What a great opportunity this is to interview my partner on how he really feels about moving across the world with me from Australia to London. Versus my views! Questions answered separately in isolation…
But first, a bit of background. I met Harry when I was living in London in 2013. A mutual friend from Australia had organised to stay with me during his world trip and asked if his friend Harry could stay too. Long story short, Harry and I spent the best part of a week together before he flew back to Australia. Six months later after messaging each other on Facebook on a daily basis, I visited Harry in Australia and my original plan of staying in Australia for 1 month became 1 year and 4 months before we returned to London together.
Let’s begin…
- Moving overseas as a couple is a big deal. How did you agree on London and the timing?
Jodie – The stars really were aligned for us. Harry owned M&M pyjama pants with British flags all over them (aka loved London), and I wasn’t quite finished with life in London. Plus, I had an Ancestry Visa with a ticking expiry date of March 2018 and Harry was eligible for a British passport so we both had the right to work in the UK. Decision made. Timing depended on our savings. Once we were both in steady jobs, we worked out how much we could save and by when.
Harry – I’d always wanted to spend longer in London and moving then just made sense, we wanted to explore a bit more before settling down.
- A big decision like this doesn’t happen overnight, how did you prepare for it?
J – I’m from Queensland in Australia. Harry is from Tasmania but was living in Melbourne. This meant a few domestic flights to get to know each other more after 6 months of Facebook interaction from the other side of the world and wondering if we actually liked the other person in real life.
Turns out we did like each other so I moved to Melbourne. I didn’t know anyone there (except for Harry of course), had no job and next to no money after spending it all on living in London and travel around Europe. So, Harry and I lived together for 6 weeks until I found a job and a place to live.
Four months later, Harry asked me to move in with him (nothing to do with the fact his place was being demolished to make way for new apartments), and I said yes! We found a 3 bedroom house for rent in a great suburb, all to ourselves for a bargain price. This was our preparation!
H – We spoke about it quite regularly from the early days which made it a whole lot easier. I thought moving just before the European summer / just after the Aussie summer would assist with the transition too. The actual flight booking was pretty spontaneous! We just booked it at a travel expo.
- What excited you the most about moving to London together?
J – The opportunity to really settle in, get into a routine and travel together.
H – We had such a great time exploring Melbourne, I was very excited to see what we could find in London. Being from a small town I think I am really drawn to big cities. Of course it was hard telling family and friends that we were going but it was great to have my best friend to share the excitement!
- Was there anything you were concerned about? Be honest.
J – Both of us didn’t have jobs lined up, and our savings were only enough to last a few months at most. Thankfully we both got jobs almost immediately. Harry the talented devil was the selected candidate out of 15 people in an Assessment Centre in his first selection process for a role in London!
H – It is a big move and quite scary! It almost seems surreal but I think there was definitely some underlying stress as the date approached. I knew it would be a good test of our relationship too, but thankfully we made it through. Of course running out of money was a worry too.
- What do you remember about each other on the day of the big flight to London?
J – We were at Harry’s parent’s place. Harry was very relaxed and I was still trying to decide between what to take and what to leave behind as I sat on my bag, impatiently trying to close the zip. I – hate – packing.
H – Haha Jodie was still packing! It was exciting and surreal, a bit like a big holiday
- Have you had to make compromises for the other along the way e.g. where to live in London?
J – No. I love where we live and our housemates. Harry and I can both get to work within half an hour from home. The only compromise is having more stuff than I’d like on the shelf in our room. I bet Harry’s compromise is putting his music posters up on the inside of his cupboard door instead of on the walls.
H – I’ve probably got my way in where we are living now (north London), but yes Jodie is good at a reality check. She’s also very good at destination suggestions and holiday planning, which is great!
- How do you find time for each other in a busy place like London?
J – Easy. We have a lot of the same interests including music and exploring new places so often combine these with having time out together as a couple.
H – We work similar hours with a similar commute so see each other every morning and night! We are also both up for anything so will go along with the other to an event or outing they suggest. I’ve even got Jodie to a few hip hop shows! Dinners out together are nice reflection times.
- What is your favourite moment or memory of this experience so far?
J – Sleeping under the stars in the desert in Morocco, holding hands as we lay in beds next to one another, helping each other search for shooting stars.
H – Any time that we actually stop and remember we’re living here and how lucky we are – Greenwich Park, Skyline ride, Hampstead heath and when we take Ned the dog to the park come to mind.
- What’s that one thing the other person does that annoys the nice person out of you?
J – When Harry is hungry and enjoying his food, he chews so enthusiastically he makes sounds when he opens and closes his mouth. It makes me want to poke his eye out with my fork. In a loving way.
H – Haha well I know what Jodie will say about me (loud eater).. Can I say her alarm clock and snooze habits? (only on an event day)
- Would you change anything?
J – Not a thing.
H – Nope, it’s been great!
