How Spending A Year In Australia Changed These Three Women’s Lives

Sometimes in order to become closer to yourself, you need to go far away from home. 

To celebrate the rule changes to the Australian Working Holiday Visa, we asked three British women to tell us about their experiences living in Australia for a year. Condensing their time into three separate minute long videos, we’re invited to take a glimpse at their journeys and experience their growth, challenges and achievements along the way. Here, we get a taste of what it means to step outside your comfort zone and embrace life on the opposite side of the world. 

Saffron, Jezelle and Talia were all drawn to Australia to completely shake up their lives. Reflecting on their Working Holiday experiences, these ambitious women reveal how a year Down Under came to be the best decision they ever made. 

Following her instincts which called for a life change, Saffron applied for a Working Holiday visa and landed herself a dream gig as an Arts & Culture Editor. Saffron’s new role granted her the opportunity to discover Australia’s beating cultural heart and develop her passion for the arts. “I didn’t move to the other side of the world for a career leg up… But that’s what happened.”

Embracing new responsibilities and opportunities, Saffron travelled to Adelaide and Hobart to attend arts festivals, review world-class gigs and experience the best of what these dynamic cities have to offer. Reflecting on how far she had come in the past year, Saffron realised that her time in Australia really set her up to throw herself into every experience for the rest of her life.

Drawn by the same pull to escape from everyday life, Talia took the plunge and found herself on a plane to Australia. Not long after arriving, she decided to spend time working and exploring the Northern Territory - an area considered to be the heart and soul of Australia and an adventure-seeker's mecca. Embraced by the welcoming arms of the locals, Talia made lifelong friends, believing that “one of the greatest parts of the whole year was the people that I met.” 

With some of the world’s most incredible nature at her fingertips, Talia learnt new skills like spear fishing. She also took the opportunity to connect deeply with a new community in Nhulunbuy and learn the history, skills and language of the local Yolngu people. Her time as a Working Holiday Maker saw Talia’s entire life perspective shift from wanting to disappear for a year to embracing the beauty of everyday life in Australia, “I really want to take that mindset with me wherever I go and just embrace and savour the small moments. I had the best year of my life.” 

Despite never planning to come to Australia, Jezelle took a leap of faith and applied for a Australian Working Holiday Visa. Jezelle felt an instant connection with the city of Melbourne and was drawn by the city's unparalleled food scene and multiculturalism. “The city's filled with so many different people. I even found a Jamaican restaurant that reminds me of my mum's cooking when I am feeling homesick.” 

As a well-known melting pot of many different cultures from around the world, Jezelle soon discovered there was no shortage of new cuisines to try and people to meet in Australia. Inspired by the rewarding feeling that comes with building a new community and discovering a home away from home, Jezelle tells us “Being here just makes me feel invincible. I know I’ll look back at this part of my life and just smile when I’m older.” 

Completing a Working Holiday Visa across the world in Australia is an impressive feat, and one that grants you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow and discover new things about yourself in the process. No matter your motive, it’s a move that has the power to change the course of your life. 

So what are you waiting for? Take a Working Holiday in Australia and see what happens. 

For more information on planning your Working Holiday Down Under, visit australia.com.