Edited

I am moving to Oz on Monday 24th, and my partner keeps talking about the spiders and how we need to get a "Huntsman spider" to eat the other ones.

I actually want to throw up by the idea of it (I know, dramatic, but I have never been good with them).

For the people living there, is this an absolute necessity??? We will live in Adelaide (city).

I'm hoping that is just an exaggeration and is not as bad as is portrayed on the media.

• EDIT *

OMG, guys, thank you so much for all the replies. It has given me peace of mind. Didn't expect much traction, so tysm for all the help 🙏xx

Hi all, hoping for a few perspectives.

I (31f Australian born) and my husband (33m British) are very close to moving back to Australia from London next year.

We have a one year old, and will probably start trying for another soon-ish. We’ve been living in the UK since 2019, and have made a lovely life here however my parents are ageing (my father has cancer, slow-moving but incurable) and I’d really like to spend a period of time in my home country during his “good” years.

Issue is, we’re both having a terrible time making any in-roads into the job market. My husband has PR (we lived in Aus 2016-2019) and a very good job as a senior sales leader in a global tech firm over here. He can’t even get an interview! Immediate rejection. We’re obviously plugging into our networks, but nothing fruitful so far.

We know the likely reasons are two-fold; lack of recent market experience, and applying from overseas. At this point, we’re considering just resigning and moving to Australia regardless, to find jobs in-country.

Are we mad to do this?! Is the job market really that bad, that UK experience won’t even be considered once we’re in the country? We’re prepared for it to take months, but the risk of being out of work for an extended period of time feels terrifying… especially with a young family. Am I dooming us?

Would love to hear from anyone who has made a similar leap, or knows someone who has, and whether it worked or didn’t work in the end?

Thanks so much!

I’ve been going back and forth on this for months and I’d really appreciate some honest opinions from people who have been in a similar situation.

I’m currently in Australia on a 482 sponsored visa. I have a pathway to employer-sponsored PR, so realistically if I stay with my employer and everything goes to plan, I could get PR in the next couple of years.

On paper, I feel like I should obviously stay.

I actually have a good job. I’m good at it, I get a lot of positive feedback and I’ve built a really good reputation with people I work with. I have friends here and I’ve built a community. Australia is obviously a great place to live and I’m financially comfortable.

But increasingly I’m asking myself if PR wasn’t part of the equation, would I actually choose to stay in this job and this life?

And honestly, the answer is probably no.

The job has become incredibly busy recently. We’re understaffed and it feels like I’m constantly trying to get back on top of things only for another pile of work to come through. I deal with a lot of managers and stakeholders and not all of them are particularly pleasant. I can handle it and I’m good at it, but I’m starting to question why I’m putting myself through it.

The bigger thing is that I’m realising I don’t necessarily love what I’m doing. I think I’ve confused being good at something with it actually being what I want to do.

I’ve also realised that there isn’t much progression where I currently am. I could potentially be doing essentially the same thing for several more years while waiting for PR.
And that’s starting to bother me.

I keep thinking about how much of my life I’m willing to trade for the security of Australian PR.

I already have a British passport, so if I went back to the UK I wouldn’t be starting from scratch. I could work there, be closer to family and have Europe right on my doorstep. I could also travel more easily and potentially explore different careers or countries before settling down.

And I genuinely miss travelling. I miss the feeling of being somewhere different, experiencing different cultures, food, history and just having things feel new. I’ve started to realise that this isn’t something I want to put on hold for another 2–4 years.

Family is another huge factor. Being on the other side of the world has become harder for me. At the same time, I have friends here and I know leaving them would be really difficult. That’s probably one of the biggest things keeping me here.

I also worry that I’m romanticising the UK/Europe. Maybe I leave Australia, go back to the UK and realise I made a huge mistake. Maybe I miss my friends here, miss the lifestyle and wish I had just stayed and got PR.

But I also worry about the opposite.

