After the appeal of Melbourne's sports and arts culture drew Conor in, he was offered a position with e+ architects in Bendigo and arrived in 2011.

"Before I moved here, I was living in the UK and GFC hit pretty hard over there, I knew my job was on the line, if not gone already and I started looking elsewhere," he said.

"(I also considered) Canada and the Middle East. I had two job offers in Dubai, Canada was my preference because I love Vancouver but the rest of the family said they didn't want winters like that again, so we settled on Australia and narrowed it to Melbourne.

"Someone said if I was serious about moving here, come and meet employers. I did that and the company that appealed most and offered me a sponsorship said 'we are looking for staff in our Bendigo office'. I'd never heard of Bendigo but said 'yeah, that will be fine' without giving much of a thought of where Bendigo was in relation to Melbourne.

Conor along with his wife and two children arrived in Bendigo without knowing much about the city.

Since then they haven't looked back.

"From day one we have been so welcomed here and made to feel a part of it," Conor said. "With two kids in primary school, we got to know the families.

"I really like the scale of the city. It's got everything and isn't too far from Melbourne. I think if we were younger and without kids, Melbourne would have been appealing but we were able to get a sense of our own identity in Bendigo."

Leaving family and friends behind in Ireland and the United Kingdom was the toughest part of the move for Conor. At the time his daughter was eight and his son was five.

"It was huge. It was gut-wrenching, I guess, leaving everything we knew and took for granted," Conor said. "We knew we had to jump into the void because things were getting so bad that we had to do something.

"If I gave it too much more thought I would have talked myself out of it, so I had to get into the mindset and go for it.

"The first year, that was most difficult. The first five years were difficult. Part of the grand plan was to come here for five years with a view to returning. But we then fell in love with the place, bought property and put down roots.

"The kids don't want to move back, this is their home now."

In his time with e+, Conor has been able to leave his mark on Bendigo.

"With e+, I was doing all sorts, mostly residential but work on school like Girton Grammar, Eaglehawk Primary and St Liborius.

"The biggest project I had was Bendigo base hospital. I was restoring the heritage buildings and taking them back to their former glory.

"That included the Anne Caudle, I loved working on that building. I had to do a lot of research, which was interesting, to understand what it looked like.

"It was humbling. I was proud to be part of that project and it was great to leave a legacy.

"My wife, Sarah, works there now and I get to see it in context it is in now, standing out as a beacon rather than being lost among other buildings."

The heritage of Bendigo was a pleasant surprise for Conor, who grew up next to Mallow Castle in County Cork.

"I love historic architecture and one of the joys was finding that in Bendigo. I was spoiled in Ireland growing up next to a castle that dates to 1260," he said.

"I had the impression, because Australia was regarded as a newer country, although it's not, that it would be all new buildings and contemporary architecture. I was so pleased to see the old-style buildings. It was then I started my research and understand Bendigo's background."

Last year, Conor took on a new job at Melbourn'e Arts Centre. As the building information modelling manager, he is bringing the centre's plans into the 21^st century.

"It's a digital architect. Arts Centre Melbourne is going through major redevelopment program over next seven or eight years and my task really is recreating the whole infrastructure in a digital format," he said.

"It captures all the asset data and every element of building is recorded. So if anything breaks down, you can identify exactly where it is, what's needed to fix it and even visualise what's behind the wall."

The job combines Conor's love for architecture with his love of the arts.

When he arrived in Bendigo one of the first things he did was find the local theatre company.

"My theatre experience prior to Bendigo was all in drama, plays and comedies," he said. "A quick Google search bought up Bendigo Theatre Company and they were auditioned for a pantomime.

"So I gave it a crack and got in and my circle of friends exploded. The next production was Hairspray. I had never done a musical but somehow I got in and my love of musical theatre has grown."

Conor has since been a regular at BTC with roles including Uncle Fester in The Addams Family, Callihan in Legally Blonde and, most recently, the Wizard in Wicked.

"When it came to integrating in community, it wasn't just theatre," he said. "Through the schools, I got onto the council at St Therese's and was chair for four years. I have been president of the Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst.

"(Groups like that) helped me get more integrated into the community. We have got a wide circle of friends now, which I am grateful for."

After almost nine years as Bendigo, the Cunningham family has put down roots and have no plans to leave.

"Prior to coming here, I was very much at a wanderlust," Conor said. "I couldn't settle for more than five years.

"But we're settled here and haven't looked back, Even in our ninth year (in Bendigo), I have no itchy feet."