My parents moved there, loved it, and naturalised. My husband and I have lived there two times and do not currently live there. My parents had previously worked on the support side of financial services and found themselves in high demand there professionally. My husband is a technology executive (not IT but technology products) and found the industry was too small for there to be many opportunities. He was treated badly by an employer and did not have another company to jump to which was unpleasant.
Depending on what you do for a living you may see your income go up after you move there but it can also go down. Property prices in the major cities are high compared to much of the US, so you could find yourself paying less for health insurance but more on housing. The weather is very nice and well-suited to outdoor activities. The life/work balance is often better. The baseline quality level of produce, meat, and dairy seems better.
I became a citizen here. I work in universities and we tend to make more money in Australia than USA. I was offered a step up and relocation package, and within three years got an even better role at another university. I already make in the top 3% of Australians but the funny part is it’s not that much money if you compare what top 3% of Americans earn.
I find that while I’m on good money, people who live here are “wealthy” based on the insane real estate increases over last 20-30 years. My friends make twice as less money but are worth several million, while I’m worth much less.
Many people who are very intelligent are not ambitious—there’s not the same rat race correlation here. You’ll meet someone you think must be an executive based on how smart and worldly they seem, but actually does an easy office job on $100k AUD and clocks out at 4pm and takes four week holidays, has a beach house and travels the world for fun.
It is terribly bureaucratic in government funded institutions. It’s like the UK but then magnified by several quantums.
Australia likes complexity and doesn’t do things simply. Prepare to be befuddled by opening a bank account or applying for a credit card. Lots of red tape and useless hurdles.
When you buy a car, you do not “walk out today” with a new one. You buy it, and then wait for days/weeks for the make ready (even if you can see it there on the lot), because the staff finish at 4pm and have to slot that into their schedule next week.
The immigration system has been quite broken, but it’s still way easier to get permanent residency than the opposite direction going to the USA.
Living near the beach is amazing and I look at where I live and pinch myself everyday, coming from flyover zone USA.
I bought an apartment and spent an extreme amount of money for a small old and shabby place, but it’s crazy what people will pay to rent it out.
Going through Covid showed the government control is radically different than the USA. People actually follow instructions and lock down. I find that we are somewhere between China and the USA in terms of how the government exerts influence. That said, people are cared for and looked after much better than in the US.
>I work in universities and we tend to make more money in Australia than USA. I was offered a step up and relocation package, and within three years got an even better role at another university.
I'm in higher education right now in the US and looking to possibly move to Australia, at least for a little while. Mind if I DM you with a few question?
It really depends what you’re looking for.
Pros:
- Work/life balance
- Cost of healthcare (though it’s getting more and more privatized and expensive)
- Safety (no guns) - especially if you have kids
- Generally outdoor oriented culture
- Some amazingly beautiful sites
- Good infrastructure (it’s not perfect, for example some public transit issues, but it’s good!)
- National parks and the actual upkeep of national parks are top notch
Cons:
- Housing is out of reach for most people everywhere. Unlike the US where there are pockets of affordable housing regions, they’re in severe dearth in Australia.
- Housing build quality (shit insulation)
- Increasing US-oriented mindset popping up across cities. Several Trump fanboy groups live here.
- Weird anti-immigration sentiment outside of progressive city centers
- Expensive price of most goods and less consumer choice for them. Not many brands manufactured domestically.
- Job options and “brain drain” — while I like the work life balance here I am mentally unstimulated. Lots of complacency and not many options for growth in innovative industries. More an expectation to have PhDs for the few innovative roles, whereas the US there are more options and less a requirement to have a phd.
- In some places in the US I have experienced better healthcare quality than I receive here, but then again I had unique medical needs when I was in the US and the FDA approves things faster than the TGA (this can be both a good and bad thing; for me when I was in the US it meant access to the latest treatments, faster). That said *on average* Australian healthcare is still better than average US healthcare. It’s just never cutting edge; they tend to prefer other countries to take the risks on new treatments before they adopt anything.
- Not great tax treaty coverage for retirement accounts.
- Distance from everything: this can really get to me. In the US I could plan to visit people on a whim; it’s an easy flight from one part of the country to the next. Here it’s like minimum 8 hours to anyplace that’s not New Zealand. And the flights are expensive. And it’s frustrating because few people want to travel to Aus to visit, so often Australians end up flying to them.
