Free range kids and lots of laughs – meet my fellow Tree Changer Jen!
Embarking on my Tree Changers blogging adventure has highlighted I have many Tree Changers in my circle of friends, and many of them are doing things a little differently to us.
So I thought it would be interesting to share their stories too, to show the many ways people are making the move.
The next person to graciously share their story is my cousin – and great mate – Jen!
Meet Jen
The beautiful Snowy Mountains at the Jindabyne Equestrian Resort. Come say hi!
Who lives there? Our family of four and our doggo Rubble James Darcy Coles. Sometimes horses and sometimes cows too.
What do you do in your day job?Midwife life for me. The husband is now a hotel manager/handyman fixer-upper person. Formerly a home school Dad, qualified chef, cabinet maker and retained firefighter Captain (man he has done a lot!).
June 2018.
Why did you make your Tree Change?
Our lives were pretty stock standard living in the South West of Sydney. Commute to work to pay the bills, shuffle our boys around between Grandparents, bust our asses trying to take a holiday every now and then and try and stay on top of the housework.
REPEAT.
We really questioned why we were living the way we were when our lifestyle bought us minimal joy. So we Marie Kondo’d a working holiday living in and managing a 32 room hotel on 200 acres in Jindabyne. Pulled the kids out of (very large) public school grade 1 and 3 so we could work and ski.
We had a rad four months together, and when we returned back to the burbs, we found that we very quickly fell into the same holding pattern.
As winter approached, it was like the decision was already made for us. We renovated our house, rented it out and were welcomed back to the hotel with open arms.
What surprised you most about making a Tree Change?
How easily we all adapted to the lifestyle, the changes to our wardrobe and our perception of near and far distances… what I used to think was kind of far is now just around the corner. And friend dating, it’s kind of hard to find your tribe when starting from scratch.
What are the best things about being a Tree Changer?
Definitely the time we spend together as a family. After our working holiday stint, we decided to give homeschooling a whirl which taught us so much about ourselves and each other.
But the best “things” In no particular order are as follows:
♥ fire and all the wood you could ever dream of
♥ space for the kids to free range
♥ that feeling of satisfaction at the end of a hard days work on the property
♥ the no neighbour thing is pretty cool
♥ the laughs as you learn things the hard way
♥ acreage is affordable
♥ not one traffic light in a 150km radius
♥ the Milky Way is the best we have ever seen it
♥ the boys come when we call Cooeeee (haha!)
Any downsides to being a Tree Changer?
It felt lonely for a little while after we moved away from our friends and family.
Weeds just never bloody die! You think they do, and then they re-spawn next season. Kangaroos have no road safety awareness and rabbits look cute, but they really aren’t.
Any advice you’d give to anyone contemplating a Tree Change?
Give yourself two years to settle. And remember small towns are small, everyone knows everyone! Get yourself a good 4×4 ute with a bull bar and light bar.
Anything else you’d like people to know?
We should have done it sooner!
If you have a question for Jen, leave a comment below!
And if you’d like to share your Tree Change story here, get in touch.
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