This is the blog chronicling the lives and times of Emma Allard and Nick Smith, otherwise known as the Smallards!
In 2010 we decided we were bored with our lives. We were living for the weekend, working hard but seeing all our money paid out to debtors each month, and the thought of doing this until we retired was making us miserable.
So in 2011 we decided we needed a change and a new start, so applied for a permanent resident visa for Australia, which we were awarded in March 2012. We wanted to live a different life for a while and experience new sights and places.
Before we left the UK we wanted to do few things first. We bought a yellow 1980 VW campervan which we gave a bit of a makeover and attempted to drive around the UK in for a bit of a farewell tour, seeing friends and family and visiting the parts of the UK we had never seen before.
In 2012 we sold our house, got rid of most of our possessions and moved into our campervan and off we went, with the intention to drive around the UK until the end of November 2012 when we are took our one way flights to Australia. We loved being in our campervan and still wish we were out there on the road!
The campervan (bless it) broke down in October 2012 and we realised perhaps we were being a little naive thinking it would take us to Scotland and back.... so we sold our beloved camper and purchased a bell tent, and carried on exploring the rest of UK!
After a wet and windy few weeks under canvas, we returned, pennyless, to Nick's parents in Portsmouth in November and then caught our one way flights to Australia on the 29 November, with nothing but four suitcases and a guitar.
We then started living with Emma's parents in Perth, growing veg and raising chickens, exploring the Australian bush.
Emma began her art and homewares business: Emma Allard Smith Art & Design
In August 2013 a new adventure began, parenthood! Our baby boy Devon as born.
In 2010 we decided we were bored with our lives. We were living for the weekend, working hard but seeing all our money paid out to debtors each month, and the thought of doing this until we retired was making us miserable.
So in 2011 we decided we needed a change and a new start, so applied for a permanent resident visa for Australia, which we were awarded in March 2012. We wanted to live a different life for a while and experience new sights and places.
Before we left the UK we wanted to do few things first. We bought a yellow 1980 VW campervan which we gave a bit of a makeover and attempted to drive around the UK in for a bit of a farewell tour, seeing friends and family and visiting the parts of the UK we had never seen before.
In 2012 we sold our house, got rid of most of our possessions and moved into our campervan and off we went, with the intention to drive around the UK until the end of November 2012 when we are took our one way flights to Australia. We loved being in our campervan and still wish we were out there on the road!
The campervan (bless it) broke down in October 2012 and we realised perhaps we were being a little naive thinking it would take us to Scotland and back.... so we sold our beloved camper and purchased a bell tent, and carried on exploring the rest of UK!
After a wet and windy few weeks under canvas, we returned, pennyless, to Nick's parents in Portsmouth in November and then caught our one way flights to Australia on the 29 November, with nothing but four suitcases and a guitar.
We then started living with Emma's parents in Perth, growing veg and raising chickens, exploring the Australian bush.
Emma began her art and homewares business: Emma Allard Smith Art & Design
In August 2013 a new adventure began, parenthood! Our baby boy Devon as born.
We are now living in Farnborough in Hampshire, with the intention to explore and experience the wonderful and diverse places of the UK and Europe, saving up for our next campervan and planning out next adventure!
You might be interested to read about:
Our VW T25 campervan makeover.
To see all posts relating to our campervan makeover click here.
Our travels around the UK.
To see all posts relating to our travel around the UK click here. A map showing where we went is here.
Our lifestyle in Perth, Western Australia.
To see all posts written while in Australia click here.
Our Timeline shows chronologically what we did and when.
Inspiring!
ReplyDeleteNow you've got me thinking too... ;)
Good luck with it all, I am loving following the Blog already!
Lou x
Hey Em
ReplyDeletethought you might like this.
http://www.kombiclub.com/
I just came across your blog from Curbly. I have wanted to buy a VW van and tour around Canada, so I was drawn into your story. Very inspiring! I love that you are releasing yourselves from the pressures of society's expectations and doing what you want for your family. Happy travels to you both.
ReplyDelete