In a few days I would have been in Sydney for four months. And I’ve been lazy in updating this blog. So here’s a little insight into my current life.

I’m typing a draft of this post on my smartphone as I sit on the bus on my way home. Well, it’s not really my home as I’m staying with my uncle and his family at the moment. It’s great to have relatives here and they have been so supportive. If not for them, my transition to life here wouldn’t have been as smooth.

In allowing me to live with them, I didn’t have to deal with the stress of looking for a place to rent. That said, I’m not planning to live with them for the long haul. In fact, I’m pleased to say that I have put down money on a one bedroom unit! However it’s still being constructed at the moment and is slated to be ready in March 2018. So that’s something I’m looking for forward to come next year! It’ll be the first place that I can call my very own! I had decided it’s time to do the adult thing and get a mortgage. Proud to say that I didn’t do it on a mum-and-dad loan. 

Right now I’m living in a big house and come home to a family setting where I get to chat with my uncle, aunt and three cousins. I have home cooked food to eat the moment I’m home from work. My lifestyle has taken a 360 degree turn from Hong Kong. 

The commute to work now is a long 1h 20min bus ride from the heart of suburbia which is where I’m located. Sydney really needs better infrastructure. Traffic is horrendous during peak hours. Yes, I miss Hong Kong’s wonderful public transport. 

But there are things I like to look out for on my daily commute. Like the expanse of bushland below as the bus zips across one section of the M2 motorway. It’s so nice to see the tree canopy and all that space.

And every time the bus crosses the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I will look out of the window to admire the beauty of the Sydney harbour with the white tiles of the Opera House shimmering in the morning sun. At that point I would give thanks to the opportunity I’m getting in living and working in this beautiful city.

Work is also going well and I’m lucky to be working with people who are a nice bunch. Apart from work, I’ve been checking out the outdoors with bushwalks in national parks. The one I have been going to the most is the Blue Mountains National Park. I have found a group I like and have been joining them. I’ve been doing hikes of over 20km with over 1000m in elevation. Last Sunday, it was a 36.5km hike – a big loop around Katoomba and Mount Solitary – with over 2000m in total elevation. I was shattered at the end of it but the sense of achievement at having finished it was great.  

A trip to the mountains is always healing and good for the soul. It’s great to reconnect with nature after a week at work and being in a concrete jungle. I’m always happy when I’m around nature. It’s calming as it puts things into perspective and takes my mind off the daily worries as I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Nature really is therapeutic.

I caught up with a friend from Singapore for breakfast last week. I hadn’t seen him for seven years; last time I saw him was before I left for Hong Kong. He was in Sydney for work and he commented that I looked and sounded really happy from the way I spoke about my life here. He said it was so refreshing to see me so positive and full of energy compared to Singaporeans who are always complaining. 

That really meant something to me as it’s been awhile since I can say I am happy. I’m enjoying Sydney and I think the fact that I have bought a place gives me something to look forward to. I feel like I can sink roots here and it’s given me a sense of home. It’s a feeling I never got – and possibly would never get no matter how long I stayed – in Hong Kong. That’s probably because I could never afford a place of my own in Hong Kong and it’s not somewhere I could see myself retiring in.

I think the other thing that has changed is my mindset. I’m more mindful about gratitude and I find that it’s a good way to cope with life’s disappointments. For example, I had been sad at being single and never ever being able to meet a special someone. Now I’m more accepting of the fact that I might remain single my whole life and completely miss out on the experience of being a mother. Of course it would be nice to have a life companion but failing which I’m able to survive on my own too.

The thing is, I’ve got my shit together. And if I’m going to be with someone, he’d better have his shit together too. Otherwise, I don’t need someone coming along to mess up my life. There are pros and cons to being married as it is with being single. I choose to focus on the pros – the freedom to up and go whenever and wherever I want. It’s important to remind myself to count my blessings. I guess I’m more at peace with myself now.

Of course not everything is rosy. I hate the high tax rate and the welfare system. It’s something I don’t believe in. But it’s the price to pay in living here so I just have to accept it. 

Anyway that’s Dimsumdolly in Sydney for the moment!