Looking to Leave the US? Australia May Be The Answer
- Giovanni San Giacomo
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Table of Contents
So, you’re an American thinking about leaving The States? Well, you’ve come to a good place!
Why Australia?
If you’ve looked into moving abroad… you’ve probably seen how insanely hard and expensive it is. Most countries won’t allow just anyone to come live and work in their country, and this is definitely the case for Americans, unfortunately.
So, if you’re not absolutely loaded, have four master's degrees and an international business, then how can you get out? I have an answer.
Australia!
One of the very few countries that offers Work & Holiday Visas to Americans!
I’ll quickly clarify what that means. A visa is pretty much a document that says you’re allowed to be in the country that gave you the visa. There are many different kinds of visas. But most of the time, people are talking about a work visa, which you can think of like a work permit, just for another country. Working Holiday Visas are exactly what they sound like. Very accessible visas that allow you (the foreigner) to live and work in that country for a specified amount of time while you’re most likely travelling, and funding your travels as you go.
If you’re wondering why I explained all of that, then you’re on the fortunate side of America that actually knows what a Visa is! Growing up, I, and many other folks I knew, all thought that you could just live and work anywhere in the world! And growing up in The States, you never think of leaving, I mean, why leave the best country in the world… right?
I had no clue what a visa was until I had to find out what a visa was. Very American of me.
What Makes Their Work Holiday Visa the Best?
So, there are a few countries that offer work Holiday Visas to Americans (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, South Korea, Singapore)
Aus & New Zealand are very easy work-holiday visas to get; the other ones, however, need proof that you are enrolled in a Tertiary school.
* Note that Americans are Subclass 462, not the 417.
Entry Requirements
The entry requirements are fairly relaxed. The visa itself costs 670 Australian dollars (AUD), or about $480USD. And the visa is done entirely online!
The only things you need are a Passport and Proof of Funds. The Proof of Funds is just so the Aussie government knows you’re not going to land with like $4 to your name, their assurance that you can financially support yourself while you’re here in Australia. The amount you need to show (via something like a bank statement) is $5000 AUD, or about $3,600 USD. They don’t care how that balance winds up on your bank statement, as long as it shows those shiny numbers next to your name is all that matters.
Visa Duration
So, you can not only work and live in Australia for one whole year, but for three! So, if you’re looking to stay out of the country while a certain president I do not need to name runs their term to its end, then this can be a great opportunity!
I should add that those two extra years do come at a fee. No, not a literal one. To qualify for your second and third years, you’ll need to complete what is called “Specified Work.” Which you can read about all over the place. You can view it as a nuisance, or a chance to go out and do something new in a new place! I prefer the ladder.
Regardless, it’s three years that you can work and live abroad without needing work sponsorship, a degree, or a partner. That's amazing, if you didn't know.,
Fun Fact: I met my wife doing my specified work in Cairns!
Read my Backpackers Guide to Cairns Here!
Location
Besides the fact that it’s literally on the other side of the planet, it’s an amazing location to call home for however long you’re here. I won’t go and explain all of the Aussie lifestyle; you can read about that somewhere else or come find out for yourself! Orrrrrr fineee, I’ll do a blog on that too since you’ve asked so nicely ;)
As different as Australia is from The States, it’s also very familiar, which makes it not all too challenging to adjust to life here. It’s an English-speaking, western-based society where the cities and towns look not too far off from the ones we’ve grown up in. Except they drive on the “correct” side of the road here, and all of the infrastructure is scarily new and modern-looking. The one thing I actually dislike about Australia. And if my biggest dislike is simply the brutalist modern infrastructure, then that you should tell you enough.
No, it's not just desert. There's beauty like no other here, and landscapes of all kinds, it even fucking snows! No, the spiders aren't that bad. I've only seen three snakes in the three years I've been here. I promise you, Aussies find American wildlife scarier than Aussie wildlife! I've lived in both places and can't help but agree. Sure, a Koala might fuck you up, but have you met a bear?
Australia is a beautiful country w
here making friends from all over the world is a given, opportunities fall like leaves in autumn, and you can go shopping without getting shot. Yay!
Conclusion
I came to Australia on a Work Holiday Visa back in 2023. I worked my ass off for 6 months to get myself enough cash to get over here, and it was so beyond worth it. I completed my first year, then did my second. (Both visas granted in under an hour!) I found my partner here in Australia, and now I live here permanently. We now live about a minute's walk from the Pacific Ocean and pay far less for rent and lifestyle than we would if we were living in Jersey, paying for some shoebox apartment in the shittiest parts of Newark or Hoboken. My story isn’t far from that of so many other immigrants happy to call this country their home; there are many, many of us who’ve found relative refuge here in Australia, and so can you!
So, to my conscientious objectors, my travelers, my expats, my soul-searchers, my rebels, and my little lost ones!
This one’s for you.
Please feel free to Contact Me if you have any questions about your big move!
Happy Travels!
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