This year has been one of the most exciting and yet also the most challenging years of my life. I’ve never written a year-long wrap up before, but I feel like I was all over the place so much that I wanted to put it all in one place, and also take a moment to take stock of what was an unpredictable and ultimately very rewarding year.

At the start of the year, I was hoping to move to New York but with no idea when. David was getting a transfer with work, which we’d been hoping for, for about two years, and the dates kept moving. At the same time, I was offered my dream promotion at work – and had to turn it down, because I thought we might be moving in a few months time. It was a huge risk, and sometimes throughout the next six months, as I was stuck in visa limbo and looked for jobs that just weren’t there, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. Thankfully, it all worked out when the perfect job came up in September. I was offered the job in October, and started in late November. I’m so glad I took the risk, because this year it feels like all my dreams came true.

I’ve spent an unnerving amount of time alone this year, while I was job hunting, and also a silly number of hours on planes, so I’ve managed to read more than ever before – I read 40 books in 2019! I kept a bullet list in my phone to keep track of what I read, and on New Year’s Eve I converted it into a numbered list and was pleasantly surprised to see I’d met my goal of reading a lot more this year.

January

Brisbane

At the start of this year I was living in Melbourne, but I started 2019 in my hometown, Brisbane. I welcomed in the new year with David, on the balcony of the apartment we were renting in Milton. I usually go home over Christmas for at least a few days to spend time with my family, and this year we spent around ten days in Brisbane. It was great having so much time in Brisbane! We also hired an apartment for the first time, rather than splitting up and staying at our respective parents’ houses. It was nice having a bit more time with David, as usually we barely see each other when we go home – and it’s often our largest holiday from work for the year.

Melbourne

When I returned to Melbourne, I started the year with as many picnics as I could squeeze into the long afternoons after work and weekends. January is a beautiful time of year in Melbourne. I had picnics at Williamstown Beach, Elwood Beach, Fawkner Park, Fitzroy Gardens and Edinburgh Gardens to name a few. In January, over the long weekend I went to the Mornington Peninsula for a day with David, and visited the winery Ten Minutes by Tractor and spent some time at the beautiful Safety Beach in Dromana. One of my highlights of January was going to the Australian Open with mum!

February

Bendigo, Victoria

I am a big fan of Bendigo, the largest and prettiest town in the historic Goldfields region in Victoria. I’ve visited Bendigo a few times, with my friend Liv (who used to live there, and makes an excellent guide) and my Mum, when we visited for the day to see the Marilyn Monroe Exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery.

Before we left Australia, I really wanted to visit Bendigo with David, so we booked a weekend away at Balgownie Estate. I’m still writing the blog post about this weekend, but it was so much fun. Bendigo is a great one-night getaway from Melbourne!

March

Wine Tasting on the Bellarine Peninsula

Victoria is littered with wine regions, and it feels like there’s always something new to discover. In March, my friend Liv & I spent a day visiting three wineries on the Bellarine Peninsula, which is a short drive from Melbourne. The main town on the peninsula is Geelong, and despite its proximity to Melbourne, you rarely hear about the wineries here. We visited three gorgeous wineries: Bellarine Estate, Bennets, Terindah Estate & Jack Rabbit (pictured). Wineries & ocean views are hard to beat!

April

New York City

After many months of dreaming and planning, David and I moved to New York City. Our first month living in New York was thrilling and exciting and full of all the little frustrations of moving that make you feel like you’re going insane.

It was my third visit to New York, after spending 8 weeks there in 2015 and ten days in 2018, but as I was often reminded, moving is totally different to travelling. We arrived just in time for the first gentle blooms of cherry blossom season, which was an enchanting welcome to the city. We also caught our first of many parades, which is something New Yorkers love to do. The Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue is colourful, and welcoming and so sweet, it’s one of my favourite annual events in New York City.

May

New York City

We moved into our apartment in downtown Manhattan in May, which was one of the most surreal experiences. Of course, moving in New York is also a bit of a nightmare, so it wasn’t without its frustrations and challenges! We had a furniture-less apartment for quite a while, apart from our bed, but I’m glad to say seven months later that it really feels like a home.

In May, the weather was warming up, I got over my jet lag, and we went to the Tribeca Film Festival, which also felt a bit surreal. In reality, it’s just like going to the movies anywhere else, but I loved it and am definitely going to try and go again in 2020. We saw What Will Become of Us, a moving documentary about Jewish-Australian businessman Frank Lowy, who fled the nazis in Eastern Europe, served in the Israeli Army and then immigrated to Australia and founded Westfield, making him one of the country’s leading businessmen.

I’m so glad this wasn’t the first thing that came to mind, and I forgot about it till I re-read my May blog post, but I also pinched a vertebrae in my back at a poorly-led pilates class, had someone in China fraudulently book thousands of dollars worth of accommodation through my AirBnB account and have the worst customer service experience with AirBnB that I’ve had anywhere, to date. Moving abroad isn’t always as glamorous as it seems!

June

New York City

June was when moving started to feel really tough. I hit the infamous “three month slump” and grappled with how I needed to change to be able to stay in New York City, in a foreign country, long term. When you travel, the things that shock you or annoy you or surprise you have so much less weight, because you don’t have to live with it – you can leave. After a few months, I really started to struggle with the everyday realities of living in New York and being so far away from my friends and family.

However, I still had a lot of fun! Former colleagues (and my boss) from Australia visited for a work trip, and I had so much fun catching up with them, David and I went to Comedy Cellar and Judd Apatow dropped in, and we had a really lovely, peaceful afternoon in Central Park which I’ll never forget.

