Back in 1990, my wife had a job offer in Perth, Western Australia. I was a working freelance corporate film producer, and wasn't tied down to any job. We were living in New Hampshire then, and the offer was too good to refuse. We wrapped up our duties and headed down under. What a trip!

It took us about fifty-two hours to fly down there, including stop-overs. By the time we landed in Perth after all the times changes we didn't know if we were coming or going, but we felt we landed on another planet. A beautiful planet, but very different than what we were used to in a nice way. First, the people were so friendly and they are partial to Americans so that was a relief. In fact, some of the Aussie old-timers remembered when America helped fend off the Japanese in the second world war. It is wonderful to live in a country where the people are warm and giving. They also have an innocent quality, like America was in the 1950's. Very refreshing.

The countryside is absolutely stunning. It is something out of a fantasy book. We felt like we lived inside a parable the whole time we were down there which was about two years. One of the first things I did was to watch the water go down the hopper in reverse. This is because we were south of the equator. That was fun. The sky at night treated us to a whole new look, as the stars and constellations like the Southern Cross can only be seen in that hemisphere.

We loved just about everything in Perth, except that it was so far from home. Perth is called the most isolated city on earth. I once stood on the beach and took my bearings. Looking out across the water about 12,000 miles was Madagascar. North was New Guinea. South was Antarctica. I felt right at home! Very bizarre.

There is a saying that Americans live to work and Australians work to live. They love to party, that is for sure. So if you like Swan Lager, a popular beer named after the Swan River you will be in the right place.

Unfortunately, our time was over too quickly and we had to return home. But we would never trade our experience living in this fine country for anything on earth. What a great place!

Learn more about this author, Anthony Megna.
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