British woman shares the toughest realities she struggled with when moving to Australia

A British woman has shared the struggles she’s faced since moving to Australia from trying to find a house to rent to making new friends. 

Catherine Owen, who’s been living in Australia for four months, revealed the ‘realities’ of moving Down Under from the UK on a holiday visa and many Aussies agreed with her. 

The 26-year-old said she has found it hard to land a job after weeks of setting up a bank account and tax file number. 

She said, while she ‘loves’ Australia, finding a house amid the country’s rental crisis has been ‘the ultimate pain’ and she struggled to find a job.

Catherine was also shocked by how expensive things are in Australia and how big the country is which makes it hard to ‘see everything’. 

She said while she ‘loves’ Australis, finding a house amid the country’s rental crisis has been ‘the ultimate pain’ and she struggled to find a job

Despite the challenges, Catherine told FEMAIL she and her boyfriend have found a room in a share house on the Gold Coast for $400 a week.

She has not yet landed a job but her partner scored a constriction job which he found through a recruitment company.  

‘Don’t get me wrong, this country is so amazing and I love it here but just want to be transparent about some of the difficulties!’ the expat said in a TikTok post.       

‘When you get here you have to set up a bank account and get a tax code which can take a while before you can get a job,’ she said. 

Catherine added many jobs require the candidate to pay for and complete a training course like a Responsible Service of Alcohol certification for hospitality roles and a White Card for the construction industry. 

‘Jobs are so oversaturated and hard to find! Even if you have good experience you might still struggle,’ she wrote.

Catherine took aim at the country’s housing crisis which she called ‘the ultimate pain’. 

‘Renting can be quite difficult as sometimes you’ll need renter’s history or huge deposits,’ she said. 

‘No where to live! Finding places is so difficult and there are so many scammers.’ 

The traveller said everything is so expensive in Australia and she’s struggled balancing work and exploring the country for fear of spending too much money. 

She added Greyhound buses book up very quickly so travel plans need to be planned well in advance.

Catherine said Australia is ‘huge’ making it hard to see everything and is very far away from family with large time differences.  

Her final point is: ‘It’s quite hard to make friends if you aren’t partying and staying in hostels.’

Both Aussies and expats alike said they had experienced many of the same struggles Catherine listed. 

Catherine said everything is so expensive in Australia and she’s struggled balancing work and exploring the country for fear of spending too much money

‘Took me one to two years to establish myself in Australia with a good job and solid friendship group. I’d never leave now so stick at it, it’s worth it,’ one viewer said. 

‘I’ve lived here my whole life and this is exactly how I feel!’ another wrote.

‘It’s literally all the exact same for a Sydney girl moving to London so I know how you feel!! Literally relate to everything you said,’ a third added.  

‘It’s good to see one of these with the true reality of moving to the other side of the world. I had the same issues in reverse,’ a fourth commented.

Not everyone found the move challenging while others offered Catherine some advice to make the shift easier. 

‘I’ve lived here for four plus years and have never found it hard to get a job! I don’t have any degrees/formal qualifications! It’s different for everyone,’ one expat explained. 

‘Bartending is desperate for workers and same as baristas,’ someone suggested.

‘Sydney girl here, moved from Perth and had no friends initially. Downloaded Bumble BFF and met a lot of cool people so definitely look into that,’ a second recommended.