An Australian Retrospective

I've been home a few months now and it I can give some thoughts to my year in Australia and the changes I might have made. Hopefully it can give some ideas to people who are thinking of doing it themselves! It is of course, all opinion and I'm sure that many people have different experiences than me, who did the complete opposite perhaps and still had an amazing time. Everyone is different and this is just my perspective.

Things I did right:

 Go over with a company.

Some people I knew went with Ultimate Oz, some with OzExperience, some with BUNAC. There's a number of companies that do the same thing. It's not right for everyone, and I knew a great number of people who didn't use a company but most of those people weren't travelling alone.  If you are alone, I recommend it. They set you up with your bank account and sim card. You meet people when you get there, you see parts of Sydney (or wherever) that you might not have seen otherwise. There's job help and accommodation help. I'm glad that I did it, because it helped with the overwhelming panic that started when I landed in Sydney airport. I'm pretty sure without it I would have come home after a month. It is quite expensive though, and since I didn't actually use the program to get a job it perhaps wasn't as valuable for me as it could have been. Really a personal choice here.    

Stay in hostels

I think this one is really essential for people travelling alone. It's the best place to meet people really. The best people I met while travelling were in hostels. You're all really in the same boat, you start talking, start drinking and you make friends for life. If you're planning to stay somewhere for a while I would also suggest seeking out work for accommodation. Hostels do this differently - some are shifts for example, mine did it where you worked 2 hours a day everyday and it paid for your accommodation that night. The work varies, reception, housekeeping and night managing are the most common I know but I'm sure there are hostels where you can also work in the connecting bars and such like. Saves you so much money in the end, plus it's a saviour if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of unemployment! Money runs out quickly in Australia, so always save where you can.

Don't feel bad about changing plans

I had it all sorted - I'll get to Sydney and I'll fall in love with it - I'm going to spend 6 months there minimum and do all sorts of things, and all sorts of jobs. Then I got to Sydney and hated it (although, I think this was mostly home-sickness). So on a whim I decided to go to Cairns and loved it. I'd never even heard of it before I arrived and now it's one of my favourite places in the world. I had also planned to travel a lot more, but I ended up breaking my ankle in the middle of my trip, so those plans had to be put on hold too. But if I had stayed in Sydney, or moved on from Cairns I wouldn't have met some of my favourite people and I wouldn't have done some things that I can't imagine having missed out on. I'm not usually a great believer in fate, but with travelling, sometimes things just are meant to be.

Experience the outback

Do your farmwork! Or at least find a way to experience real Australia some way. Don't get me wrong the cities are beautiful and the East Coast backpacker towns are great fun but I find they're very insular. It's mostly all other backpackers! You'll meet the greatest Germans, the friendliest French people and craziest Canandians but honestly, very few Australians. For me I worked in an outback bar in Western Australia. It was amazing fun and one if the few times I really felt like I was in Australia. I will warn you, this is where you'll get the creepy crawlies Australia is so famous for, and while the people are wonderful, casual racism/sexism/homophobia runs rampant and it can be unsettling sometimes. But it's worth it, trust me.

Have fun

It's scary travelling alone. And it's lonely sometimes. It's very easy to run out of money and get caught up in what you're doing next, or working too much, but you must remember you are travelling, you are on holiday. You're young and free and it's a chance to let your hair down and be a bit stupid. Be safe, but you can afford to be a bit riskier than you would be at home.

Things I did wrong:

Have money

Yes, the Australian minimum wage is really good, and you can make some really good money there. But also, everything is expensive. You'll find that your money will disappear fast if you're not careful and there's so much to do in Australia. An east coast trip will set you back $3000 minimum, and that's not including food and drinking. If you want to get the maximum you can out of Australia save really hard before you get here, and don't be stupid with your money. I had to take a $1000 loan out with me, expecting to pay it back straight away. Guess what? I didn't, and I'm still paying it off now. I also didn't save as much as I could, buying clothes I didn't need and eating out all the time. Be smart!

Travel as much as you can

I loved my trip, but if I could do it again, I'd want to see much more of Australia. Try and do an east coast trip if you can, everyone I know that did it, loved it. Go and see Uluru - apparently it's breathtaking. Make a trip to Melbourne, I've heard it's the coolest city in the world (albeit a bit chilly). Pictures I've seen of Tasmania are breathtaking. This bit requires money, naturally, and if I'm honest, a little more bravery than I had. But I don't think you'll ever regret seeing them as much as I regret not seeing them.

Do your second year visa work

I know you're thinking that you won't come back, 3 months is a long time to be working etc etc. But it's good to have, and 3 months to get another 12 isn't that bad of a deal. If I had more time I could definitely have seen more, and earned much more money! I can use the excuse of my broken ankle, but if I'm honest, I had time. I was just lazy. Don't go to working hostels though - they're not a scam, exactly, but there's better work out there. My best advice is get some friends, hire a car and go looking for work yourself. Go to local farms wherever you are and just ask. I've found from others that it's the best way to find good, well paying work.

So that's it. My regrets and my achievements. I hope it's helpful to anyone thinking about doing the visa themselves. It's honestly the best thing I did, and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm hoping now to get the Canadian visa and do it all over again in another country!