UK woman reveals how she finally felt at home in Australia

David Campbell

Updated 12 May 2026, 12:23pm

First published 12 May 2026, 12:11pm

Annie Symond and husband Stephen Moylan moved to England and back again after just six months. Picture: Instagram

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A British expat who took two attempts at settling in Australia has revealed the one thing that finally made her feel at home Down Under … Buying her own home.

Annie Symonds made her first move to Australia in 2011 where she met her future husband Stephen Moylan, obtained permanent residency and stayed for seven years.

It’s a story that has played out for thousands of other UK natives who decided to make Australia home and the rush to sun, beaches and cuddly koalas has showed no signs of slowing.

New data from realestate.com.au shows that the number of renters looking to make the move to Australia from the UK increased 28 per cent over the past year and the UK is also the top location for buyers looking to purchase Aussie property as well, increasing 21 per cent in the past 12 months.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data for 2024 revealed more than 40,000 UK and Irish migrants arrived Down Under that year – the highest 12-month intake in more than a decade.

Annie Symond was in Australia for seven years before heading home. Picture: Instagram

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But like many UK residents who move to Australia with dreams of living there permanently, Ms Symonds eventually relented to the pressure of missing family and friends back home.

By 2018 she made the call to pack up and head back to England after feeling like she never really fit into Sydney where she had settled.

“I was here for seven years before we moved back to the UK, and when we decided to move back, it was really exciting. It was a very spontaneous thing,” Ms Symonds told Nine.com.au.

“In Sydney, I never really felt like I fitted in properly. So I couldn’t wait to be around all my family and friends again.”

Ms Symonds and her husband began setting up their lives in Brighton on England’s south coast but it took less than a month for her to realise she had made a mistake.

“I was living in Brighton and commuting to London … and it was a horrendous commute,” she said.

“It can take three hours to get to London. I was spending £1000 ($1873) per month on commuting.”

Annie Symond bought a home in Queensland, something that finally helped her feel settled outside England. Picture: Instagram

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The living situation in Brighton was compounded by how difficult and costly it would be to get permanent residency for her husband.

After just six months, Ms Symonds became what she called a “ping pong Pom” and moved to Australia for a second time.

The couple bought their first home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast after realising they’d been priced out of Sydney’s rental and buying markets.

It has been eight years since Ms Symonds resettled in Australia and she couldn’t be happier.

“I never realised that actually buying a home was what was going to really make me feel completely settled,” she said.

Ms Symonds now spends her time helping educate other British expats on her experience in the hope they don’t make rash decisions to move home like she did.

“That’s the problem that a lot of expats have when they move over to Australia, is that they remember the UK with rose-tinted glasses, and remember the good parts of it, not what it’s actually like to live there,” she said.