Some people come to the New England for work. Some come for the lifestyle. As we’ve heard, some feel inexplicably drawn to the region. And for others… it’s a bit more random.
For Kim Cleverly, the move to Armidale started with car trouble.
When she left Cairns a couple of months ago, she packed her belongings in the car and drove south, not quite sure of her destination. As she left Moree, her car started overheating. By the time she got to Armidale it was clear she needed a mechanic.
“I ended up here, and I met somebody at a car repair place.”
“And I thought, wow, these are lovely people!”
Lovely people planted a idea
The local auto sparky wasn’t able to completely repair Kim’s car, but got it going enough that she could make it to Kempsey. There was no mechanic available in Kempsey, so she ended up getting her car fixed in Sydney at her old mechanic, staying in the more affordable Newcastle while she waited.
“That’s when the Armidale decision really gelled and solidified. And so then I came back up with my car all fixed, and here I am.”
“I gave myself a couple of weeks to try to find housing and or employment. I found housing, still working on employment.”
Kim is in good company in Armidale, where there is a strong community of stunningly overqualified people ready and willing to work in roles well below their skill set to stay in town. A divorce lawyer and trial attorney in the US with multiple degrees, she followed her husband, a climate change researcher and lecturer, to Australia, over a decade ago. Burnt out from her demanding legal practice, she enjoyed the departure from the law when she first arrived, and is now looking to, in her words, “serve my fellow humans”.
“One of the things I’ve done is that I moderate an online community of about 31,000 people who have climate anxiety.
“It’s real and it causes a lot of stress, particularly on the younger generations, the Zeds and the millennials, and I like to support them,” Kim said.
“But because my degrees are a Masters in Business Administration and a law degree and an English degree, that doesn’t set me up in the Australian credentialing system to become a case worker or a support worker, but I’m hoping I can wheedle my way in.”
She’s been applying for a number of jobs in town in non-profits and government, and knows that finding the right job will be important in finding her feet in her new town.
“You could say that I haven’t quite found my feet yet. I have made a couple of friends.
“I met a woman who lives at Newling Gardens, at the Cancer Council tea. She heard me talk, and so she struck up a conversation, which happens a lot in Armidale as soon as I opened my mouth with my strong North American accent.”
“Through my rental situation, I’ve met a wonderful woman from Indonesia and we’ve been spending time together, and I’m thrilled with that I got to go to the theatre.
“We would have to save for months to be able to afford going to the theatre in Sydney, things like that.
A dramatic difference
“My head is still wobbling at the dramatic difference to enjoy what I consider the finer things in life here.
The skilled pianist has been applying her skills entertaining dementia patients and accompanying local choirs, including at Newling Gardens, and has been surprised and moved by the abilities of average locals in their choirs.
“You know the old piano, so my back is to them, but I’m listening carefully, because I am an accompanist. And here comes the harmonies, and everybody’s got beautiful pitch, and they’re all like in their 80s!”
“I’m like, don’t weep while you’re playing, Kim, just keep it together!”
It’s not just the arts and culture that Kim has been moved by.
“I guess I am a bit surprised by it, like when I found Dumaresq Dam and I went out there and, I mean, I couldn’t go five steps without a wildlife encounter. It was just wonderful.”
“And I thought, boy, this is pretty good. I picked a good city!”
“And then I started joining all the Facebook groups and paying attention to the events, and it’s just, it’s really incredible, how much there is here.”
Kim has also noticed how unique and diverse the New England is, and particularly how different it is from the Hunter.
“When we lived in Sydney we would go to the Hunter every now and then.
“You go 100 kilometres, and the employment, the politics, everything changes,” Kim said.
“That’s actually one of the very appealing things about The New England to me, is its lack of monolithic anything, or at least that’s how it’s coming across to me so far.”
Here for good
Originally from the Midwest in the US and more recently from New Mexico, the now Australian citizen she says she has no desire to go back to the US.
“I had a warm invitation to go back to America, and I really did soul search.”
“I can’t even put it into words what it is about Australia, but I am crystal clear that I wish to remain in Australia.”
When asked what advice she would have for others considering a move to the New England, she offers a warning, of sorts.
“Prepare that eye contact can be made with people you do not know here.”
“People will notice you, and people will generally be very, very kind.”
“And if all of that is appealing to you, let’s have a coffee.”
Our series on people who have moved to the New England is supported by a micro-grant from the Local Independent News Association (LINA) and the Walkley Meta Fund Grant that has enabled New England Times to have an investigative unit.