Rebranding for a renewed adventure
Six years ago today, I made my first trip down to Australia, setting in motion a masters thesis, three return trips, friendships, and ultimately the trajectory of my work, research, and life.
For those not already aware of the journey on which I am about to embark, let me catch you up to speed: in just over a month, I will uproot my life in Atlanta to make a major change (and commitment) to relocate to Sydney on a far more permanent basis than previous trips.
Starting in April, I will be working towards a PhD focusing on transportation planning in major cities (that's the simplistic version), while working on the City of Sydney's new subway system. The opportunity presented itself (or, rather, was presented to me by an Australian friend) nearly a year ago, morphing and growing as the months went by.
Once all the details were sorted, it offered the opportunity to interweave many of my interests, past experiences, and future ambitions. While a challenging decision to leave things going so well in Atlanta, it wasn't an offer I could refuse.
Come 31 March (I guess I should start getting in the habit of writing in Australian English, considering my next task will be to write a book in it), I will start off on the journey west. And while the announcement may be a bit premature, I figured today would be a good day to restart this blog, given the anniversary.
Of course, there will be a lot of preparation over the next month as I ready for the relocation. This Friday is my last day in the office; I'll spend the subsequent weeks packing, cleaning, selling things, and saying "goodbye" to friends.
It is all bittersweet--my life in Atlanta has been phenomenal over the last five years. I've enjoyed my job, my home, my friends, and being near my family. But I know that heading back to Sydney will be an incredible experience, and I look forward to diving into new work, new research, and new adventures with (old and) new friends!
While this blog originally served to keep people stateside up-to-date with my adventure six years ago, it has morphed through the years to serve as a repository for travel memories. With changes in technology in the intervening years, I imagine this will no longer serve as the primary means of updates; iMessage and Facetime will do the trick.
But I still see this as a great tool for sharing information and allowing me to record things I will want to remember down the road. So as this blog will be taking on a new role, as I transition to Sydney for the next three-or-so years, I figured a bit of a rebranding was in order.
Far removed from New Orleans at this point (though I currently write from a friend's home Uptown during a long-weekend trip), "Uptown to Down Under" has been swapped for "The Antipodean Atlantan." I'll try it on for size, and see if it needs updating down the road. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions about formatting to make this more user friendly, feel free to let me know.
For those not already aware of the journey on which I am about to embark, let me catch you up to speed: in just over a month, I will uproot my life in Atlanta to make a major change (and commitment) to relocate to Sydney on a far more permanent basis than previous trips.
Starting in April, I will be working towards a PhD focusing on transportation planning in major cities (that's the simplistic version), while working on the City of Sydney's new subway system. The opportunity presented itself (or, rather, was presented to me by an Australian friend) nearly a year ago, morphing and growing as the months went by.
Once all the details were sorted, it offered the opportunity to interweave many of my interests, past experiences, and future ambitions. While a challenging decision to leave things going so well in Atlanta, it wasn't an offer I could refuse.
Come 31 March (I guess I should start getting in the habit of writing in Australian English, considering my next task will be to write a book in it), I will start off on the journey west. And while the announcement may be a bit premature, I figured today would be a good day to restart this blog, given the anniversary.
 |
| The first photo I took of the Opera House when I arrived in Sydney on 25 February 2012. |
Of course, there will be a lot of preparation over the next month as I ready for the relocation. This Friday is my last day in the office; I'll spend the subsequent weeks packing, cleaning, selling things, and saying "goodbye" to friends.
It is all bittersweet--my life in Atlanta has been phenomenal over the last five years. I've enjoyed my job, my home, my friends, and being near my family. But I know that heading back to Sydney will be an incredible experience, and I look forward to diving into new work, new research, and new adventures with (old and) new friends!
While this blog originally served to keep people stateside up-to-date with my adventure six years ago, it has morphed through the years to serve as a repository for travel memories. With changes in technology in the intervening years, I imagine this will no longer serve as the primary means of updates; iMessage and Facetime will do the trick.
But I still see this as a great tool for sharing information and allowing me to record things I will want to remember down the road. So as this blog will be taking on a new role, as I transition to Sydney for the next three-or-so years, I figured a bit of a rebranding was in order.
Far removed from New Orleans at this point (though I currently write from a friend's home Uptown during a long-weekend trip), "Uptown to Down Under" has been swapped for "The Antipodean Atlantan." I'll try it on for size, and see if it needs updating down the road. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions about formatting to make this more user friendly, feel free to let me know.
Comments
Post a Comment