Australia

Katie Strick swapped London for Australia, only to find herself returning to the United Kingdom after just 18 months after discovering what life was really like Down Under

A woman who quit the United Kingdom for a sunny life in Australia has decided to move back after realising what life Down Under is truly like. Katie Strick and her partner spent 18 months in Australia before making the decision to move back home.

Katie says she made the decision to swap south London for Sydney after striking up a long-distance relationship with a former university friend. Writing in The Times, she admits the chance to join him in his beachside flat “wasn’t a hard sell”.

With the extension to the age bracket for the working holiday visa being moved from 30 to 35, Katie admits she felt the time was right. She found herself surrounded by “young, free twenty and thirtysomethings” in the Manly area.

But after a year-and-a-half, Katie found herself heading back to London. Her first struggle, she says, was the rental market in Sydney.

She found the cost of a flat is around the same in Australia as London. She also admits “friends and family naturally rank highly when I list the reasons for coming back”.

Katie however says the reasons for the move were much more than that. She wrote: “The reasons are rarely sexy: green space, quality of the press, a low risk of shark attacks and being a short train ride from my parents’ home town don’t quite have the same ring as living next to the beach when you shout them across a pub — but they mattered more than I expected.”

She acknowledges that Australia has “more sunshine” as well as “happier, healthier, more outdoorsy people,” but found herself missing the cobbled streets, country pubs, and British humour. She concedes it’s “hard not to miss those things” when you are “a 24-hour flight away”.

She says the Middle East conflict has also led to a “sense of uncertainty” for Brits flying from Australia. Dubai, once a popular layover, became embroiled in the conflict in March when it was struck by Iran.

Katie expected some “pushback” from her friends in Australia, but admits she was taken aback by the level of confusion from people back home too. She says many joked she would regret it when her boyfriend is “conscripted” or would be making another U-turn soon enough.

While she says it can seem difficult to say “exactly what you feel far away from,” she says “you do”. She accepts she has a “sense of day-to-day belonging” from visiting grandparents or meeting a friend’s baby, things that can’t be replicated through FaceTime.

Having moved back to London, Katie has however found herself wondering if she made a mistake. She recalls one moment she was catcalled by a drunk man at Clapham Junction, and dodging crowds in Soho.

On the other hand, she says there have been “moments of pure nostalgia” as she strolled through her favourite London park on a spring evening, or the appreciation she has for the NHS and architecture of the UK. She says her partner will soon land back in the UK, meaning that she gets to experience the “rollercoaster of emotions” from her return all over again.

Katie isn’t the only Brit who has quit the UK for Australia and found themselves moving back. Manchester-born Jessica McMaster recently made the same move after finding “four problems” with life Down Under.

Jessica cited the cost of living, distance from loved ones, visa and work restrictions, and weather as reasons for her move. Jessica, who lived in Melbourne, said: “Sometimes it would rain for days and be really cold and dark.

“Summer lasted about six months, which was amazing, long, bright days, great cafés, runs by the beach, but people think it’s always 30-degree heat. Melbourne can have four seasons in one day. In winter it was cold and rainy, so at times it felt like being back in Manchester, but without your family and friends.”

The Money Saving Expert founder reminded people of this ‘most important’ thing to do when booking a holiday

As the peak travel season draws near, Martin Lewis has reminded holidaymakers of his ‘golden’ travel rule, which he urges everybody to follow. He set out exactly why it matters during a recent special edition of the Money Show Live on Tuesday, April 28.

Martin said that his “most important” tip is to take out travel insurance “as soon as you book” – a principle he shortens to four letters: ‘ASAB’. Outlining his rule, Martin said: “If you’re booking a single-trip policy, then you get the insurance as soon as you book to cover a specific future date.

“You pay for that and, once you’ve paid for it, you have the travel insurance. If anything happens from that point onwards, you’re covered, no problem.”

Rather than waiting for something to go wrong, travellers should look at securing insurance the moment they book their holiday, safeguarding themselves should any problems arise in the lead-up to their travels. The level of cover on offer will vary depending on the type of policy chosen.

Martin’s reason for getting protected straight away – even if your trip is several weeks or more than a year down the line – is that cover kicks in immediately, reports the Express. He said: “The reason you do that is that half of the coverage you’re paying for is in case something happens that stops you from going before the trip.

“If you don’t have travel insurance, you’ve got no cover. So you might as well have it in place. At this time of year, when many people have already booked, I have a slight adaptation. If you’ve booked and you don’t have it yet, just get it now.”

Fellow ITV presenter Jeanette Kwakye shared that a viewer got in touch to say how they managed to avoid a £5,000 rescheduling fee thanks to having travel insurance in place. The viewer told Martin: “I booked flights to Australia for a family group of seven to travel in March next year.

“I took out insurance immediately. One of our group members is now pregnant and can’t travel on the dates planned. It cost £5,000 to reschedule, which I’m happy to report the insurance has covered.”

During the programme, Martin warned anyone booking a summer holiday that they would not receive a refund if their flight was cancelled and they were unable to reach their hotel. However, this only applied if they had booked in a particular way – and there is a means of safeguarding yourself should the worst come to pass.