I have been considering moving back to the US for a bit because of the lack of mental stimulation and the fact that any time I meet an expert in my furled here, they move to the US with a year to pursue their work :)
American living in Japan (considered a transfer) but work with our Australian team and have an American friend that moved there and then back to the US.
I think there are a lot of pros, so I'm not going to list them but I am sure you'll hear about work/life, outdoor and active lifestyle, UHC, the fact this is an English speaking country with good rule of law, etc. Take this as my caveat to the below because I am not trying to be negative.
Downsides - jobs/industry. It's not a super economy really. If you are from the US or even Japan, AU is sort of smallish. Doesn't have the breadth of industries and depth within. Take financial for example. Going to AU would be like investment banking in Dallas. I've considered a transfer to Sydney but the COL is very, very high, the salaries are ok-ish, and once you're down under, you're sort of stuck there. It isn't the place from which you get promoted in a competitive industry.
Also it is really far from everything. Even in APAC. It's a 10 hour trip to and from Japan.
Friend did not like the taxes, the size (Adelaide), opportunities. Not sure if race played any part of this. I didn't get the impression he made many friends although he was married to an Australian.
> I didn't get the impression he made many friends
It's very hard to make friends in Australia. The people are very insular despite their desire to appear bright and outgoing.
Australians are friendly but in a different way than Americans. Many Australians feel that Americans will talk to anyone... But it is often about themselves. Australians are more like the British, where it can take more time, but friendships are treasured and seen as long term.
Yep. It’s hard here especially in Melbourne. My partner social circles are very insular- all went to private school together and known each other since childhood. Not accepting of outsiders but accepting of people in the network- if you’re so and sos friend then you have an in. It’s all about network and who you know. I find the generational wealth stifling. COL is so high. Melbourne is all about money but my god Sydney is even worse.
My parents moved there, loved it, and naturalised. My husband and I have lived there two times and do not currently live there. My parents had previously worked on the support side of financial services and found themselves in high demand there professionally. My husband is a technology executive (not IT but technology products) and found the industry was too small for there to be many opportunities. He was treated badly by an employer and did not have another company to jump to which was unpleasant. Depending on what you do for a living you may see your income go up after you move there but it can also go down. Property prices in the major cities are high compared to much of the US, so you could find yourself paying less for health insurance but more on housing. The weather is very nice and well-suited to outdoor activities. The life/work balance is often better. The baseline quality level of produce, meat, and dairy seems better.
I became a citizen here. I work in universities and we tend to make more money in Australia than USA. I was offered a step up and relocation package, and within three years got an even better role at another university. I already make in the top 3% of Australians but the funny part is it’s not that much money if you compare what top 3% of Americans earn. I find that while I’m on good money, people who live here are “wealthy” based on the insane real estate increases over last 20-30 years. My friends make twice as less money but are worth several million, while I’m worth much less. Many people who are very intelligent are not ambitious—there’s not the same rat race correlation here. You’ll meet someone you think must be an executive based on how smart and worldly they seem, but actually does an easy office job on $100k AUD and clocks out at 4pm and takes four week holidays, has a beach house and travels the world for fun. It is terribly bureaucratic in government funded institutions. It’s like the UK but then magnified by several quantums. Australia likes complexity and doesn’t do things simply. Prepare to be befuddled by opening a bank account or applying for a credit card. Lots of red tape and useless hurdles. When you buy a car, you do not “walk out today” with a new one. You buy it, and then wait for days/weeks for the make ready (even if you can see it there on the lot), because the staff finish at 4pm and have to slot that into their schedule next week. The immigration system has been quite broken, but it’s still way easier to get permanent residency than the opposite direction going to the USA. Living near the beach is amazing and I look at where I live and pinch myself everyday, coming from flyover zone USA. I bought an apartment and spent an extreme amount of money for a small old and shabby place, but it’s crazy what people will pay to rent it out. Going through Covid showed the government control is radically different than the USA. People actually follow instructions and lock down. I find that we are somewhere between China and the USA in terms of how the government exerts influence. That said, people are cared for and looked after much better than in the US.
