How We Moved to Australia: Our Why, the Visa Process, and Leaving Everything Behind

We still catch ourselves saying, “Are we seriously living in Australia?” Even if it's only for a year, it feels surreal — not just because we’re on the other side of the world, but because, not long ago, we had no idea where we even wanted to go. We just knew one thing: we needed a change.

This post is for anyone curious about how we made the leap: why we chose Australia, the visa process that tested our patience (and sanity), and what it was like to leave everything behind to start fresh on the other side of the world.

Our why

After nearly five years of living and working in Germany, things started to feel… stuck. We had stable jobs, a comfortable routine, and all the things that are supposed to make life feel secure. But instead, we felt like we were settling too early, like we were getting old before we’d really started living. Something inside us kept whispering, there’s more out there.

We both realised our passion for travel wasn’t just a "holiday thing." It was a lifestyle we craved — one that didn’t fit neatly into two weeks off twice a year. We weren’t just dreaming of new destinations; we were craving freedom, adventure, and the space to figure out what we wanted our lives to look like.

Another reason was that Vicente wanted to switch the baseball team for the next season.

Searching for a new place to call home

The hardest part? We had no clue where to go. We started researching different European countries — the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland.. and began reaching out to baseball teams across Europe.

Then one day, kind of out of nowhere, Vicente said, “What about Australia?”. Some of his friends were playing baseball there, and that sparked something — even though we laughed it off at first. It felt way too big, too far, too impossible. But somehow, it stuck with us.

Funny enough, the algorithm seemed to agree. Our feeds were suddenly full of stunning beaches, wild landscapes, and camper vans rolling through the outback. (Sometimes we can't shake off the feeling that our phones are listening to us all the time!) We couldn't stop thinking about it.

That’s when we began researching what it would take to make it happen — visas, documents, language tests… all of it.

The Plot Twist: No City, No Plan, Just a Deadline

Somewhere in between researching visas and prepping for a new life, another twist came into play. Vicente was still waiting to hear from baseball teams — hoping that maybe a contract would not only guide us to a specific city in Australia but also help make the visa process smoother. The problem? Time was ticking. We had no idea where we’d go. No job lined up. No certainty at all. The only thing we knew was: we wanted to leave Germany before winter hit. Paying for heating in our apartment was insanely expensive, and if we were going to make the leap, now was the time. Of course, we also considered just moving to another apartment, or another city in Germany, but we felt like it wouldn't change much in the end.

Things shifted when Vicente actually got an offer from a baseball team in Australia. That was the moment we started thinking, Wait… could this really work? The offer wasn’t final yet, but it sparked something in us — and suddenly, the idea of moving to the other side of the world didn’t feel so impossible anymore.

So, we did what some might call completely crazy — and what we like to call trusting the universe. In the middle of summer, before we’d even applied for the visa, we sent in our notice letters to end our apartment lease and quit our jobs by the end of September. We picked a date: October 1st. That would be our fresh start.

The Visa Process: More Than Just Paperwork

Once we started seriously considering Australia, we dove into the visa research rabbit hole. That’s when we found the Work and Holiday visa — the requirements weren’t impossible, but they definitely weren’t a walk in the park either.

One of the biggest requirements was taking The IELTS English exam, which was honestly a little stressful. Even though we use English every day, the pressure of a formal exam was a whole other thing. All the grammar stuff, time limits, writing tasks.. things that one doesn't use in every day conversations, right. And we only had one week to study before the next possible exam date. But we dived in, did our research, got a workbook with sample exercises, studied, practiced writing essays and letters, listened to educational podcasts on our way to work every day.. and we passed! (both with a band score 7,5!)

If you're interested in more details about the IELTS test and other Work and Holiday visa requirements to Australia, check out our other article: How to apply for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) to Australia.

Reality check

As the weeks went on and September loomed closer, reality hit. We were about to be jobless, homeless, and visa-less, with no clear idea of where we were heading. Plan A was still Australia, but that was starting to feel like more of a stretch — the baseball offer Vicente initially received wasn’t as promising as we’d hoped, and in the end, he decided to decline it and start the search all over again.

Plan B? The Dominican Republic — Vicente had a friend offering him a coaching job there. Plan C? Honestly, we didn’t know, but we were open to anything that made sense (we found ourselves literally waiting for a signal from above)..

One of the most stressful things was the constant barrage of questions from family and friends: Do you know where you’re moving? Have you found new jobs? Any offers? The pressure also came from our colleagues at work, who had no idea what was going on. We had already quit, and didn’t feel ready to share that Vicente had turned down the baseball offer. Also, we were hoping he'd find another one so it wouldn't really matter So we just kept quiet, knowing it was unnecessary to share details and easier to avoid more questions.

It was total chaos, but somehow, we kept trusting that it would all work out in the end. Maybe we didn’t have the answers yet — but we knew that eventually, we would find our way.

Pulling the trigger

Tired of waiting on teams or external help, I decided to stop stalling and just apply for my visa. Vicente, on the other hand, had to wait — his high school in Tenerife needed to send over his graduation certificate, which was another of the visa requirements.

