We have been living for a little over 1 month in Canberra, Australia. After a year of planning, prepping and organizing logistics, we successfully moved our family and pets to another continent. After landing in Sydney, we took a short 1 hour flight into Canberra and watched as the city and its rolling hills came into view. It is such a simple and profound moment, the introduction to your new home. Feels a bit like an arranged marriage, you are strangers now, but soon you will know one another and grow to make so many memories.
There has been such excitement for our family with this move, and the truth is that beautiful lives take lots of work, and we are working overtime here to set it all up. I promised to keep it honest and the beginning is rarely the easiest part. In fact, it is the time I struggle with the most. We are transitional living, spending a lot of effort trying to put puzzle pieces together for a life we hope to have for the next 3.5 years. These are my thoughts, my feelings and my observations after 1 month in Canberra Australia.
Table of Contents
As Beautiful As They Say
It really is as beautiful as everyone said it would be. Open fields of eucalyptus trees with herds of wild kangaroos, what could be more Australian? The big sky, stunning sunsets and abundance of open space makes Canberra feel spacious without feeling overwhelming. Because it is a planned town (built to settle the capital debate between Sydney and Melbourne), it feels purposeful and accessible. Every suburb has a smaller downtown with all its necessities and bigger city centers spread across different areas north and south of Lake Billy Griffin. It has the rolling hills, the central Telstra Tower and many beautiful city look outs to find your favorite view.
How Life Feels So Far
I had to go back and read about our first month in Seoul. I wanted to remember what it felt like being foreign again in a new country after many years stateside and compare it to how I feel now. With this move we shifted back into a familiar setting, a neighborhood home in the suburbs. This is a change which half of our family prefers to city life.
Since arriving we celebrated American’s 250th birthday at the Embassy, bought a car and learned to drive on the other side of the car and the road, managed a pet crisis, got both kids started in school and have been able to squeeze in a little exploring along the way. (Even found a matcha house that rivals my favorites in Seoul) Here are my thoughts on culture shock and adjusting after 1 month in Canberra Australia.
- It’s not culture shock, it’s lifestyle shock. I really loved Seoul, walking everywhere, 24 hour access to everything and the bright lights of the city. It felt like such a match to my energy and this move has been an immediate slow down. Not only did our location change, our entire lifestyle changed and it is an adjustment to all your senses.
- At first glance, life here is so similar to American culture, that it makes comparison a natural reaction. I really want to have experiences that aren’t influenced by what I would expect them to be back home, so I am trying to remind myself to stay open minded as I take it all in.
- Managing expectations. When we told everyone we were coming to Australia, it was heaps of praise for this country. While that was wonderful, it can over inflate your senses to only expect the best of experiences. That just isn’t reality. While I have the highest of hopes for our time here, no place is without its faults or struggles and knowing that is a part of life helps you to prepare for them.
- Living Outside Your Comfort Zone. As difficult as it feels in the moment, I am reminded that I can learn and adjust quickly, I was nervous about driving on the opposite side of the car and the road, and I picked it up fairly easily. Celebrating all the wins over here!
- I am aware that my feelings change frequently in these beginning months. There is excitement, hopefulness, frustration mental fatigue and the many other roller coaster of emotions in between. I focus on feeling my feelings, but not letting them stick. I also try to refrain from making any sweeping judgements about our host country or life here for at least the first 6 months. It frees you up to live life as it happens and not try to keep score on positive or negative experiences.
Foreign, but Familiar
This is my first time living in a foreign country that has English as the first language. It feels foreign, adjacent. It allows you to participate in all parts of life. I have met my neighbors, chatted up the grocery store cashiers and signed myself up for all the usual services. It’s the most I have ever been able to interact with a host country and that feels great. As a social person, the ability to connect is extremely important for me. I believe the familiarity with culture, customs and language will make for a faster settling in period and hopefully deeper connections.
Speaking of language, it’s definitely English but with lots of slang and alternate endings. Arvo is afternoon, Servo is the gas (petrol) station, trackie dax are athletic pants or sweats and jumper is a sweatshirt. So occasionally I do have to ask what a certain word means, which is still very humbling. I also never knew how often I would be hearing and adjusting to a fortnight schedule. The kids school is on a fortnight schedule and so are payments, and various other scheduled events. Who knew every 2 weeks was so popular?
What I Have Observed for Far
What I’m Loving
- The Food: we have really enjoyed everything Australia has to offer. Timtams, lollies, brekkie rolls and quite a diverse amount of food options (turkish, indian, greek, etc) No blooming onions to be found!
- A town that feels accessible, setting up life here has been really quite easy. Cell phones, car purchases, school sign ups…. we were able to complete with relative ease and that has been a gift. It makes checking off your to-do list a manageable task.
- Traveling around Australia and neighboring countries. I have to remind myself it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I am so eager to book some travel, but I’m going to take my own advice and start slow. I want to get to know my own town and work my way outward. First up, coastal New South Wales, hoping we can sneak away for a weekend soon!
What Irks Me
- Paid parking, everywhere. Feels like I’m being nickel and dimed constantly. For a city with so much space, finding a parking spot and then paying for it seems harder than it should be.
- Closing Time. Coffee shops are cafes close at 1:30 or 2:00pm, the mall closes at 5:00. I don’t understand this at all. Where do the people go? Don’t tell me they go home. I’m afraid this night owl is now living in an early rising culture.
- I’ve had a few American eye rolls… to be expected given our current political climate. The difference now is that I can understand what locals are saying about us. Understanding the host language has a few down sides.
What I Find Interesting
- Canberrans love that the rest of Australia refers to their city as boring. They like it that way. They are happy to tell you why they love it and that the quiet is just what they prefer. With a population of just under 500,000, it feels like a perfectly sized medium town, you can make it anywhere is just about 15-30 minutes.
- The amount of diversity in Canberra. I’m not sure what I expected, but there is a wide variety of countries and ethnicities represented here and it shows in the variety of restaurant and grocery store options.
- I thought there would be more American chain restaurants and I’m pleasantly surprised that there are not very many fast food chains at all. Outside McDonalds (Macca’s), there really aren’t any here in Canberra. Not even Starbucks, which shocked me most of all.
- If the signature drink in Seoul was the Iced Americano, then Australians have all the rights to the Flat White. It’s a double shot of espresso with a thin layer of micro-foam. While it might be too much caffeine for me, I have found coffee culture here to be prevalent and quite tasty.
What To Do Now
The good news for me is that I have been new many times before. I know that my emotions will take the roller coaster ride and eventually calm down. I know that friendships will come in time and that my house will soon feel a little less chaotic. I trust in my process, even if I want it to all be done by now. The growth is in each step and I’m really trying to be present for this one.
If you have upcoming transitions, here are a few of my favorite posts that are helpful when coming or going:
exploring:
Leave a comment