Josh Wilkinson has left his life behind in Adelaide, Australia (Image: YOUTUBE/JOSHTRADAMUS)
A 34-year-old Australian has packed up his bags and left his hometown Adelaide for pastures new, due to two issues. Frequently ranked as a go-to expat destination for Britons, Australia is believed to host over one million UK nationals currently residing across the nation, with Sydney proving particularly popular.
Those who move to the country are said to be attracted to its glorious weather, stunning beaches, bustling cities, good healthcare system and robust employment prospects.
With such attributes appearing to offer an ideal lifestyle, it may come as a surprise that a resident would want to leave.
Nevertheless, content creator Josh Wilkinson recently explained why he believed he had little option but to do precisely that.
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More than one million UK nationals are thought to be living in Australia (Image: GETTY)
Cost of living
While he acknowledged being « super grateful » to live in a « beautiful place, » the YouTuber stated it had become « hard to live here ».
Detailing the expenses of a recent supermarket visit, he said he was especially shocked to find that a pineapple carried a price tag of 10 Australian dollars (approximately £5).
« Australia is not really what it was 10/20 years ago, which sucks, » he shared on his YouTube channel. « The people running these countries don’t care about protecting the values of the people in that country. And that’s just based on evidence.
« I grew up with a vision in mind of you know getting to this age, having a house, a nice place, you can’t do that anymore, it’s too expensive, » he revealed. After unexpectedly finding himself jobless and pivoting to content creation last year, Josh now enjoys the flexibility of working remotely from abroad.
Currently exploring Bali, he contrasted the costs of living in both locations and affirmed he has no regrets about his decision.
He elaborated: « Australia is that expensive that when you compare it to places in Southeast Asia, it’s literally cheaper to travel and live abroad with a high quality of life, eating good food in good weather, than it is to rent an average little place here [Adelaide]. »
Josh’s revelation comes after a 25-year-old British man exclusively revealed why he wished to return to the UK from Australia.
Josh Wilkinson is currently exploring Bali (Image: YOUTUBE/JOSHTRADAMUS)
Culture
Beyond the financial aspect, Josh, who also operates the YouTube channel Polarity, cited feeling detached from the local culture as a significant factor in his decision.
« The culture here kind of sucks if I’m honest, and it’s not just Australia, » he continued. « I’m talking about the West, the Western culture, I’m just not really a fan of it, it’s so consumerism focused.
« Everyone’s just worried about what they have, how they look, their social media.
« And I’m not totally demonizing those things either, obviously I’m talking to you on social media, it’s not like it’s all bad but it’s how much value and focus a country and a place and the people in it put on those things, » he added.
« And what’s actually important in life, you know, climbing a corporate ladder, drinking beers every weekend, obsessing over a local sports team, that kind of is Australian culture. And I’m just not really into it. »
Future plan
Josh has been updating his YouTube subscribers on his travels around Bali thus far.
While still in Australia, he said of his future plans: « There is lots more around the world, beautiful people, beautiful places. And I’ve always thought how cool it would be just to basically document my journey around the world.
« I’m not planning too far ahead, right now things are kind of vague but basically I’m going to be going around the world and I’m going to take you guys with me and just kind of show that journey. I’m going to be doing it all solo. »
When asked whether he’ll ever return to Australia, he told us: « I’m just travelling around and taking life as it comes right now, life is much simpler and happier in Bali.
« A part of me would love to live in Australia again and maybe I will eventually, but the slow erosion of free speech and implementation of digital ID’s makes me hesitant. »
