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by Amanda on 22-Aug-2023 13:52:52
One of our facilitators, Amanda, moved from Brisbane to London in the UK to live and work. We asked Amanda about her experience, what life was like in London and jet-setting all over Europe, and why she would recommend living abroad!
Join our Work, Study + Live Abroad program and learn more directly from Amanda who facilitates this program.
'When I thought about moving to the UK I had never travelled overseas without my parents, and I had never been to Europe before. I always knew I wanted to spend lots of time exploring Europe, and it just seemed like a no brainer to be based in the UK while I travelled and explored. So, I moved to the UK, and like many Australians I decided to be based in London. It had everything I needed, and it was a great base to be able to fly all around Europe.'
What differences did you find between the lifestyle in London and Australia?
'London was like no city in Australia. London City itself consisted of 9 million people when I was there – and that’s just in the city. There is a lot of hustle and bustle - tonnes of people, tonnes of noise. But the beauty of a city with this many people is that they have to cater for 9 million people all with different interests. Every day of the week something was happening. I went to pop up art displays, free live music events and heaps of events in the park. There were so many amazing events on all the time. As it is cold in winter, at this time of the year everyone basically sticks inside. But come summer, the parks are full of people taking advantage of what little sun there is. And every park has an event on, so you are spoilt with choice on what to do. I can tell you, you will never be bored in London, even if you just go to the free events.”
Did you get to travel and explore further than London while you were in the UK?
'Another great factor of living in London is that the entirety of Europe is at your doorstep. I would look out for flight sales and spend my weekends jet-setting all over Europe. One of the best bargains I got was when I went to a festival similar to Oktoberfest in Bremen for $20AUD return flights! With flights being relatively cheap at all times, and the flight time short, I spent a lot of time exploring.
The beauty of Europe is that although the countries are quite small in comparison to Australia, each country has a rich and diverse culture unique to them. It’s surprising how much can change in such a short distance. And although they are all unique, when you start making friends with the locals you start to see in the most important ways, we are all the same. Living overseas gave me a great perspective on the world and how to work and live with people of diverse backgrounds with different life experience.”
Why would you recommend living abroad?
'This has been a very valuable experience, especially now working in the travel industry. I believe everyone should live in another country at least once in their life. It was one of the richest and rewarding experiences of my life and if I could do it all over again I would.'
If you have always wanted to live abroad why not combine study and living and working overseas? Find out more about our Work, Study + Live Abroad program now!