Going Home

After 8 fantastic years in Hong Kong the Spain family is going home. It was a difficult decision to make but we are pleased with the choice we have made. In December we relocate from Hong Kong, Asia’s world city, to Wagga Wagga, the capital of the Riverina.

A number of people have said that we are crazy, why would you want to leave Hong Kong they have asked. We have asked ourselves this question and we are happy with our answers.

The time is right, we are going for family reasons, we want our children to grow up in an Aussie environment, I want to be able to have chicken schnitzel and sausages from Woolworths for lunch. (Well maybe the last reasons aren’t that important but I am still looking forward to them anyhow).

Hong Kong has never been ‘home’. It has been an incredibly fun, rewarding, exciting and enriching place, but never home. I was warned by my principal at my previous school to ‘not get stuck in Hong Kong’. By this he meant he meant to not get enchanted by what can be a relatively comfortable lifestyle. My family has been incredibly lucky to have an amazing helper (maid) who lives with us, is amazing with our children and looks after the cooking and cleaning in our household in a superb manner. This is easy to get used to. The 16% tax rate is very nice thank you and a relatively safe city to boot. The travel we have done since we have been in Hong Kong has been a highlight. I fully expect to ‘rack’ my passport when I return to Wagga Wagga but I am OK with this. In a future blog entry I will elaborate more about what a special place Hong Kong has been).

When we moved to Hong Kong we were always going to move back to Melbourne which is where we lived before moving here. After a few years here I started to think about moving to Wagga Wagga to be closer to family. My wife was hesitant at first. She wanted the bright lights of a big city again. The passing of her father changed her mind. She wants to be near her mother. My parents are an hour away by car. I have missed too many family events since I have been in Hong Kong. I want to go to more family celebrations. A population change of 7,000,000 to 70,000. I am more than happy with that.

I want to spend weekends transporting my children between sporting venues and friend’s places. I want to wake up and look at clear skies (the pollution level in Hong Kong seems to be getting worse. As is my hay fever. I want my children to go to Catholic schools. I want to read a daily paper with a large sports section and spend hours on the weekends dissecting newspapers. I want to explore Australia. I have been to 41 countries but never to South Australia, the Northern Territory or seen the Great Barrier Reef. I want to be able to take my children to sporting events. I want to encourage the Aussies kids that I will teach to go out and explore the world; and then realise how lucky we have it in Australia. I want to challenge myself in a new educational environment. I believe I have a great to offer a prospective school and I would relish that opportunity.  

There is a lot more that I could write about why I am going home. I am happy with the decision and excited about what lies ahead. Sure there are elements that scare me (I haven’t found a job yet) but I want to tackle these things head on and embrace what lies ahead for my family in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.