Hey this is really good info thank you! I think the bad reviews I’ve heard so far have been mainly the money/funding and bureaucracy like you said but from when you’ve said these don’t seem so bad. And money wise I guess it’s almost the same as australia 😂 I also am unsure of how important to speak Italian I’m a phd…do you speak Italian? I suppose this is something that will depend largely on the group and supervisor though.

Japanese (except in the specific situations when it’s acceptable to be loud eg. when drunk) and Dutch (maybe more specifically in the sense of not wanting to stand like eg resistance to queer community, conformity in fashion)

Oh nice. To be honest I have been considering moving to Italy. I travelled there in September and absolutely loved it. The next place I settle will be where I do my phd though and I’ve heard some bed “reviews” about doing a phd in Italy haha I wonder if you know anyone doing a phd there?

I think maybe I should be living in Italy 😂

It interesting to hear these things about australia. I’m Aussie living in NL and there are so many things I miss about home. The big things are nature: the wild bush and the ocean. I love that you can walk for days in the wilderness without being remotely close to civilisation. That’s something that’s rlly missing in Europe, it can feel claustrophobic here sometimes. I miss people who are down for swimming in every natural body of water they come across even if it’s freezing cold. I think this is a very Aussie thing. I also miss the underground art/party scene that developed in Sydney. True lock out laws were a bummer but they caused this pretty cool underground scene to develop which I haven’t seen in many places.

I also found it very interesting that a lot of ppl here are saying that Australians are set in their ways and not interested in seeing the world. I guess it depends on your circle but actually in my experience it’s the complete opposite. Everyone I know in Australia is dying to travel and everyone saves up for a big overseas trip (at least) every year. It’s almost as if because of our isolation, travelling overseas is even more special and sought after. This tradition of the Big Yearly Trip died off during lockdowns but this year it has come back strong amongst everyone I know. I actually found coming here that in comparison so people back home, Europeans I have met seem remarkably incurious about the world and, compared to most aussies I know, really haven’t travelled all that much, especially to countries outside of Europe. But yeah as I say this is probably dependant on ur friend group:) but I guess my point is that those Aussie definitely exist and you can find them if you want to!

Yesss as an Aussie in Europe ppl keep asking me if im warm enough at home in the winter and im like bruh it’s actually way worse in australia, this is fuckin toasty