[SepticArt]

So I'm 23 years old and at university studying a subject I don't particularly like. To be honest nothing really interest me apart from the dream or living in a hot country, close to the beach, and relaxing all day everyday. Well of course this is far from reality but nevertheless I continue to google images of beaches, paradise, oceans everyday and it's probably not doing me any good as it only makes me want it even more.

I just finished my first year of uni and in October I get my next student loan of £4000, my question is, do I just give up everything and just go for it? Take my student finance money, buy a 1 way ticket to somewhere amazing like australia or new zealand and try my best to find a job and eventually gain a visa?

There's nothing I want more than to just buy a ticket and go somewhere where it's hot, where there's nice beaches and a relaxed atmosphere. I've heard stories of people just getting up and going on the spare of the moment never to return home, but 30 years later they tell how it was the best decision of their lives.

As you can imagine it's an all or nothing deal and there's a huge chance I may get out there, spend all my money looking for a job and then I'm stranded there. I'd love to work on the beach or close by, in a shop selling surf boards or something, earning the minimum wage because the only thing I care about is the beach and the weather. I'm so tempted to just go for it but then another part of me thinks, wait until you finish your degree and then decide if you still want to go, atleast with a degree i'll have a better chance at finding a job ovr there.

[Z-6H820]

They'll want the £4000 back if you don't go to uni :P Fair enough if you're in Australia what are they going to do, but ethically that's a bit of an issue...

[Clare~Bear]

(Original post by SepticArt)
I continue to google images of beaches, paradise, oceans everyday

I get my next student loan of £4000, my question is, Take my student finance money, buy a 1 way ticket to somewhere amazing like australia or new zealand and try my best to find a job and eventually gain a visa?

Not sure if srs.

You have to tell SF if you're going abroad else you can get done for fraud for not repaying your loan. So they're unlikely to give you the money. But if you tell them after you start your second year, won't you have to still pay tuition fees?

[SepticArt]

Student finance are extremely relaxed, yes I'd have to pay back the money but I'd tell them I dropped out of uni, they'd ask for repayment and I'd say ok when I get a job, as that is how it works. I think when you earn over 15k a year.

I've never known a case of someone dropping out half way through a term and them asking for the entire lot back in 1 lump sum. Ethically it's wrong but I'd be living in aus or nz so what are they going to do? If all fails and I end up coming back the the UK, I get a job in Tesco and pay the money back I guess...

[Clare~Bear]

(Original post by SepticArt)
Student finance are extremely relaxed, yes I'd have to pay back the money but I'd tell them I dropped out of uni, they'd ask for repayment and I'd say ok when I get a job, as that is how it works. I think when you earn over 15k a year.

I've never known a case of someone dropping out half way through a term and them asking for the entire lot back in 1 lump sum. Ethically it's wrong but I'd be living in aus or nz so what are they going to do? If all fails and I end up coming back the the UK, I get a job in Tesco and pay the money back I guess...

Still, i'm not sure if you're serious + stupid or trolling. If you drop out the day after you got the money they'd probably ask for it back. But if you didn't, staying in uni for too much longer would mean you'd have to pay tuition fees. You can't just tell them you're dropping out, you have to tell them if you're leaving the country else they can prosecute you for fraud for evading repayments.

[SepticArt]

I'm not trolling and yes I'm serious, have you never wanted to just up and leave? Maybe you have something worth staying for.... But I'd love to look out my window now and just see a beach or something.

God I really want to go, I looked on the NZ skilled workers thing and it seems asthough I'd have a much much stronger chance of getting a permanant visa if I finish my degree as I'd be classed as a skilled worker. I've only got 2 years left

[nexttime]

Who gets their £4K loan in one go??!! Its in 3 instalments...

But anyway, my cousin took all of her savings at 18 and flew to Australia. She found a job, worked for 18 months, and now has quit and taken the money she earned to spend 2 years travelling the length of the americas. Amazing how far money can go when you don't spend it on petty things like cars or branded clothes and just save for something amazing instead.

