When I was still toying with the idea of traveling overseas and possibly working I was split on where to go. How do you decide what part of the great big world you want to see first? Do you think of places your friends had been too. Or do you draw ideas from internet forums, TV, movies and the like.
Being that I live in Australia if your not seeing Asia everything else is a bloody long flight away. So I attempted to reason it out.
I have a friend in America I’d love to visit but after looking at visa’s, it was going to be too hard to just rock up and work. Don’t forget that trying to find a job over there is like looking for a needle in a haystack (at least that’s how our media paints it).
If not America I thought perhaps Asia. Its closer to home so no 24 hour plane flight, things are cheap and I’d been there before. What ruled out Asia for me was the fact that I would rather lay on the sunny beaches, sip singapore slings and generally be a no good lazy ass backpacker while there. I wanted to soak up the sun in Asia not work. I also thought that after working abroad it might be nice to slowly filter down through Asia back home to Australia.
Then I turned to the UK. It was the best idea even before I’d thought about it. Not only had friends got visa’s to live and work in the UK before and thoroughly enjoyed it. The visa had also undergone an overhaul allowing me the ability to stay and work for 2 years instead of the previous 1 year. The only proviso is that I get my lazy aussie ass there before my 31st birthday or no visa for you.
The decision had been made. It was rather exciting, snow was the first thought that came to mind. Living in the sun burnt country that I do it was always something that I intended to see one day. Knowing that the first time I will experience it was to be in a completely different country I wondered what other new things I might stumble upon.
My last concern about finding a place to go was work. Now I knew finding work in the UK may not be too easy. But with my country work ethic, a love for beer and more enthusiasm that a dog trying to dry hump your leg I was confident I’d find something when the time came around.
One question that I am yet to answer for myself and maybe you can shed some light on. Would you seek work in your chosen career when faced with the wonders of a new country or try your hand at something new?
Good plan, and good question. I think I’m more inclined to work in my field, as I’d get paid better and the experience would be great. On the other hand, jobs in the service industry might free up more time to travel.
Hey Candice, its something I’m torn on. Getting work in my chosen field is the least difficult path as I know what I’m doing. It would be great to add to my resume for future jobs as well. The biggest challenge would be adjusting to new co-workers and different ways of doing things.
Picking up a job in a completely different occupation will have a new learning curve and possibly reduced pay packet. In saying that though its a new adventure, and may turn out to be very rewarding as well as allowing more travel time like you say.
Time will tell, I’m determined not to over plan myself. Go with the flow will be my motto.
When I did my 2 years in the UK I didn’t have a field of work, so that made my decision easy enough. If you can find work in your field then that is a bonus. I think the main thing is to just get over there and worry about what you will do once you are on the ground.
Hi James,
I pretty much on that line of thinking now. Just turn up and see whats around. I don’t want to up and leave a full time job only to land in another country and do more full time work. Of course I’ll always jump for the right amount of dollars after all it means lover spent on the road 🙂
Hey Aussie Nomad,
great blog, Thom and I are doing a reverse of your trip; travelling through the States in June this year (about a week before you by the sound of it) before NZ and getting to Oz in about November.
We’re going to be working whilst we’re there (for about a year) and I could be a photographer (my part time business here) or a managing organisational change and corporate blah blah for Govt (full time job here); one has more excitment and creativity and the other has a lot more money.
Then there’s the other alternative which is to do something completely without responsibility – like a retail assistant – which has less money, but less pressure.
I’m probably going to have to work this one through.
My tip for the UK; come to London – have some fun, see the sights, maybe even work for month. Then, LEAVE, and check out somewhere far more interesting like Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds or my home city of Cardiff. You’ll get a much richer experience and there may be fewer Ozzies (bad = minority, good = you won’t end up in a Australian London ghetto).
And finally to get back to work; this is a weird thought but does the demographic of who you would work with affect the demographic of who your friends would be? I say that because I’m saying work in retail but only two of my friends work in retail and they’re both managers – and one’s about to leave to travel!
Have fun!
Hey Sean what a comment 🙂 Good luck on your trip, I’d love to see Canada/America but that will depend on the dollars I earn in the UK.
If your willing to work here you will get a job. It may not be the job of your dreams but as long as it pays the bills and affords you some drinking money does it really matter? I love the idea of working in something completely different but the love for my IT career may win out. Seeing as you guys are over there what is the job market like?
I’m well aware of the Aussie ghetto’s that populate London and will aim to avoid them because if I want to hang out with a heap of Aussie’s I’d just stay home now wouldn’t I. I would love to visit Cardiff only because I’m a Torchwood fan 🙂 Where I end up will be dependent on the work I get, I’d love to move around to a couple of places. Spend some time in London and was looking at Edinburgh also.
The whole idea of travel for me is to see things and get out there. Whats the point in spending 2 years in the same spot when there is so much to see. As for the friends vs job you work question. It would depend on the type of retail work you decide on. Stacking shelves in a supermarket isn’t likely to garner you the same type of friends as say working for a large department store. You would also find that hospitality staff are more inclined to want to go out and see things given the career they work. Given you guys are looking at hanging around in Melbourne there will be plenty of job choices for you, pick and choose till you find what you like 🙂