‘We went travelling and stayed – wages and house prices are better than the UK’

A pair of young women who decided to travel to Australia for a few months have ended up staying for nine years. They claim their salaries are 40% higher than in the UK and they’ve both bought beautiful properties.

Sophie and Ellie, both now 30, from Essex planned to travel down under when they were at university. Aged just 21 they headed to the sunny nation after graduating.

However, the incredible lifestyle they encountered meant they decided they weren’t going to leave. Now, they have both forged careers and lives in Australia.

READ MORE: Brit ditches UK for sunny country with higher salaries and 'much cheaper property'

Sophie has worked in marketing and events as well as communications while Ellie works as a business analyst. They both state that they have made between 30% and 40% more than they would doing the same job in London.

They’re so happy that they "can’t see themselves" moving back to Britain.

Sophie explained: "We were talking one day at Uni about how much of a fight it would be to get a job in London straight out of uni (we were the last year to go before prices went up massively, so there was an influx of people graduating). We both had family here, and our friends and us wanted an adventure.

"So a group of us decided to work throughout the summer we left uni and we bought our one way ticket and hopped on the plane. None of us thought this would be a long term move, maybe 6 – 12 months then we’d be back.

"Three of us from the five that initially came out are still here, and more of our friends have since moved out. "

Ellie added: "We chose Australia because we wanted an adventure with beaches and beautiful weather, also we both had family here. We stayed because we fell in love with Melbourne, and we were fortunate enough to have our jobs sponsor us to stay."

The duo love everything that Australia has to offer from higher salaries to the huge range of terrains. Plus, they say there were no culture shocks bar learning the "local lingo".

Ellie said: "Coming from England I did not find many culture shocks when we got here. The biggest shock was the sheer size of the country, you could fly for four hours and still be within Australia.

"I love that Australia has it all; tropics, snow, deserts, epic coastlines and mountains – you can never run out of places to visit. It is a very relaxed lifestyle and more community focused."

Sophie added: "We really fell in love with this country and the way of life, and the opportunities available here – the landscape is just so beautiful and not anything we had really seen before. After about a year of being in Aus, we both met our now husband’s and the rest is history.

"It is such a vast country, every state is so different, you can go skiing, or spend your days hiking or going to the many beaches – it really is such a magical country. In general the lifestyle feels much more laid back.

"Partly because the weather tends to be warmer, people want to be outside after work and on the weekends so you tend to do lots of physical outdoor activities."

Brits are able to get a working holiday visa for up to three years. This is set to get even easier over the next two years – but to stay permanently can still be tricky.

Sophie said: "Our initial visa (working holiday visa) was approved within a few hours, but in order for us to stay longer it became more challenging and a more lengthy process – but we got there in the end."

"I am now a permanent resident, and the process was long and expensive, taking five years to complete," added Ellie.

They say their family were excited for their "initial adventure" but found it hard as the time stretched on. Thankfully, their parents have accepted the move.

Ellie said: "They were all so excited for us to travel overseas, but as time went on and the realities of living here permanently sank in, it got much harder. We treasure our visits from families so much more now."

Plus, the pair have even managed to buy property in Australia. This is easier in some places than others – Sydney can be very expensive, but other Brits have said it’s far cheaper than the UK to buy in places like Victoria.

Sophie and Ellie both live in Melbourne where things are getting more expensive. However, Budget Direct states that rent prices are a whopping 86% lower in the city than they are in London.

Sophie told Daily Star: "Like everywhere at the moment, things are tough, people are struggling to save enough to buy and rentals are becoming tougher to find.

"I was very fortunate to be able to buy a small two bedroom unit back in 2019 before things got so expensive. When I compare what we managed to buy here (which is only 40 mins from the [centre] of Melbourne) compared to what would have been available back in Essex, I’d say we would still be renting and struggling to save to buy.

"The prices here tend to be cheaper overall compared to back home."

"We rented for the first 5 years living here and found it tough to secure rental properties,” commented Ellie. “We’ve both been fortunate enough to buy our homes – to get on the property ladder. I moved to regional Victoria – three hours from Melbourne.

"It is much more affordable to purchase a house here than in Essex, but there is much less Government assistance for home buyers.”

The pair don’t think they’ll return to the UK thanks to the glorious lifestyle in Australia. But, Sophie does say you "can’t rule anything out in life".

She added: "We certainly miss our families lots and would love to pick them all up and move them here, but that’s not how life works. For the time being, we can’t see either of us moving back to the UK any time soon."

Ellie added: "We’ve built such an incredible life here that it would be too hard to move home, when I go home to visit, I am reminded of how much space there is to live and breathe in Australia."

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