YouTuber Morgan Luke cut short his Australia working holiday visa after just weeks in Sydney and returned to the UK. He now shares his honest UK vs Australia comparison.
Why He Left Australia
Morgan Luke, who ventured to the other side of the globe on a Working Holiday visa, was forced to depart after less than six weeks following struggles to secure employment. After returning to the UK, he uploaded a video on his YouTube channel discussing his brief stint in the country.
UK's Advantages: Proximity to Europe and the NHS
Morgan reckons the UK comes out on top thanks to its proximity to other nations and the fact it boasts the NHS. On its closeness to other countries, Morgan said: 'What I'm talking about is how easy it is to get to other countries. With Australia, you're three hours from New Zealand if you're on the east coast. If you're on the west coast you're even further. Given its vicinity to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany and Spain, it [the UK] has definitely got that upper hand. You could easily get all across Europe via train or plane, or even car. So, it is a very cool thing the fact that that is even an option.'
Healthcare Comparison
After discussing the UK's PAYE tax system, Morgan went on to compare both nations' healthcare systems. While the UK has the NHS, Australia operates Medicare. One of the key differences between the two is that while the former is tax-funded, the latter functions as a public-private hybrid system. When comparing the two systems, Morgan was candid about how evenly matched they were. He explained: 'I do believe Medicare is better in some circumstances definitely, but the fact you need an insurance card is weird to me.' He added: 'It's not the fact I have an issue with the system, it's the fact it's just a bit obscure to me when, coming from the UK, we have a National Insurance number. We also get our NHS number which basically our health records number so, no matter what doctor we see, they can pull up our file. I do believe in terms of simplicity of the overall system, and the fact there's one unified app to check your entire health record, is incredible.'
That said, Morgan acknowledged Medicare has its strengths compared to the NHS, though he was careful to note his views were based on others' experiences rather than his own. He said: 'However, if you look on the flip side of that and you look at stuff like Medicare in Australia. I don't have a single experience using it, I'm going off what other people have said, so please take this with a grain of salt. Medicare seems to be better for GP visits, hospital visits. The NHS might come out on top considering there's no insurance card to show.'
