I cannot tell you how much I agree with all everyone has just said. Britain has beaten my husband and I, we can't take anymore. Nail on the coffin was when my current Council job was re-evaluated to bring us into line with fair wages. My salary was cut by £2,000! I have had enough, it scared me to think what kind of a future my kids would have here. We dont mind working hard, but its seems the harder you work the more you suffer and the more the government takes from you. A new life in Brisbane awaits myself, my husband and kids (8 and 14) and I cant wait. Anyone heading there soon?
Dear Morvern
Already here in Brissie mate! And loving it! look us up when u get here.
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Joanne & Mark
Countdown to Christmas.......22 days
I have just read through this thread and to be honest it sort of amazed me . You people are saying what We have been thinking for ages (and I thought we were the only ones). For time immemorial people have been saying "this country has had it !". My Dad said it in the 60s and immigrated to Aussie. I came back for family reasons, but in the last 10 years things have changed so much(for the worse). We live in a residential street in a 3 bed detached house. Most Friday and Saturday nights I don't go to sleep till after 1am . Gangs of drunken youths (boys and girls) roam our streets till all hours. we have had car windows smashed , eggs thrown at the house, pint beer mugs thrown at the house, Bicycles stolen. Stones thrown at our windows etc etc etc and we are not the only ones . I know the neighbours have had it too. The company I worked for stole the pensions of men who had been there for 40 years ! and to add insult to injury , then packed up and moved to Poland ! all with no comebacks at all. How there was no suicides I will never know. I have said on another thread, Aussie aint paradise but it must be a damn site better than here ? I think you right , Time to leave . "MO"
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Its better to regret things you,ve done then things you havent.... But , Never regret Growing old Because some people never have the privilege.
I have been living in Oz for 6 months now and apart from the fact that I miss my parents and my youngest daughter who decided not to make the move with us for the time being I can honestly say I don't miss one thing about England! My husband although born in England, moved to Australia when he was 2 with his parents and as he has spent 50 years or more here considers himself Australian. Since I have known him (7 years) I had been to Australia twice and loved it and we had talked about moving here for the past 2 years or so my main objection being the fact that I would miss people. Eventually I decided to go for it, one of the deciding factors being that my husband was very miserable in his job working long hours and facing daily abuse by his customers (he was a sales re). My eldest daughter, who had never been to Oz before decided to come with us as she fancied a change and she absolutely loves it and wouldn't go back unless she was dragged kicking and screaming! Life in England is so hard now, as a young adult (24) she felt that she would never be able to afford to buy anywhere to live with rents and cost of living so high it leaves nothing left for savings. At least here in Oz rents are slightly more reasonable and she feels she might stand a chance of getting somewhere. My husband is working too and although he puts in very long hours for much the same income as in UK he is far happier and obviously we have a much better lifestyle. I find the Australians much friendlier and happier than our counterparts in UK and at the moment I am sure we have made the right decision.
I have been living in Oz for 6 months now and apart from the fact that I miss my parents and my youngest daughter who decided not to make the move with us for the time being I can honestly say I don't miss one thing about England! My husband although born in England, moved to Australia when he was 2 with his parents and as he has spent 50 years or more here considers himself Australian. Since I have known him (7 years) I had been to Australia twice and loved it and we had talked about moving here for the past 2 years or so my main objection being the fact that I would miss people. Eventually I decided to go for it, one of the deciding factors being that my husband was very miserable in his job working long hours and facing daily abuse by his customers (he was a sales re). My eldest daughter, who had never been to Oz before decided to come with us as she fancied a change and she absolutely loves it and wouldn't go back unless she was dragged kicking and screaming! Life in England is so hard now, as a young adult (24) she felt that she would never be able to afford to buy anywhere to live with rents and cost of living so high it leaves nothing left for savings. At least here in Oz rents are slightly more reasonable and she feels she might stand a chance of getting somewhere. My husband is working too and although he puts in very long hours for much the same income as in UK he is far happier and obviously we have a much better lifestyle. I find the Australians much friendlier and happier than our counterparts in UK and at the moment I am sure we have made the right decision.
I second all that!!!!!!!
Life here is good. We miss people, family and friends but most of them have had a visit and are already planning the next one!
We dont miss the place at all!
you have to take a chance while you have it and everyone that has been here has BEGGED us not to go back!
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Joanne & Mark
Countdown to Christmas.......22 days
Hi all,
Just to express agreement with all sentiments already posted!! In a way it is reassuring to know that you are not the only one thinking/feeling these things. I have worked in the NHS for 10 years and have seen it take a steady but sure decline. From a professional point of view, I am tired of working 12 hour shifts with no breaks, getting off late, being short staffed and consequently putting clients lives in danger. Working under the constant stress of wondering if today will be the day something dreadful happens to someone in your care because you are overstreched and overloaded. I trained for years to do what I do but I got to the point where I didn't want to do it any more. But rather than throw away my knowledge and experience, I'm going to take it to Oz and try again. I know others who have and have no regrets.
