An American In Brisbane: Australia Working Holiday Visa Month 6 Update
Published May 18, 2026
This blog post was proudly created without the use of generative AI. It was 100% written and edited by a human, for humans. Enjoy, and thanks for your support!
Can you believe my year in Australia is already half over? If you’re new to my travel blog, welcome! My name is Kevin, and I’m an American based in Brisbane on a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). If you’re curious what it’s like to spend a year in Australia on a WHV, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve written a monthly update blog post since I arrived, and this is my sixth post in the series.
Below are all the topics I’ll discuss in this post. Click or tap any link below to jump down to the corresponding section!
Recap of My First Five Months in Australia on a WHV
I came to Australia in mid-November of 2025. After settling in, I applied to quite a few jobs across multiple industries. The job search was tough, but I got a few callbacks and started working as a teacher right after New Year 2026. Since then, I’ve worked a regular teaching schedule during the week, and on weekends I’ve explored Brisbane and its surroundings.
Life in Brisbane
Because Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, this time of year (April – May) is autumn, and winter is rapidly approaching. Luckily, Brisbane has a very mild winter characterized by cool mornings and evenings. Afternoons in wintertime are usually warm but not hot. I’ve loved not having to bundle up the way I did when I lived in Chicago!
I’m a big foodie, so my main hobby here is trying new restaurants. In addition, I’ve started to get back into running. A friend recommended a run club that offers complimentary beers after their weekly 5k, which has been a great motivator to stick with it!
Day Trips
Time flies when you’re having fun, and I know that six months left in Australia is not actually that long, especially since I’m working Mondays through Fridays. I want to make the most of my time here, so I’ve tried to do some day trips on the weekends to explore more of South East Queensland (and even a tiny bit of New South Wales).
Wynnum, Manly, and Lota
Location: Click or tap for Google Maps link
These areas form part of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay coast. They have a much calmer atmosphere than the city center, which is about 15 to 20 kilometers to the east. This entire coastline is easily accessible via the city’s Cleveland train line, making it an ideal day trip as long as the weather is sunny.
I’m hoping to spend more time out this way in the coming months, and hopefully I’ll explore Wynnum enough that I can write a blog post about the area before I leave Brisbane in November.
Dunwich & Amity, North Stradbroke Island
Location: Click or tap for Google Maps link
North Stradbroke Island is one of the most popular day trips from Brisbane, and after visiting, I can see why. You have to take a ferry from the mainland to North Stradbroke Island, but it only costs about 20 AUD for a round-trip ticket.
North Stradbroke has three main towns: Dunwich, Amity, and Point Lookout. On my day trip, I visited the first two. These two towns face inland towards Moreton Bay, so their beaches have calm and clear waters. I will absolutely be back soon to check out Point Lookout, which is located on the island’s Pacific side. The waves there are known to be rough, but also an incredibly vibrant shade of blue.
Coolangatta, QLD & Tweed Heads, NSW
Location: Click or tap for Google Maps link
The last day trip I took this month was down to the very southern edge of the Gold Coast known as Coolangatta. I also visited the neighboring town of Tweed Heads. The state border between Queensland and New South Wales separates Coolangatta and Tweed Heads, so I technically left Queensland for the first time since November to spend an hour or two on the NSW side!
Coolangatta and Tweed Heads have some stunning beaches and hills that overlook them, but the weather was somewhat overcast on the day that a friend and I visited. I plan to go back on a day with clearer weather to see these ocean waters in their best light.
Housing & Job Updates
Not much has changed in terms of my housing arrangement since last month. I’m still living in the Woolloongabba and Kangaroo Point area, which is absolutely beautiful. It’s right across the Brisbane River from the city center, so it’s about as close as you can be to downtown without actually being there.
In terms of work, I am still teaching at the same school I started working at in January. I also started a second job in the evenings, so my weekdays have been pretty busy. I haven’t gotten my first paycheck from my second job yet, but it should show up in next month’s finance update.
A Few Restaurant Highlights This Month
When I arrived in Australia, I set up “Kev’s AUS Food Diary” on Instagram to post a review of every restaurant I try here. Below are some of my favorite meals from Month 6! The first I’ll mention is the pizza I had at Straddie Brewing Company in Dunwich. You can purchase cans beer from Straddie Brewing at liquor stores throughout Brisbane, but it was cool to try some beers on tap right where they’re produced. The pizza was also delicious, and the meal came with an excellent view of the water from their rooftop balcony.
I’ve tried a lot of Vietnamese food in Brisbane, but HaNoi DnA deserves a special mention. They specialize in Hanoi-style cooking, and the bún chả was incredible! They also make delicious rice paper rolls (gỏi cuốn). I need to go back and see what their phở is like.
