Going to Australia with €10,000 savings. Am I wasting my money?

tomwaterford

roro1990 wrote: »

True. But going to Oz for a year may also increase confidence as its a naturally sociable environment with loads of backpackers to interact with and lose my shyness with. I'm torn between the two though to be honest. It's either go to Oz and look for a job for 2 months or go to Thailand/South Korea and try teach English. I'm just worried if I end up doing both that my chances of employment when i'm home will be slim

this is Ireland...your chances of getting a good job will be slim anyway

im ina very similar position...o=im half thinking of going the end of the summer...where all going well I should have 16K saved up....all going well....will deoend on other things
was hoping to go to Thailand....but cant seem to get anyone yo go....so fcuk it..il go visit me friends


deos anyone know what areas are going well over there at the min?

roro1990

fuzzydunlop85 wrote: »

I'd head to Korea personally, great food, free apartment, cheap booze , hot women and you'll save about 5 grand a year if you have your wits about ya. Lots to see and do and pretty cheap to do it!

I'm extremely tempted but my original plan is Oz. Maybe if that goes tits up or if I have a change of heart when i'm in Thailand.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread the whole shyness and teaching doesnt sound like it'd be a good mix for me at this moment

Venus In Furs

You're young, no ties, 10 grand saved, love travelling... no-brainer IMO - go!

roro1990

Venus In Furs wrote: »

You're young, no ties, 10 grand saved, love travelling... no-brainer IMO - go!

Haha simple and straight to the point. You're right I should go. I'm just having natural doubts about it I suppose cause its so close to the time I leave

RADIORAT

Bad Bad Judgement and Bad Bad Life planing.

Some people seem to think that life should be all about doing what your little heart desires.
Some people actualy do what their little heart desires.
Some people actually regret doing what their little heart desired when the penny drops and they have no future cause they have no training or education to arm themselves for their future.

Be responsible. Go to college. Earn the right to earn a living. Then Holiday when you can afford it.

good luck.

crazygeryy

Look i wouldn't normally do this but there's a horse running at haydock tomorrow in the 215.pm me its a sure thing.

thelad95

RADIORAT wrote: »

Bad Bad Judgement and Bad Bad Life planing.

Some people seem to think that life should be all about doing what your little heart desires.
Some people actualy do what their little heart desires.
Some people actually regret doing what their little heart desired when the penny drops and they have no future cause they have no training or education to arm themselves for their future.

Be responsible. Go to college. Earn the right to earn a living. Then Holiday when you can afford it.

good luck.

Judging by the block capitals in your username, I'm not sure how serious an account this is but a lot of people regret not doing what they wished to do in their youth. Training and education can be secured at any age but travelling can often be a young persons game BEFORE they are tied down by kids or a mortgage. You're last point about him being responsible is irrelevant as he can actually afford this trip and he intends to seek out employment in Australia.

wretcheddomain

Look at what happened in Sydney a couple of months ago - the Sidney Siege - do you really think you'll make it out of Sydney alive given it's a haven for ISIS extremists?

berger89

Hiya OP, best of luck! man after my own heart!

First off, absolute best of luck to you. Went to South America last year for a few months..best experience ever.

Anyways, I've only heard good things about Melbourne..and I think it's consistently rated alongside Vancouver in the top 3 best cities in the world (possibly for chilled out or something), so i think I'd herd there. Sydney is very urban and metropolitan..kind of like Dublin. I was there years ago but only for a few weeks. Melbourne strikes me a place like Galway or Cork.

I wouldn't be worrying too much now about your job prospects for when you return from your travels. That should be the least of your worries You are going on the adventure of a lifetime (cliche, I know, but it's true!)

RADIORAT

Not sure I get the point about my username. The point about posters question is this as far as I can determine.
Ten K is peanuts to travel for a year on in the hope of maybe scrounging a bit of work here or there on the way at invariably low low pay. Its not my little 10 to lose but I am offering him the benefit of my very considerable experience as a very well traveled person and an employer.

If poster completes his education he can write his own job ticket in future. He is 24. not 44. Plenty of time to travel anywhere he wants so take the pain, earn the gain and have a ball.

regards.

weldoninhio

roro1990 wrote: »

What's up AH? I'm 24 and disillusioned with life at home. Social life is sh*t as mates are all whipped, weather is ****, hate my job and I love travelling. I have 10k in the bank and am thinking of going on the 1 year Oz working holiday visa.

