Year In Review 2023!

I'm not too sure how long this blog will be today, since for the last week, I've been suffering from a bad wrist. I've been to the Doctors, as you would expect from me, and have an X-ray and ultrasound booked for 8 January. This kind of thing always happens at the most inconvenient time, so I just have to wait until Christmas is over. For now, I will just persevere and do as much as I can.

Looking back over this past year has for once been a pleasure. Darrell and I have achieved so much here in Australia, in such a short space of time. I started my new job, as Manager of a busy outlet shop, in the middle of January and have been working there ever since. Getting this job, after only being in Australia for a few months, was an amazing achievement. I had no idea I would be working so soon after receiving my Permanent Resident status, just a few weeks before. However, so far I seem to have fitted in well at this high-end shop, just a fifteen-minute walk from where we currently live.

Of course, I have worked in retail most of my life and my customer service skills are exceptional, but I still have to pinch myself sometimes, when I realise just how far I have come, since leaving the UK. Compared to previous jobs, this position is extremely well paid and has allowed me to afford a lifestyle, I could have only dreamt of in the UK. I am no longer just surviving day by day, I now have the money to do the things I want, and I am well aware of how lucky I am to be in such a fortunate position. I never thought I would be working for such a respected Australian brand, in an industry I initially knew very little about. Furthermore, I am, however, proud to say I have adapted to my somewhat challenging circumstances and become a respected member of the Management team!

Early in the year, we also exchanged contracts on our new home in Australia. With a lot of luck and encouragement from a wonderful financial advisor, we bought a three-bedroom villa, our first home together since living in Spain. The house is everything we could have dreamt of, offering us a home in a country I am now proud to call home. Thankfully, I was able to save a substantial deposit, whilst living in the UK, during COVID. For the first time in a long time, I was able to do the right thing financially and invest in mine and Darrell's future.

The villa needs a lot of work doing to it, and it isn't something we will finish overnight. Gradually, we are doing what we can, when finances allow. Unlike the past, I am paying for everything cash and not on credit, which means the renovations will take a little longer to complete. That's fine by me, I am in no rush to get everything done, and I'm not going anywhere soon.

We have managed to upgrade the electrics, replace the garden fence and fully furnish the property, without borrowing money. It's only because we earn a decent wage that we have been able to do this, if I was back in the UK, it just wouldn't have happened.

2023 has been about turning over a new leaf and part of that desire, includes financial independence and stability. With frugal living and careful money management, I have managed to pay double the mortgage payments over the last year, reducing my mortgage term from 30 to 12 years, and I'm not stopping there. I am determined to pay off this house in record time and most importantly, buy another investment property, to supplement mine and Darrell's pension as we approach retirement. This isn't something we can do straight away, especially with interest rates so high, but it is top of my list of priorities as we approach 2024.

With my Permanent Residency secured, I was finally given permission to leave Australia; after such a difficult few months, I decided to arrange a holiday for me and Darrell, back to Thailand. This was a place both of us fell in love with, when we travelled there in 2022 and like my other half, I wanted to see more of this amazing Country. In August, we flew to Bangkok, where we began a ten-day unforgettable holiday.

This was a two centre holiday, and we started our time in Bangkok, staying once again at the Nuovo City Hotel, opposite our favourite Bangkok restaurant 'So Samsen' on Samen Road. This beautiful restaurant is owned Aom, who made us feel so at home, the first time we arrived in Thailand, a year before. Aom offered a safe haven, where we could sit and relax, finally free from the bitterness we left behind. In many respects, 'So Samsen' provided us with a homely, friendly environment, which we had craved for so long. We agreed we would return,  and here we were in 2023, back in a place, so special, so full of happy memories, 'So Samen' on Samsen Road!

From Bangkok, we flew to the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai, where we spent six amazing days exploring this truly awe-inspiring place. We spent time at an Elephant sanctuary, visited the jungle, climbed a waterfall and visited the famous Long Neck Karen People, who I had only ever read about in books. It was an incredible adventure of a lifetime and a trip I will never forget. This was what living life was all about, and we had finally found happiness far away from the UK.

A house is of course never a home without a cat, and finally we were able to adopt two cats and make them a part of our life. First came Pippa, a beautiful tabby, who has Hyperreflexier, and the sweetest little girl, who has many issues to deal with. She was a rescue cat, who still remains nervous, but over time, we hope she will settle down and finally relax around us. Then there is Akira, a rescue kitten, who quite honestly is a little terror, but a loving one at that. Both of them have a way to go, before they are settled together, but as time moves on, they are becoming closer and closer and most importantly integrating into our life in Western Australia.

As 2023 draws to a close, it is important for Darrell and I to spend our first Christmas together, down under, in our new home, surrounded by family and friends. For the first and last time, I cooked a proper British Christmas Dinner, in sweltering 35 degree heat. Luckily, we have aircon in every room and the raging temperature wasn't too much of an issue.

It does feel good to have a home again and invite guests over, as we used to, back in the good old days. You can go weeks without seeing people here, so it does make a pleasant change to entertain like we did in the past. Both Darrell and I are homebodies and our house is very important to us, so we are particularly choosy about whom we have over. We have been bitten too many times by bad people, and this isn't something we want again.

As we move into 2024, we hope to continue very much in the same vein as before. My job is now secure and after a large pay rise, I hope to invest more money into our villa. We also plan to travel extensively next year, returning to the UK when we can and visiting Vietnam and Japan. This has indeed been one of our most successful years ever, but we are aware of just what could go wrong. It is essential both of us look towards the future, but never forget the past that is responsible, for where we are today. Learning from our mistakes, is the only thing that will give us the future we both deserve and a successful if challenging life, even if it is twenty years too late!