Falling into place

So it's already been four months since we moved back to the UK from Australia! And we have finally found somewhere to live and a regular future income stream!

Since we arrived in December, Nick has been looking for full-time work as a business intelligence analyst all over the south of England. We didn't really have a preferred location to settle, and although we have family and friends in the Hampshire area, it is much more expensive to rent. Places like Devon and Somerset have a much better wage/rent ratio meaning not only would we be able to cover costs but actually put aside a nice amount each month as well.

But in the end Nick secured a job with a well-known car brand in Hook, north Hampshire. It's a great job so fingers crossed it works out for him. He starts next week.

We couldn't find anything we liked to rent in our price range up near Hook, so we have decided to rent a 2-bed house in the village of Westbourne in West Sussex. Nick will have a long-ish drive to work but as part of his package includes a new car I'm not sure he minds too much! And the benefits of renting are that if the commute does seem too long, then we will just move a bit closer once the tenancy expires.

It's a lovely little house, with a wood-burning stove, an open fire, big open plan kitchen and a completely enclosed garden, perfect for Devon. The village of Westbourne has everything we need too, some shops, a few pubs, a playground and lots of lovely walks.

We move into our new house tomorrow so I'll share some photos once we are in and unpacked. Our Movecube containing our stuff from Australia is being delivered next week and we can't wait to open it up and see what's inside (as we can't really remember now!) 

For the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to do some part-time work with one of my previous employers. It was a good opportunity to earn some extra money while we waited for Nick to start his new job and I thought it would be good to give me a bit of a refresher as it's been a while since I've been employed! Nick has also been doing some freelance work for his company back in Australia over the last few weeks.

Even though I was only leaving Devon with his Dad and grandparents, I had to think long and hard about whether Devon and I were ready to spend that time apart. I admit it has been hard. Devon cries when I leave in the morning and although I know he's mostly fine without me, he doesn't nap well for his Dad or Grandma as they don't have the booby tools at their disposal. And deep down I just don't feel right leaving Devon yet. He's still so little and doesn't understand what's going on. So I will be a stay-at-home mum once again when we move into our new place, until we feel the time is right for Devon to start nursery/pre-school. I feel absolutely blessed that we are able to base this decision on what is right for us as a family and not forced out of it by financial necessity.

I really feel being self-employed is the way forward while Devon is small, but it's tricky to make much money selling art, and I'm not sure I have the time or experience to set up a bookkeeping business right now.

So all is well in the world of the Smallards, and I'll write another post in a few weeks once we are settled in our new house.