In early August, my partner and I got on a plane and flew two and a half thousand kilometres to begin a new adventure.

We'd spent the last four years (five, in his case) living and working in Barcelona, Spain. This of course meant sun, sea, and tapas, as well as the delightful smell of sewage after a particularly heavy rainstorm. I'd been working a demanding and stressful job, and my partner was finishing his first year of post-doctoral reseach. And then... he received an offer of a research position in Trondheim.

When you're faced with an opportunity like this, it's definitely a tough decision. I had many thoughts to contend with: will I get a job out there? How will I learn a new language at 26? Will I make any friends? Will we be able to live on a single income? How will I deal with the weather? And really, it's easy to let these thoughts hold you back from what might be the best adventure of your life.

I'd done this once before, of course, moving from London to Barcelona to work as an au pair in the summer of 2014, and then staying for another three years after that - and, somehow, it all worked out! Being away from friends and family was rough, but the sky didn't fall... the world didn't stop turning... it was one of the best decisions I'd made.

Neither R not I have any family in Barcelona, and friends will always FaceTime and Whatsapp you anyway. We have no kids at the moment, we have no pets, we didn't have a mortgage... It seemed like the perfect time for a change of environment and for a new experience.

And so, at the end of July we packed up our things, and made the exciting/tiring/terrifying journey to Trondheim. What can I say? It's definitely different... So far I am really loving it here.

Join me for upcoming blog posts about our experiences here: what we've been up to, how we're adapting to a new country, and general musings about Scandinavian life.

Vi ses snart! :)