Could I live in Australia or New Zealand?
As we slowly make our way around the world (only one continent unvisited!), we’re paying attention to the places we might want to stay longer and possibly use as a long-term base. We’ll still travel, but at some point I’m sure we’re going to want a place that feels a bit more like “home” where we can both make friends and be part of a local community. We absolutely loved Australia, and we’re enjoying New Zealand so far. But I have to...
Experiencing Australia healthcare
We had been out most of the day trying to celebrate my birthday. For a variety of reasons, it really hadn’t gone all that well. I did have a good birthday lunch, but that was about the nicest thing I could say about “my special day.” I try to be positive, so I focused on the lunch and the time spent with my son. Now we were at home. I was seated by the fireplace messing around on Facebook and enjoying an adult beverage when it...
Parenting: It’s not about me.
I grew up when “keeping up with the Joneses” was very much a part of someone’s life. Every decision parents and grandparents made seemed to be based on how it would be perceived by other people in their apartment building, other family members, and so on. Guess what parents: It isn’t about you! One of my first big parenting challenges came when a young man moved in with me. He was having lots of issues at home with his stepfather, and...
Dealing with Depression interview with Kelly
Our Living in Darkness series continues with an interview with Kelly of http://solowomantraveler.ca and http://onequartermama.ca. What was your experience with depression before you began travel? Well I’d say I was almost born depressed, and I started to travel when I was 16, so it’s hard to say. That first trip (to France and Yemen with my best friend and his father) made me realize I needed to keep traveling and see the world. It...
A step into the past in Ballarat
We’ve spent a good of time taking a step into the past this week, and it’s really been a lot of fun. 1850s Gold Rush Ballarat was the site of Australia’s gold rush in the 1850s. One of the town’s big attractions celebrates that early history. Sovereign Hill is essentially an open-air museum dedicated to re-creating the first decade of the big gold rush. In addition to old-style buildings, all the staff are dressed in period costume....
