a hostage in Australia, and it is about time I get a real world change of perspective. So, in February 2022 it will be adios to Australia and Hello, London!

At this point, I have no plans. This is the extent of the ‘plan’.

  1. Apply for Visa. (Check)

  2. Get Visa. (Check)

  3. Pack/Sell down apartment contents. (Check)

  4. Send my puppy to his new temporary home.

  5. Pack suitcase.

  6. Get on airplane.

  7. Arrive in London and find somewhere to live.

Beyond this, I have no idea what I am doing. At the time of writing, I do not need to quarantine upon arrival in the UK so that is an excellent start!

Oh, how I love best laid plans! In September, the term Omicron was unheard of and tourists across the UK and Europe were getting vaccinated and galavanting through the countryside shouting ‘COVID-who?’. At least that’s what I imagine it looked like. Today, is December 28th and the UK has been locked out of several countries due to the Omicron variant outbreak.

To catch you up, I successfully received my visa and despite my fear that the Visa coordination company might have been a scam, my passport was returned safely (at a cost!). If you want a more detailed explanation of my experience, see here.

Since then, I have moved my culled posessions into storage and moved out of my apartment. My Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to allow my fur child and me to bunk with them until my (intended) departure in February. I have a flight booked and have decided to house-sit across the UK. So far I have 9 sits booked for 2022, and have already had the opportunity to facetime several of the home owners and their fur babies and can’t wait to meet them all in person!

At this stage, I am scheduled to fly to London in the first week of February, 2022.

Stay tuned!

x A

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The Lure of London

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Australians and UK Visas (Youth Mobility T5)