Young Brit moves to Australia for trial shift and after settling in Perth ‘can’t imagine moving back’

The young Brit booked a one-way flight to Australia for a trial shift, swapping her $40,000-a-year job for a career in Perth earning more than double her old salary.

Maisey Relph, from Wiltshire in the UK, had never visited Australia and knew nobody in the country when she took the gamble in September 2023.

Now living in Perth, according to Wiltshire Live, Maisey earns around $85,000 a year as an end-of-life support worker and says she “can’t imagine moving back” to Britain.

The 23-year-old had been working as a full-time wedding and events coordinator after leaving education, earning $40,000 a year.

But after two summers working as a sailing instructor in Greece, she began looking overseas for something different.

She started applying for sailing instructor jobs in Sydney “for fun” before being offered a trial shift.

Rather than overthink the decision, Maisey booked a one-way flight.

“I actually had a pretty good life, but I was bored. Every day felt the same and I had no excitement,” she said.

“I just thought, ‘do you know what? Let’s just book a one-way flight for literally a trial shift. If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll find another way to make it work’.

“My parents didn’t believe me until the day they drove me to the airport. I didn’t really have a plan B because I thought this is plan A and I’m going to make it work.”

Maisey flew to Sydney with little more than a hostel booking and the address of her trial shift.

She landed the sailing instructor role at Balmoral Water Sports Centre on Sydney’s North Shore, later taking on work as a cafe supervisor during the quieter winter months.

She earned roughly $34 an hour, with additional penalty rates for weekends and public holidays.

Her hours fluctuated because she was working casually on a working holiday visa, prompting her to take on nannying and UberEats driving to make ends meet.

But it was Australia’s lifestyle rather than the initial pay cheque that convinced her she wanted to stay.

Maisey had sailed around different Mediterranean islands with her family while growing up and said she felt there had to be more to life than what the UK could offer.

In May 2024, she bought a semi-converted campervan for $12,500 and spent a further $2,000 renovating it herself, along with additional repairs.

She then lived in the van full-time, waking up beside the beach each morning before work.

The adventure eventually took her across the country, with Maisey completing a 17-day solo drive across southern Australia to Perth.

She has since settled in the WA capital and now works as an end-of-life support worker, earning around $85,000 a year.

In comparison, a palliative care assistant starting out in the UK can expect to earn around $47,000, according to the Government’s National Careers Service.

Maisey said the reality of her new life in Australia still sometimes catches her off guard.

“If someone had told me a few years ago I’d be living in Australia, working on a beach and waking up by the ocean every day, I would’ve laughed. It very quickly becomes your new normal, but sometimes I’d sit there during my morning meditation and think, ‘oh my God, this is actually my life.’”

Maisey is among a growing number of young Brits choosing life overseas, with the UK’s Office of National Statitstics figures showing around 75,000 more British nationals aged 16 to 34 left the UK than arrived in 2025.

Australia has proved a particularly popular destination, with the UK-born population aged 20 to 29 growing by 40 per cent since 2021.

For Maisey, the decision to take a chance on a one-way ticket has ultimately led her all the way to Perth.

“I can’t imagine moving back.”