So there I was, nearly seven months pregnant at my own good bye party, with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. About six months before my husband, James, our then one year old son and I had returned home for good, or so we thought, ready to find the big family home, expand our family and settle down into a comfortable Australian existence. But there we were, saying so long to family and friends, and once again heading off into the blue and a life overseas.
For 10 of the last 15 years I have lived outside of Australia. In Oxford, London, New York and Tokyo I made a life for myself, drawn, at different times, by study, work, adventure and love. This time we were heading off to Singapore, leaving behind our beloved Melbourne, for a mixture of professional and private reasons.
After a dramatic start (James in London, early labour, very sick baby) we found that we love living here in Singapore. For an Australian family with young children who wants to return home regularly you could not find a more prefect place to live. James loves his job, we have lots of help, the weather is always warm, you are spoilt for choice of tropical beaches and it is not much further from Melbourne than Perth.
My needs are more prosaic than when I was in my 20s, but I have found myself to be more content and relaxed than at any time in my life. Viva la Singapura!