Another memorable meal was the Rinderroulade I had at German BierGarten Brisbane in Wooloowin. I hadn’t had German food since arriving in Australia, so this plate was incredibly satisfying! You can’t go wrong with spätzle and red cabbage, and the Rinderroulade was a rich wrapped meat roll in a brown sauce.
The last meal I’ll highlight was the combination rice bowl I had from Jia Ba Way (呷飽沒). Taiwanese food is a little hard to come by, but it’s worth seeking out! I went to Taiwan at the end of last year, and the savory flavors of the snacks and street food there are amazing. The combo bowl from Jia Ba Way includes fried chicken, Taiwanese sausage, and minced pork.
Finances
On each of my WHV monthly update posts, I’m including a monthly review of my finances and a rolling cumulative total of my earnings and expenses. Here is the breakdown for Month 6.
- TAKE-HOME INCOME: 3,930 AUD (2,760 USD)
- Rent: 400 AUD (280 USD) per week, all utilities included; total rent for sixth month of my WHV: 1,715 AUD (1,205 USD)
- Restaurants, bars, and cafes: 630 AUD (440 USD)
- Groceries and household items: 820 AUD (575 USD)
- Miscellaneous (clothes, appliances, transportation): 185 AUD (130 USD)
- Bills: 65 AUD (45 USD)
- TOTAL SIXTH-MONTH COSTS: 3,415 AUD (2,395 USD)
- MY MONTH 6 SURPLUS: 515 AUD (365 USD)
Below is a summary of my cumulative finances for Months 1 through 5.
- Month 1 Income: 0; Month 1 Expenses: 4,010 AUD (2,835 USD); Month 1 Net: -4,010 AUD (-2,835 USD)
- Month 2 Income: 1,400 AUD (985 USD); Month 2 Expenses: 3,510 AUD (2,480 USD); Month 2 Net: -2,110 AUD (-1,495 USD)
- Month 3 Income: 3,930 AUD (2,780 USD); Month 3 Expenses: 4,325 AUD (3,060 USD); Month 3 Net: -395 AUD (-280 USD)
- Month 4 Income: 4,195 AUD (2,930 USD); Month 4 Expenses: 3,595 AUD (2,515 USD); Month 4 Net: 600 AUD (415 USD)
- Month 5 Income: 4,615 AUD (3,325 USD); Month 5 Expenses: 4,280 AUD (3,080 USD); Month 5 Net: 335 AUD (245 USD)
- Month 6 Income: 3,930 AUD (2,760 USD); Month 6 Expenses: 3,415 AUD (2,395 USD); Month 6 Net: 515 AUD (365 USD)
When you add it all up, my net earnings for Months 1 through 6 are -5,065 AUD (-3,645 USD). Note that conversion rates have shifted since I arrived (from 0.65 USD = 1 AUD in November 2025 to 0.72 USD = 1 AUD in May 2026). This accounts for a slight discrepancy between my AUD and USD summation.
As mentioned above, I just started working a second job to help pay for some upcoming travel expenses, so hopefully I’ll keep working towards breaking even in Months 7 and beyond. Given the high cost of living in Australia, I would recommend that anyone considering a WHV be realistic about how much you can earn and save here. I think I’ll break even before I move away, but probably not by much.
My Plan Moving Forward
At this point, I can say with some certainty that I’ll stay in Brisbane for the second half of my Working Holiday Visa. I feel pretty settled here, and I’m not interested in starting over from zero in another Australian city with less than six months left before I need to leave the country.
Another major update is that I’ll have to leave my morning teaching job in early July. This is due to a rule that Working Holiday Makers (WHMs, or WHV holders) can generally only work at one location for a maximum of six months. In June, I’ll have to apply to some new jobs and see if I can find another school to teach at. If I can’t, I may have to work at a restaurant, cafe, bar, or retail store instead.
By mid-November of this year, I’ll have to depart from Australia. Unfortunately, I’m not eligible for a second Australian WHV due to my age. With that in mind, my top choices right now are to move to either Vietnam or Taiwan to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). I actually spent most of 2019 teaching ESL in Vietnam, and I have really fond memories of my time there. I’ve never lived or worked in Taiwan, but I’ve been there twice on vacation. I could definitely see myself living there, in part because I speak some Chinese.
As soon as I finalize where I’m going next, I’ll be sure to post it here on my blog.
Stay Up to Date on My Working Holiday! 🇦🇺
Thanks for checking out my WHV Month 6 update post! Remember to check out the other posts in this series if you haven’t already, and keep an eye out for my Month 7 post coming soon!
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This post was published on May 18, 2026
This blog post was proudly created without the use of generative AI. It was 100% written and edited by a human, for humans. Enjoy, and thanks for your support!
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