Arriving into Dublin was a quick snap back to reality, not to mention the first time I had to wear pants in a very long time. As I understood every single passing conversation in the streets I had begun to realise how blazay my interaction with people around me had become whilst travelling through so many diverse speaking countries. Arriving back into the normality of the UK felt like returning home. Which was perfect as that was exactly what it was soon to be. The next chapter was about to begin, to find a place to call home and a job to support us for the next few months. The only question was where do we even start?
Kicking it from Dublin we followed our previous route up to Belfast where we had a perfect few days gathering ourselves and catching up with friends. The plan from that point on was to catch an overnight ferry into Liverpool in England. From there we would begin our search for a new beginning.
The first two things that come into mind when thinking about Liverpool is football and The Beatles. Which upon arrival I learnt was a perfect summary. We stayed at a funky hostel called Hoax that was just around the corner from the famous Matthew Street, home to The Cavern Club where the legendary Beatles were born.
After spending a couple days soaking in Liverpool and all it has to offer we decided that it wasn't the right city for us to call home. Cutting our losses we hopped on the next bus and headed down to Birmingham where we planned to catch up with our good friend from home Jamie and spend some time figuring out our next plan of action.
Also visiting Jamie that same weekend was another good friend from home Rachel who had recently moved to London. It was such a marvelous feeling to be with great friends reunited so far away from Australia. As we immersed ourselves in Jamie's uni life attending flat parties and getting a little taste of what student life is like in England. Having to much of a good time it wasn't until the very last hours that we would make the next big decision on where to go next.
Having spent a lot of time up north of England previously the south of England was very alluring to me, so we put the coastal town of Brighton on our maybe list. Wanting to step away from the likes of almost every other Australian that has moved to England we opted to stay away from London as it was far to expensive to be sustainable. Leeds, Bristol,New Castle,Oxford the possibilities were endless. Finally just as we were about to make our way down south Jamie piped up and suggested that we should just head to Manchester. Back up North-West towards Liverpool it seemed like a silly thought to be back tracking but when I thought about it more and more when did we ever choose to do anything logical.
Stepping off the bus and making our way through the funky Northern Quarter of the city I was sold. Surrounded by countless vintage stores and quirky little cafes and pubs, I was impressed. I don't know why but it just felt right, and just like that we both knew Manchester is where we would call home. In a matter of days we both scored a job at a bar called The Walkabout, a chain of Australian themed pubs around England. Ironic to say the least but the job ticked all our boxes of requirement. Live in staff accommodation in a relaxed atmosphere where we could both work together and of course the deal sealer…a job where James wasn't required to have to shave off his beard.
It was almost surreal how instant and perfect it all pieced itself together. And just like that these two Wanderer's after six months finally had a place to call home. Let the Manchester antics begin.
The Wanderer's Daughter xx
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