The Great Escape

Once upon a time, it used to be that young Aussies packed up their backpaks and truged over to the UK to escape the cringe factor of Oz. Those who felt out of place with the ocker culture and were looking for something more. Something with more hustle and bustle... more excitement and more opportunities. And even though this may still be the case for a few, and certainly almost a rite of passage for most struggling actors and muscians, the need the escape seems to have dwindled.

This is not to say that there's not still tens of thousands of Aussies overseas at any given time, escaping reality and having a ball, away from their mundane day-to-day lives back home. But the reality now is that Australia has everything you could possibly want. Industry is booming, the property market is on fire, our fashion designers rival the best of the overseas makret and our bars and clubs are beginning to look on par with any other nations (in major cities, at least). We have plenty of jobs to go around and an enviable lifestyle, not to mention great weather. We're not the bogan nation once portrayed in the press.

Read the comments attached to the story "Is the cringe now gone for good?" from news.com.au, and you'll see that most people are of the opinion that we definitely do come from the lucky country. Many of us are fortunate enough to have travelled to other continents and have a great appreciation of what we've got "back home".

The other thing you've got to consider is, if you spend years overseas bulding up a name for yourself over there, does it always translate back into a fabulous career in Oz? While some employers may see travel on your resume as a positive thing, no experience in Australian companies means no local equivalent to gauge your success.

I love Australia. I'm proud to be Australian and even though I have immense desire to travel more and perhaps even live for a small amount of time in the US, I will always return. We've got it way too good here to ever give it up!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject...

Notes on Glossy Paper