by Anthony Megna

Created on: April 10, 2009   Last Updated: January 15, 2011

What a journey it was.....

Destination: Perth, Western Austrailia!

Living in New Hampshire allowed my wife and I to enjoy the change of seasons. The crisp, cool mountain air invigorated us. The color burst of the leaves changing in the fall was a feast for the eyes and heart. We also had good friends in the area of Derry, New Hampshire, and always had company for the holidays. Life was sweet, until my wife got the phone call that changed our lives.

"Would you like to move to Perth, Western Austrailia for the company?" Her boss was serious, and we were somewhat stunned. We had taken our honeymoon in Austrailia, but in Sydney on the east coast. Western Austrailia is just so remote. In fact, Perth is the most isolated city in the world. "I will have to let you know" my wife told her boss. No problem, as he gave us a week to think it over. What did we do? Read on....

Sitting in the plane trying to stretch our legs, after almost fifty hours of travel, we tried to envision what our lives were going to be like living in Perth. Sure, we had done some research, but you really never know until you get there. Lisa, my wife, had a company contact that lived in the city, so at least we had human contact to mine for information about the city and it's environs. After almost sixty-five hours of travel..Boston to Dallas to Hawaii to Tahiti to Sydney to Perth, we were zombies in slow-motion. The plane finally landed in Perth and deposited us in never-never land.

Imagine living in the fifites in the United States, that is Perth in the modern age. It was like a parallel universe, familiar but with a distinct time shift. People were supremely friendly, the area was bright and gorgeous, and the seagulls were prehistoric. It was like landing on an alien planet with friendly people you have communicated with by radio telescope all your life. You know them, but the time lag alters your perception. Again, you just don't know what it's like until you are there. I say this in the most positive light I can. However, your're not in Kansas anymore.

After living in this wonderful city for almost two years, we decided it was just too remote. Imagine going down to the beach and looking out at the ocean. To the north is New Guinea, where cannabilism was practiced within a hundred years ago. Straight across the ocean almost twelve thousand miles away is Madagascar. Do you know anyone there? Most people have no idea where it is. To the south is Antarctica, the land of Scott and Shackleton and empire penguins that nestle their eggs in one hundred below zero weather against a zeus-like breeze. No, this is just too remote for us. Besides, we missed our family.

Would we trade our experience? Another words, are we glad we moved there for a few years? You bet. Our reflections and memories are priceless. Even though we didn't have a car down there and walked just about everyplace in stifling heat, we are glad we did it. The people are lovely, the country is wonderfully alive and beautiful, and you just can't get this experience unless you live it. We would do it all over again....

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