We’re a nation famed for our love of tea, fish and chips, the Royal Family… and the miserable weather.
Now that the sun has gone into hibernation for another nine months, Britons eager to escape the never-ending rain may be toying with the idea of packing their bags and moving to paradise.
For many, Australia’s luscious beaches and year-round heat will be the idea of bliss.
Thousands make the move down under ever year, boasting of better pay, friendlier people and an incredibly relaxed lifestyle.
Yet the truth is not quite so clear-cut, especially when it comes to the cost of living, as MailOnline can attest.
London and Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, are almost neck-and-neck in terms of cost metrics, according to crowd-sourced data collated by Numbeo.
For example, you’ll have to fork out 32.3 per cent more to enjoy a three course meal for two in London – at £85 vs £61.39.
Yet coffee can be 33.8 per cent more expensive in Australia. A cappuccino in Sydney will set you back £2.65, compared to £3.74 in London.
Beer, however, hits Londoners’ pockets harder than those in Sydney – at around 90p more per pint.
The biggest discrepancy between the two cities comes in the form of utility bills.
Londoners face a staggering 49.6 per cent more expensive monthly water, gas and electricity bill at an average of £254.74, compared with Sydney’s £153.43.
Nursery can be nearly £300 more costly in London at £1,809 per month, while gym memberships average out to almost the same, in the region of £45.
Overall, life in London can be around £500 more expensive per month, according to MailOnline’s analysis of realistic expenses using data from Numbeo.
But on balance, Londoners earn more, taking home £3,573 against £3,232.
Although the cost-of-living is somewhat similar between the two nations, Australians have a higher life expectancy.
Data suggests men down under will live until they’re 81, while women can expect to reach 85. On the other hand, British men are expected to die before turning 80 while women live until they’re 83, on average.
Surprisingly, London also seems to get more sun than Sydney.
Weather trackers estimate that London gets an average of 12 hours, 26 minutes and 26 seconds of daylight hours – ten minutes more than down under. That adds up to an extra 2.5 hours of daylight over a year.
But there’s little debate that Sydney holds the crown in terms of temperature.
According to Google Weather, Sydney’s average temperatures range from 8C in their winter peak of July up to 19C in January. This trounces the UK’s corresponding scores of 4C in January and 15C in July and August.
Numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 32,070 Brits made the move in the 2022-23 financial year.
The number is a far cry from 2006-12, where annual numbers making the trip exceeded 50,000 twice (2007-08 and 2011-12).
But according to experts, the demand is still there and might even be stronger than ever.
Grahame Igglesden, director at visa consultancy service Concept Australia, told MailOnline the Australian government is taking measures into its own hands to try and quell the volume of applications for both temporary and permanent visas.
‘The Australian government runs the programme for its own benefit and so they won’t apologise for the fact people haven’t had their visa accepted – they want to select the best and the brightest,’ he said.
Against pre-pandemic levels, worldwide application numbers for the temporary visas rose 57.8 per cent in 2022-23 to over half a million (553,000).
‘It’s far more challenging to get in today, in years past you got your skills recognised, points calculated and lodge your application and then climb to the top of the pile and get a visa,’ Mr Igglesden explained.
‘But in many cases now if you’re applying as a skilled worker you have to lodge an expression of interest and then wait to be asked to apply by the government.’
Mr Igglesden added that the criteria for which professions are favoured also changes.
‘In the last couple of years, if you were a nurse or medical professional or teacher you were prioritised.
‘But in the last invitational round they switched it so that nurses, teachers were put on the backburner and introduced trade-workers such as plumbers and plasterers at a more favourable points score,’ he said.
Whatever the reason for moving down under, Brits are likely to be in either the ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ camp when comparing it to home.
One woman who moved to Sydney from London, known only as ‘Blond’ on the internet, revealed that all the changes had been positive bar a shocking wildlife experience during a storm.
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