Blog #20 - My Journey to Moving Abroad: British Passport, Saving $10K, and Big Plans Ahead
I have set some pretty ambitious plans and am a little nervous. I am aiming to move abroad in the coming June. In the time leading up to that, I need to make sure I have gotten my British passport, paid off my debts, built up my savings, moved out of my house, sold my car, built up my blog & secured housing and employment to just name the main things. This is a very intimidating list, the financial hurdles of overcoming my debt and reaching at least 10k in savings in time are enough to stress anyone out. I have decided to make these Friday posts updates on my progress, I hope this new series can keep me on track and help others looking to make a similar big change in their life.
Passport
One of the big things I have to get done is getting my British passport, my mum is from England so thankfully I’m eligible. Getting this second passport would mean more than just a baller move. Having a British passport would mean that I can stay in the UK as long as I would like, I can work, study and even vote. I would be a dual citizen. This passport would allow me to use the UK as a home base. I can live work and have a blast in the UK whilst planning travels into Europe and possibly even North America. Visas are such a pain and expense I’m really lucky I can take advantage of this. Unfortunately, the conservative government seriously cucked the British passport during Brexit. When the UK was still a part of the European Union this passport would have granted me unlimited work and travel rights in all EU countries. As much as that is a huge loss I’m still determined to get my passport, I’m just in the process of getting some of my mum's documents sorted so I can submit my application.
Finances
Without a doubt, my biggest obstacle in this journey is my finances. Before I can even go abroad I must pay off my debt which I have built up due to needing to repair my car and simply by partying and being a student at the same time. Without going into too much detail I have around $5k in debt that I need to sort out. The past few weeks have been a process of reestablishing good financial habits after 4 straight years of establishing really fun spending habits. I’m simultaneously building up my travel savings and paying off my debts which is not easy. As much as I love my Petbarn job there are simply not enough hours in the roster to get me the cash I need. I’m looking for a second job handing out resumes in person and online mainly at bars and bottleos. I would love some nighttime hospitality work I could make some good money on top of other work and I could scratch my itch for going out to the pubs anyway.
Whilst waiting for this second job I’m doing the odd bit of DoorDash work. I first did DoorDash when I moved to Perth and was waiting for my job at Kmart to transfer. The work is not too bad, I get to listen to music or audiobooks, can stop whenever I want, and last week one woman decided to tip me by giving me a 6 pack of beer and a handful of weed. The work is not always very profitable however, depending on demand you could make over $30 an hour or less than $12, it’s not a sustainable solution. I’m really looking forward to getting a second job and putting away as much money as I can each week, feel free to message me on Instagram if you know of any good openings.
Accommodation & Employment
I’m really lucky that the most intimidating process is somewhat taken care of. I was not looking forward to breaking into a housing market overseas. Thankfully my Mum’s best friend from her 20s who I consider an aunt is willing to rent me a room at her house in Brighton. This is a pretty perfect scenario, Brighton is one of the warmer places on that cold rock and is known for its fantastic nightlife, music and arts scene. I would love to get a job slinging pints, spending my free time having a blast going to gigs and interviewing local artists.
Greater travel plans
Travel plans after Brighton are also a must. I cannot wait to move there but I’m doing this so that I can live in dozens of different places and experience as much of life as I can. Staying in one place too long would go against what I’m doing and make it harder to leave. I have two gigs I’m really excited about when I get to England. Oasis in July and Jamiroquai in December. In the time before that aside from maybe a cheeky weekend trip to Ibiza, I think I will stay in the UK. In 2026 though I want to try living in Europe. Living in a place like Berlin or Amsterdam would just be too cool not to pass up. Right now all I can do for this is learn as much as I can about living and travelling in Europe and keep working towards my goals. If anyone has any knowledge on this stuff please feel free to comment or message me on Instagram.
Odds & Ends
Thanks for reading, I still have lots left to do a lot of which just cannot be done until I’m closer to leaving. I will keep everyone posted though, I love the idea of using these Friday posts to share my progress and keep myself locked in. This is also my 20th blog post, I just want to thank everyone for their interest and support, I’ll be posting a lot more so if you like what I write stay tuned.
