The Real Deal… part 1

It was a weird feeling saying goodbye to my family not knowing when I might see them next. I was 20 years old and on April 18th 2018, I was trying my absolute best not to completely sob at Brisbane Airport as I gave my mum and sister hugs before going through security, even more because it was my sister’s birthday only a few days away and I was missing it. Saying goodbye made me almost rethink my choice of getting a one way ticket overseas… was this what I really wanted?

I had no plan- job wise, besides working at Camp for that summer (June-August.) I didn’t have a lot of money though so if I didn’t find a job until camp, I was going to have to make $1000 AUD (or £500) stretch. It was a massive leap and an even bigger risk which made me nervous and excited at the same time. I’d never backpacked on a tight budget and I didn’t know what the future held for me, but I knew one thing was for certain after coming back from my travels in Portugal the year before in 2017. I HAD to continue travelling and this time without a return ticket. I wanted to visit more places in Europe as I fell head over heals for Lisbon, maybe even live and work somewhere in the world if that was a possibility… I didn’t know how I’d go about it but I thought it would be best to do just that if I was already working in America as I knew that would be the cheapest and closest way to explore more of the Northern Hemisphere. Flights from Australia to anywhere in the world was quite expensive, so I decided to do what I’ve always done in life and just wing it. No plans, no problem! 

Whilst I was on the plane it hit me that I was officially by myself. Well, I wasn’t completely by myself, but I had a feeling that I was possibly going to spend long amounts of time being alone which didn’t bother me at all, but it just felt strange. Whilst growing up in Sydney, I spent a lot of my time surrounded by people- at school, at work, at parties and going out, throughout all the sport I played and at the gym, although I’ve always loved my own company. Even in my recent travels to camp, I was constantly surrounded by people. It was probably my first and biggest lesson that I learnt in that moment on the plane which was solo travelling could feel daunting, intimidating and challenging equally as it is exhilarating, enjoyable and meaningful. There’s no point in waiting around for others or for the right time, sometimes you’ve just got to dive in and do it scared. 

For my first stop, I flew into Calgary, Canada and took a greyhound bus from Calgary to Banff. This was one of the most memorable and stunning bus rides I’ve ever been on. Never in my life did I think I was going to visit Canada of all places, it was a country at the time I didn’t know much about, but there I found myself, jaw dropped and in absolute awe of the scenery that Banff National Park was showing off. 

I spent two weeks exploring Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore clocking some serious mileage on various hikes such as Tunnel Mountain, Sulphur Mountain, around Vermilion Lake and Lake Minnewanka. Around Lake Louise, to Moraine Lake and back, Grassi Lakes and the East End of Rundle. I had never in my life seen that much snow, hiked in that much snow, and seen so much sun with still so much snow. I fell in love with the gigantic yet comforting mountains and the kind people, I instantly felt at home. Believe it or not, this trip was relatively cheap too, although I was consciously frugal, I noted to myself during the trip that by staying in hostels and making all my own food and doing free activities (such as hiking) saved SO MUCH money whilst travelling and this was a habit I definitely took with me on my future endeavours. It was short and sweet and I felt bittersweet when leaving Banff. I had a feeling I’d be back one day and my business in Banff hadn’t finished yet… in fact, it was just the beginning. I got the greyhound bus back to Calgary and we after my last look of the mountains up close, they looked so small in the distance as the buildings got taller towards the city. Those two weeks felt like a dream.

I had contacted my Aunty previously, who still lives in England to stay with her, my uncle and cousin for a month before camp started in June. I made plans whilst in Canada to meet up with my best friends Aine and Molly in Oxford as well as meet up with my good friend Olivia, who I also met at camp in 2017 and was studying in Nottingham at the time. I spent a month right near the sea on the East Coast of England, filling up my days with lots of walking, reading, writing, listening to music and podcasts. I had thoughts to hand out my resume to see if I could get a job whilst I wasn’t doing anything for a month but all the chaos of emotions before my travels had come to a stop. My life was the quietest I’d ever experienced it before and spending long periods of time alone was so satisfying. So I decided to go against that idea of working and just enjoy my time off. 

I walked into town and back every day which usually took three hours in total and I loved walking along the sea front the entire way. I would walk past the cutest holiday homes and always dreamt about owning one and what life would be like in a place like that. Being in England around May time too was lovely, it wasn’t cold, it wasn’t hot and there was always a nice breeze. 