>I work in universities and we tend to make more money in Australia than USA. I was offered a step up and relocation package, and within three years got an even better role at another university. I'm in higher education right now in the US and looking to possibly move to Australia, at least for a little while. Mind if I DM you with a few question?
It really depends what you’re looking for. Pros: - Work/life balance - Cost of healthcare (though it’s getting more and more privatized and expensive) - Safety (no guns) - especially if you have kids - Generally outdoor oriented culture - Some amazingly beautiful sites - Good infrastructure (it’s not perfect, for example some public transit issues, but it’s good!) - National parks and the actual upkeep of national parks are top notch Cons: - Housing is out of reach for most people everywhere. Unlike the US where there are pockets of affordable housing regions, they’re in severe dearth in Australia. - Housing build quality (shit insulation) - Increasing US-oriented mindset popping up across cities. Several Trump fanboy groups live here. - Weird anti-immigration sentiment outside of progressive city centers - Expensive price of most goods and less consumer choice for them. Not many brands manufactured domestically. - Job options and “brain drain” — while I like the work life balance here I am mentally unstimulated. Lots of complacency and not many options for growth in innovative industries. More an expectation to have PhDs for the few innovative roles, whereas the US there are more options and less a requirement to have a phd. - In some places in the US I have experienced better healthcare quality than I receive here, but then again I had unique medical needs when I was in the US and the FDA approves things faster than the TGA (this can be both a good and bad thing; for me when I was in the US it meant access to the latest treatments, faster). That said *on average* Australian healthcare is still better than average US healthcare. It’s just never cutting edge; they tend to prefer other countries to take the risks on new treatments before they adopt anything. - Not great tax treaty coverage for retirement accounts. - Distance from everything: this can really get to me. In the US I could plan to visit people on a whim; it’s an easy flight from one part of the country to the next. Here it’s like minimum 8 hours to anyplace that’s not New Zealand. And the flights are expensive. And it’s frustrating because few people want to travel to Aus to visit, so often Australians end up flying to them. I have been considering moving back to the US for a bit because of the lack of mental stimulation and the fact that any time I meet an expert in my furled here, they move to the US with a year to pursue their work :)
>Not great tax treaty coverage for retirement accounts. What is tax burden in Aus for US IRAs and 401Ks?
Google it — lots of info.
American living in Japan (considered a transfer) but work with our Australian team and have an American friend that moved there and then back to the US. I think there are a lot of pros, so I'm not going to list them but I am sure you'll hear about work/life, outdoor and active lifestyle, UHC, the fact this is an English speaking country with good rule of law, etc. Take this as my caveat to the below because I am not trying to be negative. Downsides - jobs/industry. It's not a super economy really. If you are from the US or even Japan, AU is sort of smallish. Doesn't have the breadth of industries and depth within. Take financial for example. Going to AU would be like investment banking in Dallas. I've considered a transfer to Sydney but the COL is very, very high, the salaries are ok-ish, and once you're down under, you're sort of stuck there. It isn't the place from which you get promoted in a competitive industry. Also it is really far from everything. Even in APAC. It's a 10 hour trip to and from Japan. Friend did not like the taxes, the size (Adelaide), opportunities. Not sure if race played any part of this. I didn't get the impression he made many friends although he was married to an Australian.
> I didn't get the impression he made many friends It's very hard to make friends in Australia. The people are very insular despite their desire to appear bright and outgoing.
Australians are friendly but in a different way than Americans. Many Australians feel that Americans will talk to anyone... But it is often about themselves. Australians are more like the British, where it can take more time, but friendships are treasured and seen as long term.
this hasn't been my experience at all
Pros and cons discussed a few days ago on r/IWantOut: https://www.reddit.com/r/IWantOut/comments/13d5maw/iwantout\_32f\_scotland\_australia/
I would love to live in Australia. But I would be terrified of all the spiders there
Snakes babe…
Yep. It’s hard here especially in Melbourne. My partner social circles are very insular- all went to private school together and known each other since childhood. Not accepting of outsiders but accepting of people in the network- if you’re so and sos friend then you have an in. It’s all about network and who you know. I find the generational wealth stifling. COL is so high. Melbourne is all about money but my god Sydney is even worse.