My plan is to spend a month in Thailand, a country I've been to twice and adore. My spending will be minimal as the previous 2 times I drank way too much. This time i'm there for relaxation, food and gym.

After that I plan to fly to Sydney on 14th March. I've no idea what job I even want over there and that's the part that worries me. I'm going without a real plan of action. I've also heard Sydney is extremely expensive so i'm starting to doubt if I should even start there. Maybe go to the farms and build up more savings doing the fruit picking work?

Or alternatively, maybe I shouldn't go to Australia at all. I had been thinking of going teaching English in Thailand or possibly South Korea but the issue with that plan is that i'm shy as **** and the thought of standing in front of a class right now terrifies me. Another idea would be to try my hand at starting an online source of income while living in Thailand.

If anyone has any actual advice on my situation that'd be nice. I expect a lot of piss taking posts with this being AH but hopefully some decent perspectives.

My friend works in Thailand teaching English and absolutely loves it. He's been there about 5 years, has set up his own moped/bike business off the back of it and can't see himself back anytime soon.

Do a TEFL before you go, give it a try, if it doesn't work you've lost nothing, and can continue on to Oz, if it does brilliant

berger89

RADIORAT wrote: »

Not sure I get the point about my username. The point about posters question is this as far as I can determine.
Ten K is peanuts to travel for a year on in the hope of maybe scrounging a bit of work here or there on the way at invariably low low pay. Its not my little 10 to lose but I am offering him the benefit of my very considerable experience as a very well traveled person and an employer.

If poster completes his education he can write his own job ticket in future. He is 24. not 44. Plenty of time to travel anywhere he wants so take the pain, earn the gain and have a ball.

regards.

Nah I disagree. I think he should travel now while he has no commitments, and while he is fit and healthy.
I went to South America last year for a few months..saved 10k also, used 3k. And at that, I didn't stop myself from doing anything. That was living comfortably. I think 10k is plenty..obviouskly not to last a year in OZ, but definitely enough to get started for a few months.

TheBeardedLady

roro1990 wrote: »

Yeah, I was thinking that maybe i'm over exaggerating how tough it would be to stand in front of a class when you're shy but I dunno. Good post though

One thing about teaching English, OP, is that it's very interactive and it's not like standing in front of people giving a speech. If you're good at what you do, the amount of time you're "on stage" will be minimal. You're asking them questions, getting them to talk, getting them to do exercises, eliciting grammar from them; the whole point is to get the attention away from yourself and onto them - it's their class and they're the ones who need to practise their English.

I'm not particularly shy but not particularly outgoing either and I don't like the attention to be on me and am only comfortable with that attention if I'm with very good friends and I still get nervous in front of certain groups. One thing you'll learn quick enough is that you're basically acting once you're in the classroom; how am in front of my students in not what I'm like with my friends and family.

I know all kinds of English teachers here and many wouldn't say boo to a ghost outside the classroom but become different people once the door is closed. Don't let your shyness put you off - it's something you'll learn to manage in the class in time.


Go for it though! Enjoy your time while you can.


Edit: As someone else said, go with the intention of doing it temporarily - older TEFL teachers are the grumpiest fookers you'll ever meet. I'm trying my best to get out of it now.

weldoninhio

Daenarys wrote: »

Well done on getting the scholarship, not to easy to get those! Go to Australia, it's the best thing I ever did and I went with 2k in my pocket

I landed in Sydney in 2004 with $40 on me hahaha. Spent the guts of €8k in USA and Fiji in 3 months.

The Diabolical Monocle

Daenarys wrote: »

I'm shocked this wasn't the first post! OP how in gods name have you got 10k saved at 24 years of age???

maybe if he was 17 it'd be shocking. but thats potentially 6 years of earning after secondary. who cant put by around a grand and a half a year.

weldoninhio

RADIORAT wrote: »

Bad Bad Judgement and Bad Bad Life planing.

Some people seem to think that life should be all about doing what your little heart desires.
Some people actualy do what their little heart desires.
Some people actually regret doing what their little heart desired when the penny drops and they have no future cause they have no training or education to arm themselves for their future.

Be responsible. Go to college. Earn the right to earn a living. Then Holiday when you can afford it.

good luck.

Jeez someone seems bitter.

