Unhappy in Australia? Suffering immigration depression?

I thought I would collate some facts about general unhappiness of immigrants after their move to Australia.

One Lady I know of had a huge job in her country of origin and could not get hat same job in Australia and had to take some really difficult jobs when she arrived. I know that now she just does some cleaning jobs and that they are struggling to get by on a combined married income of $90 000 per annum. This is useless feeling is combined with missing friends and family. not good.

As a South African I know from some recently published stats that almost 8.8% of South Africans that come to Australia leave.
Thats almost one in ten. It looks like even a beautiful adevertized country like Australia can be pretty awful to many immigrants.

I guess happiness in Australia depends on a large universe of factors. Making friends, money, family ties, emotional attachments, schooling and so on.

A lot of immigrants that do leave Australia leave because the are on a 457 visa and their jobs end - This just means they could not get an extension.

A lot of people who immigrate to Australia have to take a step down in their living standards - jobs pay less- no flashy cars and hence this really has an emotional affect. It helps to prepare yourself before you come over to Australia. Of course some people quite understandably just can't do this and their immigration fails. People get caught up in the "holiday" aspect of the move - the removals, the visa, the research, but they do not prepare themselves at all mentally and emotionally for the big change.

One recurring theme is that people struggle to find jobs that they are used to in Australia. They have to work in lower positions for less money. Some people take up to two years to find work - dwindling cash reserves, family issues, these all take their toll. It looks like if you can get past your first 4 years you should be ok.

Another Factor is the big City pull. Some people move to Sydney and because it is so expensive and vast it is difficult to integrate and get by financially. Some have settled in small cities and towns and found the experience to be much more positive.

For some people its just so bad in their home countries that settling in Australia is the only option. They just bear the hardship, the tears and frugality.

Whatever your reasons - please prepare yourself for your move to Australia. its much more than just sunny skies and beaches and clean cities. You have to life "life" here just like anywhere else.

Later people and best wishes whatever your decisions !!


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