Life in Byron Bay

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I'm now finally settling into my life I'm Byron.
Since I got here a month ago, a lot of change has come into my life. I've started new jobs, moved around, and had to adapt to a whole lot of new-ness.
I've struggled to write as putting all this into words felt difficult, but I know it's important to share and document my journey.



Firstly, I've moved back into my van!
I'm living on a campsite with lots of friends where we share the space with three vans, a tent and a roof tent. The best part is we have a gazebo in the middle which acts as our communal living room!


When I was staying in hostels, I was nervous to move back into Ian. I felt like I had just spent the past month living out of the van and I was pretty exhausted, so I kind of just wanted the luxury of a bed and air conditioning for a while.
But, circumstance and the prices of hostels in Byron at peak time did not make staying in hostels over the New Year easy.
Luckily I had friends who invited me to stay with them and split the cost of a campsite.
And despite my concerns, I've loved being back in the van! It makes a huge difference living in it on my own versus sharing the small space with someone, plus staying in one camp ground with all the facilities makes it so easy.
I love the privacy I can have with my van, yet it's still very social as we all live together and there are so many backpackers in the campsite which makes it feel like one huge family.





And living with my mates has been so lovely! My favourite part of the day is coming home and all sharing food, chatting in our little outdoor living room with the fairy lights on.


The biggest change I've had to adapt to has probably been the jobs I've done here.
Luckily there have been plenty of jobs available in Byron, so within days of being here I managed to find two! These were working at the YHA as a cleaner, and at a pizza place serving customers and doing deliveries.
I enjoyed them at first and I liked the variety of having two part time jobs. I quickly started to change my mind every day about which job I preferred; I would flit between wanting to quit one or the other.
As I moved out of town and into the campsite, getting to two jobs in one day became a bit of a problem. I bought a bike (which I'm surprised to say I love), but cycling 20 minutes in or out of town four times a day was too much.

This is my bike which I named Cruizy Suzy!

Doing two jobs was also just too much, so last week I quit the pizza job and I'm just focusing on the housekeeping job at the hostel.

My view from the top floor at work

I generally do just 4-5 hours a day, so I've got time to chill the rest of the day, hang out at the campsite with my friends, go to the beach, and do whatever else the relaxed life of Byron calls for.

This laid back lifestyle is everything I came to Byron for. I'm really enjoying the slower pace of life, especially after the past 6 months of crazy-hard work on farms and then the whirlwind that is road tripping.

I'm enjoying the little things. When you move slower, it feels good to savour a really good meal, or take time to notice the tiny rainbow reflecting on the bed I'm making at work.


There are so many beautiful sights to take in around this part of the world, so it would be a huge shame to move too fast to appreciate them.




My brain is one often filled with 500 thoughts a minute, so it seems unusual for me to be moving this slow and (seemingly) doing so little. But it turns out I quite like taking my time, and right now I'm in absolutely no rush to go anywhere.

I've been in love with this place from the first time I came here so I feel so grateful to be making it my home. I never could have imagined living such a beautiful life outdoors, with these gorgeous people who have welcomed me in as their own.




I don't really know what my plans are for the future, and right now, I don't really care! I'm enjoying life and I'm open to all possibilities and opportunities that may be in store for me.

Shepp x

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