Moving to Australia: It’s Not That Hard. It’s Not That Scary.

Tom Brown

Posted On 17 September 2025

Picture this – you’re working for a department store installing washing machines, delivering white goods. Underpaid and overworked. Feeling stuck, like there’s something more out there. 

Sound familiar? 

Meet Tom. Tom came over on a Working Holiday visa, booked a super cheap flight and joined the Hemsworth Package. What followed next was 52 days of travelling the East Coast and making life long friends. Now that beats installing white goods. 

‘I just keep thinking, there’s got to be more to life than this. I need to go and do something. So I just quit my job.’

Australia has always been a dream for Tom. The Australian lifestyle, surfing every day. Working to live instead of living to work. To be able to enjoy life.

Whereas most people do at least a little bit of research about Australia, Tom booked his flight on a spur of the moment and let Welcome to Travel sort everything out for him, and he hasn’t looked back. 

And when it came to choosing a group tour over doing it solo? Meeting new people was the goal and being able to just enjoy his time was exactly what Tom was looking for.

The start of a new life

‘I thought if I made friends, I might be able to travel somewhere else with them.’

Which is exactly what Tom did. Joining The Hemsworth Package meant he was able to meet 46 new friends, including his two new best friends. Frankie, and Curly Tom (we have to differentiate them somehow). 

‘I’ve met people I wouldn’t normally chill with. And my best friends, y’know, we were three complete strangers who wouldn’t really have talked to each other, until we joined this tour, and now I’ve spent an extra three weeks with them in Palm Cove, Uluru and then Sydney again. We Facetime most nights, even though Frankie is in Byron and Tom is back home in the UK.’

There were a few big surprises for Tom. Expectations vs the reality of Australia were two different worlds. 

However the one thing everyone seems to agree on when it comes to expectations, especially in the UK with TV programmes like Crocodile Dundee and Deadly 60, is everything in Australia will kill you. Shockingly – they’re all wrong.

‘Everyone told me you gotta be so careful. They told me 'There’s spiders everywhere'! And then you come out and it’s not like that at all. Sure there are some around but really, it's just like home, except the weather and pay is better.’

Living life in the moment

And the reality of it all – it’s not as hard as you think it’s going to be. 

After his time on the East Coast, Tom has moved back to where it all started – Melbourne. In the hustle and bustle of the city, he started a job and found somewhere to live. Having never lived away from home before, Tom’s become a lot more independent, even more confident and has stopped overthinking it all.

‘Finding a job was quite easy. You do have to make an effort, but it’s the same everywhere in the world. Jobs aren’t just going to land in your lap.’

 And it’s just not as scary as he thought it would be. 

Tom’s favourite bit of advice? – Don’t overthink it. Especially while you’re young, but even if you’re a little bit older too. It doesn’t matter.

‘You have to go out and do some travelling. You've got to get yourself out and travel, and just learn more about yourself. Put yourself out of your comfort zone.’

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Written By

Tom Brown

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