The final view of Manchester through my eyes

I am now living in London as Kirsty got a job down here. We are here temporarily, until September when I fly back to Auckland, ending my journey in the UK: for now. It is inevitable we will be back here often, if not to stay again as Kirsty is English. The past 15-months have been amazing.  So much has happened it feels like 15-years, not months.  One of my reasons for packing my things and heading to the UK was to travel given its accessibility to Europe, and to experience living in another country.  On account of random job applications, and my travel agent raving about Manchester I ended up there.  I wanted to be in the UK, but not be in a city where I would spend most of my time (and money) on the tube, commuting.  I wanted to be able meet people, travel, and see England and get to know it as well as more of Europe.

Manchester was very kind to me.  The North West lived up to its reputation as very friendly and I barely met any Kiwi’s and Ozzie’s, mission accomplished!  While I didn’t get to Europe as much as I would have liked I have seen a lot of England.  Much more than I anticipated I would. It is often easier to go afar than to explore one’s own background, and somehow the backyard enticed me which on reflection I have really enjoyed.  And of course I am leaving the Northern hemisphere in exactly the same situation as I did in 2005: wanting more, wanting to come back and see more of Europe.  Travel plans have already been made to keep my travel itch scratched for 2011-2012 including the USA (look out Seamus, get that espresso machine ready), Nepal, and India.  And to tick the list of places I have not seen in New Zealand and do things I haven’t done before to test the legs for Nepal.  I’m also looking forward to showing Kirsty ‘my New Zealand.’  She has spent 3-months touring the country but only as a tourist which of course is different to the local view!

One of my missions was to find my home in the world.  I don’t think Manchester is it, and I know London isn’t either.  Having been living here for a few weeks I love its opportunities (ie. clothing stores and cafes) but don’t like the pure congestion of people, urban trance train and tube journeys and constant noise, be it audio or visual sensory overload.  Perhaps I’m just getting older?  A dog and a cat await in Auckland but this is certainly not the end of living abroad, that I know for sure.  They say home is where the heart is and she is coming to, so perhaps no matter where I am in the world now, the actual geographical location doesn’t really matter anymore.