AgileMyth

roro1990 wrote: »

In terms of qualifications, I have a decent bachelors degree so i'm not doing too bad there. I've been around a bit of Asia, I saw Thailand, cambodia (only briefly) and Laos. The teaching would be cool to do but if I do that, then save up more and go to Oz, by the time i'm back in Ireland in say 2.5 years, employers might frown on me being that long away. I dunno tho i'm probably just being pessimistic

The longer you're away the less you'll care about what life back home will be like.

If you decide to return in 2 years and can't find work you'll just get on a plane and find some elsewhere.

Maximus Alexander

OP I went to Australia for a year via Thailand at 26. It was one of the best years of my life. I came back without a pot to piss in, and it probably wasn't very responsible, but I had a great time and met a ton of wonderful people. I wouldn't change a thing. You could wake up dead tomorrow, **** it, just go.

In fact, part of me wants to do it all again and feck off to New Zealand before I turn 30 and can't get a working holiday visa.

Just a little Samba

roro1990 wrote: »

What's up AH? I'm 24 and disillusioned with life at home. Social life is sh*t as mates are all whipped, weather is ****, hate my job and I love travelling. I have 10k in the bank and am thinking of going on the 1 year Oz working holiday visa.

My plan is to spend a month in Thailand, a country I've been to twice and adore. My spending will be minimal as the previous 2 times I drank way too much. This time i'm there for relaxation, food and gym.

After that I plan to fly to Sydney on 14th March. I've no idea what job I even want over there and that's the part that worries me. I'm going without a real plan of action. I've also heard Sydney is extremely expensive so i'm starting to doubt if I should even start there. Maybe go to the farms and build up more savings doing the fruit picking work?

Or alternatively, maybe I shouldn't go to Australia at all. I had been thinking of going teaching English in Thailand or possibly South Korea but the issue with that plan is that i'm shy as **** and the thought of standing in front of a class right now terrifies me. Another idea would be to try my hand at starting an online source of income while living in Thailand.

If anyone has any actual advice on my situation that'd be nice. I expect a lot of piss taking posts with this being AH but hopefully some decent perspectives.

Your idea of fecking off for a year is a solid one, I just think you picked the wrong country.

Anywhere in Northern Europe and North America would have been a better option. You could have got a 1 year visa for the US or Canada. Less drunk Irish people to drag you into bars and piss your savings against a wall, Plenty of jobs if you know were to look (BC, Alberta in Canada, Northern Cali/Oregon/WA in the US), cost of living not as insane as Oz either.

JONJO THE MISER

RADIORAT wrote: »

Bad Bad Judgement and Bad Bad Life planing.

Some people seem to think that life should be all about doing what your little heart desires.
Some people actualy do what their little heart desires.
Some people actually regret doing what their little heart desired when the penny drops and they have no future cause they have no training or education to arm themselves for their future.

Be responsible. Go to college. Earn the right to earn a living. Then Holiday when you can afford it.

good luck.

Sounds like someone that is bitter that they never done what they wanted and now regret it.
Dont put your views on other people just cause you missed out in not doing what you wanted.
Travel and do what you want, you will have a better education in life than someone who never ever travels and goes straight to work after college climbing there way up to make money and get into debt so they can buy things they dont need to try to make themselves happy and get deeper in debt and spend the rest of there lives trapped paying off that debt, if that is someones idea of living, fair play, but to me life is to be lived, travel and be feckless or do whatever you want that makes you happy.

Gael23

This should be in the dedicated Australia forum where there will be people that have done what the OP intends to do.

augustus gloop

Just a little Samba wrote: »

Your idea of fecking off for a year is a solid one, I just think you picked the wrong country.

Anywhere in Northern Europe and North America would have been a better option. You could have got a 1 year visa for the US or Canada. Less drunk Irish people to drag you into bars and piss your savings against a wall, Plenty of jobs if you know were to look (BC, Alberta in Canada, Northern Cali/Oregon/WA in the US), cost of living not as insane as Oz either.

gotta love this small minded chite constantly churned out at home. I have lived here almost 9 years now and I still have to meet one of these gangs of Irish lads waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting Irish lad and drag him into a pub. Sure he can decide when and where he socialises.
This misconception about everyone in Australia just pissing it up is utter bull****... why doesn't George Hook and all the other clowns report on the many Irish successful businesses here along with the thousands of hours of charity work carried out by Irish people weekly.

