I am a fundamentally organized person. ‘Type A’ where the idea of 2,364 unread emails (junk or otherwise) gives me palpitations. Or even one unread email, come to think of it. The point is I couldn’t possibly move across the world without having anywhere to live, a job to start or really any other reason to go other than it being an awesome idea. Yet here I am. I moved to Newcastle, Australia from London, England six months ago and it was the most terrifying decision I ever made.

And the most wonderful.

The whole idea of moving started as a bluff. Something my fiancé and I discussed, but which we never thought would become a reality – not only because of life generally but because we were also planning our wedding at the time (something which is notoriously stressful under normal circumstances, without throwing emigration into the mix). Over time, the bluff became more and more serious until phone interviews were taking place at 4am and we found ourselves applying for visas.

The visa process very quickly became the bane of our existence. The be all and end all of moving to Australia. We did not want to book flights without a visa; we did not want to quit our jobs prior to its security; and ideally, we did not want to have a leaving party before knowing for certain that we’d be granted one at all… And yet we did all of those things. We packed up our belongings, said our goodbyes and the day of our flight rolled around.

And still no sign of our visa.

It goes without saying that by this point I was freaking out — not least because it is very awkward having to see everyone again after a leaving party. Two weeks later, having changed and then eventually canceled our flights, along with all of our Airbnbs, the visa finally came through. We immediately re-booked everything (£1,000 out of pocket by this point), said goodbye again and off we flew to Australia.

Newcastle, Australia

Now, why Newcastle? You may ask. Personally, I hadn’t even heard of Newcastle before researching places to live — aside from the one in the north of England, of course — but the answer is very simple: sun, sand and sea. Having been used to a fast-paced lifestyle in London, we were all too ready to dial it back, relax on the beach after work and go surfing whenever the fancy took us. Now we live within walking distance of four gorgeous beaches and the sun really does shine every day (apart from when it doesn’t and instead it’s solid rain for three days, but that’s rare).

This slower pace of life is now my favorite thing about Newcastle, but it certainly took some getting used to. On our very first evening, we decided to go for a meander down the main street — you know, to get a feel for the place and walk off the copious amount of Spanish food we’d just consumed. Having paid (without leaving a tip — another unusual custom), we left the restaurant, turned down Hunter Street and it was dead. Not only was everything shut, but there was not a soul around — we genuinely thought something had happened to keep everyone indoors. It was only 10.30pm… and it was a Friday. Ignoring any creeping doubt that may have been presenting itself by this point, we decided to just call it an early night and see what Newy (as the cool kids are calling it) is like in the morning.

Due to our old friend, Jet-Lag, we were up and out by 6.45am. Assuming nowhere would be open, we had prepared ourselves to go for a run, as it seemed like an Aussie thing to do. Boy, did we have a lot to learn! Well, we were right about people going running, but our timing was way off — they had already been and returned and were sitting with their morning coffees… in the cafes, all of which were open. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t end up going for a run, but instead decided to indulge ourselves at Moor, a cafe which is now one of our very favorites and, incidentally, closest to where we ended up living. We loaded up on grilled halloumi, poached eggs, and trendy avo, with lashings of olive and jalapeno tapenade, washed it down with top quality flat whites and then headed to our first flat viewing.

Newcastle, Australia

Having arrived in plenty of time, we were about to be introduced to another nuance of the Aussie lifestyle, namely that their chill attitude often translates into lateness. There go my Type A alarm bells again. We were waiting for twenty minutes before the agent showed up, but this flat ended up being where we now live so who can complain? Certainly not me. Aside from the beaches, we have dozens of fantastic restaurants right on our doorstep (sorry wallet and waistline), not to mention the number of cafes, all of which produce astounding coffee. As a freelancer, I practically live in cafes, so the fact that Newcastle is so proud of its coffee culture was a treat for me. If you ever find yourself in the area, be sure to re-caffeinate at One Penny Black, East End Hub and Core Espresso!

Now if you excuse me, I hear that the waves are perfect this morning…