Yes and no! The negative views did take the shine off it a bit I suppose but the biggest factor is the wages. My husband would only earn half of what he's getting in the UK. We are a large family (4 kids) and we would struggle financially on the wages on offer. We have a nice lifestyle here and are lucky to have a big house and a swimming pool (we bought at the right time, over 4 years ago, when property prices were relatively cheap). In OZ we would not be able to afford the same as we already have and would have to downsize to a 3 bedroom house, which for us is too small.
If we'd decided to do this when we only had a couple of kids then I think things would have been different.
Regards,
Caroline.
(Just noticed: My daughter has changed my name to Cookie101 !! - should be Cellefrouin)
When you say that your husband would earn half the wages he would in the UK how are you calculating that?
If you're just taking the $ value and divding it by the current exchange rate then you are going to get a misleading view.
It seems very strange that you would have to downsize from a large 4 bed house with swimming pool in the UK to a smaller one in Oz. It should be the other way around!
You must not live in an area in the UK with high house prices.
A large 4 bed with swimming pool in the area I live in would be getting on for £1m.
Even if you actually only owned 25% of that & with the crappy ex rate you'd still have $500K to spend on a house in Oz which depending on what city/area you went to you could almost buy the same house outright for cash.
When you say that your husband would earn half the wages he would in the UK how are you calculating that?
If you're just taking the $ value and divding it by the current exchange rate then you are going to get a misleading view.
It seems very strange that you would have to downsize from a large 4 bed house with swimming pool in the UK to a smaller one in Oz. It should be the other way around!
You must not live in an area in the UK with high house prices.
A large 4 bed with swimming pool in the area I live in would be getting on for £1m.
Even if you actually only owned 25% of that & with the crappy ex rate you'd still have $500K to spend on a house in Oz which depending on what city/area you went to you could almost buy the same house outright for cash.
I am not going to post on the 'positive posts only' thread because I'd be lynched!!
However, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has actually given me a balanced view about Australia! The good and the bad points. That actually...sometimes life is not all it's cracked up to be, there IS crime, the wages (in our case) are half that of the UK, the sun does not always shine and infact some of you would prefer to go back to the UK because it's not worked out.
What I like is the fact that even though life is not perfect for some of you, you have still come on here with your wisdom and answered questions for those who are just starting out on their journey. Without sarcasm or criticism...... just the truth as you see it.
Moving to the other side of the world is just about the biggest life change anyone could make. I, like many others no doubt, started this quest with eyes glazed over at the thought of the promise land!
Having seen the good the bad and the ugly of our beloved OZ we have decided, for the time being, that actually our grass is quite green enough and we have decided that we are staying put!! Who knows though....we'll probably be at it all again very soon. I can never resist temptation!!.
Caroline.
I agree with you, absoloutely. We are now disposing of our rose coloured specs. Yes we did wear them initially! This is a huge life changing experience and anyone thinking about moving to oz has to be prepared to get rid of the tinted specs. We have been here 3 months now and are loving it! Lifes not easy here but its different. Wages for OH are drastically lower than uk but my wages make up for that. Having said that, its not about the money, its the easier pace of life that ticks the boxes for us. Its about strolling on the beach, its about walking in the sunshine, fishing without lots of restrictions, people saying hi to you as you pass them, chatting to the checkout girl at the supermarket etc. I could go on. Life in oz is different. I think you either love it or hate it? You have to just accept and go with the flow. We believe we made the right choice coming here, but its not easy and not for everyone.
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Here at last:jiggy:
SUFC life not a pastime I limit myself to 2 drinks a day, I`m now 10 years in front
I agree with you, absoloutely. We are now disposing of our rose coloured specs. Yes we did wear them initially! This is a huge life changing experience and anyone thinking about moving to oz has to be prepared to get rid of the tinted specs. We have been here 3 months now and are loving it! Lifes not easy here but its different. Wages for OH are drastically lower than uk but my wages make up for that. Having said that, its not about the money, its the easier pace of life that ticks the boxes for us. Its about strolling on the beach, its about walking in the sunshine, fishing without lots of restrictions, people saying hi to you as you pass them, chatting to the checkout girl at the supermarket etc. I could go on. Life in oz is different. I think you either love it or hate it? You have to just accept and go with the flow. We believe we made the right choice coming here, but its not easy and not for everyone.
just saw that you live in france. had a couple of wines. but my post may be useful for oz wonnabes, hopefully?
__________________
Here at last:jiggy:
SUFC life not a pastime I limit myself to 2 drinks a day, I`m now 10 years in front