FactCheck

roro1990 wrote: »

I hope to open my eyes to possible new career paths as I don't particularly enjoy my current one. I'm in this sort of quarter life crisis of not knowing wtf I really wanna do in life in terms of my career.

This is from a while back but nobody else commented on it.

I don't mean this question in a smart or nasty way. This is purely coming from being a bit older and having seen lots of friends in the same place as you, trying to figure the same stuff out.

How exactly are your career questions going to be resolved by spending 12-24 months working in a bar or doing manual farm labour?

They won't be. You will not gain any clarity doing minimum wage work other than to be resolved that minimum wage work is rubbish.

If you want to take a breather to figure out a quarter life crisis (I'm not sneering at that term at all btw, I have known LOADS of people in your position, it's tough) you will have your best chance to do that if you go ahead with your plan to spend a couple of months on a beach in Thailand working out and not drinking. You will not gain anything else by drinking 10k away in bar in Sydney.

My advice? I don't think you need to talk to a load of backpackers to figure out your dream career. I think you probably already know what it is but you don't quite have the confidence to admit it or go for it. I think that by far the best way for you to take advantage of that 10k (an amazing achievement for a 24 yo from your background, and an asset many others would love to have) and go and do a prestigious, helpful unpaid internship in your dream field. Somewhere like New York or London.

Or - you had great success in academia - if you want to go back, use the money to visit Ivy League campuses, or keep it to fund you in a postgrad at Oxbridge or similar. If you think you aren't qualified enough, find out what you lack and put the money towards achieving that.

You will be told over and over that 30 is the new 20, that everyone pisses away a few years in their 20s, and... that's not a lie, exactly. It is true that you can still retrain or pursue a dream job at 30. Loads do it and many of them succeed. But it's really not the case that these years are meaningless or worthless and you can afford to spend them however you please. The younger you are when you figure this out, the better. The easier your path to it will be.

So go to Australia and spend a year working minimum wage jobs surrounded by backpackers if you think it will be fun and life enhancing and all the rest. I'm just saying, do it with your eyes open career-wise. It's not likely to give you clarity you don't already have, and the money could be put to better use for your career. But if the fun is more important right now, that's cool. Just go for it with your eyes open about the choice you're making!

Caveman1

Go for it. I'm in Sydney at the moment and absolutely love it. I'm in a job that I never even thought I would be doing and I'm not in the process of getting sponsored to stay, my advice would don't plan out things too much, you have more than enough money to keep you going for a while. Come, meet people and enjoy yourself the rest will work itself out.

keithclancy

Only way to know for sure OP is to try it.

Although I would say its not really necessary to go as far as Thailand or Australia, I've live in Holland for the past 7 years and I love it there.

I thought the weather was the same but been back in Ireland a month now and its feels much colder, I guess because its more damp

The only way to truly enjoy a place is to stop trying to find similarities with where you came from and just accept everything for what it is.

lightspeed

The question i think you need to ask is are unhappy with your life and just looking for a holiday from it or should you be looking to something that will change to make you happy on a long term permanent basis?

What im getting at is when you leave for Australia, if it is case that you grow tired of low paid back breaking fruit picking? what then? No doubt you will return home and within a few weeks feel how you feel now and maybe regret that you didnt spend your money and time more efficiently?

You mentioned that you dont like the job your in. Well would you not look into doing college part time if needed to get a qualification in doing a job you do want to do?

At least then even it a few years down the line, you could move abroad and find more reliable sustainable work elsewhere.

I work in a low paid customer services job and ive been studying the past few years to be an accountant. Its difficult at times but i find it quite fulfilling and worthwhile. There is also a decent social aspect to college which would help you expand your social circle and gain more confidence.

A guy i work with left for Australia last year. When he first told me he was going, i asked him what was his plan when he returns given that he has little to no qualifications. I told him that he will likely enjoy the long holiday, come back in a few months, be on the dole and regret ever leaving the job he is despite all of us hating the job and there being a number of issues in the company.


He came back after a few months, was on the dole and regretted leaving and is now back working with me in the same company but on a newbie wage which is now minimum wage in this company.

