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Leaving Australia to live overseas.

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swingdog said:
Tell us more.
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Ljubljana is a great city. Friendly, clean, reasonably cheap. Most people speak at least some English and there is quite a bit of similarity between Slovenian and Russian, which I speak.

Lake Bled is brilliant.

I have too much at home atm so I can't, but if I could I would definitely consider it.
 
If I'd know how my 20s would play out and how international politics would play out (aka if I knew the future), I would've made sure to do a working holiday visa in the United Kingdom. Not just because I'm too old for an easy visa now, but because Brexit seems to have shattered what the UK and British identity were. Even if they end up staying in the European Union, the period where the four nations could fuse their identity and mostly enjoy it seems finished. Different place to what it was.

Reminds me of this article: https://www.newstatesman.com/1997/2017/05/cool-britannia-where-did-it-all-go-wrong
 
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raskolnikov said:
In Slovenia atm. Could live here happily.
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What do you reckon the cost of living would be there, for somebody who lives a modest lifestyle?

Studio apartment, drinking once per week, one or two coffees per day in local coffee shops, mostly eating at home, that kind of thing.

Right now my primary European destination is Bulgaria because several cities there are as cheap as you'll find in the EU (from what I have read).

But any time somebody tells me they are anywhere towards the east or south of Europe, I'm keen to get their take on CoL.

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Right now I'm in Kuala Lumpur and the CoL is okay. If you are willing to eat local food, you can eat like a king for $5/meal.

I'm paying overs for accommodation but in a nice place, my own apartment with good views of the city.

The price of beer adds up here, though.
 

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mouncey2franklin said:
What do you reckon the cost of living would be there, for somebody who lives a modest lifestyle?

Studio apartment, drinking once per week, one or two coffees per day in local coffee shops, mostly eating at home, that kind of thing.

Right now my primary European destination is Bulgaria because several cities there are as cheap as you'll find in the EU (from what I have read).

But any time somebody tells me they are anywhere towards the east or south of Europe, I'm keen to get their take on CoL.

---

Right now I'm in Kuala Lumpur and the CoL is okay. If you are willing to eat local food, you can eat like a king for $5/meal.

I'm paying overs for accommodation but in a nice place, my own apartment with good views of the city.

The price of beer adds up here, though.
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I find this is a fairly good tool

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/calculator.jsp
 
wadistance said:
Paging Hotsausage - hows the new life going?
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So far so good. Finished up work in Adelaide on the Saturday night a couple of weeks ago, flew in to Switzerland on Wednesday and started work on Thursday so I didn't really have much of a break in between but I think that's kind of helped me get settled. It didn't stop snowing the first day I got here which was cool as I hadn't seen snow since I was about 7 but since then it's been more or less pretty reasonable weather, a few rainy days and a few clear. Still fairly cold. The first week was, I'm not sure if difficult is the right word, maybe just a bit of a shock to the system. Everyone where I'm working is speaking German to each other, although most of them speak English too I did feel a little bit intimidated/isolated. Even trying to get my head around how everything works in the kitchen, all the dockets are in german so I was so confused at first. But it's no different in any new workplace I guess it was just a little more to take in than I anticipated. The owner was in the kitchen helping me out the first few days but since then it's pretty much been just me and this older Swiss lady in her 60s and so far no major dramas, even had guests ask for recipes the first 2 dishes I brought in myself so I'm scoring points. As we've all gotten to know each other better though I have really started loving it this week. We're teaching each other new words in our languages and having fun so far.
It is a quiet little spot which is the only kind of downside but everything's so close its not that far to go to find something happening. Still checking the wrong side of the road when crossing though 🤣
Here's a pic of the view from my room at the moment
IMG_20190409_145657_543.jpg

Pretty amazing scenery, the photos don't even do it justice to see the sheer size of those mountains in person. Have only had two days off so far so I haven't really been able to get out and see much yet, but there'll be plenty of time for that. I get every Wednesday and Thursday off and I'll definitely be here for a year at least before moving on to another country so exciting times ahead.
 
One thing you'll find over this side of the world is that once they get a taste of Australian style food, be it breakfast (poached eggs/avocado/bacon/toast etc) or pub classics ( a good parma, steak burger) they'll keep coming back for more. They are a conservative bunch, and enjoy staying in their culinary comfort zone.

The place looks unreal though - once you get a bit of a hold on the language and start understanding stuff it will be even better. I think working in Hospitality is the best way to learn, as theres no way around it, and you tend to learn lots of slang and casual talk which is more useful than formal stuff for the most part.
 
I lived in Switzerland for several years before eventually moving to Sweden and ended up getting a citizenship after getting married to a Swede. Enjoyed the first couple of years in Switzerland but eventually grew out of it (once you get over the honeymoon period). Too expensive and things close as early as anything. Going to eat out in a proper place will cost you a fortune. I often found myself crossing over to Italy to enjoy a nice weekend.

mouncey2franklin happily living in Bulgaria now, although i have a business headquartered in Switzerland. The cheapest place in EU and despite many negative publicity about the country in EU media, it offers the best value for money in Europe and quality of life is easily comparable to that of any east/central european country. Came here to check it out but stayed back.
 
