People are genuinely friendly here on the Californian coast – not a single, ‘Have a nice day!’, with a cheesy grin, yet to be encountered. People have time to help, and sometimes go out of their way to help with advice or assistance in a store or cafe – especially when they hear we are fresh arrivals!

We are quite a novelty; British parents, coming from New Zealand with three Kiwi born children. We are going to have to get used to answering the same questions every time we meet people – or hand out cards with answers to FAQ’s.

Unchanging sky of blue. Quickly learning that my British (& New Zealand) disposition to talk about the weather is something I shall have to ditch, unless I wish to sound very repetitive and obvious, ‘It’s another lovely day!’ … But then maybe I could come up with one hundred different ways to define ‘sunny blue sky’ and all the subtle blends of that – like the Eskimos describe different types of snow.

Dry, desert like vegetation, palm trees, succulents. This is now the norm. Little rain here makes for a different landscape to the lush, vivid greens of New Zealand.

I am looking at spiders with more hesitation than in NZ, unsure yet of how to distinguish a poisonous species from a ‘safe’ one. The children are keenly interested too and I believe knowledge is power. So when a new species is encountered we are quick to ‘Google’, learn and discover!

I find myself looking at a treehouse with the fear of it harbouring a snake. Probably overly cautious here in the suburbs, but nevertheless…

We are enjoying the warm weather wardrobe. It’s so nice to walk around wearing little clothing!

There is a wonderful abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables here in Santa Barbara – and a good organics range too. If it wasn’t for the temptation of the Californian wines and craft beers I would be living exceptionally healthily (but then, everything in moderation!).