The transgender “issue” has come increasingly to the forefront of social consciousness in many parts of the world, and I’m baffled at the desperate attempts of some to feel threatened by trans people. My experience of transgenderism (as of so many things) is unusual.
I lived five years of my childhood in Bangkok. My dad and stepmother lived in Thailand again while I was in high school, so I spent several vacations from boarding school there as well. While I never studied Thailand in depth (as I did India), Thai culture seeped into my consciousness, admittedly through the filters of expat life.
We live near Kamay/Botany Bay National Park, went for a bit of a walk yesterday as far as Tabbigai Gap – it’s possible to go all the way around the cape, but we weren’t prepared for that. On the way back we took an inland trail through the bush.
Initially, we were on our own in house hunting, and it was all new to both of us. Brendan did extensive research on interest rates, housing prices, etc. – he was taking a very cautious approach to spending such a large amount of money. Because he was tracking the numbers closely, by late last year he was well aware that the housing market was peaking and would be likely to drop 10-20% in 2022 (especially once the Reserve Bank of Australia got around to raising interest rates). We needed a house to live in ASAP, but given these market conditions we weren’t willing to be extravagant. And, as previously noted, having another half to full million to spend would not have given us many more options: there just aren’t enough houses.
We moved to Sydney in December, 2020. Our original plan had been to spend about two years renting while we got to know this extensive and varied city, to figure out where we’d like to live longer-term. We had plenty of savings, and calculated that when the time came to buy we should be able to afford just about anything we’d want – we’re not ostentatious people and would not be looking for a mansion.
In the meantime, we rented a beachfront apartment with incredible views of the sea. I thought I would never tire of this, could not imagine ever wanting to leave it.
