For me:

1. I worked in a stable job back in Australia and saw many people who got too comfortable and decided to just sort of… sit back and watch the money come in, visiting the same bars every Friday night, go to the same restaurants every week, only associate with the same small group of friends. I like many aspects of Australian society but I think it’s also very cliquey and lacks the dynamism of some other societies/locations. Essentially, I got bored with the lifestyle.

2. I hate the property obsession and at my age (30s) it’s filling a lot of the conversation space amongst my peers in Australia. From my perspective, I’m both sad that my rich home country has mishandled housing policy so severely, resulting in levels of debt burden which will suck almost all the disposable income for my generation for 20 years plus, and also a bit confused that so many of my peers have decided to devote themselves as much as possible to buying into this mishandled system.

No shade on people who make that choice, but I would say that their way of thinking, their priorities, are very different to mine. When you find yourself surrounded by people who have wildly different priorities than you, you start to look at other places to live.

3. Generally wanting to live in another culture because it’s fun, challenging, exciting, and IMO in general builds a set of skills and a background of experience which has value in itself. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who regrets having a go at it, even if it ultimately doesn’t work out.

4. Needed a break from Australia after COVID. My partner is not an Australian PR and as such thanks to Australian pandemic policy we couldn’t see each other for around two years. Despite longstanding advice from organisations like the WHO that international border closures are not effective permanent solutions to the pandemic, even when most of the world had opened up, even when similar people in Europe, Asia and America had been long reunited…

All the while, good friends, family, and my colleagues within the entire institution in which I built my career (government) were cheerleading this policy response and when I pressed them on it, adopted this attitude of “WELL maybe if you didn’t decide to get together with a foreigner, this wouldn’t be an issue! We’re living an enviable life of safety here in Australia, and part of being #inthistogether means that foreigners are not welcome here until COVID is over”. It was very cruel and ultimately the health policy they all were so attached to was abandoned very quickly, apparently when everyone got bored and starting missing their Bali holidays.

Seriously it was bizarre… seeing lifelong Greens Party voting friends saying stuff about foreigners which, if stated in 2019, would appear to be taken from a One Nation Party manifesto. Now in 2023 this issue is obviously in the past, but when I made the decision to leave it was a big factor. I feel like I received a middle finger from my society because I had relations with an outsider.

I moved to the UK mostly so I’d be closer to other countries I could go on holidays to… There also just seemed to be so much more here than back at home. It’s still expensive though, similar to living in Sydney.

Feminism, anti-male culture, and the women are too entitled when it comes to dating.

Moved to the US. Original plan was do it a few years and then move back. The housing market and cost of living in Australia keeps getting worse each year, and life in American financially has been significantly easier.

Now am at the point where we could move back as culturally for the kids there are some benefits, but the 60-70% salary cut each + housing being triple the cost has us staying in the US. The difference is simply too large.

I met a girl. We moved so she could study in Sweden, now I am studying in Sweden. We will leave when I’m finished but where to next is still a mystery.

The problems you mentioned are not unique to Australia at all.

I’m in tech. I moved to the US for a job. The tech sector in the US is significantly larger than Australia, with much higher pay. I won’t stay forever, but it’s great 4 years in.

I just wanted adventure? I feel like that’s a common reason for Australians to move abroad.

Canadians are the same. Obsessed about home ownership. If you don’t own a home you are a massive failure. Sigh!

Cultural wasteland

Terrible location (isolated country in the middle of nowhere)

Terrible houses (no insulation - it is cold in the winter and super hot in the summer)

In general i don’t see any future for Australia. Sooner or later it will become another Asian country.

I’m a expat who moved to Aus. Been here most of my adult life now. It’s a great place to raise kids tbf. But the distance from everything always kills me. I’d agree, Aussies have an unhealthy obsession with housing but the world is catching up on that. Career (or lack of) kills me too.

I agree with the live and mortgage mentality. The housing market here is a mess. We gave up on a house because it would mean a very large debt hanging over us every single month until our late 60s. Not much room to pay off either. Everyone of our friends just seem to accept this. It’s absurd.

Australia is becoming an Asian country. You can see it slowly happening due to immigration.

However, Australia is still a bloody decent place compared to a lot of places expats recommend. No place is without its faults. But if you want culture, proximity and lots of things to do then there’s better places imo.

We will raise the kids here and retire elsewhere. Probably Europe.

Netherlands for me. I’m a mechanical engineer. When I graduated, it felt like I was hitting dead ends trying to gain employment. I eventually moved to Germany where my career took off.

These days I’m married to a Dutchwoman and have a one month old baby. Also I own my property here.

I can’t see me moving back to Aus in the near future.

Currently in Aus but plan to leave in the next 3-4 years (ironically when we’ve paid off our apartment, so I completely agree with you with the property obsession haha).

We like Melbourne but it’s just too small and too far away. If it was a 4 hour flight from Europe we probably wouldn’t leave but it’s so isolated which is reflected in the attuites and opportunities here. It’s a slow, comfortable life but we just want a bit more than that.

It got fucking boring when everyone is just talking about the real estate all the damn time. Also hate real estate agents and property managers.

There’s also not much to do with regards to history and culture.

Housing was not an issue for me. I moved abroad just because I’ve never been the type to stay in one place for long (3rd culture kid) and it was always the goal to work in various countries. Currently 3 years into my first jump and looking to do another 2 before my next jump.

I moved just to experience life somewhere else and just ended up loving Canada. While Canadians are still a bit obsessed with the housing market I find that it’s not the main topic of conversation constantly, especially in BC.

People I know in Canada seem to still have hobbies and interests as they get older and don’t just talk about property and kids which is something I’ve noticed with my circle of friends in Adelaide whenever I go back.

I still like Australia and I miss some aspects of it but overall I just love Canada and feel at home there.