A father-of-two has explained why moving his family abroad due to the cost of living has now 'ruined' Australia for him.
Jimmy Mitchell, 36, and wife Pauline, 35, gave up the 'stereotypical lifestyle' in Western Australia and have spent the past 12 months traveling around South East Asia with their sons Riley, seven, and Liam, eight.
The family have been back Down Under for Christmas and the holidays, but Jimmy admitted they may end up flying abroad sooner than expected because of the “confronting” things he has noticed.
In a new TikTok video by the alias @themothfamilyJimmy said it's the “little things” that are the most different compared to Southeast Asia – like children playing outside and strangers saying “hello” on the street.
Jimmy Mitchell, 36, says living in Asia with his family of four has 'ruined' Australia for him. He and his wife Pauline sold all their belongings to move their family of four abroad
“I didn't think I'd ever say this, but Asia has ruined Australia for us,” Jimmy, co-founder of digital marketing agency My Online Guy, began in the clip.
“We've been back (in Australia) for three weeks now, we were supposed to be here for two months but we may leave even earlier now.”
He said being away for extended periods of time has “exposed” small differences between Australia and Asia – one of which is that most people Down Under don't acknowledge others in public.
“I was taking the dog for a walk the other day and I was just walking down the street and there were several people I passed… I waved and said hello, no one recognized me,” he said.
'I never noticed that when we lived here, but it comes from Southeast Asia where everyone is friendly, everyone says hello, everyone waves, everyone laughs, it's really quite confrontational.
'I don't necessarily know why that is, maybe it's just the area we're staying in, maybe people like to keep it to themselves.
“I don't know what it is, it's just the little things that I notice that really make me miss Asia and really make me think about what has changed in Australia to make it feel this way?”
“We've been back (in Australia) for three weeks now, we were supposed to be here for two months but we may leave even earlier now,” Jimmy said in a video. When he was home for Christmas, he noticed “little things.”
Another thing Jimmy has noticed is how few children in Australia play in parks and on the streets. He added that his neighborhood feels more like a “ghost town.”
“I know everyone is worried about their own lives and their own routines, but to walk down the street and not see a single child playing outside is really strange to me, especially since it's school holidays,” he continued.
“If you go to Asia, there are kids running around kicking balls and playing badminton on the side of the road. I came here and there's all these jungle gyms and all these play sets and there's not a single kid sitting on them, there's not a single kid kicking a foot or playing (with) a cricket ball.
'I don't know if it's just me and if my perception has changed… but it was really quite a confronting experience to come back.
“I still love Australia, it's still home, but honestly I can't wait to get back to Southeast Asia.”
He described the experience as a whole as “confrontational.”
Although it was a difficult decision to leave Australia, the family has not looked back and has been able to spend more time together
The cost of living in Asia is so incredibly cheap compared to Australia that the couple no longer worries about money
A year ago, the couple sold everything they owned to move abroad after realizing they couldn't afford a comfortable life Down Under.
Jimmy previously told FEMAIL that he worked endlessly to earn a decent amount of money but felt like he was 'never getting ahead' and would sometimes come home in tears.
At the time, the couple rented a four-bedroom house in Mandurah, an hour south of Perth, and struggled to save for a home deposit despite the long working hours.
“The main reason we decided to travel full-time was to improve our quality of life and spend more time together as a family,” Jimmy said.
They now also save as much as 50 percent of their income in a good month, instead of zero to five percent.
The pair haven't looked back since taking the plunge and are unsure when – or if – they will return to Australia permanently.
'We made good money in Australia, I couldn't ignore that. We had good jobs, but we always felt like we weren't getting ahead,” Jimmy said.
“The more I worked and the harder I worked to earn the money so we could have the things, the less time I could spend with my family.”
The stress felt like such a huge burden that Jimmy would sometimes come home from work crying, and it only “progressively got worse.”
'I came home and said to Pauline: 'I can't live like this any longer.' And that was a combination of the fact that we both worked in the company, the kids were in school and we had hardly seen each other,” he said.
Pauline agreed, saying that every day felt like a repeat of the last.
The family of four has traveled to Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangkok. Next year they will visit Hawaii and Japan
The children are homeschooled, which can sometimes be a challenge for the parents, but otherwise the boys enjoy learning together
That's why they decided to take the plunge and move abroad. They haven't looked back since.
They can also continue working for themselves full-time through their digital business. They also homeschool their boys.
The cost of living in Asia is incredibly cheap compared to Australia, so the couple no longer worries about money.
This year they return to Malaysia for a month before embarking on a cruise bound for Hawaii and then Japan.