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Lashan Ranasinghe left Australia almost 10 years ago and has no regrets. Picture: YouTube<\/p>\n
An expat who left Australia almost 10 years ago has revealed why he packed up his life to live abroad and why he is never coming back.<\/p>\n
Lashan Ranasinghe quit Australia for good in 2017 after spending time abroad in Canada and Europe during his university years.<\/p>\n
The civil engineering project manager spent a few years in Canada but moved to London in 2020 where he waited out the covid pandemic. He made the move to France in 2024 following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n
Despite the high cost of property in London (renting in central London can cost an average \u00a31600 (AUD $3000) a month) Mr Ranasinghe said he hadn\u2019t looked back since leaving Australia.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old said his biggest issues with Australia were largely cultural problems he rarely encountered elsewhere in the world.<\/p>\n
MORE:\u2018Bad\u2019: Dark side of buying $2 home in Italy<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Ranasinghe spent time abroad during his university years which changed who he was as a person. Picture: YouTube<\/p>\n MORE: 33yo quits Aus for Dubai, exposes real costs<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA big reason why I left Australia is the people. There are genuinely good people in Australia but after living abroad and coming back you tend to notice patterns and differences when averaged across the wider populace,\u201d he said on his YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reputation Aussies have about being laid back and chill but it\u2019s really just surface level. When you grow up in it, there\u2019s a cultural cancer holding this country back and it\u2019s called tall poppy syndrome.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have any ambition or desire to do something outside the norm everyone around you will ostracise you, cast out, bully you, tear you down repeatedly until you give up and do what everyone else is doing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou ever wonder why famous Australian actors like Chris Hemsworth or Margot Robbie all move abroad to kickstart their careers? Because staying in Australia is a dead end for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Ranasinghe highlighted his own career in civil engineering as an example of a lack of opportunities in Australia.<\/p>\n In Sydney, Mr Ranasinghe said he worked on projects like the widening of local motorways. By contrast, his first job in London was the upgrading of Heathrow Airport. Even the completion of Spain\u2019s most famous cathedral \u2013 Sagrada Fam\u00edlia \u2013 was orchestrated from London, Mr Ranasinghe said.<\/p>\n MORE: Aussies swap Sydney prices for luxury Thai villas<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Ranasinghe has spent time in Canada and Europe. Picture: YouTube<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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