More than six months, I’ve been here in Perth. I leave in a little over 48 hours.

On my day of departure from Chicago – September 1st, 2022 – I was a bit of a wreck. To say “goodbye (for now)” to my parents, my brothers, my dear friends, my partner, and my darling nephew… it was hard! I had shed a lot of tears, knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing my loved ones for a while. And yet, it was destined to be.

I had been planning this trip for years. I had spent my 20’s working hard and saving money, knowing I wanted to take a chunk of time to travel once I turned 30. When the pandemic hit, my plans flew out the window for a little while. I didn’t know what would happen. Australia’s borders were closed and that was supposed to be my first stop along the journey, where I could live & work, make money, explore, etc. I figured I might have to skip Australia altogether and start my journey in Southeast Asia, where I wouldn’t be able to make money to supplement longer term travel.

And then… in February 2022, their borders reopened. I applied for the visa and it was granted the next day. Things were looking optimistic, but I still was hesitant with how unpredictable the pandemic was.

I had wanted to begin my journey in Perth for a number of reasons. Upon researching the different cities, I found that Perth was “the most isolated city in the world,” was the farthest one could travel from Chicago, had perhaps the best beaches in Australia, lots of wildlife, daily sunsets, good public transportation, and cheap hostels. Oh… and seasonal whales! I didn’t know if I would love or hate Perth, but it seemed like a good place to begin my journey. If I hated it, I could always go to another city.

I remember landing in Australia at nighttime, taking an Uber through the streets and not being impressed at all by the city. I thought, “have I made a mistake?” The city skyline looked SO SMALL compared to Chicago and other cities I had been to before. I checked into my hotel, called my parents, and crashed – after a long, long journey via plane to arrive in Perth.

The next morning, my opinion changed immediately after walking around Kings Park and then seeing the kangaroos at Heirisson Island. There were so many beautiful birds, flowers, and things to see. The city was lovely, too.

I was so anxious when I got here. Would I find a job? Would I be able to get a tax file number quickly so I could start working? Would I have enough money? Would I be able to “make it” here or would I have to return home after a month? I am an anxious person. I tend to future-trip, having a hard time living in the present. I’m trying!

In retrospect, I did “make it”. I found a great job, I was able to rent an apartment from my friend Kory. I adventured plenty, snorkeled plenty, saw so many cool animals and went on some incredible hikes. I made friends and memories. I ate a lot of food (still have not cooked myself a dinner since being here haha).

Perth is a little city, by comparison to the likes of Chicago or New York. But it’s not really about the city. It’s everything else. The close proximity to amazing hiking trails, gorgeous ocean views. Nature and wildlife. And yet, the city itself is lovely. It’s small, sure, but it’s easy to get around. You don’t feel lost, because you quickly become familiarized with your surroundings. And it has its own charm. From the Christmas decorations they put up all around the city to the Australia Day events, there is certainly a festiveness here, despite its isolating location.

The city can be wild, too. Heading up to Northbridge on a Friday or Saturday night can be crazy. So many people out and about, going dancing at bars, or busking on the streets, or “cookers” out and about looking like the walking dead. Just last night, I saw some teenagers get into a fight and cops pulled over immediately to apprehend them. Yes – Perth is wild.

Wild people, wild animals. On land, I have spotted kangaroos, bobtail lizards, bluetongue lizards, skinks, emus, venomous snakes, echidna, goats, cool spiders, and more. So many colorful birds – the lorikeets, the annoying crows, the cockatoos, the cackling kookaburras. In the sea – octopus, majestic stingrays, starfish, stinging jellyfish, dolphins, sea lions. I have seen plenty in six months. Enough for a lifetime, although I always want to see more, more, more. And yet, Perth has provided plenty of sightings for me, with the venomous snakes being my favorite, perhaps.

