Why going out of your comfort zone is the best challenge ever.

“Are we crazy?” asked my love the night before we caught the flight across the world to start a new life. We were waiting to leave everything we had been building for 40 years.

That day was five years ago.
Three small kids, five suitcases. Borrowed money for the first semester of my master’s.

Everything we had at that time was in this one picture.

Yes, I have built a new life from scratch with my family, 13.000 km from our home country.

I wanted to write a long story about how my five-star dream team survived this immense change and built a new life in Australia. And I promise I will.

But while I’m sitting here in the living room of my rented home, I still don’t have a visa that will grant me permanent residence in Australia (or at least a pathway to PR). I’m happy, incredibly proud, and completely overwhelmed, so I just want to share this moment with you today.

We jumped into the unknown. Together.
Almost 13.000 kilometres separate the two worlds — from Belgrade, Serbia, to Perth, Western Australia.

Courage or insanity?

To leave our well-paid jobs.

• To ditch the big social capital we had built for 20+ years in our home country.
• To cut my marketing career, a successful parenting blog, and all my writing gigs.
• To start a completely new life from scratch, despite being 40+ and perceived as “too old”.

From managers and influencers to cleaners

We went through difficult times (difficult is not a word strong enough to express what we went through).

• We couldn’t find any jobs, no matter our impressive resumes.
• We worked as cleaners for up to 16 hours daily, seeing our kids only at bedtime.
• I had to pass every exam at Edith Cowan University just to keep our student visa and let us stay in Australia.
• We lived in someone else’s home without enough money or credit history to rent something.

Some evenings, I couldn’t drive because I was so tired. I was afraid I’d end up crashing myself.

Every waking minute, I was either working or studying. I have no idea how I managed to feed our family and care for three kids.

I was desperate.

But I was also astounded by our strength and perseverance.

By my kids’ resilience.

By their lack of any complaints, despite the fact that we turned their young lives upside down.

Uncertain, bumpy road

Then, in 2020, the COVID madness started. We had to cancel our plans to visit our homeland, Serbia. We weren’t sure where our home was—stuck between two worlds.

Decided to stay.

Kept pushing.

Day by day. 
We want to reach our goals, stay sane, and support each other.

We have built a completely new life. 
Together. As a family. 👩‍❤️‍👩

• Nowadays, I work as a marketing specialist (again) full time, and my company sponsors my stay in Australia.
• My husband drives a truck instead of working as a mechanical engineer or manager, as he has chosen better pay rather than starting in a new field.
• I’m beginning a new journey — to rebuild my marketing side hustle and, more importantly, my authority as a marketing expert, this time in the new market and in English. If you want to follow my journey, here are some links: Linkedin, Twitter, and Newsletter.
• The kids are settled in perfectly, have new friends, and are happy.
• We’re waiting for that fucking visa (the Australian immigration system IS so broken, but that’s another story), so we can book our trip to Serbia, buy our home, and finally breathe easier.

Takeaway

I started on Medium in January 2023. and I invested my time, knowledge, and effort into every article. I love writing, but I am still learning to be great at writing in English as much as I am (hopefully) at writing in Serbian.

Today, I just poured my soul and tears of pride and gratitude into this screen.

I know this story may not be relevant or interesting to you. 
But for me, it’s everything!

But if you’re about to immigrate or make a big change in your life, I encourage you to do it! You’re capable of much more than you think. Maybe I can even motivate you to do so.

• Dare to dream big.
• Open your mind to new things.
• If you’re not happy where you are, move—you’re not a tree!
• Work hard towards your goals, not other people’s.
• Keep your loved ones as close as you can. They are your fortress!

Lots of positive emotions from Angelina and her incredible team ❤

This article is firstly published on Medium.