A bit over four years ago an opportunity was presented to this then Tasmanian.
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"Come to Wollongong," the company said.
Knowing who really rules the roost in the O'Brien household a phone call was made to my wife.
We had a young kids and a lot to think about.
"It'll take me half an hour to get back to Devonport from Burnie, but I'll meet you in a cafe there and we'll talk it over," this editor said.
Fifteen minutes later the phone rang while I was travelling. It was my wife.
"There's nothing to talk about, we're going," she said rather rather abruptly.
The good wife, being the digital savvy person she is, had logged onto the Destination Wollongong website.
From that one move, she'd gleaned enough to understand the many wonderful and varied things that are on offer in this region for those lucky enough to live here or visit here.
That one action was the difference in us making a decision to relocate our whole family.
In the relatively short time we've been here we've had some amazing experiences as a family, explored the region thoroughly and seen some wonderful sights.
We've seen the reputation of this city and this region grow immensely.
We've watched the first cruise ship sail in to the city, we've watched Elton John perform at WIN Stadium, we've become involved in this community and the many wonderful events it offers.
We jumped with joy on hearing Wollongong would host the 2022 UCI Road World Cycling Championships.
We've also experienced the benefits of being close to Sydney without living in it.
Our two girls can now say their first ever concert was with 80,000 friends watching Ed Sheeran at ANZ Stadium. Sure beats my equivalent as a kid of seeing 1927 at the Launceston Veledrome.
We should never lose sight of how lucky we are to live in this part of the world and we should be thankful the world is now really starting to discover it too.
Wollongong, it's time to Press Play.