I have been lucky enough to explore not just on my own, but with the friends I’ve made here. Along my hiking and snorkeling adventures, I’ve had Liam, Kory, Jason, and Mo. To be able to share memories with someone else makes exploring so much more fun. You can reach out to them months down the road and ask, “remember when?” Even people I hadn’t explored with, but spent time with. The coworkers I’ve mentioned in recent posts, and also our apartment complex buddies Yen, Candice, Blair, and Brendon. Lots of great memories.

A special shoutout to both Liam and Kory, though. I had started speaking with them online prior to coming to Perth and they both helped me so much. Any question I had, they answered, and it made the transition much smoother for me which I’ll always be grateful for. I hope we can be lifelong friends.

And Kory – the one who “saved me from the hostel.” Hahaha. Kory made my life here in Perth way more comfortable than it could have been. To have a home to hang up my clothes. My own room! A space to sing, to draw, to dance around… a way better situation than the hostel. Thank you, Kory! My little tiger. You have always been so generous and attentive – something I easily have taken advantage of at times haha (“I want cookies!”) – but I truly am grateful.

It is hard to be leaving here. I already feel it, and have felt it for days now, especially since I haven’t been doing much exploring upon my return from Albany and Margaret River. I think I need time to cocoon, to prepare myself mentally for the next leg of my journey, because it certainly won’t be as “stable” as it has been here in Perth. I will live out of a backpack once again. I will be on the go, likely not in one place for longer than a month for the remaining six months in Australia. Tasmania, Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, Darwin, Uluru. I’m not sure if I will make it to all these places, but hopefully I can. I want to see everything, but that’s impossible. A psychic once told my mom that my purpose in this life is “to experience.” It’s true – I want to experience all the things. Like my late uncle once told me, I am a “mountain climber” in a sense. Funny that he sensed that, even when I was just a kid. Perhaps because he was a mountain climber, too.

Why is it hard to leave? Perth is the second city I’ve ever moved to (the first being Chicago, by way of the house I grew up in 30min away). I think, wherever I go in the coming months, Perth will always hold a very, very dear place in my heart. I learned a lot here. I learned that I could move to a new city and start all over, should I choose to. I could start a new job, where I have no prior experience. I could make friends. I could become a cat dad! I could quit nicotine (for a few days haha). I could withstand warm, Australian summers. I could learn to “throw ropes,” and to do hospitality work. And more, and more, and more.

And yet, those things don’t seem to hold the same weight in words as they do in my heart. Above all, it’s a feeling. Perth has become a home away from home and it is very sad to be leaving it. The people, the places, the animals. To know that perhaps I will never come back here is a weird feeling. Hopefully, I will return one day. Maybe even before the end of my visa is over.

I’m not sure that this has really been your standard love letter, but perhaps if I write this, it could end as one: Perth, I love you. Thank you for everything. I am so, so glad I began my journey here and it is truly tough to be leaving you. But as I once learned on my first trip to New York (the trip that started it all) – everything is ephemeral.

Art of the Week

This one is for Kory – perhaps a tattoo he’ll be getting one day. I mentioned in a recent post that he nicknamed me “Sunflower” (sounds like Sunflowa with his accent) and he told me he wanted to get a tattoo of a sunflower, so I drew this for him.

Reflections

I know the pictures in this post are somewhat random, but they are snapshots of things that I would see quite often while walking around Perth. I wanted to post them here, to remember those areas years from now and to think “Oh, yeah!”

This whole post has been a “reflection” of sorts, so not too much to add here. The past couple of days I haven’t done much, just kind of cocooning as I mentioned. I’ve been hanging out with Kory and the kats. In the evenings, I’ve been going out dancing at Connections Nightclub. Kory works there, too, so we’ve been spending a lot of time together ahead of me leaving.

I did go on a hike at Kings Park with Jason where we saw two bobtail lizards. I went to dinner with Liam as well – to Arirang which is one of my favorite restaurants here. Basically just been wrapping up time with my favorite people here.

So what’s next? Up north to Coral Bay for two weeks… I’ll then likely stop back in Perth for a couple of nights, and if I haven’t found anyone to do a road trip with, I will fly over east – likely to Tasmania. Stay tuned. Sending you all my love! xx