I Moved to Australia Having Solely Visited As soon as, and I Have No Regrets

• Author Gabriella Ferlita moved to Queensland, Australia, from the UK on the finish of 2023.
• Bored with costly hire and unhealthy climate within the UK, Ferlita had solely visited as soon as earlier than flying.
• She stated she’s not sure how lengthy she’ll keep, however is having fun with each minute of her life in Australia.

Simply over a yr in the past, I used to be crying into my build-your-own salad bowl at Lyon airport, France, after a vacation with my boyfriend, attempting to course of the information I’d simply acquired. He advised me, teary-eyed, that he was shifting to Australia on the finish of 2023.

His choice did not come out of the blue. After we first began relationship two and a half years in the past, he advised me about his plans to maneuver to Australia and journey. I simply did not understand it could come round so quickly.

I had to decide on between following my associate 10,000 miles from residence or saying goodbye. On the time, I had a gradual, full-time journalism job in London and wasn’t ready to depart. The stinging tears in my eyes confirmed what I did not must say: the life we each knew would change in a matter of months.

Quick ahead three months, and I had left my job to freelance. After the late-night slogs on the information desk, I craved freedom. I needed versatile working hours, to interact in journalism I actually believed in, and to have the ability to work anyplace on this planet.

My associate had already requested me to hitch him in Australia, however I did not wish to make the choice to maneuver the world over primarily based on emotions alone — that are, at occasions, fickle.

I would already needed to transfer out of London to stay extra affordably

Metropolis residing had develop into more and more unattainable to acquire, regardless of working full-time, freelancing, and babysitting whereas residing in London.

Two years earlier than the cost-of-living disaster, personal rental costs within the metropolis have been on the rise. I used to be paying £650, about $825, a month for a room in a cramped shared residence, a one-hour commute away from central London with no outside area. When my lease ended, comparable rooms to hire in the identical space have been going for upwards of £900, about $1,100, a month, with out utilities.

After three years of renting in London, I tucked my tail between my legs and moved again residence with my mother and father in 2021 to Surrey. I used to be nonetheless working full-time at this level and needed to commute to London some three days per week.

The price of residing within the UK had reached an all-time excessive by winter 2023 — the worth of vitality payments, meals retailers, and public transport continued to soar.

I had the chance to see Australia for myself

Six months earlier than my associate was set to depart, the chance got here up for me to go to Australia on a contract journey. I flew 23 hours alone to scope out what could possibly be my new life.

After residing my complete life within the UK, the approach to life that greeted me was past my creativeness. I discovered myself tucking into farm-to-table dishes in aesthetic cafés and snorkeling amongst loggerhead turtles off the Nice Barrier Reef.

The flexibility to benefit from the open air all yr spherical in Australia drew me to residing there, in addition to how less expensive life can be. I sat with the concept of following my associate to Australia for some time, and I lastly determined to go.

Brits aged 18 to 30 can journey and work in Australia for as much as 3 years

We utilized for the Working Vacation Visa, which provides 18-30-year-olds (as much as age 35 for some nationalities) as much as three years of journey and work, and we arrived in October 2023. With prior visa restrictions lifting for Brits, we did not must put in our necessary regional work to use for a second and third yr.

Candidates should have a passport from an eligible nation to use, and vacationers on the visa are free to work in Australia during their visa. Nevertheless, some nationalities should do specified work — like farm work or hospitality in a regional a part of Australia — to qualify for his or her second and third years on the visa.

Beforehand, WHV-holders would not be capable of work for a similar employer for over six months. Current visa modifications imply that employees within the trade working with previous, or disabled individuals or childcare, can proceed to work with the identical employer. Different employees can apply for permission to work with their employer for over six months.

Life in Queensland, Australia, is year-round seashores and sunshine

We now stay on the Gold Coast, a metropolis area in Queensland that spans 44 miles of sentimental sand seashores and is residence to year-round sunshine. After touring alongside the east coast of Australia collectively, we determined to settle in a wonderful resort-style advanced within the metropolis, with a swimming pool, grocery store, and eating places proper on our doorstep.

We spend our weekends on the seaside or exploring the close by nationwide parks, and now not have to attend for the British summer time to point out its face to embrace the outside.

Whereas I am nonetheless freelancing on a good wage, my hire is now solely 990 Australian {dollars} a month together with utilities, about $650, giving me extra spending cash to fund the approach to life I would like right here. As for my boyfriend, his weekly wages as a barber have elevated by round £150, about $190 per week.

I could not be capable of keep in Australia ceaselessly as a result of present visas we have traveled on, however I am making each second depend. I already really feel so settled right here, however I do know when the time to return to the UK comes, my household will welcome us again with open arms.