Hey !
I am 28 and moved to Sydney almost a year ago (wow) its gone really fast.
I felt the same as you, I have never lived abroad before and never even lived out of the same little town where all my friends and family are. I was excited.. but VERY apprehensive - I applied for a job in Sydney from the UK and gained sponsorship... I had never even been to Australia before ! haha,., Looking back a bit mad really !?
I cant speak for Melbourne as I have only been there once, but I certainly can speak for Sydney - I love it ! I was totally on my own and through this website I have met some great friends, some going out friends and also a couple fo really close friends. One thing I would say about Sydney is, the amount of people that are here on their own is amazing and you never feel out of place or awkward.. its relatively easy to make friends IF you apply yourself to it.. I started goups on here, posted social meet ups and from that things snowballed and I met friends of friends etc etc.
The best thing you can do is get out here and get into a house share, this can be a god send if you get the right people (the people were more important to me that the place when I first got here) Sydney is relatively safe on your own, obviously there are places you dont go - but otherwise I have never felt edgy here... well not like I would in Manchester or London - infact nowhere near as on edge.
The lifestyle is great.. from the office you can be on the beach in 15 mins - the pubs, bars and reseturants are amazing and a new one pops up every day. I am single, here on my own and have gone through the last year with a lot of highs and a lot of lows.. but the highs for me have far out wieghed the lows. I went to fiji the other week for 4 days and I loved it so stayed longer - you cant do that from the UK.
So in a nutshell my advice would be - If you are dreaming about coming here and love OZ, then do it.. infact do it now.... Otherwise whats the alternative ? I moved here because I didnt want to look back when I was 60 and say "oh well I had the opportunity, but didnt" and ya know what... if you dont like it and for whatever reason it doesnt work... you are only a day away and at least you could put your mind at rest..............
Wow.. long response there.
Dont know if this helps at all, but they are my thoughts ! haha If you want to know anything specific - just ask
Emma
xx