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Comment by elithrar | Hacker News Reader

> You can make $16/hr picking tomatoes or as a barista or $25 an hour shuffling stuff around at a building site.

These figures sound good compared to US min. wages, but given the (substantially) increased cost of living I'm not sure this is good advice.

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I think it is good advice. The guy is in a rut. Going to Australia will do two things. One, open his eyes to a new part of the world. It's something not many people do and it will be fascinating and exciting. The second thing it will do is get him a high paying job that requires no skill. I think the idea is to try and live on an American cost of living, but in Australia. I don't know if that's possible, but I'd bet it's possible.

It's expensive but it's workable, and you can still save money. The minimum wage is federal, so you get paid the same as a barista in Sydney as you do in regional Australia. Also, I suggested it because the working holiday visa is available. I'm not sure if there any other countries which even offer such an option to Americans.

New Zealand offers a similar Visa, but you'll be better off in Australia if you want to make money.

Agreed, I'm in AU now with my brother and he makes $20 an hour working retail at a bookstore. Housing and the rest is expensive though, so count on finding a shared house and a commute. And living cheaply while you save + work on your coding abilities.

Go anywhere else. Hike somewhere. Getting out of the rut and mindset is one step of many.

I do second the concern that Australia is expensive though. But there's no language barrier, work around and lots to see.

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