I came home, paid off my student debts: I’m now living my dream in Australia

This essay as told is based on a conversation with Gabriel Filer, 34, based in Sydney. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Do you have a story to share about leaving the United States? Contact this journalist at ccheong@businessinsider.com.

When I was a child, I looked up at the sky and thought about what life was like outside of my hometown, Middletown, Connecticut.

As I grew up, I became interested in exploring other countries. In 2019, at the age of 28, I visited Australia and fell in love with it. During the pandemic, I thought about applying to move there once the borders reopened. The civil unrest in the United States also made me seriously consider leaving the country.

Before moving to Australia, I wanted to pay off my student debt of over $90,000, build up a six-month emergency fund, and cover my moving expenses, such as the cost of my visa application.

I was disciplined about saving and paid off my debt in August 2023, less than four years after I started saving in earnest and almost a year before I moved.

It felt like a sacrifice, but living with my parents for 7.5 years is what made it possible.

I put money aside each month to pay off my debt balances

I graduated in 2013 with a diploma in community, environment and planning, then got my Master’s degree in town planning and regional planning in 2016. After my higher studies, at the age of 25, I returned home.

I was very frugal growing up and once I started working at age 26 in 2017, I put money into a brokerage account. By the end of 2019, I had about $47,000 saved, but it wasn’t enough to cover my loans of about $90,000. Between 2019 and 2024, my annual salary as a planner increased from approximately $40,000 to $65,000.

In January 2020, I started paying $1,000 a month out of my paycheck toward my student debt, and starting in May, I put between $1,000 and $2,000 into my brokerage account.

Using that money, accrued interest, and some existing savings, I paid off $65,600 of my student loan in October 2021. The three-year break in student loan payments during the pandemic, when my loans were interest-free, seemed like a golden window for me to pay off my debt. I didn’t really go out to spend money on gas either, and my parents didn’t charge me for rent or groceries.

This allowed me to save a lot on my monthly salary, which was around $3,400 between 2021 and 2023.

Every month I used my Apple Notes app to write down and track all my expenses. When I paid a bill, I crossed off that expense on the bill.

In August 2023, I made a second payment to clear my balance before the student loan payment break ended in September.

After paying off my debt, I saved over $38,000 for moving and for emergencies.

Once I got my debt under control, I focused on setting aside money for my visa fees and moving. As of April 2024, I have accumulated over $38,000 in short-term reserves to contribute to my emergency fund and relocation costs.

I hired an immigration lawyer to help me apply for permanent residency in Australia. I don’t have good reading comprehension, so it was helpful to have a professional to help me with the complicated immigration process. I also joined an immigration support group on Facebook, which gave me a network of people who were also moving to Australia and was helpful in sharing information about the process.

I volunteered virtually to have professional references when I arrived in Australia

In April 2024 I moved to Sydney. I had made connections by volunteering virtually for an Australian non-profit while I was in the United States. This helped me gather professional references for my job search.

Two months after arriving in the country, I got a job as a grants manager in the education sector. My salary is 113,575 AUD, which is about $73,700, which is more than I earned in the United States.

Initially, I rented an apartment for the equivalent of $1,645 per month, which seemed much better than what I could rent in a major American city.

In June 2025, I finalized the deposit on a unit. It’s nice to have my own place and be able to invite people over after years of living with my parents.

I would rather live in Australia than in the United States. People are very nice here and going to the pharmacy doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The work-life balance here is unparalleled. When I finish work, I don’t feel guilty about leaving, whereas I always felt stressed in the United States.

Moving to Australia was a dream come true. I felt like life would be better outside the US, I just needed the courage to step out of my comfort zone and go for it.

Do you have a story to share about leaving the United States? Contact this journalist at ccheong@businessinsider.com.