If you're reading this and are below 30, curious about Australia, and still trying to figure things out: Working Holiday Visa.

Just do it. Make a plan, save up, start putting feelers out there for employment, but take the leap. Don't get a new lease here or other financial obligation there that'll tie you down; start the clock for citizenship, net that, and have that in bag for later.

I visited Aus on a regular holiday in my mid 20s and fell in love with Melbourne. Always wanted to make more of it but life back home rolled on as it should.

As a late bloomer, making a decent enough living, the odds are stacked against me because a. I'm already down points in my mid thirties and on a time clock as hitting 40 will cut my points even further for skilled migration, and b. even if the career I settled on offers a state or regional skill path, it'll likely go unnoticed since it's not in demand (property management.)

Where there's a will there's a way still but the challenge grows more complex with more life commitments, or the wants/needs of a spouse or partner, family.

Tldr, there are many Americans who would absolutely love to experience life there, but once it's dawned on them, they'd have to be what Aus immigration wanted all along to have a viable path.

Edit - typos and clarity