The money expert was asked by an audience member: “If my flight’s cancelled due to no jet fuel will you definitely receive all your money back, even for your hotel booking as well.”

Martin confirmed that travellers would lose their hotel booking money if it had been booked separately from their flights, as they would not be protected under consumer rules. He said: “No. And I think this is what people need to be very aware of.

“If you booked a package holiday where you booked everything in one, then under the package holiday regulations and rules and protections generally, if your flight went, you would get everything back. At the moment, package holidays give you a certain level of extra security that you wouldn’t get if you did a DIY booking where you bought your hotel and flight separately.”

In other travel news, airline passengers have been told there are two days that are often “cheapest to book a flight”. This will naturally depend on factors such as your destination, your chosen airline, and where you book – full details here.

April 29 (UPI) — Two people are dead and 10 are injured after a small plane crashed into a hangar Wednesday at an airport in Adelaide, South Australia.

News.com.au reported that the two people killed were in a Diamond DA42 two-engine plane, while one person who’d been in the hangar sustained life-threatening injuries, two were in serious condition, six others had smoke inhalation and one sustained minor injuries.

The plane burst into flames after it crashed at Parafield Airport, the BBC reported. Photos of the scene showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the area, and other witnesses reported seeing the plane struggling overhead before the crash.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has started an investigation into the incident.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said on social media that the fire had been extinguished and the airfield was closed.

He said his “thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who have passed away, and with everyone affected by this devastating event,” the BBC said. He also thanked first responders for their response.

The airport has several flight training schools and has a large amount of aircraft traffic. News.com.au said the plane involved was used for student training, but Chief Inspector Andrew McCracken could not say if the pilot Wednesday was a student.

In January, a student pilot crashed during takeoff at the airport, but although the plane caught fire, the pilot escaped unharmed.

A 26-year-old Nottingham woman said she was burnt out and cried every single day in work before she started a new life on the other side of the world — and she has no regrets about leaving

A burnt-out Brit who was so stressed she cried every day at work quit the UK for Australia — and claims she now makes double her salary.

Wynter Yeomans moved to Sydney, Australia, with her partner, Luke Richards, in February 2025 seeking a better work-life balance.

The 26-year-old, who worked in pharmaceutical marketing, landed a marketing job within three months of the move, claiming her pay packet and quality of life skyrocketed.

Wynter, who earned £25,000 in her previous job, said she now earns £48,000 ($90,500 AUD) and no longer ‘lives for the weekend’ — enjoying all free time outside of work.

While Wynter spends $1,500 (£795) on rent, she said other expenses like food and coffee are lower than in the UK.

Wynter, whose hometown Nottingham is 10,000 miles from where she now lives, said: “We loved the idea of living abroad so we decided instead of moving into a place in the UK to move to a place in Australia.

“I finish work and I’ve got the whole evening — people go to the beach and have BBQs with friends. There’s a lot less focus on the weekend, people are out most of the weekdays. I feel like in the UK you live for the weekends.

“I went travelling, I did Southeast Asia around 2022 for about five months and I loved it. Coming home after travelling really made me realise how much bigger the world is than your home town — meeting people and seeing different countries.

“As soon as I got back it was a shock to the system. When you’re travelling you are doing so much and then you come home and everyone is doing the same thing. I make so much more money, in the UK I was on £25,000 and here I’m on £48,000 for an entry position.

“I used to pay my mum £150 rent a month. Now I pay $1,500 in rent. I used to cry to my mum that I can’t afford her rent and now I don’t bat an eyelid.

“Things are so much cheaper here compared to the UK. You can get coffee for £2. You have your happy hours and people eat out all the time.”

After travelling in South East Asia in 2022, Wynter saw her mental health decline when she returned home in July 2023, describing the first six months back in the UK as “a dark place”.

Due to the stressful nature of her job, she claimed she would cry daily and break out in rashes.

In February 2025, Wynter and Luke, who now works as a tree surgeon, jetted out to Australia and say they now enjoy a better work-life balance.

But she warns of the difficulties of moving abroad that might not be visible on social media.

Wynter said: “I really struggled, I really didn’t fit it. The first six months were a dark place, I really struggled to get back to reality.

“I landed a corporate job. I would cry every day at work and I was so stressed, I was breaking out in rashes. It was cold, it would be dark when I drove to and back from work.

“We appreciate the summer in the UK and Brits love a pub garden, but the work-life balance — I found no one I worked with had that. My mental health was not great, I love the sun so we had a good reason to push to leave.

“It’s easy to see people on TikTok living amazing lives, it took me three months to get my job. I have a science background and did pharmaceutical marketing in the UK.

“It can be really scary picking up your whole life and moving, everything is so uncertain. You can try it and if it doesn’t work out you can go back home.

“I came with my partner and I’m very fortunate in that. You just have to trust the process.”

Defence deal is latest example of deepening ties between Canberra and Tokyo amid shared concerns over China’s rise.

Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.

The “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.

The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.

“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.

Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.

Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.

Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.

Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.

A major fire at a key refinery in Australia refinery has disrupted fuel production, raising fears of shortages as supplies are already strained by the Iran war.