Tree Change - The move home I never thought I’d make

By Physiotherapist Andrew Preston

It was a 4 minute and 53 second walk from our apartment, to the waters edge of the iconic Bondi Beach. Literally (I timed it). On our doorstep were beautiful cafes, boutique fashion shops, coastal walks, the odd Instagram photo shoot (literally on our doorstep), and a ripping bunch of mates that also lived in the infamous 2026 post code.

My wife and I were recently married and commuting on the bus then the train into Sydney’s CBD for work. I was the Director of a physiotherapy clinic near Town Hall, while my wife was a Government Media Advisor. I was enjoying splitting my time between treating clients, managing a team and developing parts of the business. Things were good. Yes, we were busy, but everyone in Sydney is right?

Anyways, we always had the water at our doorstep to wash away the day’s stressors on those warm balmy summer evenings (that’s if we were home from work before dark). Bondi Beach was our home, and in my opinion, the best place on earth to live. Enter our beautiful first daughter at the end of 2019. They were right, nothing can prepare you for the highs and lows that parenthood brings. About a week after Harriet was born we found ourselves spending a few nights in an infectious disease ward (pre-COVID, thank god!) whilst doctors tried to work out why our daughter had spiked a high temperature at such a delicate age. Never had I felt more helpless, cleaning vomit off the ground, comforting my highly anxious wife and just waiting. Waiting for something to explain our vulnerable daughters sickness. Luckily for us, that something (diagnosis) never came. Doctors put it down to a virus that ultimately just went away. However, this event didn’t just go away for us. It triggered something in my wife and her anxiety skyrocketed. Already feeling out of her depth as a new mum, struggling to breastfeed (who would have thought there was so much art in a good ‘latch’) and all of the other worries a first time mother endures, my wife felt alone and needed support. I remember the day I made the call to explore options back home in Wagga Wagga. Active Physio’s Director Paul Heffernan is where I started. Paul and my Dad knew each other from touch footy and Paul also treated my mum’s knee. By all reports he was a good guy (and very professional).

The usual website and social media check clauses were passed and I made the call. Paul was busy with patients but returned my call within 30 minutes. I was super impressed with the whole process from that point that I didn’t even shop around. (I mean, who does that?) Long story short, Active Physio was a dynamic business, encouraged work-life balance and had strong leaders that had visions for the future. And, most importantly, valued their team members and their families above all else. A job offer was made, but really, could we really leave our awesome lives in Sydney? Let’s face it, my wife was ‘all-in’ for the move. Both sets of grandparents lived within minutes from each other, her sister was at home, school friends with large families were settled in Wagga, and the opportunity to have a backyard firmly cemented her position. For me, I took a little more convincing.

I had worked hard in my Physiotherapy career and was now managing a practice, would I be able to take a back seat again? My friendship circle had formed over 10 years into a very tight knit one, I’d miss those Saturday afternoons catch ups too much, surely? Not to even mention the beach on our doorstep. However, our unit was starting to turn into a shoebox, Deliveroo motorbikes were waking our baby frequently, losing 90 minutes each day commuting was becoming a royal waste of my time, COVID-19 hit decreasing our support network even further and buying a bigger place near the beach was not an option that we wanted to take financially.

So, after 17 years away from Wagga, our young family decided to pack up our life in Sydney and move back to the country. We were fortunate enough to buy a family home, with 4 bedrooms, a backyard and a pool. Both sets of grandparents live within minutes and provide unrelenting support. Our ‘tree change’ was complete.

I’m now one year down at Active Physio and one thing I do know is that they are true to their word. Active encourages team members to pursue their passion area, or in their own words, develop your ‘avatar’. My avatar is golf injury and performance, and business development. Within months, Active purchased a golf simulator (yes, a physio practice with a golf simulator) to help with golf assessments. I’m also mentoring two younger team mates and helping with recruitment. No broken promises here in the bush! We’ve recently welcomed daughter number two into our lives. There are now four of us in our little family and every day I appreciate the extra time I get to spend with my girls. Especially, being home in time from work to read Harriet a story and put her to bed. That’s what life is really about. I can’t wait to watch my girls grow up together, run around in our backyard, play for hours in our pool and be the chief moderator in teenage arguments.

We’ve truly found the perfect balance between work, life, family and unicorn space. You know that magical, almost fictional time you get to have just to yourself? That space for me is golf every Wednesday, teeing off at lunch time with three of my mates. Moving back home, away from the vibrant metropolis of Bondi Beach was something I never thought I’d do, but gee I’m glad we did.