Down to the Land of Oz

As many of you know, I have finally gotten things in order to move down to Australia and I will be leaving on the 28th of February! I got a 1 year, working holiday visa that allows me to undergo any kind of work down there, as long as I switch employers after 6 months. The idea is that Australia wants you to come and travel through their fine country and be able to work to supplement your long-term travel.

I think more Americans should take advantage of working holiday visas and have more long term experiences abroad. I have heard that the Australian government gives young Aussies a break on international tickets to promote travel and many other countries encourage this sort of thing for young people too. In Great Britain, for example, a lot of young people take a year of travel abroad and they call it a gap year. New Zealanders do a similar thing, they call it an OE, overseas experience. When I was in New Zealand, I met several German travelers just out of high school, going on their year long traveling experience before enrolling in a university.

In slang, everyone down there calls Australia "Oz" for short. I found this fitting over the last year as I was working hard to save up money to go there: working and dreaming about going to the Land of Oz. It's nice to have that light at the end of the tunnel and something to really work toward. I always need that. Quite different from one year ago when I was so set on going to Italy, but I never made it back...yet.

I chose Australia instead of going back to Italy for several reasons, but mainly since the visa is only for 18-30 yr olds, and this is my last chance. It was also made more sense logistically since they speak english, I would be working legally, and I already know the culture from my NZ experience.

So keep tuning in for more updates because I expect this blog to be way more active and exciting as I talk about my experiences in Oz!