by on

Since I moved down to the Fleurieu at the start of March, my primary goal was to buy a house and set myself up for the next phase of my life. 

I wanted to find a place where I could work and escape from the world at the same time and as of a few days ago, this goal has been realised. 

Yes… I’ve just bought a house in Yankalilla.

I’ll get the keys on November 8th and after some cosmetic tweaks to the inside such as a new kitchen, polishing floorboards and a new coat of paint, it’ll be ready for Charlie and I to move in and make our own.

It feels good to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as there were a few times in the house hunting process that my hopes had been dashed but this time though, I got what I was looking for.

I’ll now be able to work and record from home in an environment that will be more conducive to productivity and creativity.

Living with Mum and Dad has been absolutely wonderful but the space I worked in was always a temporary one and therefore the atmosphere was always going to be different, more restless and slightly inhibited.

I’m now looking forward to creating more, working more, relaxing more and just “being” more because now that I have my own place… I can do what I bloody well like.

Pics will come soon.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

by on

Yesterday, September 23rd, 2022 marked six months since I made the move down from Dudley Park to my parents’ place in Goolwa on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula as a temporary measure until I found a place of my own.

In that time I’ve been busy setting up my temporary work/recording space in Dad’s shed and re-establishing my web design business ZenWeb plus getting myself ready for live performance and songwriting/recording as well.

On the house hunting front, I’ve not had that much luck of late mainly due to the current economic climate and how it’s affecting the housing market in general.

I am, however, using this situation as a perfect example of my life being the greatest teacher and it allowing me to test my patience and resilience. Although, I did think that I would be in my own place by now.

I’m also finding out pretty quickly that the SA real estate market is a fickle, ultra-competitive and ruthless game of chess mixed in with a dash of smoke and mirrors for good measure and I thought the music business was bad when it came to game playing.

Try buying a house at the moment.

In an earlier post I did write about my initial thoughts of life in Goolwa and how different it is to living in Adelaide. 

Now that six months have passed, the novelty of the move has most certainly worn off but I still really appreciate the slower pace and the general sense of peace and serenity that comes with living down here because after all, Goolwa is Australia’s first Cittaslow town. 

“What the hell does that mean?” I hear you ask. Click here to find out.

With any situation that you find yourself in whether it be where you live, the relationships you’re in or the job you work at, there are always good and bad points to experience along the way. 

It’s so very easy to find fault when you’re in a temporary situation such as mine but really, when I look at where I’m at right now, right at this very moment… I’m pretty lucky.

I’m lucky because I have the luxury of time to really seek out the best place to start the next part of my journey from and there’s so much potential ahead of me, I just can’t wait to get there.

That is what I focus on when I start feeling frustrated or doubting whether I made the right decision. In the meantime, if any of you local readers are selling a house in the vicinity of Sellicks Beach to Goolwa or, know of anyone who is… Let me know.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

(PS: Yesterday was also the 17th anniversary of the day that Mara and I first met but I’ll save that for another post)

by on

Well, it’s all done and dusted. The house is sold and I’m slowly but surely getting myself acclimated to life down on the Southern Fleurieu. 

I moved down to Goolwa last Wednesday (March 23rd) to my parents place initially with the view of finding my own place down this way and I’ve got to say, life in Goolwa is much different to living in Adelaide.

Firstly, the pace of life is so much slower. 

I’ve already been trying to slow down my life a bit since Mara passed away so the change in pace is not that much of a shock but I can imagine that for someone who has come straight from inner city Adelaide life, the pace of Goolwa would be a bit of a culture shock.

Secondly, I’ve been sleeping like a log.

This is amazing considering that I have had so much trouble with my sleeping patterns since… I can’t remember when but ever since I’ve moved down to Goolwa I have been going to bed earlier and getting up earlier and pretty much sleeping straight through the night.

I think no longer having the sale of the house on my mind has a lot to do with my newly found sleep but I think another reason might be that the air is much cleaner down in Goolwa. I’m not sure why that would make such a difference but to me it does.