I spent quite a bit of time with my cousins which was so much fun as I had never in my life gotten to spend time with them. The only time I had visited England was back in Year One and I was five or six years old. We got on so well and they showed me around Norwich which is still to this day one of my favourite cities in England. My aunty, uncle, one of my cousins and I also took a day trip to Lowestoft. We strolled around the town, got ice cream, looked around Claremont Pier and the beach front. It was gorgeous and we were so lucky to go on a warm day too. People were using all the beach huts and you could feel the happiness in the air from the warm weather. It made me so excited for summer time and my third year at camp! 

It got to the end of staying with my aunty and uncle and onto my next adventure. It was a sad goodbye. I knew I’d have to see them again soon- that was a must! There were so many things I wanted to say and I felt like crying, but I forced myself to think it wasn’t that deep. I realised that goodbye’s when travelling were not my forte. As I hugged them both before getting on the National Express bus, I wondered to myself if goodbyes would get any easier… surely they would from the fact you’d be coming and going all the time… but something inside me made me think otherwise. 

My aunty and uncle disappeared from view as the bus drove further away. Next stop: Oxford! I sighed with relief. I couldn’t wait to see Molly and Aine. I’d only been away for six weeks and in that short amount of time I felt like I’d lived a million lifetimes… the wild ride had just begun. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this read, as always if you ever have questions feel free to DM me on my instagram: the_runawayredhead. 

Stay tuned for The Real Deal… part 2! 

Talk soon, 

The Runaway Redhead

5 Moving Overseas Tips

 I’m excited to be writing my first blog post of 2024. 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas, New Year and holiday season. Whether you relaxed and did nothing, was travelling and adventuring, spending time with family and friends or even working. 

I want to start the year off strong by talking about five tips I wish I had more help with when moving overseas and setting my life up in a different country! Up to now, I’ve lived in America, Canada and England, and when I first started travelling there were quite a few things I was a bit oblivious to, I definitely went with the flow and was researching things as I went on. Looking back now, I wish I was more organised! Which is why I thought to write a small blog post about this topic, if you ever find yourself wanting to move countries, hopefully this will give you a bit of guidance. 

1. Visa 

The visa grants the holder official permission to enter, leave or stay in a country for a specified period of time. Having a visa will also help you get a job- if the visa allows you to. There are different types such as tourist, student, working and transit visas… so make sure you learn about which one you’d need to be able to move overseas and potentially work in another country!

 Different countries will have their own rules and regulations. For example when we flew into Mexico we didn’t need a “visa.” We got stamped in our passport the valid length of our stay and from our research, we were able to do volunteer work if we wanted to - as there were no specific volunteering rules. BUT if you wanted to do paid work, or if you wanted to volunteer with a company like Worldpackers or Workaway or are involved in any technological research activities, it’s recommended that you visit or check with a Mexican embassy as that is when a visa is required. 

Other places such as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, have specific working holiday visas that will allow you to live in the country and work for two years. When I worked in America, I got a J1 visa which was the “Camp America” visa. The J1 visa is an exchange visitor visa for educational and cultural exchange programs. I highly recommend doing your research about the visa requirements and process of the country you’d like to move to. 

With most visa’s you can apply online, and they’re very straightforward. It might take a while depending on which one you go for and what paperwork you need, if you need any passport photos taken but start doing it step by step, take your time with it and don’t be afraid to reach out to people for help. 

2. Bank Account 

Having and opening a bank account when moving countries and can very simple to do. Before you leave, make sure to notify your regular bank so that your account doesn’t get blocked or closed, in fact, some banks can set up an international current account so that you can still access your home or regular bank account. Definitely get in touch to see what the best option can be for you and do your research.

 Getting a travel card is a good idea too and being organised with your finances is essential so that you can keep on top of any payments and tax returns. When you’ve moved overseas, if you have a job, they might give you recommendations as to what bank account is easy to open- for example when I moved to Canada, the bank I was recommended to open was a CIBC account, or when I moved to England it was easiest to open a Lloyds account. 

3. Travel Insurance 

Travel insurance is required in general for travellers. When moving abroad, some local laws may require you to have medical insurance including as apart of the visa application. This is because although health care might be available to residents and citizens, costs can differ for visitors and you can’t always apply for local health insurance as soon as you move to your specific country. 

You usually need to prove your residency and commitment to where you’re living. Countries such as Japan let you enroll in their health insurance program after three months of residency. When I lived in Canada, I was able to apply for Alberta Health Care within three months of establishing my residency and had to provide all the necessary documents. From what I know and from friends I know that have moved to Australia, they have been able to apply to Medicare which is the universal healthcare scheme in Australia. As well as when I moved to England I was able to apply for NHS (you can apply for NHS on a working holiday visa.) 

