Eva, 36 years old according to my identity document, but for me, they are only some numbers that indicate experience, I come from a town in the province of Alicante, Muro de Alcoy. Studies: a few already, a diploma in Business Administration, a Masters in Banking Management, and a few VET courses in Australia. I had never travelled alone, so launching yourself to live on the other side of the world at the age of 32 was a challenge for me. 9 months was my initial idea, but I never thought it would turn into 4 years. I came with the intention of returning even earlier … it’s just that Australia will mark your life forever.
How long have you lived in Australia?
I have lived in Australia for 4 years, Byron Bay was the one who welcomed me, and what a welcoming!! Obviously it was not at all easy and I was about to quit, 4 months of trying to find work without success had a lot to do with that thought. But in the end I spent a whole year in Byron Bay and Melbourne was the one that treated me like a queen, and 3 years of my life I spent between its streets and its surroundings, and Victoria is a wonder of the State.
During this time, I returned to Spain for 2 months, and it was so nostalgic that it motivated me to get my third student visa. Now, 1 year and 5 months later, I pack my bags to return in the direction of Alicante again, but with the feeling that Australia is my second home (because it is ugly to say that I consider it the first).
Why Australia?
It had never been in my mind, nor had it ever been considered, so I can’t say that Australia was a dream. But blessed is the time that my brother-in-law sent me a screenshot where he had put into the google search engine: Australian men …. And then a comment that said, do you know that English is also spoken here and the weather is good?
So if I had any pending subject in my life, it was to learn English, since like many of us we started studying it when we were little but we never finished mastering the language. From what I can attest, by immersing yourself in their culture, in their country, you end a day using their slang and using the words in English since you don’t even know how to express it in Spanish.
So yes, I could say that I have achieved my goal. I have a good level of English and a good handful of Australian friends, and a family that for 2 and a half years I have been calling my Australian mother and my Japanese/Australian father.
Which Australian cities have you lived in?
Byron Bay, it may sound like a cliché, but it is really a bubble where time stands still. The material becomes insignificant and your lifestyle infects you. Nature captivates you and you change forever. Sunrises over kilometres of white sand beaches accompanied by wallabies, whales, and dolphins…. Sunsets accompanied by surfers, street music and the deafening sound of parrots. Byron Bay is a paradise where even Australians themselves fall in love.
Melbourne, what to say about this city, it would really be ideal if its climate did not drive everyone crazy. But after 3 years living of in it, it continues to surprise me, but I adore its changing mode… this would be because it is like me, no day is the same, it teaches you to enjoy the present moment, because today it is 28 degrees, but tomorrow it could be 2…. So you always make the most of every moment. Culture is in every pore of this city, multicultural, respect, nobody judges you, there is no established cliché, only one rule, to be you all the time. A very comfortable city to walk, bike or climb in its sections … Surrounded by suburbs, each with its own style, each with its own charm, and you definitely end up falling in love with its skyline., … National parks are 3 hours away by car where you can feel like you are on a desert island, kangaroos are 20 minutes by car from the city, and Melbourne is very, very complete.
And if you think that you will not end up becoming a coffee snob, I advise you not to preach it very loudly that it will not happen to you like it did me, you end up loving coffee in all its varieties, without sugar and not drinking it if it is not on point. Yep, I paid $5 for a coffee and threw it away after the first sip. Ah! And I won’t tell you about the variety of different foods that you can find, from Tibanés, Vietnamese, Balinese, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, French, … endless variety, … but you will end up loving the brekkies and their avo toasts. and poached egg *.
* Translation for those of you who have not set foot in Australia: Breakfasts with avocado toast and poached egg.
What have you studied?
I started with 3 months of General English in Byron Bay, and 6 months of preparation for the IELTS exam.
Then in Melbourne, VET courses such as the Certificate IV in International Trade, Certificate IV in Business and Diploma in Leadership and Management.
Why did you choose to do the VET courses?
Saving time, at an affordable price, was the main reason. Then once immersed in the course, you learn vocabulary that you only know in Spanish, so I would say that it has been a refresher on the subjects I had learnt in Spain but in English.
And the classes, in my case, consist of a lot of YouTube videos and you manage to fill in your assessments and pay a lot of attention in the presentations.
Which visas have you held in Australia so far?
Three student visas, and all three with you. My intention, to get a PR in Australia (Permanent Residency), but I did not make the right decisions when I had to. Obviously I do not blame anyone, but the lack of information. Or my lack of interest in knowing more. I wish I had known before that courses open the doors for a skill visa, or a PR. Something that I am glad to see on AUssieYouTOO is that they are now more aware and there is more real information on this topic.
What have you worked as and how did you get it?
In Byron Bay, I saw and wanted to clean dishes together with apartment cleaners and Airbnb.
In Melbourne, cleaning private homes, and lucky to have fallen into the hands of the best bosses in the world who gave me the best quality of life that I could ever imagine … starting with a company car that I have been able to enjoy personally.
All jobs I got through Spanish people, word of mouth works a lot in this country.
Have you travelled around Australia? Do you recommend a special site for us?
There are places still left pending, Covid-19 caught me in Melbourne, the state which has been most affected by this pandemic. But I think I have seen enough.
- Byron Bay and surroundings
- Fraser Island
- Road trip Cape crew (Daintree Forest), Port Douglas, Cairns to Whitsundays
- Sydney
- Road trip Sydney to Byron Bay
- Melbourne (Great Ocean Road, Grampians, Wilson’s Promontory, Philip Island …)
- Uluru (Ayers Rock)
- Tasmania
And in which would I stay, it’s difficult to choose, perhaps Tasmania because it was my last destination and the only one I did completely alone, in 12 days I knew very little about an island that is supposed to be small, but has so much to offer and is so much brutally different.
Your most honest opinion about AUssieYouTOO:
Eternally grateful. It is true that last year I may have given one opinion, but if I take stock in general, gratitude is how I would describe it. I know they have improved on the subject of counselling. But I would have liked to have received that advice … be careful, maybe this is not in your plans at the moment, but if you don’t know what to study, I would advise you to study something that would open doors for you in the future in Australia … This simple advice would have allowed me today to be able to have a skill valued by the Australian Government. But you learn from everything and my experience in Australia has been the best of my life.
Write what you want:
IF YOU ARE YOUNG, DON’T THINK IT, DO IT, JUMP. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE ALREADY AN AGE, DON’T THINK IT, DO IT, JUMP.
You are the owner of your time, and if something is valuable in this life, it is precisely this. TIME.
Every decision you make depends on you, and fear is not your friend. You will learn that uncertainty is your best travel companion. And appreciate that gift more than being alive. Australia is a place that will mark your life forever. And all, absolutely all, the people I have met have ended up telling me the same thing, Eva enjoys Australia to the fullest, you will miss her tremendously when you return and here everything remains the same.
So I challenge you to ask yourself this question, what are you waiting for? What are you afraid of to discover that you can live the best months of your life? To be able to show yourself that there are no more barriers than the ones you create for yourself?
There is no age, there is no better time to do it than right now. Time is unforgiving, so live every second as if there is no tomorrow.