What if I stay purely because PR feels like the “sensible” thing to do, spend another few years in a job I don’t actually want, and then realise I sacrificed years of my life for something I didn’t even really need?

That’s the bit I’m struggling with.

I’m not miserable here. That would almost make the decision easier. I have a good life. I’m just starting to wonder if it’s my life.
I’m basically torn between:

Staying: security, PR, friends, a good income and a life I’ve already built.

Leaving: family, travel, Europe, potentially better career opportunities and the chance to explore while I’m still young.

I’m not looking for “follow your heart” advice. 😂 I’d genuinely like to hear from people who have made a similar decision.

If you were in my position, would you stay for the PR pathway or take the risk and go back to the UK?
And if you chose one, did you regret it later?

I am an international student. I am currently studying in Russia, majoring in International Management, and I am also learning Chinese. However, I am considering pursuing my master's degree in Australia in the field of digital marketing / marketing or communications, as that is what I would like to work in later on. I have a few questions regarding universities in Australia. Since they are quite expensive, I would like to know:

1. whether the education there is good in general? would be even more happy if you got experience in studying there
2. could you name a university worth considering for this field? (I have been thinking about the University of Melbourne, UNSW, and Macquarie University, because they offer double degrees.)
   3). since job market is bad rn almost everywhere, I still want to know whether finding a job after graduation will be okay for an international student?
   4). how practical and hands-on is the program? are there real-world projects, case studies, or internships with local companies?

I am not very worried about tuition fees at the moment, as my family can afford it, but I would like to pay that amount of money for quality education or good networking, that i believe uni can give me

I’m an American dental hygienist and I’m looking into moving to Australia to attend oral health therapy school, and work in Australia. I am not the “America is the best country” type of American. I am just wanting a safer and better life for my daughter. America is quickly turning into a Christian nationalist country, and I am tried of our healthcare system, school shootings, and the feeling of uncertainty for my family.

My husband works in Aerospace, I work obviously in dentistry, in the public sector for an indigenous tribal facility. I am wondering if anyone on here has ever had the same experience or pathway to migration, please share. I’m not sure how much student debt to experience, if some of my courses will transfer, if I can work and go to school.

I know immigration can be very difficult on the Australian people, of course I don’t want to make it worse. I want to get an education, work, serve the community, and assimilate as best as possible. I have a dear friend who lives in Australia, she was a foreign exchange student to America when we were both children and we’ve kept in contact. She tells me to move everyday. I’d love to find an actual pathway.

Thank you in advance.

Hey anyone can tell me how to work as a physiotherapy in Australia or canda? Please let me know ya I'm from Indonesia

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my BTech in Computer Science & Engineering from IIIT (Tier-2) in April 2026.

I didn't get placed through campus, so for the past 3 months I've been applying for jobs through LinkedIn and other platforms. I've attended around 5–6 interviews so far. A couple of them went really well, but unfortunately, HR later told me that the hiring process was put on hold, and I haven't received any further updates.

At this point, I'm honestly quite confused about what I should do next.

My background is mainly in AI/ML , GenAI, Agentic AI with experience/projects involving Python, RAG, LLMs, FastAPI, AWS, Docker/Kubernetes, etc. I'm continuing to apply for jobs, but the lack of results is making me seriously consider doing a Master's abroad.

My parents are encouraging me to pursue a Master's, particularly in Australia or the US.

My main question is about Australia 🇦🇺

I'm considering Australia because I want to build a career where I can earn well, grow technically, and potentially settle long-term.

However, I'm hearing very mixed opinions:

• Some people say Master's in AI/Data Science is saturated in Australia.
• Others recommend go for construction course , gas oil , mining courses
• Some say getting a job as an international graduate is difficult without Australian experience.
• Others say there are still good opportunities if you choose the right university/course and build the right skills.

So I'd really appreciate advice from people who are currently studying or working in Australia, especially Indians who went there for a Master's and are now working.

