Just over a year ago, Robert and I both quit our jobs and gave up the lease on our Sydney apartment.
We moved to Hobart and stayed with my parents for 2 months, and while we were there, we got married.
Our wedding was laid back and non-traditional. We had photos taken next to some Batman-themed street art in a Hobart alleyway, our ceremony was held under an old tree in a public garden with Mt Wellington looming over us in the background, and we had our reception in an old flour mill converted to a restaurant.
Our wedding in Hobart
The wedding had come and gone before we knew it, and soon after we took off for a 6-week backpacking trip though Latin America.
We hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, climbed over ancient Mayan ruins in the Mexican jungle, and stared across the vast expanse of the largest salt flats in the world in Bolivia.
We were served deliciously fresh tacos by friendly locals who didn’t speak a word of English. We caught overnight buses that drove along nothing but bumpy sand roads for hours at a time. We mountain biked down the world’s most dangerous road, and drank coca tea with alpacas staring over our shoulder.
Exploring Mexico City
And then, we moved to a different country.
We attempted to start a new life of adventure in New York City, but our plans fell apart the moment we arrived. So, we travelled to Barbados and applied for our visa all over again. This time, our attempt to move to New York City was successful.
The next 6 months saw us get an apartment, explore our new home city, make new friends, and use our weekends to get deep into this previously unfamiliar culture.
We learnt more about the country’s history in the nearby cities of Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Boston. We bought train tickets and head upriver to explore small towns and fruit farms perched along the Hudson. We immersed ourselves in museums, and found nearly every place to get a great view of the Manhattan skyline.
Exploring Dumbo, New York City
And on top of all this, we both spent time working on our careers. I’m building my Etsy shop and travel blog, and Robert is developing his skills in his new job as a product developer.
It’s been quite incredible to see the difference this city has made to how we think about work. In Australia, your job is often considered just a way to get by, but people in NYC work hard, play hard, and sleep hard.
Moving here has been crazy, interesting, frustrating, and truly wonderful. We originally wanted to use this move as a chance to travel more and experience a new and exciting lifestyle, but I don’t think either of us could have predicted how much we’d grow from it. It’s made us stronger people, and a stronger couple.
Our wedding in Hobart
When we got married one year ago, we knew that this was going to be the beginning of a new adventure. Our plan was to make sure that we lived our lives with absolutely no regrets, and to do something completely different from what everyone else does when they get married.
It’s rare to find a partner who challenges you to push stereotype boundaries and challenge yourself in the best kind of way, but somehow, Robert and I have managed to find that in each other. We don’t always agree, but we can figure out how and where we need to compromise.
For us, being married doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to settle down to a life of kids, mortgages, and 9-5 careers.
I think we’ve proved that married life doesn’t have to be boring. Married life is what you want it to be.
This is just what I needed! I’m getting married in two months and although we have a laid-back wedding like you I’ve had the biggest wedding stress today (probably because I make my own dress that I just started).
I love travelling and I have lived abroad for my whole life, I married a country boy who now shares this passion! Our honeymoon will be a month-long roadtrip in Europe with our old car and we will spend next fall in Greece doing refugee work.
Your attitude towards marriage is wonderful. We marry young and many people have questioned our decisions because they think that life becomes boring, you should get children, you can’t spend time with your friends etc… My next year will be full of the most amazing adventures I’ve had and I get to experience them with my best friend. I’ll follow your blog more now that I know this about you!
I don’t think it matters how laid back a wedding is, there will always be wedding stress! Though I’m sure it will all be worth it afterwards – your Europe road trip and time in Greece sounds like it will be absolutely amazing!
I seriously don’t understand why most people think that marriage = settling down. We don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. I’m so glad you’re on board with this adventurous way of life, Salla!
As you know Ash, Tim and I have been together for a decade now. Married for 2 years. I’m like any average woman of child bearing age, I have the urge now and then to have a baby and buy a house and settle down with a veggie patch and a dog. Some people may think at the age of 26 going on 27 , the clock might be ticking to make a start those things. My decision to spend my 20’s focussing on not only on building my career, to travel and live in different cities (within Australia and abroad) of this I have no regrets. The decision was a slow process I think over the years, and I am not gonna lie, it is hard at times being away from family and missing out on your friends children growing up. However, at the end of the day, I know it is totally worth while and I will look back on my young married life as a whirl wind of Travel, work, play and adventure (not to mention a few cool pictures to decorate the walls of the family home I might buy one day ;P). Life can be so short for some people, and you never know what is around the corner, so why not work hard and blow all of your cash on amazing holidays?! Carpe diem!
I know the feeling – there’s always that thought of settling down hanging in the back of your mind. And I’m not saying that there’s a right or wrong decision here – settling down might be the right thing for some people, but there’s also the thought that if we didn’t spend our 20s getting out of our comfort zones, then we might have missed out on that opportunity.
You two are a model couple for the point I’m trying to make here! Moving to from Aus to London to work on your careers is an amazing way to spend the first few years of your married life. You’ve proven that marriage does not necessarily mean that it’s time to settle down. It can be anything you want it to be! And if you want to have some epic adventures, then that’s totally ok! Carpe diem!