 want to build us up. Where are you? What time is it with you at the moment? It is 1030 at night, 1030 p.m. on a Wednesday night. On a Wednesday night. Yeah, well past my bedtime. And you're from Balabafay County, Donegal. And you met your husband, Fergus, from County Gildare. Where did you meet him? I met him on a Etihad flight from Dublin to Australia. And you'd never seen him before in your life? I had never seen him before in my life. And to be honest, getting off the flight, I thought I'd never see him again. But you're like, here we are. Fast forward. Nine years later, we're married with two children. Oh my goodness, me. What a great love story. And talk us through how did that all develop? Obviously, you're on the plane together. Were you sitting beside each other or near each other? What happened? We, no, we weren't sitting beside each other. He was sitting behind me. We were both sitting on aisle seats and he was sitting opposite me and a rollback. And as we were taken off, I looked back and he looked a bit nervous. So anyway, I offered him a suite and he declined. And then we got off in Dubai and he came up pretending that he was lost. He was a bit of a damsel in distress. And it turned out I had no idea where we were going either. So we both ended up lost in Abu Dhabi. And we decided we'd go for something to eat and we got chatting. And then when we were boarding the flight to Brisbane, he asked me for my Facebook name and I give it to him. I always, the joke between us is I always say to him, if it asked me for my number, I would have given the wrong one. But he had his phone out. He had his Facebook ready to go. So I thought, right, I better give him the right one. And yeah, look, the rest is history now. We are happily married. And yeah, we have two beautiful children and made up of a life for ourselves in Australia and two businesses. And yeah, it's all good, all from one flight. A lot can happen on a flight. Absolutely brilliant, brilliant story. And tell me, you said there you had two businesses. So talk me through that. That's right. So we just opened our second business in October. It's called Aregle Property. So it's a real estate agency. And we also have Northline Developments. It's a construction company and maintenance company. So we've actually merged the two together. So Northline does all the maintenance for our rental properties. It's actually the first of its kind here in Queensland. So it's a bit of a new idea that we brought out. And it seems to be going really, really well. It's been very, very popular. We're really busy as if we weren't busy enough with two kids. We have, yeah, we're fine ways to juggle it all and make it work while we're in a foreign country with very little family and support around us. You know, so it can be done. Were you at the moment, Monica, is there a big Irish community or are you basically on your own? There is, yeah, no, there's a lot of Irish and there's a lot more that's arrived in the last 12 months. I think a lot of people have left Ireland after COVID. They're all deciding to go and explore. So there is, there is a great Irish community here. Definitely. We're very, very lucky. We have amazing friends here. But you definitely do miss the free babysitting from the ground. We can do with a few more visits a year from the grandparents, a few more nights out would be lovely. We've had one night out in three years. Our oldest son is three. We've had one night out. Are you sure you're from Donegal? I know. A lot has changed since I left Donegal, I can tell you. What time are you? I've settled a lot. You're out there for some, what is it, nine, ten years? How long are you out there now? I'm coming up on 13 years. 13 years out there. Yeah, I'm 13 years in April and Fergus is 10 years this year. So we actually met. We met on the 10th of October, 2014. And then on the 10th of October, 2020, our son was born. So it's a pretty significant date. Yes. And our little girl then was the 9th of October, two years later. So October is a big month for us. Absolutely. There's a lot happens in October. Expensive months for the grandparents. Very expensive months, yeah. We try and hide now from it every year. Tell me, what's your long-term goals? Do you plan to stay out there or do you plan to come home again? What's the story? We definitely, we tie with the idea of coming home a lot. We were back home for Christmas and we love being at home. Our end goal is to definitely move home. But at the minute, we just, we know that we need to have everything set up before we go home. Like we need to have a house to move back into a car. Every time we go home, we get a bit of a shock as to how expensive it has got. It just seems to be getting more and more expensive. And the thought of having to go back and start again from scratch is very daunting. So we now know that we have to have it all set up before we do return home. But definitely, our heart is very much in Ireland and we do intend to move back one day. What's the lifestyle like out there, Amonika? Is it sunnier to hear or better than hear? It's great here for children. Obviously, you've got the sunshine all year round. We always joke and say it's quite dry and weather here. You could have your washing done out and dry within an hour and a half or two hours and back in again. So that's great. That's a quick dry weather. Priorities when you have children. What about the kids? They like it. I suppose the kids know nothing else. I mean, they were born there. Well, we go home