From a personal point of view, the NHS has let us down as we have to travel a 140mile round trip for our son to have reconstructive surgery on his leg as our local hospital don't have the funds/resources to do it, even though they have a more than capable surgeon! It's so infuriating . We are currently making that trip once a week!
I could go on but it's pretty much been said by others. The UK isa devil in disguise, the sooner we leave the better. Good luck to all .
Jen xx
I have read through all your posts and sadly have to agree with and have experienced almost every reason given for wanting to move away.It is a countrywide lack of respect for anything or anyone.My wife has a theory as to why this is,to live in this country unfortunately both parents are having to work long hrs to make ends meet.Most families will put kids with Grandparents while they are at work and lets face it Grandparents will more often than not spoil a child and maybe not be as disciplined as the parents would be so there is a lack of discipline.The other factor is that parents then have a guilt trip about not being there for the kids as often as they could be because they need to work and will spoil the kids to try and make up for this maybe let them away with a bit more than they actually should so what we have is a generation of kids who pretty much get what they want and have no discipline from anyone.Have you tried to give a kid into trouble lately for perhaps trashing your garden!!I know that this is not the case for every family but it seems to be for a lot of them.Too many working hours required just to make ends meet unless you are either playing the system or pretty well off.Just a theory.
We have medicals in 3 weeks time and should be given the yes or no to move to Oz.I have 2 small kids and could not bear the thought of them having to grow up in this country and cannot wait to leave.Fingers crossed we will have positive news within the next few months!!
Just a BIG THANKS to all of you guy's who replied to this post. We're quite new to this great web site and have only done a few posts. So its nice to see so many replies thinking the same way as us, what I mean is, its nice to know we are not crazy or paranoid about wanting to leave Old Blighty, and that people share the same viewpoint.
Its also nice when others take interest. I sympathise with all the comments, because leaving, moving around is never easy. Just to conclude, I have a theory that 2012 will be the downfall for the UK. The Olympics.
Just think how over time the UK went with the new Wembley stadium. Multiply the work, the complexities of the Olympic project by 20 times, and I really believe there will be a total C*** UP (sorry) Over budget by billions, I predict it will show up the UK big time, as a Country in chaos. Its already pushing £10 Billion, by 2012 if they get there it will have almost doubled. But there again does it matter, what's a few billion. After all in the UK it's not as if the money could be spent on other things in desperate need, do we need more hospitals, day care centres, sports centres and facilities, Prisons, more Police on the streets, Doctors, better housing, care for the elderly, Youth projects, NO we don't need any of that do we? Teachers, Nurses, the list goes on and on. We can't afford any of that now, but a glitzy new Olympic village for just one area of the UK, oh yea, this country needs that like a hole in the head.
Anyway, that's my opinion on it all, 2012 will be the definitive year, and I'm sorry to offend anyone who believes the Olympic project will be a great help to our youth, personally I can't see it helping the vast majority of teenagers on the street's of any inner city or town for example like Liverpool, Wigan, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Newcastle, or Birmingham.
We'll be long away by then, please God in Oz or if not, maybe Malta or Cyprus or Spain or Italy or Venezuela or Timbuktu (think that's how you spell it) Anywhere just get us ouuuuutttttttt pllllleeeeeeeeeeessssseeeeee
Great to hear all of this from everyone, doubts keep creeping into my mind especially after mothers day yesterday.
The hardest thing for me will be leaving my mum behind other than that I am hoping that I won't miss too much from the UK (apart from close friends). Every day in this country is a chore for us we are just carrying on day to day on automatic pilot and dreaming of the future. Just wish that the visa process could be speeded up, we are not the most patient of people when we want something we want it NOW!!!
Looking forward to the good life and saying goodbye to UK!
Julie
We have recently had our house valued from a local Estate agent and while he was having a cuppa with us, he let slip that many hundreds of council tenants are being bought out by the government and being paid vast amounts of money (dont quote me on this but im sure he said £35,000 +) to relocate, many heading for the Hastings , so as to make way for all the new buildings that will be needed to accomodate the Olympics and the competitors!!!!!
This might explain some of the 10 million budget then...............
Im off too (hopfully) !!!!!!!!!!!! See you all in sunny OZ
__________________ Finally living in Mount Martha, Melbourne......... and loving it !!!!!!!!! TRA passed - Feb. 07 ...........Visa granted (136- General Plumber) 14th June !!!!!!!! Landed in Oz 9th December 2007!!! PIO Skilled Trades database for Victoria: http://www.freewebs.com/victorianskilledtraderslist/index.htm
