Four Years Later
Was coming home worth it?
Well, hey there! I took a week's break from posting because school holidays and interstate guests have been keeping me busy. Although I have a stack of drafts ready to go, I just felt we both needed a week off <3
Yesterday marked four years since we were released from mandatory hotel quarantine in July 2021 in Brisbane, Australia.
After over 16 years abroad, our hand was forced, and we made the decision to permanently relocate back to our country of origin, Australia.
Well, hasn't it been a whirlwind.
Although we had been pondering our return home for some time before making the decision, citing high school opportunities, greater prospects for our kids, and a desire to be around family, we hadn't secured a timeline that suited us. Then the pandemic forced our family apart.
Saudi Arabia, where my husband worked, took a very serious approach and locked their citizens and residents in and out with no excuses. I was stuck on the other side of the border with the kids, virtual homeschooling with no end in sight.
Almost a year to the day that we were forcibly separated, we made the trek home to Australia with no jobs or concrete plans. And it wasn't straightforward departing either.
With Australia drastically decreasing their caps into the country, we were stuck at our departure airport, being told by the airport manager that it was looking unlikely we'd be able to leave. We'd sold up, moved out of our home, quit jobs, and had nowhere else to go. This was almost vomit-inducing.
Our story wasn't unique. Many Australians and people from other nationalities faced significant uncertainty during this time, and many of us are still paying the economic and well-being costs, to name just two consequences.