Question: Why are you moving to Tasmania?
Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Matt Mercier
Answer: Because it is the kind of opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime.
I can't tell you how much I secretly have enjoyed telling people I'm moving to Tasmania... Here is how it usually goes.
Some people, the kind that are more adventurous ask me about Tasmania, and especially when they can come visit. Others, who are more grounded will ask me if I'll miss home, which I respond... "Of course, and there is no way I can quantify how much I will miss all of my family and friends." Sometimes the conversation steers towards how long the flight is, and how far away Tasmania is. My response to this has usually been the same, it as far away from here as you can possibly get. If you go any farther, you are coming back. The only way I can go any farther would be if I climbed a mountain in Tasmania.
I tend to do a lot of geography teaching to some people, explaining that Tasmania is like the exclamation point on Australia.
I delight in the seeming randomness of it all. It is not random however. Since my wife is from Tasmania, it is like anyone else who moves to be closer to the other spouses family. It just so happens that hers lives in a rather unconventional place. I can assure you that if she was from Boise Idaho, we would probably entertain the idea of relocating there.
As luck would have it, I did not fall in love with, and marry a woman from Boise, but a lovely Lass from Launceston.
Why Launceston? Lucy (aforementioned bride) is from Launceston, and simply put, we know it, have roots there, and friends and family on hand when we begin the next phase of adult life. This phase is of course.. buying a home. Actually that will hopefully occur before the real goal of beginning our family and having kids.
Anyone who knows my wife, knows she loves children, and I'm no exception to that age old attempt at genetic immortality. We could, of course begin our family here, in Boston. We decided against that however and desire to relocate to a more.. how do I say.. "Family Friendly" location. Neither one of us were city kids, and I'm more adept at showing a child how to negotiate a Mountain bike trail, than I am the subtleties of Boston Navigation.
It is a complicated thing to marry someone from a far away land, and we knew from the beginning that it wouldn't be easy. One thing we are certain of is that we want our children to grow up with the experience of living in both countries their parents are from.
There are many other pros and cons to this complex decision, and we have had many discussions long into the night about it. We both know that we are doing the right thing for now, and my perspective is to look at it positively and to get excited about what I'll have a chance to see and do that I never could have predicted growing up in my small Maine hometown.
I can't tell you how much I secretly have enjoyed telling people I'm moving to Tasmania... Here is how it usually goes.
- Me: Oh, I thought I should tell you this... I'm moving to Australia.
- Them: What? Really!? Wow, when?
- Me: January of 2010
- Them: ...(usually a pause while they decide whether or not to take me seriously) Why?
- Me: Well, my wife is from Australia, and we decided that it was a good time to pick up and try things down under. She is from Tasmania actually, so that is where we'll go.
- Them: Tasmania? *Look of bewilderment* Wow. Do you have a job?
- Me: Not as of yet, but I'm sure I'll find something...
Some people, the kind that are more adventurous ask me about Tasmania, and especially when they can come visit. Others, who are more grounded will ask me if I'll miss home, which I respond... "Of course, and there is no way I can quantify how much I will miss all of my family and friends." Sometimes the conversation steers towards how long the flight is, and how far away Tasmania is. My response to this has usually been the same, it as far away from here as you can possibly get. If you go any farther, you are coming back. The only way I can go any farther would be if I climbed a mountain in Tasmania.
I tend to do a lot of geography teaching to some people, explaining that Tasmania is like the exclamation point on Australia.
I delight in the seeming randomness of it all. It is not random however. Since my wife is from Tasmania, it is like anyone else who moves to be closer to the other spouses family. It just so happens that hers lives in a rather unconventional place. I can assure you that if she was from Boise Idaho, we would probably entertain the idea of relocating there.
As luck would have it, I did not fall in love with, and marry a woman from Boise, but a lovely Lass from Launceston.
Anyone who knows my wife, knows she loves children, and I'm no exception to that age old attempt at genetic immortality. We could, of course begin our family here, in Boston. We decided against that however and desire to relocate to a more.. how do I say.. "Family Friendly" location. Neither one of us were city kids, and I'm more adept at showing a child how to negotiate a Mountain bike trail, than I am the subtleties of Boston Navigation.
It is a complicated thing to marry someone from a far away land, and we knew from the beginning that it wouldn't be easy. One thing we are certain of is that we want our children to grow up with the experience of living in both countries their parents are from.
There are many other pros and cons to this complex decision, and we have had many discussions long into the night about it. We both know that we are doing the right thing for now, and my perspective is to look at it positively and to get excited about what I'll have a chance to see and do that I never could have predicted growing up in my small Maine hometown.
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