I held an Australian-UK ancestry visa eligibility and had been sitting on it for two years. The r…
T=0: The Decision
Eighteen months of Sydney-to-London long distance. Bi-monthly visits. £1,200 flights. A relationship conducted largely over a 10-hour time zone gap where one person was always starting their day and the other was always ending theirs.
I held an Australian-UK ancestry visa eligibility and had been sitting on it for two years. The relationship was the catalyst. The reasoning was: if it works, I have a life I want. If it doesn't, I have still moved countries, which I had always wanted to do. Either way, I stop wondering.
No more 5am calls. A shared life that doesn't require an Excel calendar to sustain.
6 Months Out
Long distance creates an idealised version of a person. Proximity immediately reveals all the parts that romantic weekends had been hiding. Months 2–4 were unexpectedly difficult. We were essentially learning each other again.
“Do not move in together immediately. I had two months in a rented room before moving into his flat. That buffer was critical.”