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.

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.
I have several friends in the UK who get the same attitude when they go back to their home countries (Italy, Poland, France +) and my mum got it when she went back to Ireland

Not me (though I’ve visited twice and it’s a great place for a holiday). Two of my friends who are ex colleagues (NHS) are over there, been there nearly 2 years. They like the weather (except summer - too hot) and outdoor lifestyle, and have made some friends with other expats. They don’t like working there and miss the NHS, they don’t feel the increased pay covers the increased cost of rent / bills.

They don’t regret going out there at all but won’t stay forever. They don’t feel as close to friends out there as their friends back here and there’s definitely a big expat drinking culture.

I travelled Australia as a single female, I found Australians generally friendly and very helpful but I am white. People would stop me in the street to ask if I’m from where I’m from and to tell me their mum, dad, etc was from there.

Like anywhere it’s not perfect, I myself am considering it for a few months. However I’ve lived in different parts of the UK.

New Zealand is lovely to visit, deffo recommend that. 3h flight to Auckland.

I'd be devastated if DD moved to Oz or NZ.

Yes, I know we've got to give them roots and wings, be proud we've raised independent spirits blah blah blah but I'd be bloody heartbroken.

Yes, Australia is different from the UK but it is not a "massive culture shock", don't be ridiculous!

DS struggled a lot getting his current job as it is (first job out of university). How would he go about applying for jobs in Australia

^

DS can figure this out for himself, surely?

Cos let's face it, if he's going to Australia alone he'll have to start standing on his own two feet

I don’t know if you’ve ever lived abroad of course so sorry if your experience is different, but when we emigrated to the States I’d say it really was a massive culture shock, more so than what you experience by just visiting

Whereas I'd be mildly appalled if DS decided to stay in this country all his life, fond though I am of it. The world's a big place. He'd be crazy to stay here purely because DH and I are here. Though we may well move on again once he's launched.

I mean - I think a lot of people would be, because practically, unless you go too you won't see them as much as if they set up a life there, you're not going to be a big part of it.

But you just can't show that, or discourage the behaviour. It's something for you to deal with, by yourself or with a support network or therapist, not a weight for your child to carry.

Especially right now, there are vastly more opportunities outside of the UK than within it. You're limiting her hugely if she doesn't explore those purely because she thinks you'd be unhappy.

My general impression is that Australia is not a hotbed for renewables technology.

It's got few people and massive land area. A resource rich country that is more focused on mining and fossil fuel tech than renewables.

It wouldn't surprise me if it were bottom of the list for renewable uptake in the advanced economies.

Or maybe there are opportunities there for growth.

There are pockets of excellence in renewables. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/sep/08/south-australia-renewable-energy-targets-international-template-solar-power

There is quite a bit of government money going into renewables. All our coal fired power stations are being phased out and wind, solar and hydro are being hugely expanded. Australia has the worlds largest uptake of rooftop solar.