[Perseverance]

Depends on how confident you feel about getting a job there, or you could drop out of university first, save up and pay student finance back. But I'd say go for it, it's your life, you shouldn't feel forced to stay at university if you don't want to.

[thecrimsonidol]

Don't do it.
No guarantee of work, no friends/family/anyone you know out there. And let's not forget the sharks near the beaches.....

[Norton1]

(Original post by SepticArt)
So I'm 23 years old and at university studying a subject I don't particularly like. To be honest nothing really interest me apart from the dream or living in a hot country, close to the beach, and relaxing all day everyday. Well of course this is far from reality but nevertheless I continue to google images of beaches, paradise, oceans everyday and it's probably not doing me any good as it only makes me want it even more.

I just finished my first year of uni and in October I get my next student loan of £4000, my question is, do I just give up everything and just go for it? Take my student finance money, buy a 1 way ticket to somewhere amazing like australia or new zealand and try my best to find a job and eventually gain a visa?

There's nothing I want more than to just buy a ticket and go somewhere where it's hot, where there's nice beaches and a relaxed atmosphere. I've heard stories of people just getting up and going on the spare of the moment never to return home, but 30 years later they tell how it was the best decision of their lives.

As you can imagine it's an all or nothing deal and there's a huge chance I may get out there, spend all my money looking for a job and then I'm stranded there. I'd love to work on the beach or close by, in a shop selling surf boards or something, earning the minimum wage because the only thing I care about is the beach and the weather. I'm so tempted to just go for it but then another part of me thinks, wait until you finish your degree and then decide if you still want to go, atleast with a degree i'll have a better chance at finding a job ovr there.

Are you 8 years old?

[Feefifofum]

(Original post by SepticArt)
So I'm 23 years old and at university studying a subject I don't particularly like. To be honest nothing really interest me apart from the dream or living in a hot country, close to the beach, and relaxing all day everyday. Well of course this is far from reality but nevertheless I continue to google images of beaches, paradise, oceans everyday and it's probably not doing me any good as it only makes me want it even more.

I just finished my first year of uni and in October I get my next student loan of £4000, my question is, do I just give up everything and just go for it? Take my student finance money, buy a 1 way ticket to somewhere amazing like australia or new zealand and try my best to find a job and eventually gain a visa?

There's nothing I want more than to just buy a ticket and go somewhere where it's hot, where there's nice beaches and a relaxed atmosphere. I've heard stories of people just getting up and going on the spare of the moment never to return home, but 30 years later they tell how it was the best decision of their lives.

As you can imagine it's an all or nothing deal and there's a huge chance I may get out there, spend all my money looking for a job and then I'm stranded there. I'd love to work on the beach or close by, in a shop selling surf boards or something, earning the minimum wage because the only thing I care about is the beach and the weather. I'm so tempted to just go for it but then another part of me thinks, wait until you finish your degree and then decide if you still want to go, atleast with a degree i'll have a better chance at finding a job ovr there.

Sorry, but that plan isn't going to work, however much you'd love it to happen.

Your loan will be paid in 3 instalments, so if you drop out in September after your first instalment, you'll have about £1250, not £4000. Moreover, if you drop out, there are different repayment conditions. The bulk of your loan that you are entitled to will be paid back as normal, ie. when you earn over £15 000. This will be the case for your loan for all previous university years. But if you drop out and don't do the next year, you will no longer be entitled to a student loan for that year. If you fraudulently take the first instalment with no intention to remain and continue your course, you will be liable for the amount that you had been given for that year (the ~£1250). The SLC can demand that money back at any time. Even if you're in NZ/Aus you are still liable for this, and there will be high penalties for late repayment. You may also find yourself subject to prosecution for fraud.

