“You feel like you’re living a more luxurious lifestyle in comparison.”

The OP was an Australian, who gave some context as to why they were asking.

"Is there a perception in the UK that Australia is some kind of paradise? Apart from having warmer weather (which is obviously a plus if you enjoy the sun), Australia also has its own challenges, like I mentioned above. There are plenty of other countries with good climates too, so I'm curious why there is an influx of so many people from the UK wanting to move to Australia.

For any Brits who have moved recently, is Australia really better than the UK at the moment?"

"As someone who’s lived in both places – the UK and Australia, I feel relatively qualified to answer this fairly.

Weather, of course. Dependent on where you live, but generally it’s a much happier and more relaxed place, likely due to much higher vitamin D levels.

Generally higher wages. For example, it seems most jobs on the desired jobs skill list can earn more $ in Australia, with a better quality of life and lifestyle.

The quality of life is much better than the UK. It’s an outdoor lifestyle with the weather – there are BBQs by the beach, free to use for the public, that are kept nice and clean. The use of public things is generally respected in comparison to the UK. Huge outdoor play centres for children, near beautiful beaches, local rainforests to explore, lots of fun activities on a weekend. The local council where I lived put on fun, free activities on the beach on a weekend, like camel riding etc. It’s a lovely place to raise a family too, and there are plenty of things to do! People aren’t stuck inside due to the weather, trying to keep the kids off their iPads.

Houses are bigger due to more space. You feel like you’re living a more luxurious lifestyle in comparison.

A clean, safe place with a good culture. It’s almost a mix of the best parts of the UK, and it’s incredibly Americanised, and with the patriotism of the USA...

Generally, living there can afford a much nicer quality of life for the average person. The lifestyle is great – finish work and go straight to the beach. The wages are higher, the weather is better, and the culture is similar to England. Australia is heavily linked to the UK, and its head of state is a British monarch. After all, it was a collection of English colonies, therefore the language, humour and culture are very similar to what people like and feel comfortable with about the UK.

"Australia really is far away. You miss your family, friends and support unit a lot. It’s expensive and a long way for people to travel, so if they can afford to come, it might be once a year if you are lucky. If you are travelling and without children, it’s obviously a different ballgame. If you can cope with and manage that, or if you don’t have a support system in the UK, that can work! The one and only person I know who has moved over officially didn’t have any family here.

The housing crisis is crazy. I don’t know how people would ever afford it – some of my Australian friends have bought property overseas and have since emigrated elsewhere, or just rent and most likely will never buy. I appreciate that’s the same in some places in the UK (as with most things cost-of-living related), but in the big cities in Australia it’s very difficult to find rental properties due to demand and astronomical costs.

Visas are difficult. It can make it difficult if you want to work or stay long term. It’s hard to get sponsored to become a citizen – not impossible, but it can be very difficult! Not sure if it’s still a thing, but when I was there you had to complete farm work in order to stay in the country longer. Hard, long, exhausting work.

Competition is really high for jobs, so employees can be treated poorly, especially on the East Coast, for example, where there are frequent travellers looking for work. If you do want to leave, there are five people waiting at the door with work visas, and they know that – it’s often used to the businesses’ advantage. I worked for a company for a year over there whilst travelling, with very few rights (in comparison to Australian colleagues) and no sick pay or holiday pay etc.

Medicare. It’s a different model to the UK. We are very lucky to have the NHS – we had to have private health insurance. That’s also something to consider!

Travel – as it’s so isolated, it’s not like living in the UK where you can pop across to mainland Europe and visit incredible places relatively cheaply. We once flew for 3+ hours and were still in the same state!

It’s expensive. Like, really expensive. We had a nice lifestyle as we lived in an apartment with four people in a less popular small city, so everything was split four ways – rent, food, utilities. My friend lived in Sydney and had a mattress on the floor with about 10 people in a pretty small flat. I remember that fresh fruit and vegetables were expensive. Other things too, like cheese. At the time, it was way more expensive than it was in the UK. Prices were high for things that could not be easily or cheaply imported. However, the cost of living in the UK is also ridiculous now – the cost of living in Australia has always been high, but wages often evened it out (or bringing a better exchange rate currency from elsewhere)! We haven’t been back post-COVID, but I can’t see it being much different to the UK now for the general cost of living!

Overall, like any country, it has pros and cons.

Again, this is my own experience and will differ greatly depending on where you choose to live, work and rent. I did not live in Sydney. It’s like comparing costs in London to Leeds. I’m answering from my own lived experience of living in both countries – honest and fair.

I agree that the average person has a good or better quality of life in Australia, but it is not easy to move to the other side of the world, and there are both light and dark sides. I’ve tried to fairly highlight both lists! I am someone who lived in Australia and moved back to the UK to settle. I can also definitely see why a lot of people choose to stay there. It’s an awesome place!"

"As an ancient and historical architecture lover, I get what you mean. British cities definitely have a much more visible history and architecture, which gives them character. I think, since most of the urban development is post-18th century, we don’t have the same architectural history.

The 'soul' of Australian cities is expressed differently, with more focus on ways of living and activities (hipster lifestyle, surfing lifestyle, coffee culture, etc.). It’s also worth remembering that Indigenous Australian history goes back tens of thousands of years. It’s just expressed differently (land, rock art, oral history, cultural sites) rather than through city architecture."

"There is that perception here, and in many ways it is founded for the average person. I say 'average' very deliberately; there is more money to be made in the UK, but lower lows in terms of deprivation. Pay (unless you're in select industries) is better in Australia. I weep when I see job postings for equivalent roles in Sydney. I had to change industries to get an equivalent standard of living in London.

Having said all that, I think the two countries are facing cost-of-living pressures, and, like all things, there are pros and cons. People ask me why I'm here without understanding that, in order to afford a beachside property in Bondi or whatever, you need long working hours or a lot of money. Job mobility is also much easier in the UK, as there are simply more employers.

And why many folk go to Australia in particular? Probably because of the cultural similarity. It's abroad, but not too dissimilar."

It’s not home. Your friendships from your formative years can never be replaced. You miss birthdays, weddings etc. Culturally, you stick out as you don’t have the same childhood, teenage years, memories, music etc. Most expats I know are always scratching around for friendship groups. Australia just feels (to me) isolated, generally speaking. Like the world is doing its thing and Australia just exists in its own ecosystem down under. Most cities are built near water and close to the coast. It all feels a bit samey after a while. House prices are wild. The cost of living is not that different from the UK, all things considered. I’m better off in Australia, but a lot of people are doing it tough.

I’m coming back to the UK for two years to care for elderly parents and, to be honest, despite the reasons for coming back not being great, I cannot wait! I’ve visited the UK every one to two years since being here and am aware the UK is far from perfect. But it is home.

Edit – For context, I’m from the UK originally, but have lived in Australia for 18 years."