The familiar twang of an Australian accent is a common sound when walking the streets of London.
A group of Australians living in London has told SBS News there's many reasons why they're there.
"I think it's a really happening place, like there's always so much stuff that you can do anything from like live music and pubs, restaurants, events. There's always a lot to do, as well to young people around. Yeah, it's just a lot of fun." " It's easy to jump on a plane on a Friday afternoon after work and go to another country. So coming from a place it's so huge, takes me like eight hours at home to drive to our state's capital city. So it's so accessible to everything." "The convenience of Europe being so close, to travel. And being from Australia we're so far away from everything. A lot of my friends live here as well to be honest, I just go wherever my friends go. It's easy, convenient."
The last UK census found almost 90,000 Australians call Britain home.
Stephen Smith is the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
"At any given time, we will have over 130,000 Australians who are living here permanently, so they're there in residence here. London, of course predominates but Aussies live everywhere. Now, that's not necessarily forever, but it'll be we're living permanently for work or for study."
Mr Smith says on top of the Aussies already residing in the UK, Mr Smith says many more are in the country at any given time.
"But at any given time, rule of thumb, there will be potentially a million Australians who are passing through the UK. They might be doing a short course for study, they might be on a contract for work, and a lot of tourists so people coming in and out."
Mr Smith says the high count of Australians makes the High Commission in London one of the busiest polling booths on election days.
"For the referendum over 16,000 Australians voted here in person, and more than 2000 deposited their postal vote at Australia House. So over 18,000 people voted here. So we were for the referendum, we were essentially a voting centre for 10 working days, and so that's a big demand and a big effort on Australia House. But it's also a very good time, because there are lots of Aussies in the queue outside waiting to vote, there's good repartee between the officials and the Aussies who are passing through. So often it can be a good social time, a good time where Aussies get to chat in the queue and the like."
Mr Smith says there's a longstanding link between the two countries.
"There are the people to people cultural and historical links between Australia and the United Kingdom. So the United Kingdom remains the largest source of origin so far as the Australian population is concerned. But in the modern era, there are also deep Economic and Employment Opportunities for Australians. And that's why very many Australians have traditionally come to the UK. So when I was much younger, I came here in the late 70s and early 80s. On the laps, lawyer by trade, I was admitted here to practice I lectured and tutored, I studied at masters level."
That long standing link comes with benefits.
An Australian living in London Beth Fernside says it's easy to get a visa.
"You know, a lot of people when they younger want to experience living overseas, and I think it's an easy sort of link and you can get a visa easily. And you're also then right on Europe's doorstep to travel which obviously compared to Australia makes a big difference."
Mr Smith says that visa process is a point of pride in the UK-Australia relationship.
"We've changed the what we call the work holiday arrangements. Before the Free Trade Agreement, they cut out at age 30 and they were for a maximum of two years. Now they cut out at age 35 for maximum three years. So if you've got two years to spend in London, as a general proposition, you'll be pulling pints in a pub in London and going to Europe for holidays. But if you're between 30 and 35, and you've got three years, you can be serious about your career development, your profession, your trade, whatever you do. That's a fantastic opportunity, and a really good thing for young Aussies to do just as, its reciprocal, of course, and so young Brits can go to Sydney or Perth or Adelaide as the case may be."
But while the atmosphere and location are great, it's not all good, according to some Aussies living there now.
"The cost of living here is really, really high. So while you want to do a lot of things, you do start to convert everything back to Australian dollars and realize how expensive everything here is. So definitely don't like that. It's not as clean, like Australia, from a hygiene perspective, it's a lot better. I mean, it's easier when your population is less. But yeah, I wish London was a bit cleaner, and the crime, I wish there was less crime and it was a bit safer." "It's expensive. Sometimes it's too many people. And then yeah, the weather's shocking majority of the year."
The coffee in the UK is infamously bad - but Mr Smith says is it can be OK if you know where to go.
"You have to know where to buy your coffee. So close to Australia house there's a there's a coffee house which is which is comparable to Perth and Melbourne standards 2023. But you have to be careful with your coffee. And if in doubt, then what they call here and americano, what we call a long black, is the safest bet."
Overwhelmingly, the advice from Aussies living in London for those considering the move is it's worth doing.
"Just do it. Like, if you wait for the right time and you feel like you're not ready, you'll probably never do it. So it's just about taking the leap. To make sure you're wise about it, make sure you've got savings and like a potential job lined up and, and maybe some family and friends. Because if you're moving on your own, it could get a bit lonely." "I would just say give it a go you never know if you're gonna like something until you until you try it out. For me and my friends that have done it, it's been an amazing experience and create a lot of memories and you know, I think you don't want to get to a stage where you're older and maybe regret not having done some of these opportunities while you have the chance."
