Is it worth a sea change or a tree change?

Living between mountains and sea means we embrace a healthier, outdoor lifestyle; This shows that I lost nearly 50 kilos and dropped from size 22 to size 12. Things have also taken off – I’m currently working with The Rural Woman (a cooperative connecting women with services), helping women living in rural and regional areas become digitally savvy.

Forest women are chronically underrepresented in parliament; “It’s a real shame because there are so many forward-thinking, fearless female entrepreneurs doing great things across the country, and their voices, their talents, need to be amplified.”

“The year we spent as a family gave us the courage to take a leap”

Tamara Scenna, 47, caravan park operator

“Our tree change started as a 12-month family gap year in Australia. Life was hectic before we escaped to Sydney’s inner west in our caravan at the beginning of 2019. I worked in public service and left home at 7 a.m. to avoid rush hour traffic that made my commute take over an hour.

Loading

When the kids (now 16 and 13 respectively) were at school, we were all feeling like ships at night most of the time; so we thought traveling and bonding for a year before our oldest child started high school would help us start over and get back to our old lives. city ​​life with a fresh mindset. Of course, we all realized there was so much more to life than Sydney had to offer; During our time on the road, the seed was planted to try something else.

We initially tried to settle in Sydney; We even got a new dog and a cat, but when COVID-19 hit, we started thinking about buying an RV park as a way to make ends meet outside of the city. We looked at a few options in Queensland, then fell in love with what is now Daintree Siesta (in the far north of the state), which also has motel rooms and a restaurant.

Timing is important with school age children and we knew if we wanted a tree change it was now or never. After serious arguments with our children, we sold out and after a few complications with border closures, we started our new lives at the end of 2021.

Moving to a remote location, especially with teenagers, is not suitable for everyone. Mossman is our nearest town so our local supermarket and pharmacy is an hour away and Cairns is 2.5 hours away. My children have always played football, so one of the non-negotiable aspects of our move was that they would continue to play football. But for that to happen we need to get them to training at Mossman every week and to Cairns for games on Saturdays. Driving takes a lot of time, but we find someone to protect us at the park, and we do it as a family, which provides quality time to talk about big topics.

The benefits were many. The schools my children attend are much smaller than the schools they attend in Sydney – there are 20 children at my daughter’s primary school – so they get plenty of one-on-one instruction with teachers. Shared experiences have brought our children closer and now they work in our restaurant after school and encounter all kinds of interesting situations, turning into wonderful young adults. “Of course, we are aware that they will be leaving to go to university, so it is important to enjoy this time living and working together.”

“It didn’t make much financial sense to buy in Sydneyto”

Tahlia Crinis, 40, PR consultant

“I never realized how I got through the whole ‘Sydney thing’ until lockdowns forced us to live indoors for long periods of time. Until that moment, life had been like one social event after another. My husband, Alex, and I must have had at least three dinners out with friends every week, and there were endless work events throughout the day as well as casual coffee chats and morning gym sessions.

When we were stuck inside, we realized how much we enjoyed not having to go anywhere and being able to continue life at a slower pace. When we started looking for a place to buy, it quickly became clear that we would either have to downsize to a shoebox apartment or look far beyond the city limits. Sydney has a lot of great things to do, but affordability isn’t one of them

Loading

Moving to Wombarra (on the Illawarra coast south of Sydney) made sense from the start; I grew up in nearby Bulli so I knew the area well, plus we needed an exchange location close enough to Sydney to make Alex’s commute to the office at least three days a week a little easier. The first house we looked at was the one we bought and when we left Sydney we couldn’t believe how much our budget could stretch. Instead of a one-bedroom apartment in Potts Point, we now have a three-bedroom house with ocean views and a large backyard.

Since our move in 2023, life has changed as we planned. I work from home, so in warm weather I start my days with a swim at the beach. I always make time for things that I forget how much I enjoy, like sitting in the garden with a book and a cup of tea. Alex also enjoys commuting; He says taking a long train ride twice a day gives him the chance to complete extraordinary tasks so that his brain can be clear of clutter when he comes home.

A big change isn’t just about moving house, it’s also about changing aspects of how you live your life – or so we learned very quickly. We can no longer rely on the takeout orders that make up so much of our week here in the city, and our suburb doesn’t even have a café or grocery store. But over time, we have learned the importance of purchasing a quality coffee machine and properly planning meals so that you do not have to run to the nearest store, but these are minor adjustments in the overall picture. We enjoy the peace and quiet so much, not to mention all the space we suddenly have, that we never gave Sydney a second thought!”

Make the most of it Sunday Life The magazine is delivered to your email inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up for us here free newsletter.