It’s funny how life turns out sometimes. If someone had told my 20-year-old self where I’d be at 47 and moving from Sydney to Guyra, I would have laughed… and laughed… and probably ordered another margarita while laughing. But here I am, making the move from city life to a small country town, and it’s bringing more unexpected changes than I ever imagined.
Life gets pretty lifey, doesn’t it?
I’ve always considered myself fairly career-oriented — goal-driven, challenge-loving, and usually with at least three things on the go at once. Most of my life has been in the corporate world or running a small business. My partner is exactly the same. This means between us we’re basically two Labradors constantly sniffing around for the next interesting opportunity. I had always viewed Sydney life as probably being where I would stay put. However, I never ruled out a more peaceful life.
This blog is probably more of a personal diary than anything else. Yes, yes — another woman moves from the big city to the country, groundbreaking stuff — but for me it’s about stepping out of my comfort zone, figuring out who I am beyond job titles and to-do lists, and rediscovering simplicity, (a concept Sydney traffic did not encourage) and getting to know a community. If anyone else wants to follow along and gets something from it too, that’s a lovely bonus. For others, moving to regional NSW it might also be a journey of self-discovery and growth.
“Challenge” has been my middle name for quite a while now — though not the glamorous kind involving boardrooms or exciting ventures. More the personal, character-building variety that quietly drains your energy while you’re busy being resilient. At times it left me too tired to chase the kinds of challenges that actually light me up. So I’ve had to focus on well being, mindset, and occasionally just staying upright and functional, which felt achievement enough (and, as I’ve since learned, excellent preparation for Guyra winters).
Maybe this is what happens around this age — you reassess. You pause and wonder where you’re heading and whether you still want to go there. When family and career are established (or at least established-ish), you realise you also need to remember yourself — who you are now, and who you’d like to be next.
To cut a long and slightly rambling story short (anyone who knows me is aware I can talk underwater) : my parents recently moved to central Armidale, after having been on 9 acres in Guyra which they bought about 15 years ago. They’re a long way away. I’m an only child. Therefore, time with the people you love has a way of suddenly feeling very finite.
It was time to face another crossroads.
I never saw myself living in a small country town. Leaving Sydney, yes — maybe one day, in a vague, future-me kind of way. My partner gave me incredible support. Together, we started wondering if stepping out of the city might be exactly what we needed. We also considered focusing on family. After that, we thought about breathing actual fresh air, and appreciating slower rhythms, appreciating a community that looked out for each other.
And so it began…
Where Is Guyra? Life at 1330m in New England NSW
Guyra is a small rural town sitting at 1330m above sea level — meaning warm clothes aren’t optional and snow is a regular guest. It’s about 25 minutes from Armidale in the New England region of NSW. The town comes with the kind of crisp air that makes you feel alive while simultaneously questioning your life choices in July.
It was settled in 1828 — mostly immigrants, with a few bushrangers thrown in for variety — and by 1884 the railway had arrived. The area built a strong mining history around gold, tin, and even diamonds near the lagoon. This feels very on-brand for a town that also has ghost and UFO stories (possibly encouraged by long, cold nights).
Yes — Guyra has ghosts (1921) and a UFO sighting at the town water supply (1999). I have questions. Many questions. Mostly whether aliens also packed thermals.
What Is Guyra Known For?
The town took a major hit when the abattoir, which employed about 350 people, closed in 1995. Since then, it’s slowly rebuilt. These days 40 hectares of hydroponic tomatoes dominate the landscape — over 1.5 million plants producing about 12,800 tonnes a year for Harris Farm, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi. So statistically speaking, there’s a reasonable chance a tomato you’ve eaten has passed through Guyra. Therefore, we’re basically living inside a refrigerated salad supply chain.
The main street currently features: two pubs, five cafés, and a bakery. There are six real estate agents (which I find deeply amusing as a former real estate agent) and one bank. You can also find a Fijian craft and market shop, an IGA, a laundromat, a Chinese restaurant, and an antique store. Which means you can caffeinate, buy property, do laundry, eat noodles, purchase vintage teaspoons, and discuss UFOs — all within walking distance. This is ideal, especially if you’ve dressed in layers.
Starting Over in a Small Australian Country Town
If tomatoes and small-town life aren’t your thing, this may be a very dull journey for you. But I’m genuinely excited to dive into rural NSW life — Guyra, Armidale, the landscape, the seasons (all of them cold-adjacent), the people — and figuring out how we shape and improve our own little patch of it. Therefore, moving from Sydney to Guyra NSW brings many opportunities that I never expected to experience.
This will be a journey of reflection, memory-making, restoring, renovating, gardening, and learning to appreciate what actually matters — which, it turns out, may not be quite as big-city as I once believed.
Everyone I’ve spoken to who’s made the city-to-country move says they haven’t looked back. We’ll still be back and forth to Sydney often for family and friends, but I’m excited to do something different and see where it leads. In short, moving from Sydney to Guyra NSW has become one of the most transformative chapters in my story so far.
Hopefully you find this journey relatable, interesting, mildly entertaining, or at least not too boring. And if not — feel free to send tips. Apparently country living comes with a learning curve, and I suspect cold mornings are only the beginning. If you just like pretty pictures, check out our Under Guyra Skies Instagram page or we also have our photo gallery for some beautiful pictures of the garden and the house. Although, you really have to visit to take it all in.
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