Thirdly, the overall ambience is much quieter. 

This is because there’s not as many cars on the road, not as many people around and the location of where I’m staying is a little further away from the centre of Goolwa so not as many houses around either. 

This certainly contributes greatly to the reduction in my stress levels and my ability to just be present

Lastly… I can see the stars.

With the lack of the type of infrastructure that gives off light pollution at night, I can see a lot more stars in the sky than I ever could living in Adelaide. Granted, the numbers are less than if I was in the Flinders Ranges but what I currently see above my head still fills me with wonder.

Night time is… Dark. The way it’s meant to be and again, this is another reason why I’m sleeping so well I suppose.

Today I was able to set up my working environment hence why you’re reading this blog post. I’ve almost finished setting up the temporary recording studio and when that’s all done I can start recording music again, something I haven’t been able to do for about three months or so.

Man, I’ve really missed making music.

Once that is all done, the last piece of the puzzle is for me to find my own place so I can finally start moving forward again, living my own life while at the same time, carrying on Mara’s memory and legacy close to my heart.

I remind myself that today is the first day of the rest of my life and I intend to grab onto it and hold on for dear life with a steely determination to not waste one iota of the experience.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

by on

Ok, I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you all this but… I’m just going to get straight to the point.

I’ve decided that the time has come for me to pack up my things, sell the house and move down South around the Fleurieu Peninsula somewhere from a line due East from Moana to McLaren Flat all the way down to Goolwa.

This move will enable me to be first and foremost, closer to my family (who live in Goolwa and Mount Compass) plus, it will enable me to take a step closer to living in an environment where I can live the life that I want to live…

A slow, steady, simple and silent life. 

I’ve signed all of the necessary contracts which have instructed Harris Real Estate to sell the house and its hoped that things will be finalised around the end of January/beginning of February 2022.

So what does this all mean?

Well, besides having a different home and delivery address and maybe some more phone conversations or online chats via Skype or Zoom, nothing else will need to change as I’m only moving an extra 60-90 minutes away from Adelaide at the most. 

Of course, I’ll make my way to Adelaide at least once a week to meet up with clients and/or to catch up with friends and remember, there will always be a place to stay for anyone who trundles down my neck of the woods.

Most importantly though, I’ll be pulling up stumps on a life that was mostly defined by the partnership between Mara and I but now, with Mara gone, I now have to move forward with my life. This was inevitable whether it be now or later.

The fact is that the home that Mara and I had built together in Dudley Park since 2012 (yes, almost 10 years now) is now just a house that will now always have something missing in it, something that will constantly remind me of all the negative aspects of the last few years so, the time was right to make the move.

I also know that Charlie is going to have more room to run around and be a dog in rather than being either cooped up inside or navigating a tiny backyard plus, I’ll also have more studio/office space to expand SongMachine and ZenWeb into as that will be one of my requirements for the next house.

The more I get used to the concept of moving my life away from the city, the more I realise that this is what I must do and as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, one of the main lessons I’ve learned is that life is all about letting go.

I would say that this decision to move down South is the best example of me letting go of something which doesn’t serve a purpose for me anymore that I can think of.

And I’m totally fine with that.

This decision was actually something Mara and I had spoken about on a number of occasions to the point where we had decided it was going to become an eventuality.

I’m so glad that I’m able to take Mara’s memory with me as I know she will love the change in scenery.

Right now, I’m working in a somewhat limited capacity on my laptop as the studio and office computers have been packed away. I’m still able to work but it might take a little longer to get things done but this will be just a temporary inconvenience.

As I’ve only just made the decision and started the process, I really have nothing else to report as yet but I can say that I don’t know where I’ll end up but I do know that there’s a place out there with my name on it. 

All I have to do is have the trust in myself that I’ll find it.

Personally, it’s all very exciting and terrifying at the same time but I know that Mara is there with me in spirit cheering me on from wherever she is and like me, looking forward to what the next chapter will bring.

All I can say is “Watch this space…” 

Peace,

Corey 🙂