I am 31, and considering moving to Australia…

That's a bit rich on a thread where someone (presumably British) has already showed that they think history = white European history.

My favourite 'Australia is racist' bollocks on MN came on a previous, similar thread where a poster visited briefly to see her relatives and couldn't believe the awful things they said about indigenous people. Yes her own, British expat family's racism somehow ended up being an Australian thing.

It's bushfires not wild fires btw, clearly you don't have much if any personal experience.

England is so beautiful. You will be losing the national trust, the equivalent doesn’t exist in Australia.

My son went to NZ, intending to stay for a year, but he came back to the UK after 10 months as he said he’d done what he wanted to do, and it was enough.

he stayed in a room rented by a woman in her house and he worked as a waiter in a hotel. He found he didn’t like customer service, he’s an engineer so he quit, looked around the country a bit before heading back. He’s glad he did it.

My friend, a nurse, moved to Sydney with her DH. She’s so happy with the life they now have. She works at Sydney hospital and says that they treasure their staff. They have access to a free gym and pool. After work it’s BBQs or the beach.

I emigrated to Perth aged 43, having never set foot in Australia. My husband was born there but left when he was seven (to his eternal regret!). Anyway, it was the best decision I ever made, my only regret was we didn’t move sooner. I am not going to waste my breath even responding to the lack of culture and racist bullshit that gets trotted out every time on these threads, suffice to say my quality of life here is far better then it was in the UK and Ireland. I am going back in August for a month and wouldn’t even bother if it wasn’t for family, I don’t miss it at all.

I’m in my 60s. Two of my DC’s good school friends have moved there as well as the children of two old friends. They all seem to have a great lifestyle and have progressed faster in their careers than their contemporaries in the UK.

On the downside, the desire to see family and friends absolutely dominates their holiday plans and finances as well as the plans of their families. Once you’ve factored in 2 or 3 weeks of family time a year there isn’t a lot of time or money left for seeing the rest of the world.

The other thing that seems to becoming an issue for the 30-something ex pats I know is that because the populations are smaller the dating pool is also much smaller. One very successful young professional is thinking about coming back to the UK because there are so many more outward looking, open minded potential life partners there.

I think as long as you don't go to Australia expecting the UK with better weather you'll be fine. Australia is a big country with its own culture which varies across the different cities and towns. And it's a long way from Europe. If your definition of culture is European you may be disappointed.

Given your situation, I think you have very little to lose trying it. I have several friends who have done this. Some have stayed and made a life there. Some stayed a few years but ultimately came back. None regretted going.

Do it! Amazing place.
I spent a year there working and travelling. Never wanted to leave! Very envious you now get 3 years!!

My top tip; don't book return flights. See where the adventure takes you. I was advised this... didn't listen as seemed too scary at the time. Should have listened!

I think this depends on how close you are to your family. I emigrated at 35 (albeit not as far away as Australia) and I have indeed ‘met’ a local. If we end up working out as a couple, I’ll stay here longterm. I plan to visit family no more than once a year for no more than a week. That leaves me with 5 weeks of annual leave to spend on holidays. There’s another poster who lives where I live who goes back to the UK every 3 years. Emigrating and building a life elsewhere need not mean crippling homesickness. 😊

Hmmm - the Adelaide Fringe festival is the worlds second largest annual arts festival. How many Fringe shows has your Son been to Sonolanona? Adelaide is home to more restaurants per capita than any other Australian city and awash with theaters, museums and has the benefit of being a long city on a beautiful coast. I dont live there but I am really amused when people say "limited culture"! I think there is the stereotype that Australia is without "culture". Those claiming that Australia is without culture generally also claim Australians are racist while being racist themselves and ignoring indigenous culture. Australia is a long way away and can get quite hot. Let those things guide you and not these antiquated ideas of what people think Australia is!

A link to what is on in Adelaide this weekend. https://southaustralia.com/destinations/adelaide/what-s-on?ef_id=CjwKCAjw6NrBBhB6EiwAvnT_roeyvV85NARfrFmgQs9Fj3tN2FuBt1DescgHl8VWCfhh_0GkWOVZAxoCkvIQAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!11357!3!641485977735!p!!g!!whats%20on%20adelaide!19265354091!147496928794&szc=1&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19265354091

I'm in NZ and have been hearing this since I was in my teens - I'm now in my 60s.

OP is 31, not 41. She could easily do a year or two in Australia and still have plenty of time to have a baby. Besides, she might like it there and want to stay longterm.

Word of warning about moving in your early 30s (from someone who lives abroad)....the problem is you will meet a man 😅 have a baby and spend the rest of your life juggling coming back to the UK with your kids vs holidays, always missing home etc. It's really really hard.

Sorry to derail slightly, but why can’t you travel with your DD?! I know plenty of people who travel with children. Or do you mean a certain style of travel, like backpacking or camper van trips?

If you don't like snakes and poisonous things that bite, look at NZ as we have neither.

The job market is tough here ATM, unless you are in healthcare.

I took it that the view was backwards, not Australians.

You might want to dial down your stereotypes as not everyone in Aus is as you describe. Those people unfortunately exist the world over but thankfully non prejudice types outnumber them.

I bet they can’t .

Would depend if I wanted kids or not
if I wanted kids I’d prioritise that at 31 as if you meet someone there you risk being stuck there

if you don’t want kids then book the flight today

Definitely go for it! Ignore the naysayers - as others have said, life’s short, do the things 😄❤️

I did a working holiday in Oz and the same in NZ and absolutely loved it. Do it. I would have stayed longer had I been able to.

Would you care to explain how Australians are backwards? I'm quite curious.

Think of it as a deferred gap year when you're old enough to appreciate the luxury of just taking some time to explore and work somewhere else.

I went to Oz in the eighties and had a fabulous time. After 2 years of fun I literally woke up one day and thought I needed to come home to the real world. Am so glad I made that decision ☺️