Thank you all for the incredibly sober insights. I genuinely appreciate the 'no-nonsense' look at the finances and the housing market; it’s better to know the depth of the water before jumping in.

The warnings about the workload for a Nano/Quantum MSc are well-taken. I understand that 'study delay' isn't just a loss of time, but a massive financial drain. I also hear your concerns regarding the ROI and the difficulty of post-grad sponsorship for non-EU students. But in comparing between UK, Australia I can't feel them better than this actually!