I’m Moving To Australia

Like many of us, I’ve spent the pandemic waiting for life to return to normal. I waited for over a year to get a paid music gig. I waited for countries to reopen one by one, all with dizzying entry requirements. Perhaps most of all I’ve waited for a solid reason to move out of my parents house in the small town where I grew up.

While things still don’t feel “normal” I have felt an uptick in opportunity. Recently I pursued a new cruise job, but nothing came of it. Sometime later I applied to work as a flight attendant on American Airlines, though I never heard back. Then I took four professional orchestra auditions, just one of which landed me on a substitute list.

Meanwhile, Australia reopened for the first time in nearly two years to select visa holders. Australia was the last country I visited in March of 2020 while working on the MS Amsterdam cruise ship. I fell in love with Sydney during the two days I spent there, enticed by its youthful character and natural beauty. At the onset of the pandemic I departed the country via Sydney International Airport. Passing over the city I looked out the window and caught a glimpse of the famous opera house, illuminated in the afternoon sun, and I said to myself:

The next time I see this place, I will live here.

And so nearly two years later I am happy to announce I’ve been granted a 462 subclass Work and Holiday visa and I am officially moving to Australia! It’s not likely to be financially lucrative, but it is my chance to have my next great adventure and stay for a year (or more) while making enough money to wander the country. The visa has a cut-off age of 30 for Americans, so as I approach my 29th birthday I view this as a very now or never situation.

This visa is exactly what I need out of travel at this point in my life. Recent trips have been fantastic, but I crave having some sort of work in order to feel balanced in long term travel. Part of this, I assume is due in part to my previous work on cruise ships. Once you see the world through your job, it is pretty hard to go without.

You might be asking, what kind of work can you do on this visa? – well, I am technically able to work in any job, and because of current labor shortages I am permitted to work for any employer longer than six months (but I probably won’t). I’ve fantasized about working in a coffee shop, an art gallery, or even in patron services at the opera house. I do plan to bring my viola, so maybe I’ll find work in the freelance scene. Oh, and a cool perk of working in Australia is that they have the world’s highest minimum wage!

I don’t want to plan too much of my experience before I leave, that would ruin the fun. However, I definitely want to spend considerable time living in both Sydney and Melbourne – the former being one of the world’s most gay-friendly cities and the latter being known as both the world’s most livable city and as one the coffee capitals of the world. For accomodations, I want to move beyond hostels and try new things such as couchsurfing or even renting an apartment (with roommates, of course – bc these cities aren’t cheap).

This trip is happening almost exactly seven years after I first traveled to London to study abroad. It has the potential to be a similarly life changing experience, and I’m more excited than I’ve been in quite some time to get back out there in the world. Check back in the coming weeks for a post from Sydney, Australia! XOXO