I'd like honest answers to these questions:

1. Is Australia actually worth going to in 2027 for someone with a CSE background?
2. Which Master's courses currently have the best combination of job opportunities, salary and long-term career growth?
3. Should I consider Software Engineering / Cybersecurity / Cloud Computing instead of AI/Data Science?
4. How difficult is it realistically to get a technical job after graduation?
5. Is it better to work in India for 1–2 years first, or go directly for a Master's?
6. If I decide to go, should I target the 2027 intake, or wait another year?
7. For those already in Australia: Would you make the same decision again if you were in my position?
8. How much money should I realistically expect to spend, and how long does it typically take to recover that investment?

I'm not looking for an agent's perspective or a generic "Australia is great" answer. I'd really like to hear from people who have actually gone through this process.

I'm currently at a major crossroads in my life, so any honest advice — including reasons not to go to Australia — would be extremely helpful.

Thanks!

Hi all, I'm an ecologist living in the UK with 5 years experience, all in consultancy. 28. It's been my dream for years now to move to Darwin. I have applied for a 189 visa and now just waiting for it to be granted. I have a well paying job here in the UK (well paying for ecology anyway) and own a house which I will sell to support my move, so my situation is comfortable. From what I can tell it is impossible to secure a job or even a rental from offshore, so I would have to live in a hotel (?) for a few weeks whilst looking for an apartment and job which might never come. The thought of failing, moving back home with no job and nowhere to stay is just terrifying. How does anyone move to Australia? I don't get it.

UPDATE:

AUD 3500-4000 monthly rental initially

Preferred: House/Town House

Family of 3

Not much know how of areas. Please suggest!

Here’s our situation…

Me (39 y/o) carpenter, wife 40 (y/o) Marketing Director.

We live in London and own a 1 bed first floor flat (70m2), fortunately have space for my tools and a shared garden.

Between us we gross around £200k annually excluding my wife’s bonus.

I’ve been in London for 14 yrs and my wife has lived here her entire life.

I’ve done summer and winter seasons, and have lived in the states and Europe, albeit 15>20 years ago now.

We’ve been talking about a move abroad for a long time whilst we’re still young enough.

We’re now in a position to really look at how/where a move could be possible and Melbourne on paper seems to tick a lot of boxes.

I’ll be okay work wise in mostly any city, but my wife need a good amount of job opportunities at a senior level, does Melbourne offer this as the LinkedIn posts for Marketing Directors looks slim.

We both love art galleries, music, drinking, great food and a fun scene and outdoor walks, which we fortunately have in London, however we both want to experience a new country together and also a city which has a slightly slower (but still fun) pace plus easier access to travel around Asia.

London can be intense.

For a move we need to match or ideally better our current take home (£10k after tax every 4 weeks), we want a bigger place to live with direct access to a garden, another room or two.

What’s the general view on how achievable the above is with regard to take home cash, a bigger house (to rent initially) and plenty of opportunities for my wife and also me.

I recently moved to Australia with my partner, and I am still looking for a job in my original field of work. There have been people telling me, on multiple occasions, that what I need to do now is to build connections and show myself more, by doing volunteering and attending networking events.

I know networking is important for finding a job in any country. But for those who have experience living and working in both Australia and overseas, would you say it’s *especially* important in Australia?

Title: Working Holiday Visa (417) – Still waiting after applying July 13
Hi everyone!
I applied for my Australian Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) on July 13, but I still haven’t received a decision.
Is anyone else experiencing the same delay? How long have you been waiting, and have you received any updates?
I’m starting to get a little worried since it’s been quite a while.
Thanks! 🙏

hi, i'm a 24 year old BDS graduate in India , planning to start my ADC journey but i'm too confused to take which route

is it better to start prepping for it from india and clear the exams from india itself and then start searching for jobs in Australia? would this work? or do the obvious lack of networking living in india would cause an issue finding better opportunities.

or

is it better to do a non-clinical masters like MPH/MHA from australia while woring and networking and give my prep and give my ADC from there only?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and genuinely don't understand how some parts of the Australian immigration system work.

