Yes, as an Australian, I have to concur that the biggest drawback of being in Australia is that it is a long way from the rest of civilisation.

We are surrounded by a lot of mostly-empty water in almost every direction.

Not only that, but the low population density (especially in somewhere like the outback) means that the distances are big even for local requirements.

This does have to be factored into consideration.

However, it seems as though the original article is all about putting up with being in a slightly less preferable life-situation for a year - to gain money which can then be leveraged when you get back to your ore preferable location...

Spending a year in the outback could be an acceptable situation as long as you know it's only temporary.

Oh, and I like YUFMV (Your Utility Function May Vary). I am now going to start using more often :)