Andrew asked me to write about how we would do things differently, if we were to set off on a tree change all over again.

Fortunately, monte and I have 20/20 hindsight vision, and there are definitely things that we would do differently next time.

I’m going to write about this topic in a series of posts about our experiences, and things we might change if we were to do it all over again.

Firstly, we were so very VERY excited about making the move to our lovely new property in glorious Tasmania that we possibly moved here too soon. There. I’ve said it now. The wisest thing might have been to get the house plans finalised and put through council *before* moving down. It might have been a bit trickier, requiring more visits to Tasmania to look at things like position for land cutting, views, soil testing, driveway etc, but it would have meant that we had less time living in that little cabin with no electricity.

Having said that, the experience of living in the cabin has certainly had benefits, like I am a stronger person in many ways. I know that I can do things the tough way. Because I lived like that I take nothing for granted. I have learned how to be patient, and although I don’t really like being patient all the time, it is good for me and for those I love. Living in the cabin had benefits for our family in that we are incredibly close, and for monte and I, well, the fact that we’re more in love now than ever (rather than being bitter, or worse, divorced) goes to show that we can conquer hardships together, happily. We are a great team.

So, whilst there are things that we would do differently next time, those so-called ‘mistakes’ are also blessings in disguise.

Happy me.

Measuring up the house site was exciting; we longed for a home, and we were so excited about the journey and end result. We would visit our house site in the evening and dream about the days that we could sit an drink in the beautiful view from our cosy abode.