Niyasz R Ibrahim
After many a long winter down in Melbourne where I had settled into the Aussie way of life I was beginning to stagnate and felt the need to move on to something fresher and brighter. Perth was the answer and I spent even more years in the West enjoying a freer and more relaxed lifestyle. Enjoyable as it was, I realised that sooner or later once retirement beckoned I would be caught out, floundering in Perth’s cooler months.
Meanwhile my partner Anne and Self had come over to Cairns for a holiday and I recall being quite taken by with the general ambience of the place. Anne had boasted to me about how lovely it was here as she had previously spent sometime in the Tablelands. So, the seeds were planted on that early trip and quite a few years later we repeated the dose but this time with more intent: we actually checked out a few of the suburbs, made a few enquiries with Estate Agents and discovered that a move across could be financially viable. The work I was engaged in saw me based in the West at our Head Office but we were a National Company and I was aware of the possibilities of working from a remote location. This was the notion that I proposed to my Superiors who embraced the idea as they felt there was a distinct advantage of having staff on the Eastern seaboard, but as time went on the realisation set in that they probably wanted me off the premises anyway! And so it was that our property was on the market after a spruce up and JOY, we sold fairly quickly in a flat market. The obligatory packing followed, transport organised and after a final clean-up we set off on a six day trip to get to our new home; that is to say temporary accommodation in a Caravan Park in Edmonton.
Initially we did not restrict ourselves to the South side. We were quite open to settling anywhere in Cairns and set out to achieve straight away from day 1 but after being shown a number of possibilities all around the Metro area we stumbled upon a place right here in Edmonton. They were anxious to sell and so it happened that we were unpacking, arranging and rearranging just a month later. On reflection Anne and I are quite pleased living on the South Side without being able to pinpoint any particular reason and we have seen a few changes and slight growth in our four plus years here. For me, just living in Cairns is a joy as it harks back to my childhood growing up in the tropics, free from having to rely on heating for comfort.
My regular employment continued for three more years as I worked from home (pre Covid) and eventually retired from working life after fulfilling arrangements with my former employer. These days are spent in part trying to give back to the community and partially soaking up what is all around me in my new home.