When you move to a new place it takes time to settle in. You don’t instantly know where the best place is to do grocery shopping or buy a nice coffee, but after a little while you start to find your way around. Things that previously seemed challenging or that made you second-glance or stare in awe, suddenly become normal.
A few weeks ago Adam and I went up to Birmingham for an evening out with two other couples. We visited an Escape Room (so much fun!) and had dinner and drinks at a pop-up venue in the city centre. Adam and I had a moment alone at our table and I can remember saying to him ‘This feels surreal.’ A few years ago being in a big city, in England, on a winter’s night with a group of new friends seemed a unfathomable, but now it’s perfectly achievable.
I feel like that moment was the start of me finding my groove. Two and a half months after landing in the U.K., meeting Adam’s family, finding a house and a job and finally setting up a bank account, I’m ‘adulting’ properly. I popped to the supermarket the other weekend by myself to pick up a few supplies. I knew where I was going, exactly which aisles I needed to go down and instead of scanning shelves and seeing rows of unrecognisable brands I was able to quickly pick what I wanted and head home again. It was oddly liberating.
I’ve worked out a nice route for a walk from our house that I can knock over in about an hour and a half for a bit of exercise and I’m starting to make my own friends, separate from people Adam knows. It feels a bit strange to count these little things as ‘goals’ or ‘achievements’. However after a decade of living in the same city, working in the one industry, I confess I felt a little incapable when I first arrived in England. I was so used to knowing what I was doing. To suddenly be a little clueless was a bit daunting.
I’m still learning and I’m by no means an expert on life in Malvern, but I’ve regained my old sense of confidence now. Have you ever made a big move? What are your tips for settling in to your new home?
Wattle and Ash 