I'm probably going to take the teaching pathway myself. I know it's not guaranteed, and I'm not expecting anyone to tell me that it will automatically lead to PR. But realistically, I don't have many options. The alternative is eventually going home, so obviously I'm going to look at every legitimate pathway available to me.

I find strange is how quickly some occupations become completely flooded once people realise they're good migration pathways.

ECT is probably the biggest example. There were so many providers and so many people moving into it because of the migration prospects that it seems like the pathway itself created a massive increase in the number of people trying to enter the occupation.

Now teaching seems to be heading in a similar direction. There are only a limited number of programs and places compared with some other fields, but if everyone starts seeing teaching as one of the better PR options, you can imagine how quickly demand for those places will increase.

Then there's trades like carpentry. Australia genuinely needs tradespeople, so having a pathway for someone to train, complete a Cert III and gain actual skills makes sense. But at the same time, there are situations where the system seems to care more about whether you can meet the requirements on paper than whether you were already skilled in that occupation.

And that's the part I don't really understand.

I'm not saying people are necessarily doing anything wrong. If the government creates a pathway and you meet the requirements, why wouldn't you use it? Especially when the alternative for many international students is simply leaving Australia.

But it does make me wonder whether the system is actually sustainable.

If an occupation becomes a popular PR pathway:

Everyone starts moving into it.

Universities/colleges respond to the demand.

The number of graduates increases.

Eventually there may be far more people trying to migrate through that occupation than there are places available.

Then the government has to tighten the pathway anyway.

It feels like the system keeps creating these cycles.

I'm going to pursue teaching knowing full well that there is no guarantee of PR. I'm not pretending otherwise. I'm just trying to give myself the best possible chance of staying here rather than spending years studying and then having to go home because the pathway changed.

Why are there so many apparent loopholes and why does the government allow certain occupations to become such obvious migration pathways?

I am a 32F moving to Melbourne sometime next year for 2 years. I won't know anyone in Melbourne, and I haven't been to Melbourne before, only to Brisbane for one month. I am from the US and currently living in Germany for the past couple years, so I have an idea of what I should expect in terms of making a big more. I do have a few questions just to help me better prepare for the move and start to understand the Aussie life. Any answer/advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

1. Any advice for how to meet others and befriend people? If there are any recommended expat groups, please feel free to share!
2. Which areas should I look for living and that are safe? As of right now, I don't plan on having a car, so I would like to have close access to the trains and prefer not to live too far out from the city. I also would like to live in an area with people around my age. My base for my job is located on Collins Street for reference.
3. What is the average weekly rent for a furnished apartment? And the likelihood of being able to find a fully furnished apartment? Ideally I would like to have at least one separate bedroom from the living space and have enough room for a desk as I will be a hybrid worker.
4. Based on #3, about how much is the average basic living expense (l.e. rent, utilities, food, etc.)?
5. Is it a safe city for a single female?
6. Anything else you wish you knew as an expat moving to Australia!

I’m looking for any advice. I am located in Michigan taking a trip to Melbourne AUS next month for 3weeks. I’m in constant chronic pain, I only use marijuana for this. On the AUS GOV website it states allowance of 2 cannabis vape pens with proper documentation under the travelers exemption. Everyone I know is strongly advising me not to bring anything with me. I do have my medical card but from what I understand AUS does not recognize out of country patients with a medical card. It’s my only form of medication. I don’t want to get into any trouble or risk my trip. Hoping to reach someone that has already went through the motions and has previously traveled from USA to AUS with a cannabis vape and knows the proper way to go about this. Michigan law, the doctors are not allowed to suggest or prescribe any specific THC product. Extremely confusing, any help is highly appreciated.