I dont want to sound so negative but i think you need to ask are you just looking for a quick change cause you are not happy with your current life or do you want something long term to change?

lightspeed

Caveman1 wrote: »

Go for it. I'm in Sydney at the moment and absolutely love it. I'm in a job that I never even thought I would be doing and I'm not in the process of getting sponsored to stay, my advice would don't plan out things too much, you have more than enough money to keep you going for a while. Come, meet people and enjoy yourself the rest will work itself out.

But it might not. What evidence is there to think that if the OP goes abroad and enjoys himself for few months/year and comes back to the dole or similar job he does not like that he will be happy?

He could just feel worse when he gets back and nothing has changed to life back in Ireland except he has much less money to live off of?

Only the OP can analyse the above and decide what he wants but this idea that you just blow some money for long holiday in Australia or elsewhere and without having any plan for the future is a theory based on hope and prayer. Its a very religious approach that personally id never take.

dellas1979

SuprSi wrote: »

You're 24 and you've 10k savings? That could partly explain your **** social life!

That is the most stupid/under mining of confidence thing (probably to make yourself feel better) Ive ever read on boards (here is a passive aggressive smiley face

News flash:
- Social life doesnt mean going out getting trashed week in/week out.
- He now has 10g gs to go travelling/set himself up in Australia.
- He says he is shy (holy god, could this be the reason for so many young people going out getting smashed, and thinking thats a social life? To cover up shyness? Maybe people would have more money if they actually dealt with their shyness and stop covering it up with alcohol. Weewee'ing it away).

The Strawman Argument

Dunno why you'd pick Australia in particular when you've the US and Canada as alternatives but I say go for it. If you've managed to save up that kind of money at 24, you're more than capable of surviving and bouncing back from whatever risk you'd be taking with the move.

Regarding the shyness and teaching thing, I'm pretty socially awkward and shy myself but wound up doing a pretty wide range of teaching work last year. The dynamic is totally different to that of a regular social interaction and I found it pretty easy and occasionally enjoyable. I believe if you do a CELTA you'll both get some teaching experience during the course and have good enough of a qualification to get work in most of Asia easily enough (Japan might be tricky? I'm not super knowledgeable about it)

roro1990

RADIORAT wrote: »

Not sure I get the point about my username. The point about posters question is this as far as I can determine.
Ten K is peanuts to travel for a year on in the hope of maybe scrounging a bit of work here or there on the way at invariably low low pay. Its not my little 10 to lose but I am offering him the benefit of my very considerable experience as a very well traveled person and an employer.

If poster completes his education he can write his own job ticket in future. He is 24. not 44. Plenty of time to travel anywhere he wants so take the pain, earn the gain and have a ball.

regards.

Invariably low pay? Where did you get that notion from? I know people who have gone to Oz and been on 1600 a week. Not saying that I will earn that much, but if I've managed to save up 10k by 24 years of age, that should probably suggest to you that I don't piss money away and am inclined to get enough money to not blow my money over there.

roro1990

The Strawman Argument wrote: »

Dunno why you'd pick Australia in particular when you've the US and Canada as alternatives but I say go for it. If you've managed to save up that kind of money at 24, you're more than capable of surviving and bouncing back from whatever risk you'd be taking with the move.

I've been to the US on a J1 and hated it to be honest. Ended up in some kip of a small town with nothing going for it. Canada was a viable option I guess, but as someone who loves beaches and good weather Australia seemed ideal.

roro1990

lightspeed wrote: »

But it might not. What evidence is there to think that if the OP goes abroad and enjoys himself for few months/year and comes back to the dole or similar job he does not like that he will be happy?

He could just feel worse when he gets back and nothing has changed to life back in Ireland except he has much less money to live off of?

Only the OP can analyse the above and decide what he wants but this idea that you just blow some money for long holiday in Australia or elsewhere and without having any plan for the future is a theory based on hope and prayer. Its a very religious approach that personally id never take.

There is no evidence whatsoever that I'll be happy when i'm back - because I haven't even went there yet. I know what i'm doing is a risk that could backfire, hence my doubts about it. But if I went to Australia, worked and travelled around for a year and got to come home with about 4k in the bank, met loads of new people and completely outgrew my shyness that'd be worth every penny to me, even if I was still unsure about my career.

Just a little Samba

roro1990 wrote: »

I've been to the US on a J1 and hated it to be honest. Ended up in some kip of a small town with nothing going for it. Canada was a viable option I guess, but as someone who loves beaches and good weather Australia seemed ideal.