If you want to travel and look for work, you'll need a visa for that country. You can't just rock up and find a job and earn some money. There are tight controls and regulations on earning in countries other than your own. And if you have applied for a working visa for Australia, for example, then it will be clear to the SLC that you had no intention of doing the next year of university, and you won't be able to argue that you had originally intended to stay and complete your course.

For more information see here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki..._Your_Finances

The student loan is not free money. It is meant to help those who need it to get an education, not to go on a glorified holiday. However much you want to go off travelling, you are going to have to get a job and save up if this is really what you want to do. Using the student loan for this is just going to cause you huge problems.

[TEFLONCHEST]

(Original post by nexttime)
Amazing how far money can go when you don't spend it on petty things like cars or branded clothes and just save for something amazing instead.

Wisdom :] And I know that feeling so well

[Mini-Cooper]

(Original post by SepticArt)
So I'm 23 years old and at university studying a subject I don't particularly like. To be honest nothing really interest me apart from the dream or living in a hot country, close to the beach, and relaxing all day everyday. Well of course this is far from reality but nevertheless I continue to google images of beaches, paradise, oceans everyday and it's probably not doing me any good as it only makes me want it even more.

Yet when you posted 3 weeks ago you were 21?

[johnnn]

Go for it!!

[Olibert]

I think you should do it and then fail hugely, come back here so we can all laugh at you.

[SepticArt]

(Original post by Feefifofum)
Sorry, but that plan isn't going to work, however much you'd love it to happen.

Your loan will be paid in 3 instalments, so if you drop out in September after your first instalment, you'll have about £1250, not £4000. Moreover, if you drop out, there are different repayment conditions. The bulk of your loan that you are entitled to will be paid back as normal, ie. when you earn over £15 000. This will be the case for your loan for all previous university years. But if you drop out and don't do the next year, you will no longer be entitled to a student loan for that year. If you fraudulently take the first instalment with no intention to remain and continue your course, you will be liable for the amount that you had been given for that year (the ~£1250). The SLC can demand that money back at any time. Even if you're in NZ/Aus you are still liable for this, and there will be high penalties for late repayment. You may also find yourself subject to prosecution for fraud.

If you want to travel and look for work, you'll need a visa for that country. You can't just rock up and find a job and earn some money. There are tight controls and regulations on earning in countries other than your own. And if you have applied for a working visa for Australia, for example, then it will be clear to the SLC that you had no intention of doing the next year of university, and you won't be able to argue that you had originally intended to stay and complete your course.

For more information see here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki..._Your_Finances

The student loan is not free money. It is meant to help those who need it to get an education, not to go on a glorified holiday. However much you want to go off travelling, you are going to have to get a job and save up if this is really what you want to do. Using the student loan for this is just going to cause you huge problems.

That's actually great advice. I think i'll finish the degree and then try and go at a later date.

[tallen90]

Life isn't like a movie. You can't just go somewhere and start your life over with nothing, especially when you've got organisations like Student Finance England who will HUNT YOU DOWN if you run away with their money.

Sorry.

[Riderz]

Watch The Beach and see. What might look nice and rosy on the outside is not always as good when you get down to the ins and outs.


Do your degree then go to Oz. Work is pretty easy to come by, but surley you have more ambition than to live on minimum wage for the rest of your life? If not, try it once you've finished uni. Running a house/car/social life along with any hobbies is damm near impossible on 6 quid an hour.

[TruetoMyself]

It wouldnt be such a bad idea to just go for it after your degree- or once you have atleast a five figure savings account behind you to make it viable.
Advice: Do the Australia Work Holiday Visa (a year), which will give you an idea whether you could probably do this for the rest of your life. If your wise and just plan to stay close to a beach (without trekking oz too much) you can make this a profitable trip given the high wages on offer there. If all is well after the year head Thailand or the Phillipines (dirt dirt cheap Ive heard) and try live there for a while.

[Safx]

Why don't you start looking for possible jobs there so if you decide to go one day, there's one waiting for you

hopefully