I Moved to Melbourne Australia

I moved to Melbourne over the Easter weekend.

That was a short sentence to type, but the story behind it was anything but. I had wanted to move to Australia for a long time, even before I moved to Singapore almost a decade ago. I finally had the guts (or maybe I had enough?) and decided to make an effort to move to Melbourne, well, essentially Australia, but Melbourne had always been my first choice anyway.

I finally quit my job in Singapore and moved back to Indonesia to spend quality time with my parents.

After one plus year I’m finally here in Melbourne ━ ticking off one of my biggest goals.

And let me tell you, patience is not my strength. It wasn’t easy, even until the very last minute. Leaving my parents, cousins and friends in Jakarta was hard. But they were happy for me, including a few blogger friends who I informed that I moved to Melbourne after I changed my number to Vodafone (I preferred Optus because it’s yellow and happy looking, but it was closed during the Easter holidays). All their words were touching.

On my last day in Jakarta, my cousins kidnapped me in the morning. For one previous coffee date – at least for some time. We went to a hipster coffee shop in South Jakarta. We talked, we cried, and we face-timed with Jik. Then, I had a long lunch with my parents, Atte and Ji. On the same day, I took a red eye to Melbourne, with my heart broken into pieces.

Hello Melbourne

Back in Melbourne, over the Easter weekend, I moved into an apartment, did some grocery shopping, and had Italian, Indian (ordered from Foodora), and Thai food. I also went to the Melbourne Comedy Festival Pub Crawl and got sloshed.

Enjoying different types of cuisines, being tipsy and laughing a little too loudly are some things I hope will never change wherever I move. But, on the other hand, to immerse myself in the local culture, I got some activewear, bought a year’s supply of tea, joined an online course and signed up for a night colour run.

My biggest struggle at the moment, though, is jetlag. As a night owl, I usually sleep a bit past midnight in Jakarta, which means 4 AM in Melbourne. But I have to figure this out ASAP since I am starting work tomorrow, and I don’t want to be the idiot who sleeps on her desk on the first day of work.

Another first-world problem: my hair has been frizzy-er than average. I messaged Jik, asking whether she had the same problem when she moved here a year ago and whether she got a fix. “You won’t like the answer; it’s coconut oil“, she said. Well, if that’s what it takes, I shall embrace it.

One last thing before I log off ━ now that I have moved to Melbourne, I want to write more about the city – about its’ immigrant cultures from the people to the cuisines (I already have a 24-hour ramen place I have my eyes on).

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.