Or you know, you could hit the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, Southern Cali, Denver, Boulder or any of two dozen other large cities on the western sea board with good jobs markets.

Where you ended up on a J1 isn't representatives or a nation larger than mainland Europe. It's like saying you had a crap holiday in a south England centreparks so you wouldn't recommend going to Denmark.

roro1990

FactCheck wrote: »

This is from a while back but nobody else commented on it.

I don't mean this question in a smart or nasty way. This is purely coming from being a bit older and having seen lots of friends in the same place as you, trying to figure the same stuff out.

How exactly are your career questions going to be resolved by spending 12-24 months working in a bar or doing manual farm labour?

They won't be. You will not gain any clarity doing minimum wage work other than to be resolved that minimum wage work is rubbish.

If you want to take a breather to figure out a quarter life crisis (I'm not sneering at that term at all btw, I have known LOADS of people in your position, it's tough) you will have your best chance to do that if you go ahead with your plan to spend a couple of months on a beach in Thailand working out and not drinking. You will not gain anything else by drinking 10k away in bar in Sydney.

My advice? I don't think you need to talk to a load of backpackers to figure out your dream career. I think you probably already know what it is but you don't quite have the confidence to admit it or go for it. I think that by far the best way for you to take advantage of that 10k (an amazing achievement for a 24 yo from your background, and an asset many others would love to have) and go and do a prestigious, helpful unpaid internship in your dream field. Somewhere like New York or London.

!

Minimum wage work possibly is rubbish, I dunno. Being from a working class background I know plenty of people who do bar work and live happy lives. I agree that I won't gain anything from drinking away 10k in a bar in Sydney, but where did I mention that was my intention? My intention is to go over there, meet loads of people, get rid of my shyness, see a beautiful country, enjoy warm weather and keep alcohol to a minimum.

I genuinely don't have a clue what my dream career is. I've never really had a serious passion in life, I was blessed with being book smart but nothing ever interested me enough to pursue as a dream career so I just went for a high paying job in college. Teaching is a possibility but I wouldn't call it a dream career. I like writing so starting a blog of some sort would be cool, but again it's not something I have a burning desire for.

Larianne

OP, I did the exactly same thing as you at aged 25. Had 10 grand saved. Went travelling for 2 years around South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The trip open my eyes to so much and made me think about what I wanted to do with my life.
I came home, applied for college as a mature student to study something I always wanted to do, but was afraid I wouldn't be able for. I completed my degree almost two years ago and now work in a profession that I love.

Just ask yourself what is the worst that can happen?!

(One tip: stay away from scooters in Thailand. )

roro1990

sugarman wrote: »

Why in the name of jaysus is Australia the only place Irish people think they can go to work?

-Its unoriginal
-Its full of other Irish
-You'll be working with said Irish, hanging out, drinking, living etc..
-More than likely working crap jobs
-Its thousands of miles from home, and expensive to get back and forth
-You need a visa

EUROPE IS ON YOUR DOORSTEP!

-Define originality. It's a country 20,000 km away on the opposite side of earth with thousands of unique species of wildlife. Sounds pretty original to me.
-I don't dislike Irish people so I don't see the problem there.
-I know 2 people who were in Australia and they barely hung out with Irish people at all.
-More than likely but not definitely. I have a good degree and a years experience in that field. I could most likely get temp office work which is hardly a crap job.
-I'm paying 700 euro to get there, hardly breaking the bank. And I won't be going back and forth.
-Yup, that's a pain in the arse allright

Go on a two week holiday (Not to Oz) and keep the bulk of the 10k for going towards a house deposit. You will be thankful in a few years rather than wasting it.

suicide_circus

10k saved at 24....sounds like you have a sweet job already

roro1990

Just a little Samba wrote: »

Or you know, you could hit the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, Southern Cali, Denver, Boulder or any of two dozen other large cities on the western sea board with good jobs markets.

Where you ended up on a J1 isn't representatives or a nation larger than mainland Europe. It's like saying you had a crap holiday in a south England centreparks so you wouldn't recommend going to Denmark.

I never said that the US was a **** country or anything, i'm sure its wonderful. And i'll definitely go back. I just personally didn't like it due to my own experience there. But sure enjoy twisting my post to suit your narrative.

