18 and alone!

martyclarke

Hi there,

I am considering going to Australia after I get my leaving cert results on a Working Holiday Visa. I will just have turned 18 and am thinking of going it alone! It will be my first time travelling alone and my parents fear that I don't have the independence nor the street smarts to do it and reckon I will be lonely. My concerns are not being able to find any work with just my leaving cert behind me and some experience behind a bar and waiting tables. I also fear that being so young I may find it hard to form any friendships with the other backpackers seeing as they would probably be slightly older.

So basically I'm asking those of you with the experience, is Australia a safe place? Is there many other 18/19 year olds floating about the place in the same situation? If not do you reckon I could form friendships with the older heads? Will i struggle getting work? Would I be better off waiting til after college on the off chance that one or two of my mates will want to come along?

By the way I have absolutely no idea what I want to do in college, if that has any relevance to the topic!

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Zambia

No do not use your WHV at this stage of your life. Chances are you can explore other avenues till you have a few more skills. Australia is very safe but at your age there are a lot of traps to fall into. Do not fly halfway around the world to work in macDonalds for a few months. By all means come to oz but not Now.

Stinicker

Zambia wrote: »

No do not use your WHV at this stage of your life. Chances are you can explore other avenues till you have a few more skills. Australia is very safe but at your age there are a lot of traps to fall into. Do not fly halfway around the world to work in macDonalds for a few months. By all means come to oz but not Now.

Australia is quite safe unless you are the sort who gets drunk off his face sloshed and dosen't see more off Oz than Bondi. I'd say maybe go over there for a holiday to see the place and get a feel, and if you liked it you could always return on a WHV, I went over last year for a holiday and liked it and am thinking of maybe going back next year to do the WHV. The majority of people on the holiday visa are aged between 23-27 and most of them would be finished college or taking a year out.

My advice would be continue onto college and get your papers because when you leave secondary school and don't make the jump to college straight away you'll find it harder to go back then, get your papers in whatever field you wish and then you can make the break, because lets face it Ireland as a ship has floundered and there in no future for people at home

hussey

A huge amount of Europeans come just after school, and before starting college.

But there is no problem with safety, but more around jobs, since they don't have any skills as such, they will be stuck on low paid, long hours type jobs.

Most Irish it seems come a few years later 24 seems to be the avg age from my experience.

ellaq

I was 19 when I came here on a WHV and I was a very young 19. But I came with a friend. It was a while ago now but there was a lot of young people around my own age on the backpacker scene. I had done my first year at college and I deferred my place. I then went to NZ and then onto London so all up I was gone 2 years. I went back to Ireland to finish my degree. I think without that place in college to go back to it would have been hard to force myself to return home.

I travelled NZ and London by myself but I was able to connect with friends that I met in Australia.

Why do you want to come here? If it is for the adventure and it is the right time in your life then go for it. And have enjoy it.

jack in the box

Most english over hear are 18 and 19, so theres plenty of people in the same boat as you. Look if youre really considering it get youre RSA course done and you could be making big bucks in a pub if you get in the right place. And yes Oz is a safe place!

joaneire

I think you should definitely go to college first. Even do a 3 year arts degree, very broad and you can do pretty much anything after that...you can only get one working holiday visa and you may regret it in years to come that you used it up so early in life! College is brilliant fun, you get to live away from home and have the craic with friends, you learn a lot of life skills...so you'll get the freedom it'll just be here in Ireland/UK while it's paid for and you'll be learning

martyclarke

cheers for the responses guys!!!

I'll definitely take them into consideration over the next few weeks!