The Long Version

A Little Bit Swiss. A Little Bit Australian.

I grew up in Australia and moved to Switzerland in my early twenties. Twenty-five years later, I’ve raised children here, learned to read the country in a way only time gives you, and built a small publication — z’Nüni Press — that lets me write about Swiss culture and daily life in English.

I write in English about a place that mostly speaks German, French, Italian, and Romansh — which has shaped how I work. I’m always translating: not just languages, but ways of seeing. The thing about being a long-term immigrant is that you never quite stop noticing. The light on the lake on my 6 am run. The strict but community-based rituals of Swiss daily life. The small differences between a place a tourist sees and a place a local lives.

But Australia hasn’t gone anywhere. I return regularly, seeing my country of birth with fresh eyes. The longer I am away, the more I start to really understand the country I grew up in. Watching it change without me is sometimes hard, but I stay deeply connected through my obsessions with Australian podcasts, weekly chats with my best friend in Sydney, and as many trips to my other “home” as much as my budget allows. 

For the past several years I’ve written travel and culture features for Maison Ë, Lonely Planet, Switzerland Tourism, Ticino Tourism, and TripAdvisor. Each commission has sharpened the same instinct: that the best travel writing comes from people who have earned their understanding of a place.

What I want from this work: commissions I’m proud of, editors I learn from, and the time to do it properly.

HOW I WORK 

Three things you can count on.