Just a little Samba

roro1990 wrote: »

I genuinely don't have a clue what my dream career is. I've never really had a serious passion in life, I was blessed with being book smart but nothing ever interested me enough to pursue as a dream career so I just went for a high paying job in college. Teaching is a possibility but I wouldn't call it a dream career. I like writing so starting a blog of some sort would be cool, but again it's not something I have a burning desire for.

From what you're saying, I'd highly recommend you skip Oz and North America and just stay in South East Asia or move on to South America or Mainlain Europe.

You'll be forced to step out of your shell, be forced to meet people and probably have a better time.

Do some English teaching in Thailand or Vietnam, meet up with other ex-pat teachers over there from all over the anglophone world or work as a tour guide in Berlin or a barista in Stockholm or bar man in Quito or Buenos Aires.

Try it, make new friends, learn a new language if you're pushed, have a completely new experience and not just default to living surrounded by Irish/British/Other English speaking people.

PizzamanIRL

Money spent is never wasted. Worst case scenario you find yourself in is you're broke in Sydney and become a sex worker to pay for a ticket back home. From that, you will learn if you like selling your body or not. Therefore the money is not wasted.

Like I said, that's just the worst case.

Larianne

Dominik Worried Ranch wrote: »

Go on a two week holiday (Not to Oz) and keep the bulk of the 10k for going towards a house deposit. You will be thankful in a few years rather than wasting it.

Who says he'll be wasting it ?

Just a little Samba

Dominik Worried Ranch wrote: »

Go on a two week holiday (Not to Oz) and keep the bulk of the 10k for going towards a house deposit. You will be thankful in a few years rather than wasting it.

That's the worst advice in this thread.

Tugboats

Hi OP you mentioned trying to generate an online income and living in Thailand. You should consider Chiang Mai its full of digitial nomads

The Strawman Argument

roro1990 wrote: »

I've been to the US on a J1 and hated it to be honest. Ended up in some kip of a small town with nothing going for it.

Presumably you were with some friends who were just looking for some cheap place to drink loads. You'd be able to pick wherever, San Francisco, CA is gonna be a hell of a lot different to Bumblef*ck, NC.


Thanks for giving some clarification though, you don't really need to explain why. If you've a good feeling about a place, go for it!

catbear

I saw go for it. You're in your 20s, have fun!

Just one word of caution regarding Australia at the moment. Be prepared to take work in ****ty boring regional towns to get by, things are slowing down here. You'd probably pick up bar/catering work but office work will be harder to get and recruiting companies can be very slow here. I was getting calls for work I'd applied for 10months before!

New Zealand is doing well though si if oz isn't happening then just jump the ditch.

LorMal

roro1990 wrote: »

Because I love travelling. I hope to meet loads of new people, have great experiences and I hope to open my eyes to possible new career paths as I don't particularly enjoy my current one. I'm in this sort of quarter life crisis of not knowing wtf I really wanna do in life in terms of my career.

Please do it. I promise you wont regret it. I am 25 years older than you and I would gladly donate my right testicle to be your age again and about to embark on a great adventure.
Don't stay here fretting - be free!!!!

TheBeardedLady

OP, I'd really recommend South America. You could teach there and your money would last longer. I spent a year there and would kill to go back but that ship has passed. You'd have a great time there.

Lia_lia

Dominik Worried Ranch wrote: »

Go on a two week holiday (Not to Oz) and keep the bulk of the 10k for going towards a house deposit. You will be thankful in a few years rather than wasting it.

Zzzzz.

Go for OP. I have many friends in Oz and they love it there. And not all of them spend all their time with Irish people in Irish bars believe or not! I am around the same age as you and sometimes wish I moved off to a different country for a few years. I'm happy out here and have a good job that would be silly to leave for now, but maybe in the future!

TheBeardedLady

roro1990 wrote: »

-Define originality. It's a country 20,000 km away on the opposite side of earth with thousands of unique species of wildlife. Sounds pretty original to me.
-I don't dislike Irish people so I don't see the problem there.
-I know 2 people who were in Australia and they barely hung out with Irish people at all.
-More than likely but not definitely. I have a good degree and a years experience in that field. I could most likely get temp office work which is hardly a crap job.
-I'm paying 700 euro to get there, hardly breaking the bank. And I won't be going back and forth.
-Yup, that's a pain in the arse allright

Good answers. You sound like you've your head screwed on. I think you'll have a great time wherever you go - could be the making of you!