July

Greece: A Greek Wedding & The Cyclades Islands

One of the absolute highlights of my entire year was spending two weeks in Greece. We attended a friend’s wedding in her hometown, Chalkida, which was so much fun – western weddings could learn a thing or two from Greek weddings! Afterwards, David and I spent 2 weeks in the Cyclades islands, in Paros, Sifnos and Milos, and then a couple of days in Athens.

It was my second trip to Greece, and David’s first, and we were both very happy to skip the insane crowds at Santorini and Mykonos, and visit somewhere that we felt like we were seeing for the first time – unlike Greece’s most popular destinations, which fill Instagram feeds every summer with millions of nearly-identical photos.

My favourite places we visited were Lefkes, Naoussa, Cheronissos, Faros, Mandrakia and Klima, but honestly by the end of each day I felt like my eyes couldn’t possibly take in more beauty. I’m so grateful for this trip!

August

Brisbane

August was a sad month for me, because my grandmother passed away. I hated not being there before or in the days immediately after her passing, and I am still sad that I didn’t see her much in 2019 because of the move. I flew back to Brisbane and spent two weeks with my family. Despite the circumstances, I loved spending time with my family. My parents also took me to their favourite retreat, Chen Rezig, which is a Buddhist meditation centre on the Sunshine Coast. It’s open and welcoming to all, and is such a peaceful and beautiful place.

September

New York City

In September, I was offered my dream job! This started the visa process, which was longer and more painful than I expected, but it was all worth it in the end. Our friends Marlo and Josh visited, which was so much fun! We also went to three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, which has been named the best restaurant in the world in the World’s 50 Best awards, and is regarded as the best restaurant in America. Our meal was a very generous farewell gift from my colleagues in Australia, and we both felt so lucky.

Hudson Valley Day Trip

We hadn’t done any travel in the USA so far this year, as it had been quite a crazy year, and so we finally got out of New York City in September. It was only for the day, but taking the train to the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Cold Spring in Upstate New York was just the breath of fresh air that we needed.

Chicago

Chicago has captured my imagination for a long time, with it’s striking architecture and beautiful setting on the ocean-like Lake Michigan. I visited Chicago for the first time, for a few days in September on a solo trip for hospitality research. I was lucky enough to get perfect weather! I really enjoyed visiting Chicago, but before my trip I was worried I’d like it better than New York – fortunately, New York is still the queen of my heart.

Read more: First Impressions of Chicago

October

Peekskill

The start of fall is prime apple picking season in northeastern USA, so we jumped on the bandwagon and headed upstate to the Hudson Valley to go apple picking in Peekskill. The town of Peekskill itself is much less charming than Beacon and Cold Spring, but apple picking was so much fun!

My family’s visit

My family visited New York in October/November, and it was SO much fun having them here. My parents had visited New York before, but only briefly, and it was the first trip for my brother and sister. I loved showing them our new home and spending some time with them here. I wish I didn’t have to leave their trip early to return to Australia to get my visa, especially as I’d been unemployed and had literally no plans for most of the year! You can’t control timing of these things though.

November

Perth

I spent a couple of days in Perth in Australia, so I could go to a visa interview at the US consulate. I’d never been to Perth before, but I absolutely loved it. My favourite part was beautiful Cottesloe Beach, which is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia.

Melbourne

I was in Australia for nearly three weeks when I returned home to do my US visa application, and I spent most of this time in Melbourne. I loved catching up with my friends, spending time in my old neighbourhood and trying a few new bars and restaurants that have opened up since I left. Melbourne will always have a big piece of my heart.

Brisbane

Since I was delayed in Australia during the visa process, I also had time to spend a few days visiting my family in Brisbane. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with my parents, siblings and grandparents before I returned to the US.

Thanksgiving in New York City

I got back to New York just in times for Thanksgiving. I was happy to have  a day off to catch up on sleep during my first week of work, since I was very jetlagged still. We slept in, and then headed towards the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but only caught glimpses of the floats from a distance – some 3 million people attend! I was just so happy to be back in New York on this day.

December

Charleston

I had a brief one-night work trip to Charleston in December, which is one of my favourite cities in the USA. I didn’t do any touristy sightseeing this time, but loved being in Charleston, which I think is the sweetest city in America these days. People were so friendly, I had such a great time!

Christmas in New York City

My first winter Christmas! New York is incredibly festive in the lead up to Christmas, and even though I was sad not to spend Christmas Day with my family in Australia, Christmas in New York is very special. My favourite part is the ugly Christmas jumpers! We had our friends from Australia, Lachlan and Steffi, over for lunch.

New Year’s Eve in New York City

New Year’s Eve in New York City is on thousands of people’s bucket lists, so it felt quite surreal ushering in a new decade here this year. I work near Times Square, but escaped the building madness early in the afternoon, and instead had a nice dinner at home with David and his parents, who are in town for a couple of weeks, and then went to our friend’s apartment. I much prefer a low key New Year’s Eve, and this one was perfect.

2020 Travel Plans

Most of these are ideas right now, but I’d really like to visit a few US cities including Nashville, Savannah, Austin, Boston and Washington, as well as some national parks, especially the Grand Tetons, Yosemite and Yellowstone. I’d love to visit Montreal or Barbados, but travelling in and out of the US when you’re on a visa is a bit of a pain and always a little bit stressful. There’s so much to see in the US, I think I’ll have my hands full already!