The beginning

At the beginning of 2012 I was getting through the daily grind in Melbourne as my job as an assistant private banker in Melbourne. However, the days went relatively slowly as I was counting down till March 17. This was the date I would start my new adventure overseas on a 2 year working holiday in London. I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was I needed something fresh and exciting to escape the rut I was in.

Away from work I found life to be quite dull and unexciting. Each week would consist of work, gym maybe twice a week, basketball and copious amounts of the play station 3 to fill in the gaps. In between funding a mortgage and saving for the working holiday, I was not left with much disposable income to enjoy Melbourne. Consequently I was a slightly depressed person who was not exactly the life of the party. My brother would describe me as a “drainer” i.e. one who drains the life of you when you are around them.  I didn’t see it at the time, but I now completely agree with him.

Sadly it was also during this time that my parents and brother led more active social lives than me. By way of example the following conversation with my mum, happened regularly on a Thursday night.

Mum: “Boy we’re not in Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday night you alright for dinner”

Me: “Uh no”

Mum: “Ok there are two minute noodles in the pantry…see you!”

Me: “well this is depressing, can you make sure my shirts are ironed for work on Monday!”

D-Day

I don’t remember all that well to be completely honest. It was a surreal feeling as one moment I was saying goodbye to my parents at tullamarine airport, next thing I knew I was in doha transiting to my London bound flight, and then shortly after that I found myself in King cross (yes Platform 9¾ quarters for those harry potter fans!) looking for a cab to my friend’s apartment. I do make it sound like it was a 5 hour journey but it actually took a whole 24 hours to arrive in London town.

The transition

From the months between March and June would be where I matured from a mummy’s boy to a independent jet-setting Londoner.

Job:

Was a turbulent 2 month hunt, which consisted of numerous and intense phone staring sessions and recruiter meetings. Finding your first job is the hardest as all London firms prefer to hire people with UK experience. Of course if no one gives you your first break then how do you get London experience? The answer…just wait, eventually you will find that one manager who has a soft spot for Australians and sees that you are more than capable of fulfilling the requirements of the role.

Ultimately, this is something out of your control and when you finally land that role, you will wonder why you stressed in the first place. Eventually I managed to land a role as a financial analyst with a fund manager. Basically I am a professional spreadsheeter here in London….best we move on to the next topic!

Mi casa:

Trying to view and secure a room in London is harder than an Asian fella trying to pick up an Aussie girl at eve nightclub on a Saturday (never gonna happen!) Rooms get snapped up every 3 minutes (source: http://www.sparerooms.co.uk) and once again patience is required. Eventually when you do get it, it is such a relief, as you appreciate how good it is to sleep on a proper bed after couch surfing for 2 months!

Friends:

Thankfully, I had a few good friends from university and also my old work place, who had already established themselves here. This was one of the few “wins” I had in London. It was great to have some friends in London and to be perfectly honest if it wasn’t for my friends Steve and Gajia (honourable mentions to Chris and Louise!) my London experience would have been a lot tougher.

Cost of living:

Surprisingly, based on the current exchange rate I would say London is comparable to Melbourne and Sydney. Food and public transport is cheaper (metro-you should be paying me to use your subpar and overpriced services), rent probably a little more expensive and night life roughly the same.

Cooking:

Thanks to youtube and recipes mum had emailed through, I was surprised to learn that I am capable of cooking food that does not cause pain and suffering to those who consume it! My signature dish is the good ol chicken stir fry. (I’m not being biased or anything, but its pretty damn good and I am happy to challenge anyone iron chef styles if they want!)

With ironing, a quick 3 minute video from TM lewin (thanks again youtube) assisted me with reducing the time taken to iron a shirt from 40 min to 10min. Quite an accomplishment for someone who was not able to survive on their own only 3 months prior.

Holiday planning & Travel:

• http://www.sky scanner.net (compare airfares)
• http://www.tripadvisor.com (check quality of hotels/attractions)
• http://www.trivago.com (compare hotels)

These are the three sites I use to book my holiday and after awhile one does book holidays with the same proficiency as a Flight Centre travel agent.

The first holiday I booked was to Aarhus Denmark. Where in the heck is that you ask? Why? Because it was cheap and also I wanted to visit somewhere off the tourist trail. Ok so the latter reason maybe embellished a little to save face. Nonetheless I had a great time there and discovered that the some of the best food in the world can be found in Denmark, you can get 24 hours of sunlight during the summer in some parts of the country and also the humble coffee from starbucks (or equivalent) costs around £5 ($7.50 AUD).

My other trips would see me visit Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy and Belgium over various weekends throughout the year.

For me, Morocco was the most enjoyable and culturally enriching trip that I went on. If you do get the chance, do check the place out. It is unlike anything in the western world and Asian world for that matter!

From 2012 to the new year!

A new start granted me the opportunity to rejig my thought process and approach to life. I unintentionally forced myself to get out of my comfort zone, began to learn the life skills I so greatly lacked and simultaneously found my passion for life again.

Having a clean slate allowed me to really think what is it I want to do. Not what should I do because I have always been doing this or I feel that I should do this. The result – I was now working to live (not living to work has I had done previously). I had a life again, I rediscovered my motivation to go out and explore, but most importantly I realized that those people who enjoy their lives, choose to do so. They plan ahead, they know what’s going on and what’s coming up. They don’t wait for life to come to them, they go and get it!

With this new mind-set, 2013 is shaping up to be one of the best years ever. I have over 15 cities I want to visit this year and this blog will be where I post up my adventures and experiences from those visits, so stay tuned.

JD

A Happy new Year to Everyone!

The new year is upon us and my goodness it is flying by already. Throughout the year I will be posting pictures and stories of my travels throughout Europe, as I continue my working holiday here in London. This weekend I am sick so unfortunately I do not have any interesting stories to share with you just yet!

But stay tuned as I’m sure it will get more interesting in the upcoming months!

JD