We’re just married 30-somethings who, in late 2006, bought a property in country Clare.  We are looking for a better quality of life for ourselves now and in the future when we have kids. 

Meg before Rob: born in Yarram Victoria, lived in Won Wron, Maroubra - Sydney, Sale, Batemans Bay, Lismore, Paddington then Newmarket - Brisbane, Batemans Bay again, Lismore again, Batemans Bay again, Ayers Rock, Adelaide city then North Plympton, Plympton Park, Rosewater, all in Adelaide.  After a huge upheaval in my life, I’m unsure about what to do, where to live or what I want.  I live with my brother Raph and my two cats, Edmund and Isis in a flat.  Having given away all my furniture, for reasons known only to me at the time, my friends and workmates took pity on me and bought me a bed but couldn’t afford the mattress!

Meg after Rob: I met Rob and during our first meeting I discovered he had a mattress and no bed.  A match made in heaven!  Even though our two bits of furniture were never to end up together, we managed to work out as a couple, complementing each other with our different views on life.  Rob helped me to sort out what I wanted and needed from life and become more focused.

Not long after we met, Rob broke his leg and went to stay with his parents (also known as “The Folks” and “Ma ‘n Pa”) in Clare after surgery.  My friends thought that would be the end of it but I persisted, I’d never met anyone like him and wasn’t about to let it just fizzle out.  Finally Rob returned to Adelaide and we picked up where we left off.  He went back to working all the time and we would catch up when we could.  After a while Rob bought a house in Para Hills and I moved in a little while later.  Unfortunately without my cats as Rob isn’t a pet person but they are happily living with my dad now who is living in my old flat.

Rob’s work was starting to take over his life, happiness and health.  After a little bit of convincing he decided to focus on life.  Rob made a fantastic vegie garden and was on constant “palm patrol”, eradicating them from the garden.  Raph came over and helped with a lot of projects, enabling Rob and Raph to get closer and become friends.  They even built a pergola and did paving together, among other things.

Rob and I had many trips to stay with his parents in Clare.  It was nice to stay in the country occasionally.  Usually on our drives home we would talk about living in the country “one day’.  We decided it would be good to do it before our kids (which don’t exist yet) were in primary school.  At the time we weren’t even engaged yet so we thought it would be years away.  Speaking of which:

Rob and I had been together almost two years and he took me away for a romantic weekend in Perth where he proposed. We were married in three months and if that wasn’t enough excitement, we also bought 107 acres in Clare!  We were casually looking but I don’t think either of us thought it would happen so quickly.  Everything was happening at once and it was all very exciting.  I just wanted to move straight away but Rob said I had to have a job in Clare first.  I started looking casually then a bit more seriously after Christmas, by February I had a job and we were on our way.

Even though I’m not a gardener and I don’t have a clue about chickens, sheep or just about anything to do with living on the land, I’m loving every minute of living here in the caravan with our outdoor shower and hand-made toilet.  Everything is a learning experience (especially when we do finally have chickens and sheep), every day there is something different to see or do and even though I hate spiders and we’ve had huge ones here, I wouldn’t want to be living in the city again.

Rob before Meg: I graduated from Uni with an Engineering degree and started a software company (nardesign.com) with a mate. We went our separate ways after about four years and I started to travel. Check out robstravels.com for the blog of my travels around Australia and then travelling the world.

From software and IT support I ended up in Europe as a motorsport journalist and photographer.

Returning to Australia, a mate offered me a job managing his bike shop and I headed into it with my usual enthusiasm.

Rob after Meg - I met Meg and life changed. I bought a house, broke my leg badly again, Meg moved in and life continued in the 9-5 (or 8 til 7), daily commute, coffee on the run, corporate slave, city lifestyle.

At last Meg brought me to my senses and I quit the job to concentrate on me. That is where this journey began!