IF you have ever dreamed of ditching rainy Britain for sun-soaked Australia, you are not alone.
Traveller Anna Nicholas made the move over a year ago – but has shared a candid update on the realities of life Down Under.
In a clip on her @annanicholass account, she wrote: “I thought why not do an open, honest, raw chat about the things I actually struggled with over this year.
“I feel like on my TikTok there’s a lot of ‘you can move to Australia, this is amazing.’
“I think a lot of people believe they can just pack up their stuff, move to a new country, have this marvellous new life, and it’s all sunshine and rainbows.
“But the harsh reality is that it’s most likely not always going to be like that, and you just have to expect things to be a little bit challenging.”
Admitting that everyone’s experience is different, one of the first things she had to deal with is feeling “isolated.”
Despite enjoying her own company, and moving to Gold Coast, Australia with her partner, this was one of the main things Anna struggled with.
While her partner found work straight away, it took her a month of hustling and being “rejected over and over again”, and she admitted she had an “identity crisis.”
The UGC (User-Generated Content) creator added: “I didn’t know anyone here except one person, who I’m very, very close with now.
“But at the time we weren’t super close and I didn’t know anyone.
“I was questioning what I was doing, why no one was accepting me, what I was doing wrong.”
She added that if you go to Australia on a working holiday visa and just want a job to “get by” for a year or two, you may have a different experience.
The second area she struggled with was uncertainty around finances.
Back home, she had a steady income so knew what she had to live off each month.
However, a lot of her work in Australia was shift work, and she found the fluctuation in income “stressful.”
Although they “laugh about it our way”, Anna added: “You literally can’t plan anything because you don’t know what’s coming in, and that uncertainty is awful.”
The third aspect she struggled with is being so far from friends and family – particularly with the time zone difference.
She said you have to put in the work with friends back home so you don’t drift apart.
One of the moments she felt the impact of the distance hardest was after her partner had “a really awful freak accident.”
Anna shared: “I was caring for him for a while. That was really difficult, especially not having that many people around us. Thank goodness we had each other.”
Finally she shared how it can be hard when you compare yourself with people back home who are on a “completely different path to you.”
She explained: “When you move country and start from scratch again, you’re building yourself up – your experience and everything else.”
However, despite any challenges, Anna insisted that she “loves” Australia, and wouldn’t change being there “for the world.”
She added: “Make sure you have a good support network and just ride the wave, because it will be worth it.”
Typically around 40,000 to 50,000 British citizens move to Australia annually.
People were quick to comment on her candid confession, with one saying: “Love the honesty! I have definitely felt some of these recently, it’s hard and not spoken about enough!”
Another added: “Your honesty is refreshing.”
How easy is it to move abroad?
WHILE some countries residency restrictions are easier than others, here’s what you need to do at home before moving:
- Notify HMRC about your upcoming move.
- Let your local authority know and provide a forwarding address.
- Contact your mortgage and utility providers and bank before leaving.
- If you have paid enough UK national insurance contributions, you can qualify for a state pension abroad – contact the International Pension Centre.
- You can sign up to the Royal Mail’s redirection service.
- If you have outstanding student loans, contact the Student Loans Centre.
- If you have children, give due notice to childcares and schools.
