Sarmad Habib was building a career in Brisbane when a friend called to ask if he’d be interested in working far out, just for a short time.

He agreed to come for one year, four years later he is still working in the central west and is no longer planning an exit strategy.

Sarmad, a dedicated Muslim, felt completely at home once he worked out his grocery shop, he now gets a call from the local butcher when halal meat is in stock.

“It’s amazing, because coming from a different country and staying in a big city, you find yourself left out.

“So when you come out in a small community and they accept you and they make you feel like you’re accepted here and loved, and then you try to develop and make friends. It’s been an amazing journey,”  he said.

The Pakistani has achieved what he describes as peaceful progress in his career.

He believes  moving to central-western Queensland has helped him develop a much deeper connection with Australian culture while remaining true to his ethnic background and faith.

“In cities, you might be compacted into groups of your own people which might not give you the proper exposure of being out in Australia.

He thinks country Queensland may not have been right for him when he was younger but has no doubts it’s the best place for him now.

“It’s been easier here than in Brisbane. Being a first-generation immigrant, I’ll always miss Pakistan. My family back home especially my parents believe I am in a place where I am being loved, they can see this on my face that I’m being taken care of and given a sense of home and a feeling of having my own community.

“So it’s been very, very, very nice rather than, when I was in Brisbane I was always working and had been struggling to get to where I wanted to,  as a result  it becomes very hard to pursue your goals,” he explained.