The USA holds a special place in my heart having lived in Omaha, Nebraska and Cincinnati, Ohio.

I've been blessed to have travelled to around 46 of the States including Hawaii, California and New York.

I've been extremely lucky to have worked in New York and Silicone Valley, Ca. Something I'm extremely proud to say.

I've seen the lights of Las Vegas, the wild of Wyoming and the breathtaking beauty of Yosemite. Who wouldn't swap places with me?

I was born january 1958 in Widnes, Cheshire. Late in 1992 I decided that I would explore the possibilities in Australia and by February 4th 1993 I had sold all my belongings (well most anyway) and was on a plane to Sydney, via California and Hawaii.
In Australia I bought a camper van - a Bedford conversion that was as old as the ark. It was such a junk heap that it was christened "wheelie house" after wheelie bins that had just be introduced back home in Widnes. Between February and July 1993 I travelled the east coast of Australia, not doing so much of the job hunting I'd intended because.. well 1 learned pretty early in that there was no way they'd employ me without a working visa and I was having such a great time just holidaying. In hindsight I needed that holiday after all the unpleasantness with my divorce.
In July 1993 I returned to England and thankfully immediately became employed on a contract, in Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON

Since I didn't have any ties I moved there and took up residence in July 1993 on a 6 month contract. In November 1993 I was offered a contract in the United States but didn't actually take up the offer until May 1994 when I moved to Omaha, Nebraska. 

Now this was a real change! I lived in Omaha, Nebraska until December 1994 when I was assigned to Cincom Systems in Cincinnati, Ohio. The re-location was paid for by the company (COMSYS) and I had to drive across country to Ohio. It was a great way of seeing some more of the country

The plan - as always - was to travel through as many states as I could and make full use of the travel time to see as much as I could. The trip tool me through Kansas City, St. Louis, parts of Kentucky and eventually into Ohio. 
On arriving in Cincinnati I was immediately struck by how bleak it looked. It was December 30th 1994, it was cold but dry and all the trees were bare. The precise destination was Symmes Township, north of the city and on the top-side of the I-275 ring freeway. Cincinnati is a very friendly city and I loved every minute we were there. 

Around September 1997 I began looking for a house in Cincinnati after having rented an apartment for the time there. I had applied for a green card and had been received the labour certification which is the longest part of the process. The rest was simply the character assessment.
It had always been a dream of mine to live in Australia, especially since the  visit in 1993. I had been working on contract to Cincom Systems whilst in Cincinnati and for sometime had been contacting the Australian office about moving there - without much luck. Having found a house that I liked in Cincinnati I decided to give it one more go with Cincom Australia. Sure enough I got a positive response and agreed terms to move to Australia. Initially on a four year working visa. Being Rugby League supporters I hoped that I would move to Sydney (the rugby league capital) but I was assigned to Melbourne. As luck has it, Melbourne Storm a new Rugby League team in the national competition was launched just as I moved. So, Melbourne it was and, apart from the weather, I think it was the better move.

Arriving in Melbourne in December 1997 I rented a furnished house with a pool, for six months, in Clayton North. It was a great summer and I made good use of the pool. I then moved to Mulgrave in August 1998 where I again rented a house - major feature was a built in bar right there in the living room! The house had beautiful garden and I loved it. Sadly so did the owner and when he got married he decided to move in, so I had to move out in August 1999. This was a hectic time as I was heading for a month in India where I'd be working. House hunting for the return was frantic and I was struggling to find anything suitable. I moved in on the return from India in October 1999.

In October 2000 I lodged an application for permanent residency in Australia.  It took another year for my residency application to be approved and so it wasn't until November 2001 that I found a new home. During previous searches I'd settled on the idea of Wantirna South as a good area to live and so it's no surprise that I found the new home in the same area. I finally bought a house and took possession on December 3rd 2001 though it was another week until I moved in.