I was lucky enough to experience Christmas Day in Australia in 2008, pre-kids. We had a bbq breakfast at my cousin's house in Perth, we swam in the ocean, lay on the beach drinking beer and then came back to the house for turkey and all the trimmings. It was pretty blissful.This year was our first family Christmas in Brisbane. Here's how Christmas Day looked to me, represented in stats... . . . Keep Reading
Shipping your belongings abroad: Emigration tips & tricks
The last three months have been the busiest of my life. One of the most challenging parts of moving to Brisbane was shipping our belongings abroad.Everyone seemed to think that because we had shippers coming to pack our things, it was going to be easy for us. How wrong they were!If you’re thinking of emigrating and were wondering how the shipping process works, then hopefully you’ll find this useful. Either way, I hope it gives you an insight into the last few crazy weeks of our lives . . . Keep Reading
We moved to Brisbane!
I can't quiet believe we did it! After over a year of talking about it, we finally moved to Brisbane. We arrived into Brisbane International Airport late on Thursday night, after being up for about 30 hours. We flew as direct as possible, with just a two-hour changeover in Singapore. The boys were absolute angels (yes, that completely shocked me too!) but unfortunately E screamed most of the second flight. Thankfully there were lots of friendly Aussie families aboard who did their . . . Keep Reading
It’s really happening! Family emigration update
So, this is it! Finally, our house sale is going to complete on 22nd August and we're about to book our flights to Australia for mid September. We debated about trying to go before E turns two in early September, but decided it would be worth the cost to get her a seat. 24hrs is a long time for grown ups to travel, let alone if you're under five as my three kids will be. . . . Keep Reading
Should kids be allowed on planes?
I keep hearing discussions that there should be child-free flights for people who don't want to be bothered by kids kicking the back of their seat. There's a much better idea though... I read this article recently about Richard Branson's idea to create a separate cabin for kids on Virgin Atlantic flights, where children would travel separate to their parents. Nannies would take care of the kids, who could make as much noise as they liked, while the parents could sit back and sip their gin and . . . Keep Reading