I've been thinking of relocating to Australia for quite awhile now, im in my late 30s, and that scary numbers approaching too fast. I've lived in Canada my entire life, except a couple years in England. I've got dual citizenship between Canada and the UK, which was somewhere i was considering moving back to.. but given how things are over there these days I'd rather not lol. I've got a partner who lives in Australia, and while we're not married, we've been together for years now, which is kind of making me feel like trying to make the move.

I've been in a few careers, but my issue is not much paperwork for them, was a self taught IT admin when i was younger, before they really had proper courses for that, but absolutely hated it after awhile, I've been an automotive tech, and have the paperwork for that, but not in a hurry to get back into that gig since I'd probably be starting over as, as far as i can tell Australia does recognize trade diplomas from Canada? Right now I've been running the parts department at a car dealership for about 4 years but there's no skill stuff attached to that either lol.

I remember reading at one point that after a certain age you've basically no real chance at getting your residency accepted, and I'm not exactly a Doctor, Engineer or some other insanely high demand commodity. I dont wanna lean on getting in by marriage either, if i can help it.. I feel I'd be putting extra stress on my partner that they dont need.

I love it there, I've only been once but i was 100% sold, and I'd love to come back again as soon as possible even if it's just a vacation, kinda hoping to spend New Years over there this year actually. Just worried I'm gonna be too old to fit in, or actually get the paperwork I need. :( and insight would be a great help. Would be living in northern NSW, since thats where my partner and their family are at.

Hi everyone!

I'm a 24 year old girl from Spain and this October I'm moving to Sydney. I wanted to ask, where is the best places to meet people who are in the same boat as me?

Thanks!

For context my wife and I (both 30) currently live in London. My family is in Ireland and her family is in India. She is 3 years into her spouse visa for naturalisation (out of 5 needed for PR). She used to be living in Australia on a student visa and loved it over there.

Currently the big benefit is how close we are to my family, and an 8 hour flight from her family. We can fly into Europe cheaply and quickly. But every winter / cold period in London roughly from late September all the way to April we wish the weather was better.

We are both in good, stable jobs, decent pay.

I've recently done an interview for a company in Australia, and I got the job. I was applying here and there to see eventually if someone would sponsor me and got there sooner than expected (482 visa).

Now we are both very confused as the move would put me a 22 hour flight away from my family, while the flight to her family changes only a bit, from 8 currently to 12 hours.

Downsides / fears of moving

My parents, sister, niece and nephew are all in Ireland so I'm afraid of being away for long stretches and don't know realistically if we can figure out flying to Ireland and India and choosing between each. If we do 1 flight each year to either India or Ireland we can potentially get parents to visit us on the alternating year.

For my wife she will need to find a new job there.

If we go to Australia we will be on 482 visa so less benefits like Medicare (we can get a lite version of this because we are UK residence through the reciprocal healthcare act). The timeline will be probably 2 years on 482, then sponsored for 186, maybe approved by 2.5 year mark. I'm trying to get a written guarantee of 186 sponsorship. In London if we spend 2 more years she will get PR then citizenship after a year.

If we plan to have a child while we're on 482 we are partially covered by medicare but no state child benefit or maternity pay. And companies won't pay maternity until I assume 6 months into a job.

Benefits of moving

The benefit of Melbourne are, warmer weather (than London), much bigger houses (avg house we viewed in London are 1000 sqft / 100 sqm). I will get paid 15% more + super on top but part of this will be eaten up by flight costs.

I've read a bit about people wanting to move back due to aging parents so I'm thinking I might feel the same a few years down the line.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, how did you make it work, and did you find flying long haul manageable?

TLDR;

We are living in London and considering moving to Melbourne after I unexpectedly got a job offer there sooner than I thought.

London pros:

• Close to my family in Ireland.
• 8-hour flight to wife's family in India.
• Both have stable, well-paying jobs.
• Wife is 3/5 years into the UK spouse visa route to PR/citizenship.

Melbourne pros:

• Much better/warmer weather.
• Bigger, more affordable homes.
• I will get ~15% higher salary + super.
• Australia is only slightly farther from her family (12h vs 8h).