Young People moving to Australia

[Cleabes]

Those who have had Young People (relatives etc) move to Australia, what has their honest experience been?

DS has spent his whole life in London: grew up here, uni here (except for master's at Cambridge) and now works in London in a company and industry he enjoys.

He's not seriously considering a move but he is thinking to himself "what else is out there". He does like London and wants to be in a big bustling city but he does want to explore a bit more of the world.

My son is currently in the process of applying for a permanent visa. I'm sad I don't see him as often but happy he's doing what he wants ... he is definitely living his best life out there. Seriously, would you want to stay in UK if you were young? We nearly retired to Spain, regret we didn't now.

I think the UK is lovely.

I've lived in Spain and the UK.

Spain has a huge amount of problems. And salaries are much much lower than the UK

Brits have a really weird attitude to emigration, like it's some anomalous, selfish act of rejection of your family and friends for the sake of better weather or some imaginary beach lifestyle or something.

The world is a big place, OP. He should explore as much as possible of it. Spending a year or two on a work visa in Australia isn't some kind of commitment equivalent to selling your soul to the devil. I spent nearly 25 years away in various places, and now I can see the hospital where I was born from my window. I will probably move on again once DS has left home.

I do think that a lot of young people (myself included) have naive expectations that the rest of the world must be better than the UK, than they get there and realise that it's worse!

I don't think they necessarily think it's better, they think (rightly) that other places are different, and they want to see what it's like to live somewhere where the air smells different, where the culture and language and food and wildlife are different etc, where there are different seasons and norms.

Yes exactly. DS really likes London (in spring and summer)

Another one here who thinks he should just go and try it. I lived and worked in Sydney late 20s and really enjoyed it. Never planned to stay there - Sydney was too small for me after a while (I was also used to London). Also too far from home and too hot (and that was in the year 2000 so I dread to think how hot it feels now!)

I did wobble about going but my Mum said if you don't like it come back and the best time is when you're young before you get stuck into those adult things of mortgages, kids etc etc.

@Cleabes My DDs live and work in London and, weather wise, in the summer, it can be horrible. However the theatre is fantastic. Museums and exhibitions are world class and so is nearly everything else. The winter can be a bit dark in the mornings but there’s still plenty of things to see and do.

London absolutely blows Sydney out of the water in every single way in my opinion. I am very biased towards London though as I think it’s the best city in the world. I liked Sydney but it does not compare in any way to London for culture. I actually found it all a bit..sterile.

He - and everyone - should go and see it though and decide for himself! the world is a big place and it’s there to be seen and experienced. How will he know otherwise?

Yeah I think that London is lovely too

I lived in Sydney in the late 80s and had a fabulous time. Sadly my Dad died suddenly and it really put into context how far away Australia is!
I eventually got actually quite bored of the lifestyle and came home for good.
Son is now in Australia and seems happy so we shall wait and see.

My DS1 is there, probably permanently as he has a permanent visa and intends to take citizenship soon. He met an Aussie over here in the UK 7 years ago .. so went there for a year, came back, bringing her too, and she lived with us for two years til she had to go back. Eventually he got a couples visa and went out 2 weeks before the Covid lockdown started!

He loves it. He has a better quality of life there I think plus the weather is at least guaranteed in summer! (winters can be damp and miserable) He's not in Sydney but Adelaide where the summers are hot but not unbearable. He's 10 mins drive from the beach.

He misses :
US. He does get homesick. We went out in 2022 for his wedding then they came over in 23. We went out in February with his siblings and will go back again in Feb 26. They are coming over next march as his sisters baby is due in Feb. That keeps it bearable all round (I miss him so much!)

Access to gigs, theatre, musicals, .. definitely more limited there!

Britishness! He fits in pretty well there; he's a musician in addition to his day job, and has enjoyed playing the music scene there, but he misses our accents, our small town life, and he misses his friends here. There are many benefits but there is also loss.

However...if I could move there tomorrow I would, we all would. (Not doable as Australia won't accept his disabled sibling!) I think it's a great experience if your son wants to try!

I lived in Sydney a few years ago. Adored it and regret not staying!

My DD is leaving us in January. She’s got a good job here in management that she’s leaving, she’s moving out to Sydney with a guy she’s only just met. I will miss her a lot but it’s exactly the kind of crazy shit I would’ve done at her age.

I would never leave our sport. We are always watching football. Lots of horse related sport. I love our old cities and villages. Our culture and world class theatre. Australia has beaches but I’m not wanting a beach all the time. It somehow feels superficial there in comparison to here and it’s certainly not the most liberal of nations.

I did a working holiday is Australia for a year

Loved it

Not sure if I'd move there permanently as it's so dry, I missed the green

Ended up in Canada, another attractive place for brits

Wouldn't live in oz if you paid me

Sydney is a great city to be young in. Lots to do, culturally diverse, great access to beaches, parks etc. it is hectic, people work long hours and housing is horrendously expensive.

I've got some news for you - I don't imagine anyone is going to pay you to live in Oz, and they probably wouldn't want you anyway, so you can be happy!

Also note that talking about 'the weather in Australia ' is completely meaningless. The land area is larger than Europe and has distinctly different climates in different regions.

Seriously, would you want to stay in UK if you were young?

Yep!

No that’s really not the case. Sydney is now much more of an Asian city and more like a big city in the USA than London - I’ve lived and worked in both cities. I lived in Sydney for 20 years.

He needs to visit for a month or so - not as a tourist but with moving there in mind. It’s a big country but it’s also small.

I lived in Australia for a couple of years,, not one person I met that had moved there had visited before. I don’t think it’s that strange at all, for Australia anyway.

I actually hated it, although a lot of my friends live there and have settled. But I spent time in Sydney and Melbourne and it was far from paradise. Lots of drugs, quite a lot of crime and expensive. My now husband spent time in Brisbane and absolutely loved it there.

DN moved to Oz last year and absolutely LOVES it. Her and oh are big outdoorsy people, they have a campervan for exploring and have embraced the bbq/grill/beach lifestyle. They've found the people to be warm and welcoming. We thought they'd do a year but honestly I doubt they will come back

I so agree with this!!!