All roads lead back home

As the title of my blog suggests, I am a self proclaimed avid traveller. I moved back to Australia in May 2015 after living in Canada for 2 years. That move was one of the easiest and also one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. The calling of home was too much to bear after living abroad for 5 years and I found myself back living with my parents on the family farm.

A lot of people asked me - what are you going to do with yourself now you're home? Truth be told I was more than happy being 31, unemployed and living with my parents. Having moved out of home at 18, my parents weren't complaining having me home either. I spent 6 weeks at home before deciding I should be an adult and get my life together. Biggest question was - what the hell do I do? Having spent 10 years in the hotel industry and 18 months in the coffee industry what was a girl to do in Tropical North Queensland?!

I remember lying in bed one morning (sleeping in because I was living my the rents) pondering this question. Mum came in and laid beside me and asked what I was interested in. My only answer - travel. When I first moved to Canada I applied for a job with Flight Centre. I figured my passport full of stamps was enough to get my foot in the door. Turns out it was enough to get me a phone call. After that I landed an awesome gig managing a Starbucks store in downtown Vancouver so I figured it was their loss.

So I'm hanging out with mum and tell her how I want to combine travel along with my travel experiences for my ultimate job. So she says to me - what about Flight Centre? I reluctantly tell her I've been checking their page for months and Cairns jobs never seem to be available. Dismayed, she tells me to check again. Low and behold that morning was the start of what is now an awesome career because that Cairns posting miraculously appeared. Within 2 weeks I'd had 4 phone interviews and an in store exam and I was in!

Unemployment came to an end and I packed my bags once more and left the nest. Mum didn't cry this time (not in front of me anyway) and I can only assume it was because I was moving 1 hour up the road and not to a different time zone.

I'm now 6 months in, selling amazing travel experiences for people, moved into my newly renovated apartment I bought when I was 18 & met a wonderful man who got promoted soon after we started dating and is now my manager (lucky he knows who actually wears the pants...) and everyday my bucket list grow longer & longer.

It's funny how life works itself out sometimes. One minute I'm living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and then the next minute I'm back where it all began with the family on the farm, moving into my first apartment & living in good old sunny Cairns. But I wouldn't have it any other way. That doesn't mean the passport is put away for good. My travel bug is still alive and well! In fact here I am sitting on my balcony of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailing home from the South Pacific as I type, but more of that to come soon.

As I enjoy my last couple of days at sea I finish this post in the words of someone very wise - 

Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life's not meant to be lived in one place.