DIY Project: Bookshelf with Crates

 

A little DIY project where I made a bookshelf with crates from

IKEA

for our hangout room (the 2nd room in the house with undecided future....)

Heart Talk: It has been a while....

 

It has been a while..... 

Heart Talk: Home that was meant to be ....

In Australia, the process of renting a house is slightly different. You only get to view a house along with other potential tenants in a time frame given by the agent or owner. If you like it, you lodge an application with the required documents. Having a prior renting history, a stable job, a few references in Australia really help. When you are new here, most of the times you do not have the first two things and it gets difficult to get your first rented house. This is what I have heard, though my experience was different. 

Six Things I Love About Adelaide

It has been two years since our move to Adelaide. I strongly believe that it takes you up to a minimum of 2 years to understand a new place. So, if you are new here and things do not make sense... don't worry they eventually will and if you have been here two years and things still do not make sense, do not worry - just know that it is absolutely normal to take time when you migrate. 

But, in all honesty, Adelaide is a great place to start your life as a new immigrant. Migration comes with its set of issues and while job and income are one of the major concerns but, quality of life, security, a strong community, ease of movement and peace of mind are also very important factors. In Adelaide, you can tick off many boxes. I might have found myself struggling harder in a fast-paced city trying to find an identity and stability compared to the ease with which my husband and I were accepted by Adelaide, in fact, South Australia. 

We have come a long way in these two years and I can now say that it feels home. 

Here are six things that make Adelaide a good choice:

Travel Diary: Kallar Kahar

Travelling does not have to be an expensive and elaborate experience. It does not have to have a train or a plane ride and visas and passports. You do not need to save all year to go on one vacation. I have learned to appreciate and take joy in visiting and exploring little towns and have realized that sometimes you underestimate the beauty of something just because it is easy to reach and sometimes you spend a big amount only to be disappointed. After our first international move, it took us five years to go on our first 'international' vacation together. We were struggling financially and managing our lives in a new country and a vacation seemed like an expense that we could not afford. That, however, did not stop us from taking numerous little trips to places that we could at least drive to. Every other long weekend, we would select a small town or village and go exploring. It got me wondering why I never thought of doing this in my own country. 

So, now on all my trips to Pakistan, even though, I am always struggling with the shortage of time versus the tasks at hand, if I manage to squeeze in a small adventure to a new destination, the mission is accomplished. 

Celebrating 10 Years of Expat Life

Time is a fascinating concept. I am the kind of person who loves to measure passing time in days, months and years. I am a walking calendar in that way. I have to put my mind at ease by adding a proper number to vague measures of times like a few years ago, a couple of months ago. But, what makes me happier is reaching a milestone and to be able to replace that number with a fancy word. 

Like... March of 2019 marks a ‘decade’ of living an expat life - a reminder that it has been a ‘decade’ to that leap of faith we took... you see what I meant by a fancy word? 

I will be doing a tiny series of posts about the journey so far by answering some of the commonly asked questions 

Let's get a cup of tea first...