Being on a Working Holiday Visa in Australia can be an amazing thing. But there can also be challenges and problems that you have to face. These include running out of money, not being able to find work, getting home sick etc. You can either give up and fly home or be adaptable, flexible and willing to learn new skills. Read on to find out 6 reasons how life in Australia will change you forever.
Life in Australia means New priorities
Australia has no shortage of activities for backpackers to do. Sadly the country is very expensive, so you will not be able to do everything. You learn to become more disciplined with money and have to work out what your priorities are. You won’t spend as much oney as you used to in the pubs if you want to discover the country!
New work environments
Back home you may have just tended to work in offices. But once in Australia, it will be a different story. You will be able to try new jobs, in new environments! Working in a pub, with animals, in a restaurant or on a farm, the possibilities are endless. Changing your work environment gives you the opportunity to acquire new skills and allows you to reflect on the direction you want your career to go. You may realise that in the future you want to do a completely different job that you had in mind before leaving home.
Develop New Interests
Going travelling also allows you to discover new hobbies and interests. A spontaneous trip to the Grampians in Victoria can completely change the direction of my trip. You may find yourself only excited to see the National Parks instead of big cities. You will be able to see plenty of wanderlust scenery in Australia and potentially the neighbouring countries (New Zealand and Indonesia). In a space of a month, you can go from walking in a desert to hiking a glacier.
Get independent
You are going to become more confident and chatty. When you are sharing rooms and dinner tables, you simply cannot blank out the rest of the world. At first, you may feel desperate to do everything as part of a group, but later on you will see that you will happily climb mountains and wander around new cities on your own.
Have some New inspirations
While travelling in Australia you will meet people from all around the world. You will hear countless backpackers discussing stories about travelling in South East Asia and New Zealand. You will connect with these people and forget about the naysayers back home who are telling you to ‘get a real job’ and ‘join the real world’. These other backpackers will inspire you to think in a big bold way.
New lasting Changes
When you do short trips short trips around in Europe or India for example, you usually book your return flights before leaving the UK. And most of all, you usually have a detailed itinerary. In general, you have commitments to come back to and after your trips, you quickly settled back into your old routine and habits. You quickly forget about the poverty in India. You quickly go back to complaining about first world problems.
If you go to Australia for a long period of time, you will certainly quit your job. Therefore you won’t have commitments to come back to. This vague open ended form of travel will have a lasting impact on you. You have the time to reflect on what you truly want out of life. You are able to assess whether your home is where you want to spend the rest of your life. Definitely worth it!
Written by Ross, an adventurous backpacker from UK.
I am on a working holiday visa here in Australia and while I’ve just arrived, I’m already missing home and struggling to find the meaning of actually being here. With difficulties in accom and job search, I kind of forgot the enthusiasm that brought me here. But after reading your post, I felt more at ease and decide to take a step at a time, enjoy the moment and really embrace what this experience will offer. so, thank you Ross!