Packards Down Under

This wasn’t the start we had imagined. It’s been comically askew.   After making a heavy push through summer to leave California well and to ensure our immigration went smoothly, spending two weeks in an Auckland quarantine facility, then bursting free into our new surroundings for 5 days… WHAM-O!  NZ’s first community COVID case in nearly 6 months produced a nationwide lockdown. Five weeks of lockdown later, we—and the whole of New Zealand—are ready for a new chapter.  Fortunately, we made good headway to settle in during our 5 days of blissful COVID-free-ish existence here before the lockdown. We explored neighborhoods, went to our first rugby match, gathered a few supplies,  secured a car,   got into a long-term rental house, and visited the kids’ future school. That's paid dividends while businesses have been shut down. Sometimes it pays to move fast. One bright spot of NZ’s highest lockdown level is that outdoor exercise is allowed. That’s meant daily walks...

And why now?  Three key factors answer the question.   First, we knew California.  We loved living there. Standout elements were our community of friends, the outdoors, the weather, and the aggregation of knowledge plus the ‘can do’ mindset pervading Silicon Valley.   California  was a wonderful home to us. It wasn't going away. And we feel there is much more to experience.  Second, we weren’t immune to the intensity of living on the razor’s edge of a fast-paced, high performance culture. We found it easy to add work and intensity, and difficult to subtract. Our ambition and preparation for living in New Zealand is to have more control on our ability to dial work up and down. Third is adventure. Lisa and I have scouted living in NZ and Australia since college. Our interests in this have been:  a personal adventure in a beautiful part of the world. international experience for our kids. exciting outdoor experiences that connect all of us to the na...

Blogging. I know. Welcome to 2004.   If it’s any consolation, this comes from a good place—namely, the desire to stay connected with loved ones. Plus, it’s meant to save myself the time of repeating stories across text threads and phone calls. As a bonus, this might inspire us to capture bits of our travels in writing… at least for ourselves to look back on when we’re old and ragged.   I intend to give this a try with updates, reflections, and pictures. Let us know what you want to hear more/less of, so we can try to make it interesting.