Real Life Sea Change Stories
The following stories illustrate the personal journeys of those who have made a sea or tree change or are in the process of undertaking a significant career and/or lifestyle change.
They include P2R client stories and contributions from other sea and tree changers to help you see what’s possible for your sea or tree change.
Special thanks to those who so generously share their experiences to inspire and teach others. (NB. Personal details have been changed to protect confidentiality).
Heart Attack Provides Wake-Up Call
James, his wife Michelle (a successful PR manager) and their two teenagers had lived in Sydney all their lives. For 10 years, James left home at 6.45am, drove in peak hour traffic for an hour and a half and worked in a windowless office in Martin Place. His days were full of intense and stressful meetings, crunching numbers, managing the ups, downs and personalities of his 25 strong team and clearing over 50 emails a day. Although he had great intentions of going to the gym at lunch time, he never seemed to get around to it. He’d get home late, have dinner and then do a couple more hours work before collapsing into bed at around 11.00pm.
Swapping Computer Programming for Environmental Conservation
Sam, a 36 year old software engineer in the IT industry spent his days in front of a computer, writing code. While this had earned him good money over the years, he’d lost interest in it and found himself frustrated, bored and stuck, with no clear way forward. Once he’d given himself permission to let go of his father’s preconceived ideas of success, gained from a highly paid job, he was able to clear the way and find out what he really wanted out of life. He’s passionate about the environment and sustainability and living in Sydney seemed somehow incongruent with his love of clear air and being outdoors.
Robinson Family Farmers
The Robinsons are a family of 7 who were finding the cost of living in Melbourne prohibitive. Even though there were plenty or things to do in the city, their lack of money meant that evenings and weekends were largely limited to nights in front of the TV. Finding herself constantly tired, stressed and always nagging her family, Mia decided it was time to ‘get back to basics’ and reconnect with what they wanted for their family.
A Clear and Realistic Plan Provides the Key
Robyn and Michelle dreamt of opening up their own organic food store and café. Passionate about natural foods and provisions, they could describe it in detail. Robyn says, “We knew it would be in an old, converted hardware store with recycled floorboards and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. We even knew what we would stock in the store and sell in the café. Our customers would be locals who would also supply us organically certified produce as well as the constant, year round tourists who visited our gourmet food and boutique wine growing region. The problem was we just didn’t know where this would be or how we would transition from our current city based jobs as a chef and marketing manager.
Making a Sea Change Work for Everyone
When making his Sea Change, Simon was faced with a dilemma. He’d successfully secured his dream job as a charter boat operator on the Great Barrier Reef. It offered the warm, outdoor lifestyle he’d wanted for years and the opportunity to explore the Reef marine life which fascinates him. As a former boat mechanic and part-time tour boat operator on Sydney Harbour he had the skills he needed and was looking forward to buying his own home in more affordable Airlie Beach.
Our Lifeline – Make Settling Easy
Renee, Gordon (a mining engineer) and their three small boys planned to move from Brisbane to Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia where they knew nobody. Having been introduced to 2 other families with young children, they stayed in touch for the 12 months leading up to their move. “The Jenkins and Smiths were like our lifeline,” says Renee. “Whatever we wanted to know, they were able to help. The choice of schools for our boys, finding trustworthy and reliable local services, even where the best place was for a haircut. Nothing was too much trouble.
We Didn’t Realise What Not Making the Move was Costing Us
Malcolm and Genevieve, both in their mid-thirties, had a relatively good life, living in Sydney. Malcolm was a self-employed plumber and Gen worked for a city based legal firm. The daily commute was a real grind for Gen and Malcolm was finding that being stuck in traffic on Sydney’s congested roads was costing him too much time travelling between jobs. “It was really stressful and inefficient and I found myself spending more time travelling in my ute than working on jobs,” says Malcolm. Gen also found herself falling asleep on the train and felt constantly tired at work. By the time she got home she was too tired to cook so they often had take-away for dinner.
£10 Poms do an Aussie Sea Change - don’t look back
Caroline Cameron, Sea Change Coach's first Sea Change story.
My parents made the ultimate sea change, over 40 years ago when they moved from England to Australia. My father who was a GP, didn’t like the way the UK National Health Service was heading and they wanted a better lifestyle to bring up their two small children.
