The Secret's Out...

For a while now, I have hinted to a couple of really exciting things going on in the background over on my Instagram. If you don't follow me, come say hi (@thats_just_emily)! This is one that has a huge impact on me, as I think it's a pretty big thing. So, I thought that now would be as good a time as any to spill all the beans and let you in on our little secret:
James and I have decided to take the step and spend a year in Australia. It is starting to feel very real. That's the crazy, exciting news! 

Obviously, we've been telling our family and friends over the past few months and I have to say I am so touched by the response. The amount of love, support and advice we've received is amazing, and it really does bring home how lucky we are to have such an incredible support unit. I also count myself so blessed that so many have already started to plan to come out and see us while we're there! We have also had a lot of questions, understandably. I'd be a bit surprised if we didn't if I'm honest! I'm sure a lot of you will probably have questions too. So although we are still in the baby stages of planning, this is what we know so far:

The Why? 

Some people have straight out asked us "why do you want to do that?", and the honest answer is why not? In our eyes, the world is such a big place, and life is far too short that we just wanted to go and experience living in a different country while we're young and don't have adult things like a career or children to consider. Obviously, we are both going to miss our friends and families a huge amount, we're both very much family people, but the support they've given has been amazing- thank you, we love you and can't wait to see you out there! 

The When and How Long? 

Again, a lot of people ask when. A standard question. We are moving next September! So yes, that means we will have our first Christmas together out there, I'm sure the day will be filled with lots of facetiming our families. In terms of how long, we plan to spend a year out there. We felt that spending a year in one country let us really experience what it was like to move to a different country without it being permanent. Yes, I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes like 'you say a year...' but we also have various other plans that would mean that being out there any longer wouldn't really be feasible. A fair few people say that it's a while away yet, but then I think about the fact that we are almost at the end of the year already and that it's really only a year until we go. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that long and it's going to be a busy year in between finishing uni and my darling sister getting married! 

The How?

Collectively, we've had a lot of friends who have done similar things ie gone for gap years or working holidays. The how is one of the slightly more 'stressful' parts since it involves saving a lot of money and applying for visas and all that. But many of our friends have reassured us that it's not as scary as it may seem. We've got our visas (so that's something ticked off the list) it's now just a case of us trying to get our head around all the other bits and bobs we need to sort out before we leave. Well mainly me. James is a pretty cool cucumber about it all. So I will update you on 'the how' either closer to the time or once we are out there. Might do a whole post on it when we're settled, let me know if that's something you would like?    

But there we have it- the secret is out! Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or advice if you've done something similar, we are always on the hunt for extra advice so send it our way! And a huge thank you to everyone who has been so wonderfully supportive and excited for us, it means the world. x