I am 31, and considering moving to Australia…

[WhereamIgoing25]

So, as the title says: I am 31 years old, currently living in London, single (actually just been dumped by someone I was dating for a few months!), no dependents and a bit fed up with life here / in the UK… and thinking of moving to Aus for a year or so.

Don’t get me wrong - I have a pretty active social life, and I am close to my family and friends - but apart from that I don’t feel like anything is keeping me here. Especially not my job / career! It wouldn’t be a permanent move (I don’t think) but I am ready for a change.

Thought I would turn to MN for some advice! I’ve never been to Aus / NZ but I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to visit / move there.

Pros? Cons? Did you do it? Would you do it if you could? Best cities to move to? Are there really spiders and snakes everywhere?

No worries @coolmum123 . You can read more about it here. https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/

Do it. I was 62 and decided to move to Europe. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I knew no-one there and it was a great experience. As long as you are self-sufficient you'll be fine. No language difficulties to be considered either. I guess you'll regret it if you don't go now you are considering it, eventually. It's never the things we do that give us the most regrets.

@Roxy69 - this is such a brave decision. I’m currently considering moving to a different part of the country at a similar age to kick start a new era of my life.
Did you have visa issues? Have you made friends?
Full of admiration!!

Thanks, it was a bit rash but life is for living as we are always being told. I'm back to the UK now due to another rash decision which just happened. Such is life. I would love to go back, it was pre-Brexit though so I didn't have a lot of hassle. Took the dog with me and he had no problems either but I hear it's going to get a little better, they're talking!
I did make friends quite soon. I'm fine on my own though so that helps. I'm still in touch with a few. The best thing about it was I made friends and aquaintances that I would never have got a chance to meet here. All sorts of different types because I think we tend to stick with the same groups here. I'm planning another move in the UK now although it seems less exciting. If you think you can do it, I would go. After all you can always come back. Sorry it's so long. Good luck.

I don't get the Australia hype. DS has met many Australian who have moved to the UK because they find Australia too boring and quiet and they find London buzzing and full of life.

Also one thing about the UK is quick and easy flights to Europe.

As someone who has lived in both places, they both have advantages and disadvantages. I loved living in London when I was younger, and took full advantage of all the fun and travel options when I was there. Once I hit my thirties though I preferred somewhere that I could afford a nice house, and a slower pace of life. Australia has fitted the bill beautifully, I have a gorgeous house with a pool near the beach, my work life balance is better, I get paid more, I could go on.As for Aussies leaving because they are bored, lots go overseas for a few years in their 20s, most of them come back! IMHO both places can be great places to live, good thing we don’t all like the same thing, isn’t it?

It isn't hyped. Just some people like it.

I notice they move to London, as have all the Aussies I know who've lived in the UK. London is really rather special and while not throwing shade on the UK in general (I lived there for 50+ years), if I was to return to the UK, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

It’s not Hype. People have different desires and different life style choices . Each to their own .

Agreed. I live on a couple of acres in Australia, with a beautiful garden, and I don’t hear any road noise. The only noises I can hear right now are parrots talking to each other. However, sometimes I do like the rush and excitement of a large city and love visiting them. People are different; places aren’t all the same.

I’m Australian, living in Melbourne and I love it here but most of my family here and it’s home to me so I will have a very different perspective.

I’m a bit younger than you, but most of my friends are 30s and some have come out here from the UK and Ireland. Most say they came for the weather, jobs, nature and because it’s a great place to raise kids (we all have babies).

Australian society is generally very multicultural and welcoming of others.

The worst part is how far away Australia is from the rest of the world - travelling home would be a huge effort. It is expensive here, depends where you settle but cheaper than London. Dangerous animals generally don’t live where people live, unless you’re talking about far North Queensland.

One of DS's work colleagues (a man in his 40s) moved from Melbourne to London in 2010 and has now started a life here..

Most of Australia is uninhabitable and where do you go for summer holidays?

No under 2hr flights to anywhere. Unlike in the UK where a 2 hour flight allows you access to the continent.

I just don't see the appeal.

The continent... lol.

There's another, more interesting continent above Oz.

Yes, Australians famously never travel anywhere for the summer holidays. There is literally nothing to see or experience in a country 35 times larger than the UK with 6 distinct climate zones.

We never go anywhere else either. Mostly we just sit at home and sigh “Well, other countries are more than two hours away, kids, so it looks like we can’t go anywhere. Three hours to New Zealand and four to Indonesia, you say? No, the human body wasn’t designed to withstand such suffering.We’ll have to just stay here.”

Just because YOU don’t see the appeal , means nothing . Millions do .

Wow, just wow! Such utter ignorance - you should be embarrassed.

(Laughing out loud at the thought of all the poor Australians wondering what on earth they should do for their summer holidays!!).

Possibly Mudsca is confusing uninhabited with uninhabitable.

What do Australians do in the Summer! Poor them - they go to a local beach! Particularly if they live in Adelaide, Sydney or Perth! If they live in Melbourne they would probably travel down the coast a bit to go the beach - about an hour away generally at most and if they live in Brisbane they have the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coasts not far away either. If they live in Canberra they either go to Sydney or to the NSW coast and they have some of the best beaches anywhere in the world from Pambula to Newcastle - those poor Aussies! Nothing to do and nowhere to go in Summer - without even getting on a plane!

I'm glad you told us about that one guy your DS knows who moved from Melbourne to London 15 years ago. That's definitely something the OP needs to weigh up when deciding if she should move.

@Mudsca

Most of Australia is uninhabitable and where do you go for summer holidays?

A beach if that’s your thing? There’s so, so many to choose from. Tropical, semi-tropical, temperate. Or camping! And a little secret - we don’t just holiday in the summer as our climate is generally fairly forgiving. We holiday any time of the year.

I think Mudsca forgot that there are places in the world that don't have such miserable summers that people need to fly somewhere else to enjoy them.

😂😂😂😂😂😂 Australia absolutely has history — just not the white, colonial kind you're clearly craving. It’s the land of the oldest continuing cultures on Earth, with over 65,000 years of rich Indigenous knowledge, art, and connection to place. If you didn’t notice any of that while you were there, maybe the issue isn’t that Australia lacks history, just that you weren’t looking beyond buildings that resemble Europe?!

OP do it. You're thinking of going for just one year out of your entire life... Go and have an adventure!!!

Calling 65,000+ years of Indigenous culture “not much history” and mocking Acknowledgements of Country as “random pronouncements” is peak uneducated racism. You went to Australia and didn't bother to educate yourself? You should be ashamed.

Not meaning to be rude OP- you're bored in your area in the UK - that's fine - we've all done that - BUT what's wrong with with Europe - Barcelona, Seville, Rome, Greece, Bulgaria (SOME beautiful places there - believe me!), Croatia - Split is fantastic - you don't need to go so far!

Since Brexit, it has not been at all easy to go on working holidays or stay for longer than 180 days in the 27 EU countries. Also, I would imagine, language would make a difference to the OP?

Barcelona was the only place I've been where you have to disappoint your mugger because the previous mugger completely cleaned you out ten steps before.

The Eurocentricity on display from some here is always a bit sad and narrow. The world is a lot bigger and more varied and interesting than just places to get to by Wizz Air.