Gold Coast (Australia) - Return of the boy from Oz

GOLD COAST (Australia)
07 March - 11 March 2017

Arriving back 'home' felt good. I think what you miss when you're away are more of the small things, happenings in your daily life that you might take for granted, a way of speaking, a friendly smile, a typical joke, items in the supermarket. These aren't major concerns or elements that cause a nuisance when you're away, as they're always replaced with either something different or better, but something needs to be said for the substance of familiarity. Things that are familiar are safe. Not that I'm concerned about safety but being home gives you a level of comfort where you can feel safe.

Working from home? Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia

International Woman's Day - Gold Coast - Australia

A visit to Brisbane to see if the Gold Coast to Brisbane daily commute was a viable option.

Answer - NO

Brisbane - Queensland - Australia

The Gold Coast wasn't meant to be any sort of extension of our Arrival holiday, in fact, we had originally had it slated as the place where we would live. A decision that we originally made for reasons of weather and access to, well, everything cool. The issue with the Gold Coast, for the moment, is that it's not a mecca for jobs, and I didn't really consider us to be in the position where we could wait around for 6 months until something eventuated. It may however be our final destination in the future but that needs to remain on hold for a little while.

Arriving in Melbourne!

Welcome Home!!

We spent a few days on the Gold Coast before heading to our new home, Melbourne. During that time we caught up with Jay, who at that time was at the start of a journey that would take him to California. One going, and one coming back. Little did we both know that at this very time the next year both of us would be in the same cool position, excited and nervous expectant fathers.

And to kick-off the ARRIVAL HOME - here's a few photos from our first months in Melbourne

Elizabeth Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

First day of work with BAPL - a view out to the 'G'

Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Our first rental - Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Our first car in Melbourne - the Ford Mustang Fastback EcoBoost

Good story - Inga & I rode up to the dealership on our bikes. Inga parked her pink bike at the front door. As we walked in the salesman looked as us, not quite sure what to make of two people turning up on bicycles.

20 minutes later he had a sale!

Garfield Street - Richmond - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Gold Coast (AUSTRALIA) - The Jurmula of Australia

Gold Coast (Queensland - Australia)
19 November - 22 November 2015

I first made it to the Gold Coast as a 12 year old. As a family we drove up the Pacific Highway, stopping at Port Macquarie & Byron Bay on the way. Back then it was still the recreational catch-all for people wanting to have their fun in the sun. Sand, surf, night clubs and varying degrees of debauchery, that at that age I knew nothing about, it was the golden strip that drew people from all over Australia, and, from all over Japan. Back that it was Japanese investors driving the market in the South East corner of Queensland rather than China.

To me the Gold Coast always had its place in that enigmatic Queensland ad, 'Beautiful one day, perfect the next'. I'd often wonder whether that proclamation was actually true, outside of those moments where I'd be watching the Coolangatta Gold (the 1980's film) and then realising that the actual race of the same name existed. 

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

Making it to the Gold Coast was kind of like making it to Adventureland. Being a kid that grew up 50kms from the nearest beach in Sydney, entering this world was the stuff of fantasy. Better still, the hotel that we stayed at for those few days, the Baronnet, was only a short walk away from Cavill Mall where Grundy's Arcade was located. A playground of entertainment just waiting to be exploited with borrowed 20 cent pieces from my father. Coupled with visits to Sea World and potentially Dream World, how the hell could life get any better?

All of those memories underpinned the premise for taking Inga to Surfers Paradise.

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

View from the Q1

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

What sold it for her, which took me all of 2 seconds to find out, was the sun. There was sun, sand and surf a plenty. How much more does a Latvian require in life. Oh yeah, perhaps there was also the fact that average temperatures on the Gold Coast in Winter were 15 degrees (that's a mild Summer in Riga). There was no more thinking to be done. This place was already a winner!

Drinks at the Q1

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

Surfers Paradise - Queensland - Australia

Our time on the Gold Coast was fun. There were the obligatory stops at the theme parks, Sea World, Movie World & Wet & Wild, cocktails at the Q1, mindless meanderings on Cavill Avenue, a stop at the Hard Rock and I even had the chance to introduce Inga to a good 'ole friend of mine, Jay Ryan. It didn't surprise me one bit when Inga put it to me that 'she wouldn't mind living here one day'....and I tell you what, last year (2018) we got awfully close. We did purchase an investment property on Hamilton Avenue in 2016 and really investigated a move to the Gold Coast last year. In fact, we came very, very close to signing a contract for a dual level apartment on the Broadwater. Looking back now that decision might not have been the best in terms of my own working opportunities, and whilst I was willing to make the commute to Brisbane on a daily basis, knowing what we have in our lives now, well, that decision would have been brutal for all.

Never the less, the Gold Coast still remains on our radar. If opportunities for work become more readily available then I can't say that a move there won't happen.

Australia - Here's what you get...

AUSTRALIA
30 October 2015 - 15 January 2015

Introduce the man, introduce the place that made him.

It was time. All the places, all the stories. This was to be an introduction to the stage, the theatre, the opera house to which all of these events were played out. Now it was time to show Inga where I came from and provide a visual context to all those stories and events that supported me.

Reflecting back now, that period of time had been somewhat odd. In the same year Inga and I had travelled through South America, then I returned to Australia, packed up the house in Seven Hills and to Serbia. After a few months in Serbia I'd come back to Australia with the objective of selling the property at #90. In the interim period I'd gone back to work at the Federal Court for a few weeks. All of a sudden my life had returned back to what it had been previously, sort of, knowing full well that the changes were ringing in, well and truly.

During this period of time, late October 2015 to January 2016, the plan was to show Inga as much of Australia as possible, and perhaps for me to visit some of the well known places that I had never truly considered going to myself.

So, in the tradition of other all my other kick-off write-ups such as Life in a year full of Saturdays, Keep calm and drive on, Treinta y Cuarenta - the tour of never say never, Argentina - the two timer tour, Don't call this a comeback, 43:The tour of awesome....I bring you, 'Australia - Here's what you'll get'.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.

(Yup, unfortunately you'll get that line too).