Why I can’t wait to move back to the country.

The rugged coastline along the Eyre Peninsula.

Adelaide has been my home for the last 7 years. I have loved every bit of my time here. But to me, it has never been home. The small country town that I grew up in has always been referred to as "home home".

I’m a born and bred country girl and proud of it.

I grew up in a small town of 1,000 people. I grew up drinking rain water, eating fresh eggs hot out of the chickens bums. I would always have scabs on my knees from climbing trees, stacking it on my bike and building cubby houses.

Beautiful.

Mum wouldn’t see my sister and I except for meal times. We’d jump on our treadles and roam the country side. In winter we’d always bring home tadpoles that we’d collected from the water run off just outside of town, we’d always be making bike tracks and jumps, we’d go mushrooming and sell them to our neighbours for our pocket money.

I played every sport under the sun. Basketball, netball, swimming, little athletics and gymnastics. Between my sister and I we have had 6 broken arms…5 of which were caused by sport!

I would catch the bus home from school to stay at my friends houses who lived on farms. We would ride the four wheelers around like hooligans, feed the chickens, cows and pigs.

My crazy family!

We’d go mushrooming as a family. We’d also take the boat out fishing at Coffins Bay and devour our catch that night fresh out of the ocean. We’d go stump picking to light our nice warm fire.

I loved my upbringing. We were free. Kids were kids. We were sheltered from life's worries. We were naive, like kids should be.

What I’m looking forward to:

The fresh air. Nothing beats fresh country air that isn’t tainted with petrol fumes.

Blue, blue skys, long dirt roads.

The fresh rain water. Everyone has rainwater tanks in the country. Nothing beats the taste of rainwater fresh from the gutters after a heavy rain.

The sense of community. A trip to the shops for milk takes half an hour because you run into people that you know and stand around chatting. Football and Netball season involves the majority of people pulling up their cars around the oval and cheering each other on.

No traffic jams. Just open roads.

FREE PARKING!

Fresh meat produce. Cows, pigs and sheep run freely out in the paddocks. The local butcher sources his livestock from local farmers. The meat is delicious.

The beaches. You can go to the beach and be the only person there. Long white strips of sand ready to sink your toes into, waves ready to be surfed, sand hills ready to be sand boarded down, snorkeling to be done and fish to be caught!

My favourite beach, Point Drummound.

CAMPING! Oh how I have missed camping in Adelaide. Escaping the house and all of the jobs that go with it, packing everything up and finding a nice quiet place to call home for the weekend. Watching the flames, cooking food on the fire, heating up the billy for a cuppa. Mmm bliss!

I could sit and stare at a fire for ages!

The stars. I really miss seeing the stars in Adelaide. They are so vibrant and bright and beautiful at home.

FRESH SEAFOOD. Nothing beats a days fishing and then driving home to cook up your catch. Between Coffin Bay Oysters, catching squid off of the Port Neill jetty, fishing for whiting along the coast, razor fish, tuna, scallops and abalone..mmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Camping

The slow pace of life. Everyone is on the go in Adelaide. Time is poor. It’s always rush rush rush. In the country, time seems plentiful. It's much more relaxing.

The people. Everyone is relaxed and friendly. People wave as they drive to their destination.

My sister with her freshly caught fish!

Seeing our friends kids grow up. Many of our friends at home have started having babies. They grow up so quickly. They’re now running and talking and creating their own personality. We can’t wait to be apart of their lives!

Mick's godchild Xander.

My friends. Many of my friends have moved away from home since school. Home will be different to when I used to live there 7 years ago. We still have some good friends living back there. I can’t wait to see them more. I also look forward to making friends with people who I don’t know so well.

My family. Without a doubt the biggest draw card is returning home to my family. Both my family and my partners live back in the country. My sister has also recently moved home, Mick’s brothers live back there, our grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins. For me, my friends have been my family for the past 7 years while living in Adelaide. I’ve even adopted some “family” along the way. But nothing beats your real blood family. I love mine so incredibly much and I can’t wait to be able to pop around to Mum and Dad’s for tea, to go fishing with them, camping with them and to just see them more than once every 3 months.

My family.

I think you take these things for granted when you grow up in a place. I remember when I finished school I just wanted to escape my small town in search for a career and education and experiences. I will never take for granted the beautiful sunsets, the smell of fresh air, the taste of rainwater and the fun that is to be had with camping, playing sport and hanging out with our friends and family. 7 years on, I long to return. It's crazy how you change over time.

If all goes to plan, we could be moving home in 5 months! Woo hoo!

Did you grow up in a small country town? What did you enjoy about it? Have you ever considered moving to the country?

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxxx