When it comes to tree-changing (moving from a city to rural area) we’ve ‘been there and done that’; and have learned many lessons which we are happy to share. Here’s a flavour of topics that come to mind:

• Staying true to who you are and how you want to live your life
• Help is always at hand but you need to know where to look
• Actually making the move
• Sourcing goods and services
• Maintaining existing city networks
• You are, actually, still on planet Earth; and the ‘outback’ is actually further west
• Integrating within a rural community
• Benefits far outweigh the pitfalls
• For some, a personality transplant might be necessary
• Tall poppy syndrome
• Myths of rural living
• ‘Buyer beware’ aspects of purchasing rural land and how to reduce the risks
• Setting up and living with a substantial off-grid power supply system
• Working with herding animals
• Setting up farm water supplies
• Land planning
• “Everybody knows everybody and everybody tells everybody everything” –well, not quite the case, but you get our drift!

Packing up – leaving the ‘Big Smoke’!