Seshnie and Gerard New to Adelaide

​Gerard Berndsen (born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands) and Seshnie Taylor (born in Durban, South Africa, grew up in Ipswich, United Kingdom) arrived in Adelaide in October 2020. Before coming to Australia, they both lived in China for six years.
Their reason to come to Adelaide was thanks to well-considered lifestyle design. Both have enjoyed the hustle and bustle of big cities such as Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Ningbo and Shanghai but were happy to settle down. Adelaide is the perfect city for them.
 
Gerard's background
Gerard moved to Shanghai in 2014 to study for a Master Degree in Economics. As a board member of the Dutch Association Shanghai, he coordinated events for up to 450 Dutchies. The events included Sinterklaas and comedy-nights (flying in Guido Weijers and Howard Komproe). As a board member, he also met His Royal Highness King Willem-Alexander in 2016. And he co-organised the political trade mission to China in 2018 with four ministers and 165 organisations. Before he left China, he was the Business Development Manager at the British   DS Smith Packaging. He managed the sales team and various Automotive and Electronics clients.
 
Seshnie's background
Seshnie studied languages (French and Chinese) and obtained a Masters degree in International Relations. Seshnie worked for a global charity in London, after which she decided she wanted more adventure and speak her languages daily. She started her own language tutoring company in Shanghai, providing curriculum and private teachers for hundreds of Chinese students from 3 to 65 years old.
 
Moving to Australia
Seshnie and Gerard left China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After two weeks of self-quarantining in the Netherlands, they arrived in Australia at the end of February. But they got stuck in Mildura due to the lockdown. This lockdown turned out to be an excellent opportunity to gain new skills and create lifelong family friends.

After the restrictions lifted, they went on a brief road trip in NSW and enjoyed Sydney and other unique places. During this road trip, they confirmed that it was time to settle down in a quieter area with a better lifestyle. They choose Adelaide because the city allows for personal and professional development, while the cost of living and the amount of green is unmatched. And they are still relatively close to their family-friends in Mildura, by Australian standards.
 
Careers
Gerard works for XMPLIFY Technology Services since December 2020 as a Project and Business Manager. XMPLIFY helps organisations integrate and automate Data, Applications, and the Cloud.
 
Seshnie started in February 2021 at Young Change Agents. This not-for-profit promotes social entrepreneurship for 10-to 18-year-olds to help Australian youth see problems as opportunities. The organisation provides youth with the tools to think creatively, build communication skills, and empower them to believe that they are good enough to be entrepreneurs, leaders, and world-changers.

Both Seshnie and Gerard would love to get in touch with you to learn more about like-minded people in Adelaide.
You can contact Gerard and Seshnie via LinkedIn or meet them at the DutchSA Drinks.
linkedin.com/in/gberndsen
linkedin.com/in/seshnie

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