My big move: I’d lived in western Sydney my entire life – but I found myself in the UK’s ‘happiest place’

‘I began to ride along the canals of the River Leam and into the neighbouring towns of Warwick and Kenilworth, names I recognised from Elizabeth Bennet’s fateful tour towards Pemberley.’ Photograph: GordonBellPhotography/Getty Images/iStockphoto

“I thought you’d look like someone from Home and Away.”

The cheerful woman greeted me in the lobby. I didn’t look anything like a Summer Bay resident in my suit, blue hijab and heels coated with dirt from my walk up the gravel driveway. I was frazzled and only just on time.