quite a lot. So we were back in Ireland twice last year. And the first time we went back, it was in February and I said to my son, do you want to go to the beach? And he was so excited. We got out of the car. He walked onto the beach. He nearly was blown away. And he was like, I want to go home. It was a bit of a shock from the beaches that he's just in Australia versus Ireland. He learned. They love going home. They love getting dressed up and jumping in the puddles and stuff like that. So look, they know no difference. They're very lucky. They're very fortunate to have two lives, really. They get the good weather here and they get the fun and the rain and the snow at home. And is there anything out there, anything obviously traveling back and forward? Is there anything that you miss about home? Is there anything that they don't do well? What about the tea? Where's Ryan? What about the tea? Is the tea good out there? The tea is not good out here at all. It's not the same. Look, maybe if you grew up with the crappy tea bags, that would be fine, but we're used to the good quality tea bags. Our local shop, we're lucky, actually sells them, but they're like $12 a box for 80 Barry's tea bags. And it's just my non-negotiable. We have to get our decent tea every day. We definitely miss the tea bags. What's their cheese and onion crisps like? There's no comparison at all. There is. It's tattoo all the way in King. Yeah, no. Their version of it here is just not the same. I've actually gone off crisps a lot since I moved here and they were always my Achilles heel at home. So now it's good for the waistline of it. So tell me, you're in Brisbane and things are really looking up in Brisbane because I can see here that the... I didn't know actually all this. The Olympics are coming to Brisbane in 2032, which is only around the corner in less than 10 years, like I said, 18 years time. Yeah. Yeah, it's very, very busy here at the minute. So yeah, since they won the Olympics, it's been crazy here, all the infrastructure is just popping up everywhere. We're really busy with the construction side of things as well. There's new houses being built everywhere. It's really hard to even find a plot of land to buy now. So it's a really, really good time for people to come out. I suppose if they wanted to come out and work hard and save a bit of money, there is good money to be made here. And yeah, now is the time to do it really with the Olympics coming. And it's definitely a good time to cash in on it and work hard and then go home, you know, if that's people's plans or their goals. Exactly, yeah. And the good weather as well, thrown in for good measure. Tell me, Monica and Fergus, you've got Facebook, Instagram, etc. And I can also see here that you can listen to tips and tricks for DIYers on the Builders podcast as well. You've got that all. So tell us more about that. That's right. Yeah, that's Fergus does the Builders podcast. He's always given handy hints and tips for people that own investment properties or for people who own properties that, yeah, want to do little cosmetic touches, you know, change things that, making small changes that can help you get a lot more return on your investment. So yeah, he's always given helpful little tips on that. So it's definitely worth checking out. Yeah, he's good to listen to. So I think your listeners will like him. He's always given good advice. And the good thing is he has investment properties in Ireland. So, you know, people can reach out to him and he's always kind of happy to give advice and point people in the right direction. He has lots of contacts in Ireland as well. So just want to give out the, it's Northline Developments on Facebook and Instagram and Ericle Property on Facebook and Instagram as well. That's right, yeah. And look, anyone can reach out to me as well if they're thinking of coming over and they have any questions. It's always nice. There is a great Irish community here and everyone really pulls together if, you know, people are coming out and trying to help where they can. So if anyone ever wants to, you know, have any questions answered or they have any queries, just more than happy to answer any questions. Well, you're there in Brisbane, Australia. That's just gone 10, 30 at night and we're here in Donegal and it's just coming up to court. I'll give you the microphone now. You want to say hello to a few friends and relatives now when you've got the microphone. Thank you. Well, yeah, I'd love to start off by saying hi to my parents, my mum and dad, Joan Rosemary and all my siblings and my friends. I've been very, very fortunate over the years being away for so long. A lot of people, you know, you can lose touch with your friends, but I have amazing friends and haven't lost touch with them. So I'll shout out to Wendy, Ian and the girls and Emma and then good friends of ours are over here at the minute. They're on their honeymoon to Maggie and Neil. Congratulations and enjoy your honeymoon. So I think that's everyone. Absolutely brilliant, Monica. Thank you so much. And thank you for sharing the lovely, lovely love. I like a good love story, especially. I love that. Well, a happy ending as well. Monica. Absolutely is. I want to wish you and Fergus all the very best and thank you so, so much for taking the time out this morning or this afternoon or tonight where we are in Australia. Thank you so much and good luck. Thank you very much, Monica. Thanks you so much for your time. All right, have a good day. Cheers.