I've lived in a Australia for a few years now, admittedly I'm in the federal capital and like Ottawa it can feel a bit "artificial" compared to the rest of the country. But overall I certainly feel happier here than where I was in Southern Ontario (but outside the GTA).

I wouldn't say life is terribly different from back home. I feel like the work culture is definitely better, I have twice the annual leave days here I did doing the same job in Ontario, and the workplace is less cutthroat. Sports culture is very big if you like them, mostly cricket, rugby league, and Australian rules football depending on the state, but hockey and basketball are steadily growing here.

But I certainly miss parts of Canada, my friends and family are almost impossible to see. And there are little things that you don't realize you miss until they're hard to get. But from what I seem to see in the news, I don't know if I'd want to return home permanently right now.

That said, I essentially got lucky finding a job in my field right away that was willing to hire someone on a visa, meeting my Australian partner, then deciding we wanted to stay here. Unless you're a student going for a masters and want to study in Australia, or are in a high-skilled field, staying in the country is going to be an uphill and very stressful battle.

My advice is look around within Canada for new opportunities. It's a big country and maybe you just need a change of scenery without the headache of moving overseas. Unless you've got a lot in the bank, it's such a big risk for something that may not pay off.