BIG MOVE BUT WELL WORTH IT
Spring 2015
Making the significant decision to move 16,000km across the globe was a simple case of ‘now or never’ for Blackwood Park residents Una and George.
Less than 12 months ago, in December 2014, the retired couple moved from their home in Britain to Adelaide to be closer to their only child. “We’re originally from Scotland, but had lived in Yorkshire for 40 years,’’ Una says. “We had no family left in the UK and our son moved here, to Flagstaff Hill in 2007. “We’d been coming here every year since for a couple of months to spend time with the family, including our two grandchildren and we decided we wanted to be closer and felt that it was now or never.’’
It took three years for their visas to be approved and in that time the pair considered where they wanted to live.
Una and George had become familiar with the area during their visits to spend time with their family. They enjoy the natural environment and community spirit in the area. “We’re very impressed with the area,’’ she says. “It certainly has been a big move to make at our age, and a lot of our friends thought we were mad, but we felt it was the right thing for us.’’
The couple both turn 70 this year and after spending four months living with their son, they moved into their three-bedroom Medallion home in April. “We’ve got a big family living area and study and we’re on a corner site and overlook part of the reserve,’’ Una says. “We’ve got everything we need and want.”
“There are lots of lovely walks around, we’re both members of the golf club, I’m a member of the gym and I go to the Uniting Church. We do miss our friends in the UK, but we are making new friends and feel welcome and it’s good to be near the family, so we are pleased with our decision.’’
Una says the biggest surprise has been the cold winter. “We’d been here when it was very hot in summer, but we didn’t expect it to be so cold in winter. That surprised us – but we are used to cold winters, so that’s good.’’
The pair are now looking forward to spending their first Christmas in their new home and celebrating with family and new friends.