A woman planning to uproot from the UK and move Down Under after spending 13 years renovating a house has warned Brits to "let go" of one idea. Melanie McKinnon has spent more than a decade renovating a Grade II-listed country homein Nottinghamshire, but is now looking to return to Australia to be with her family.

Melanie says her and British husband David, who she shares three children with, are in a "good financial position". In fact, they anticipate that their 6,500 sq. ft, seven-bedroom home in the village of Carlton-on-Trent—with its Venetian fireplaces and "luxury leisure facilities"—will fetch a cool £1.2 million.

Yet, when Melanie investigated propertyprices in South Australia's once "bargain" city, she was "stunned" to find that the family would be settling for a four-bedroom house with just a quarter of the space and a third of the land.

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She told The Times: "I would tell any Brits thinking of moving to Australia to let go of the idea that it's going to be cheaper. Australia isn't really cheaper for anything anymore. We'll definitely be downsizing. I've already made more than £5,000 by selling our furniture on Vinted.

"But there are still huge upsides. Sunshine is fantastic. Life is lived outdoors. And in terms of politics, I always think of England as a massive ocean liner and Australia as a tugboat — it changes direction much more easily."

Melanie claimed that it's now more costly than the notoriously expensive Londonand even New York, noting that Adelaide is expected to see a property price rise of up to 14% in 2026.

In October 2025, reports emerged that Australianhouse priceswere increasing at their fastest pace in almost four years, with Brisbane outpacing Canberra as the second-most costly market, according to data from Domain.

Sydney was the most expensive, with a median house price of $1,751,728 (approximately £918k), followed by Brisbane ($1,101,114/£577k), Canberra ($1,100,392/£576k), Melbourne (£1,083,043/£567k), and Adelaide ($1,048,773/£550k).

It comes after a woman who used to live in London relocated toSydney shared a warning to other Brits considering a similar move.

Emily, TikTok user @thediariesofemdownunder, had been posting videos discussing her new life in Australia, but confessed in one clip that she would think "What the hell" she was doing there.

She said: "Anyone else who's moved to Australia just think 'What the hell am I doing here on the other side of the world?' on a daily basis?"

Emily added: "I've been here a month and a half now and honestly, that is the thought that crosses my mind every single day."