Whatever country you’d like to move to, research about their specific healthcare system. This will determine if you need travel insurance to start off with or a long amount of time, or if you’ll be able to apply to their healthcare straight away or after a certain amount of time. 

4. Phone SIM 

To get yourself started when you’ve moved to a new country, getting a local SIM is a great idea as you’ll be able to get your own data and of course, be able to text and call. It is possible to use your own SIM from your home country, especially when on a specific contract, as some contracts give you unlimited data roaming, texts and calls when travelling. For most travellers, we tend to use any free WiFi as much as possible as data roaming, texts and calls can have huge costs. 

When living in America, Canada, England and backpacking throughout Mexico and Guatemala, I got a local SIM card in every country. I learnt as I went along and if there’s any advice I could give to my younger travel self is to research beforehand! It’s nice to get to a place and already have a general idea of the SIM card you’d like to buy, especially when moving to another country as nowadays there are many options- you want one that’s good value for money and to avoid any scams with faulty SIM cards. Also, having knowledge beforehand is then one less thing to stress about. You can buy local SIM’s at airports, mobile and electronic shops and newsstands. 

I’ve also recently found out about ESIM cards which for me has opened up a whole new world of travel connectivity. It’s basically the same as a regular SIM card without the physical card. You must check if your phone allows ESIM compatibility, and you can install up to eight ESIMS on an iPhone and use two at the same time! You can purchase them anywhere and at anytime as well as have the freedom to switch providers and plans. You’re able to stay connected in multiple countries and regions worldwide. 

5. Accommodation 

My last point for this blog post, accommodation. Luckily, I’ve always had some sort of accommodation sorted for when I’ve moved overseas but I’ve met so many travellers in my time that have had no plan. So don’t stress if you’ve not figured it out! When living in Banff, a lot of people stayed in hostels until they had further accommodation sorted. When backpacking through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, we didn’t plan too far in advance but booked either an Airbnb, hostel or hotel as we went along, which was quite easy to do. It depends what country you’re moving to, if you have a job or not, if family and friends might already be/ live there at the place you’re moving to. Staff accommodation / housing with a job is one way many people moving overseas will secure a place to live, it might be shared with others or it could be private. Make sure to do some research beforehand and if you do get a job, talk to your manager or boss about the housing situation, ask plenty of questions whether that’s about the rent price, location, house rules, how many people you’re potentially living with, if there’s anything you’ll need to buy etc… so you know what you’re getting into! 

I also know of people that have moved overseas with friends and have rented privately an apartment or house together. Again, I’d highly recommend doing research beforehand if this is something you’d love to do, try to make a rough plan of your budget per month and make sure to include food, activity, memberships and any recurring payments so that you get a broad understanding of how much you could put towards rent. Having a tour of your apartment or house is also essential before putting a deposit down- you don’t want to say yes to something and then get to the place and hate it! 

Lastly, it’s also possible to rent alone or have prolong stays at either an Airbnb or hostel! There are quite a few countries now, tied with Digital Nomad Visas in which I’ve seen many people live for up to six months in an Airbnb- Mexico was a big one. Also from living and working in Banff, many people lived in the hostel for six months as their accommodation for the winter. Also to mention that many travellers might buy a van and live in that (this is quite common for people that move to Australia) and I’ve also heard of people living at campsites (in Australia) as their accommodation for seasonal work. 

Bonus: 

Tax Number: 

Known as a tax file number, national insurance number, taxpayer identification number etc… Having one of these will help you be able to work legally in whatever country you move to. You can usually find information on government websites as to how to apply and obtain your number. If you are moving overseas and sponsored by work, sometimes the company you work for will help you get this number but it’s also easy and simple to get alone. It’s important to have one as it gives insight into your personal tax, pensions and benefits and will usually be found on payslips. 

I hope these points help you somehow if you’re thinking about packing up and settling down in another country. If you know of family or friends that want to do this, maybe send this blog post to them. When I first moved overseas when I was 20, I had no idea what I was doing… Like I said before, I researched things as I went on which I found quite stressful at times and I wished at times there was some sort of post on Instagram or even a blog post on this sort of thing. On the other hand, the process had always been quite easy and straightforward but the more I did it, the better the experience. Don’t let the fear of “what ifs” and paperwork stop you from moving overseas- there’s always going to be hard bits and challenges but you’ll be so glad that you took the leap. Don’t forget you can always DM me on my instagram the_runawayredhead. 

Here’s to 2024, chasing dreams, travelling and new experiences! 

Talk soon, 

The Runaway Redhead