Meanwhile, we kicked off Operation: Leave Germany. We started selling off (almost) everything we owned. Big items like furniture went up on eBay. Smaller things — clothes, shoes, decorations — we sold at a local Flohmarkt. And a LOT was simply donated or thrown away. Eventually, we even sold our car.

Vicente applied for his visa in early September. Mine was approved just before we had to move out of our apartment — perfect timing, but still no news on his.

Eventually, he decided not to pursue baseball here. As much as he loves the game, we realised that committing to one place for a full season would hold us back from exploring freely as the visa gave us only limited time. After playing his whole life, it was not an easy decision — but freedom was one of the reasons we left.

Moving Out… But Not Quite Moving On Yet

The last week of September was a blur of scrubbing walls back to white, cleaning every corner of the apartment, packing the last of our things into boxes for a storage locker — and wondering where on earth we’d go next.

Since Vicente’s visa was still pending, we decided to take the “in-between time” to visit our families. After officially doing the Abmeldung (de-registration) in Germany, we caught a train to the Czech Republic to see my family for a week.

After that, we wanted to escape the oncoming winter and spend the waiting period in Tenerife with Vicente’s mum. Flights from Prague were expensive, so we got creative — as we always do. I found an app called Movacar that connects people with rental vans that need to be relocated. And just like that, we found a Roadsurfer camper van that needed to go from Konstanz to Seville… exactly within the dates we had available! And the flights from Seville cost only 15 Euro!

So we went for it.

We took eight trains (still amazed none were delayed!) from the Czech Republic to Konstanz.

And just as we were heading toward yet another unknown, a moment of pure magic happened: Vicente’s visa got approved! We were waiting for the train from Konstanz centre to the outskirts, where the camper van company is located, when the email arrived. It felt like the universe was finally catching up with our crazy plan. We couldn’t believe it — after all the uncertainty, the green light had arrived. And suddenly, we had a direction!

We celebrated the best way we know how — on the road, with a bottle of champagne by the shores of Lake Como in Italy. It felt like a movie moment. Still, we decided to follow through with the road trip and our stay in Tenerife. Everything was already booked, and honestly, the time turned out to be exactly what we needed — a moment to breathe, spend time with loved ones, and plan our next big chapter with clarity.

Making it happen

From Konstanz in Germany, we drove through Switzerland, Italy, Monaco and France to Seville in Spain - but that's another story - you can find more about this 1 week road trip on our Instagram.

In Tenerife, we spent more than a month — reconnecting with Vicente’s family, enjoying the warmth before the Australian summer, and finishing our Tenerife e-book, which we finally published after revisiting and photographing a few last spots — something we were working on for almost a year and were super proud to finish before moving continents.

It was also there that something really special happened — we got engaged! Vicente proposed in the Teide National Park, the perfect place for it to happen, as the Teide volcano is where we’d climbed together shortly after we met back in 2019. It felt like everything had come full circle — closing one chapter and stepping into a new one together, not just as travel partners, but as a future husband and wife.

We also stumbled upon TrustedHousesitters, a platform that allows you to take care for pets in exchange for accommodation, and figured it could be a great way to start our life in Australia while saving on rent.

With all the puzzle pieces slowly coming together, we finally bought flights to Australia (from Amsterdam via Xiamen) at the end of November. So we booked one last stop: fly from Tenerife to the Netherlands, stay with Vicente’s brother who lives there, and from there — finally — fly to Australia.

Preparing for the move was emotional, exciting, overwhelming — all at once. We had to downsize our lives into two backpacks and four suitcases. Say goodbye to family, friends, and everything we knew. Quit jobs that once felt secure. It was scary. But it also felt like stepping into a life that felt more like us.

Looking back: What a ride!

Looking back now, it’s honestly wild to think about how we did all of this without a clear plan, just trusting that it would somehow work out. From quitting our jobs before even applying for the visa, to selling things we owned, to celebrating our visa approval by Lake Como, to road-tripping across Europe and spending a month in Tenerife — it felt chaotic, spontaneous, uncertain… and yet, completely right.

We didn't move to Australia because everything was lined up perfectly. We moved because we knew deep down that the life we were living wasn't the one we wanted long-term. We wanted to explore, create, and live more freely — and that meant taking some leaps without a safety net.

Now that we’re finally here, exploring Australia together, figuring things out as we go, and soaking up every moment of this wild, beautiful, unpredictable chapter, we know this was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Not just because of where we ended up, but because of the experience and journey that got us here. It stretched us, challenged us, and made us so much more resilient. It hasn’t been perfect or easy, but it’s been so worth it.

And if you're reading this because you're dreaming of a change, and you're scared because you don’t have it all figured out — maybe that’s okay. Maybe the plan doesn’t have to be perfect. Maybe it just has to feel like it’s yours.

Let this be your sign. It might feel impossible at first, but it starts with one small step.

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Thinking of doing something similar? Have questions about the visa or moving abroad? We’re always happy to share more — feel free to reach out or drop a comment below.

And if you’re already planning your own big leap… trust your gut, trust the timing, and go for it. You’ve got this.

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