I’ve met lots of migrants while living and travelling in Australia. Many people love their new home, but there are a few who don’t. Some people decide to go back to the UK because they miss it too much.
I’ve come to realise there are certain qualities that make you more likely to make Australia your forever home. Here is a list of ten of them. Of course, you don’t need all ten of these qualities, but the more of them that you can tick off, the easier you’ll find it to settle into your new home and thrive here.
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Ten qualities that will help you thrive in Australia
You love the outdoors and the sun.
Australia is all about the sunshine and the outdoor lifestyle. It’s one of the main reasons we moved. If you dislike sunshine and hot weather, then consider your options carefully. Tasmania could be a cooler choice, or even New Zealand where you still have the lifestyle opportunities without the intense heat.
You have a positive mindset.
Positive people make good things happen. You create your own reality: if you believe everything is going to work out and be great, then there is a good chance that it will be because you will make it so. Arrive in Australia thinking the worst, then you’re likely to experience the worst too. And the more negative things that happen, the more it will fuel your negativity and you’ll get stuck in a vicious cycle that is hard to escape from. Everyone has the power to control their own mind. If you can turn your problems and obstacles into opportunities, then you can create an incredible home anywhere you choose.
You respect other people’s advice, but you’re able to follow your own path in life.
Not everyone will agree with your move to Australia, and it is hard to go against advice (especially from trusted friends and family members) unless you are confident enough in your own decisions. You need to be willing to make your own choices and be willing to take risks. And you need to believe that even if things don’t work out as you’d hoped then it will have been a valuable learning experience.
Trying new things excites you.
Of course, trying new things might also scare the pants off you too – but pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is something that gives you a big confidence boost and makes you feel amazing.
You love to travel.
Moving to the other side of the world opens up all kinds of new travel opportunities. Instead of Fiji or New Caledonia being 20 hours and two flights away, you may be able to hop over for a long weekend. Even if you don’t leave the country, there will be a whole world of new holiday locations to visit and explore just a short car ride away. If you love visiting new places, then moving to a new location opens up so many destinations to you that would otherwise have been out of your reach. If travel doesn’t float your boat, then how will you get to know your new home and fall in love with it?
You are willing to make an effort with people.
Making new friends takes time and energy. While in the UK it is easy to go to the pub with your old friends who know you inside out, in Australia you will need to be willing to make an effort to meet new people and get to know them. You will need to attend meet ups, invite other parents out for coffee after the school drop off, go for drinks after work and go along to community events and get chatting to strangers. Having a reliable network of mates does so much to improve your emotional wellbeing. If you don’t make new friends here, then you’re likely to focus on what you left behind instead of what is in front of you.
You aren’t scared of working hard to get the life of your dreams.
You understand that the greatest rewards only come from putting in the effort. My favourite quote sums it up: Nothing worth doing is easy, otherwise everyone would be doing it. Moving abroad involves a lot of work for a year, but it is short-term pain for long-term gain.
You don’t keep your property in the UK ‘just in case’.
The way to make Australia your forever home is to go for it 100%, without safety nets. I’m not saying you can’t keep a UK home as an investment, but don’t view it as your ‘back-up plan’ for in case it doesn’t work out here. If you don’t fully commit to your new life in Australia, how are you ever going to put down new roots and make it feel like your home?
You can see the big picture and are willing to make sacrifices for the lifestyle gain.
Moving to the other side of the world is expensive and your finances will likely take a few years to recover, but you can see beyond the risks. The move is about improving your lifestyle and you can’t put a price on that. If you’re only moving for financial gain (for instance if you’ve been offered a much higher paying job and your moving expenses are being covered) then you’re unlikely to commit to Australia in the same way as somebody who has risked their financial stability to get there. That’s not to say you can’t thrive here if an employer paid for you to get here, but if the money was your only motivator in moving here then you’re likely to be more attached to the work opportunity than the lifestyle and it’s the lifestyle which will make this place feel like home, not the cash incentive.
You are willing to embrace your new home.
If you keep referring to the UK as ‘home’, you are constantly telling family that you wish you were there with them, and you tell everyone you meet how much you miss the UK, you will become immersed in sad thoughts about what you are missing. Instead, turn your mind around. Refer to Australia as your home. Tell people you wish they were here instead. Focus on everything you have here and why you moved – celebrate the awesomeness of everything from spotting a wild koala in a tree to the weirdness that is eating smashed avocado on sourdough toast for breakfast. Go whale watching. Visit a tropical island. Hand feed a kangaroo. Embrace all of the new experiences you are privileged to that wouldn’t have been possible if you’d stayed put.
It’s all in your head…
That’s just ten of the qualities that will help you get settled in Australia. It doesn’t matter if these qualities don’t all come naturally to you – some take more effort than others. What I want to leave you with is the fact that YOU have the power to control whether you are going to love it here or hate it, and only you. So decide if the move is for you, and make it happen with bucket loads of positivity.
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