A woman has shared her story of how she moved to Australia after years of being a fan of TV show, Home and Away. Colleen Deere, 35, originally from Carlow, Ireland, had a "really good job" in a bank in Kildare but was always curious about life overseas. She spent half a year saving up for the move and initially flew to Perth with a working holiday visa — a place she says she "fell in love with straight away".
Colleen met her now-fiancée, Tom McParland, 39, while they were both working on a vineyard and living in the same hostel in Margaret River. The couple clicked instantly. Now they have been together for eight years, have Australian citizenship, and currently reside in Sydney with their one year old son, Cove.
Have you moved to Australia? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com She encouraged those contemplating living abroad to "go for it because if it doesn't work out, it's literally just a return flight back". Mum-of-one Colleen, who is now a team leader at a recruitment agency, said: "I had a really good job at a bank back home, but to be honest Australia had interested me ever since I was really young and I had always really wanted to visit.
"Customers used to come into the bank and send dollars to their sons and daughters abroad and it always really interested me where they were and what they were doing. "I finally made the decision to fly the nest and saved hard for about six months after booking the flight — I flew out to Perth with around 7,000 Australian dollars.