Many people in the US and Australia think that we are very odd for raising a child in an apartment in the city, but I think that there are many advantages to this situation.

Proximity
We are a five minute walk away from the hospital, supermarket, baby clinic, pharmacy, bakery, restaurants, and shops. I can take Hayden in for a checkup and be back home within the hour. I know that there is always a team of expert doctors alert, ready, waiting, and just a few blocks away.

We might not have a backyard, but we live across the road from a huge park complete with castle, basketball court, and children’s playground. I can easily take Hayden for a long walk, or simply nurse him while sitting amongst the autumn foliage while watching other children climb and play. Plus, someone else does all the gardening.

We don’t have a verandah, but on a nice day we can stroll to a cafe a few blocks away, and enjoy the sunshine over a few drinks. If neither one feels like cooking, there are always restaurateurs nearby who are happy to prepare a meal for us.

Affordability
Buying a small apartment means that we were able to get a small mortgage, rather than the standard 30 year loan that is common in Australia. We have lower heating costs, and can live car-free due to the proximity of the train and metro stations.

Simplicity
We do not have room for lots of objects. If we bring a new item into the house, we try to give something else away. One thing in, one thing out. Our home already feels overflowing with material objects, which is a great disincentive towards mindless accumulation.

Inclusion
Even if I am at home alone, I only need to walk out my door to find someone with which to talk. I can practise my French with the neighbours, or meet other mothers at the childrens’ park. I can people-watch at our cafe or enlist a baker or chocolatier to help me pick out a treat for afternoon tea. If Adrian is away on business, I feel secure knowing that I am surrounded by friendly neighbours who are looking out for me.

Time
We do not have to waste precious time finding a parking space, or in traffic jams, or driving to and from A and B. This gives us more time to focus on the things we enjoy. Our home is smaller, which means less time tidying up. Living in apartment means one never has to clean the gutters. I can spend more quality time with Adrian and Hayden, my two favourite people in the world.

We welcomed in 2008 on a flight back to Seattle, unaware that it would be our last year in the USA. We both worked very hard during out post-docs in medical science, and we both made novel discoveries and uncovered some of the mysteries of the development and function of white blood cells. Adrian had his work published in some excellent journals, and I learned that the paper from my post-doc “may be suitable for publication, pending revisions” in a great journal. Adrian has been offered a professorship, and I am investigating some interesting jobs in clinical trials. We experienced the freezing winters of the North that will never make me consider Canberra to be a cold city ever again.

I attended MacWorld and witnessed Steve Jobs give his last keynote and unveil the Macbook Air to the world. We explored more of the USA in dribs and drabs – Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii – as well as exploring the Ukraine and Moldova.

The biggest issue that we faced in 2008 was the decision about where we would live in 2009. At first, it was between Maynooth (Ireland), London (UK), Montreal (Canada), and Brussels (Belgium). We visited all four places, and it came down to a battle between the two bilingual cities, Montreal and Brussels, and then Brussels won due to employment and travel opportunities. We celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary in the country that was to become our new home, and Adrian will starting his own lab at the University of Leuven from February 2009.

We finished up our post-docs in Seattle in November, made huge progress towards completing our Masters of Public Health degrees, and finished up the year visiting extended family in Australia that ranged from Brisbane to Adelaide. After nearly two years outside of Australia, we are able to see our birth country with new eyes, and appreciate its charms as well as its challenges. It is a country of relative compassion and opportunity, but is also isolated and monolingual. The weather is nearly always warm with blue skies and extraordinary wild-life, but the water crisis is hitting hard and many of the main rivers no longer reach the sea.

In a few weeks we fly off to Brussels, to begin our new home in Belgium. My goals for 2009 are:
- To find a short-term furnished apartment
- To get a residency permit
- To find a job
- To start learning Flemish
- To get a work permit
- To start my job
- To start learning French
- To buy a house

I think that’s enough to keep me busy for twelve months or so. It is a bit overwhelming to be faced with so many changes, but I realise how lucky that we are to have this opportunity, so the main emotion I feel is excitement. We had a great time in North America over the past two years, and while I think we are better suited to Europe, I am very thankful for all the happy memories that we have of the United States of America.

After a long, complex, and quantitative assessment, Adrian and I have decided to move to Belgium.

We will wake up to scenes like this:

And I will shop for my new iMac in stores like this:

We will be neighbours with The Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, England, and Germany.  Living in the capital of the European Commission in a country with a rich history and fascinating customs. Every weekend will be an extraordinary adventure, and every weekday will be a fascinating experience.

Adrian will be a professor of immunology associated with the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology, and I will have excellent opportunities to find a interesting and challenging job in global health.

I am terrified and excited.

On one of our last days in Belgium, we visited Leuven. On that day we discovered that many Europe-wide clinical trials are co-ordinated from here. If we had known earlier, I could have set up some interviews. Instead, I wandered through the the town and explored its parks and inhabitants.

It is the home of Stella Artois, as well at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest university in Benelux, and the oldest active Catholic university (though its Catholicness is in debate, as it chooses progressive measures over dogma, housing a hospital that conducts abortions and euthanasia as well as a research centre that uses stem cells). It is a university town, though during summer it is only those students who must resit their exams that were present, adding a sombre air to the city.

In various nooks and crannies, there are sculptures that reflect its position as a place of learning. Knowledge, communication, and contemplation are all epitomised in bronze throughout the town. The last sculpture is called “Renee”, but it reminded me of Sarah, lost in her thoughts as she waits for the bus.