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Probably had my first real day here today where I missed home a bit. The work here has been very slow. I've gone from cooking for 120+ people a night in a big team of about 7 good friends to cooking for 5 people over a whole day with one other person. I know it will get busier in the summer which will help but at the moment it's very frustrating standing around waiting for something to happen. It's also kind of isolated up here, there's not much about and I don't have a car or anything so if I want to go in to the nearby town I pretty much have to wait until my weekend. I broke up with a girl I was seeing to move over here and it sounds dumb because I know we weren't going to work out anyway but I've been thinking about her a bit too. Probably romanticising the whole thing. I guess these days come about every now and again and you gotta take the good with the bad. And it's not all doom and gloom. I'm heading to Milan next week to see Metallica which I'm pumped for and finally getting settled in to a room here tomorrow rather than the temporary ones I've had so far, so I can stop living out of my suitcase and start to hopefully feel at home. Even though in the moment it might not feel that nice, I realise the fact I'm out of my comfort zone is good for me.
 

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HotSausage69 said:
Probably had my first real day here today where I missed home a bit. The work here has been very slow. I've gone from cooking for 120+ people a night in a big team of about 7 good friends to cooking for 5 people over a whole day with one other person. I know it will get busier in the summer which will help but at the moment it's very frustrating standing around waiting for something to happen. It's also kind of isolated up here, there's not much about and I don't have a car or anything so if I want to go in to the nearby town I pretty much have to wait until my weekend. I broke up with a girl I was seeing to move over here and it sounds dumb because I know we weren't going to work out anyway but I've been thinking about her a bit too. Probably romanticising the whole thing. I guess these days come about every now and again and you gotta take the good with the bad. And it's not all doom and gloom. I'm heading to Milan next week to see Metallica which I'm pumped for and finally getting settled in to a room here tomorrow rather than the temporary ones I've had so far, so I can stop living out of my suitcase and start to hopefully feel at home. Even though in the moment it might not feel that nice, I realise the fact I'm out of my comfort zone is good for me.
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Yeh hang tough mate. There’s always ups and downs about being away from home.
I always found to not think about things out of your control and focus on what can improve your life where you are. Maybe a new hobby you never thought of in the town you’re at?
 
Coming up on three months since I left Australia. Time goes quick.

I still watch AFL, two or three matches per weekend. Call people in Aus on skype every now and then.

Technology makes going overseas more like going interstate, in a way. You're not really 'away' unless you ditch the tech.

I watched some of the election for teh lulz. But I honestly didn't really care one way or the other.

Thanks to Total Power for the info on Bulgaria. I'm planning to make my way to Bansko eventually.

There's a cowork space there which provides accommodation, workspace, transfers, etc, for about $1000 Aussie per dollars for the month.

Once I'm there I should be able to find even cheaper accommodation, especially in low season.
 
mouncey2franklin said:
Coming up on three months since I left Australia. Time goes quick.

I still watch AFL, two or three matches per weekend. Call people in Aus on skype every now and then.

Technology makes going overseas more like going interstate, in a way. You're not really 'away' unless you ditch the tech.

I watched some of the election for teh lulz. But I honestly didn't really care one way or the other.

Thanks to Total Power for the info on Bulgaria. I'm planning to make my way to Bansko eventually.

There's a cowork space there which provides accommodation, workspace, transfers, etc, for about $1000 Aussie per dollars for the month.

Once I'm there I should be able to find even cheaper accommodation, especially in low season.
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Youll still be in honeymoon phase. I'm coming up on 14 months and it still feels like a holiday thing in some respects. Earning local currency helps... but maybe also the amount of english that is spoken over here makes it feel a lot more like home.

Anyone living in London - whats that actually like?
 
The Dice Man said:
Coming up on 7 years for me, 1/6th of my life and kinda feels like home now. Looking at buying a 3rd property that will likely mean another 10 years. It's possible I never live in Australia again.
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**** me, you own three properties in France?
 

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mouncey2franklin said:
Coming up on three months since I left Australia. Time goes quick.

I still watch AFL, two or three matches per weekend. Call people in Aus on skype every now and then.

Technology makes going overseas more like going interstate, in a way. You're not really 'away' unless you ditch the tech.

I watched some of the election for teh lulz. But I honestly didn't really care one way or the other.

Thanks to Total Power for the info on Bulgaria. I'm planning to make my way to Bansko eventually.

There's a cowork space there which provides accommodation, workspace, transfers, etc, for about $1000 Aussie per dollars for the month.

Once I'm there I should be able to find even cheaper accommodation, especially in low season.
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What you plan to do in Bansko?
 
The Dice Man said:
2 at the moment. An appartment in Nice and another in Cannes that we put on AirBnB. We are now looking to buy a home for us.
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They have negative gearing there? How does this all work for taxation purposes if you were to move back to Aus?

I reckon if you get through the seasons of a place that you like then chances are you never return "home". Most places, including Australia, are a completely different beast from summer to winter.
 
Total Power said:
Freelance overseas work or local? if local keep in mind, salaries are not very high locally, if you got something organised beforehand and earning anywhere between A$1,500 to 2,000 you can live like a king.
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Online business, and yeah, I've heard that $1,500/m is enough for a decent lifestyle in Bulgaria, hence my desire to go and check it out.
 

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