ozglenn

Oz is not really behind these days it's just a different culture as it's a new country. I also have nieces in OZ and they are no different than UK kids. Plenty of Brit kids go do sports and hobbies hence why England did so well in the Olympics. If you don't want any grey days then my advice is to go to qld or Darwin not down south. I was back in England last summer and the weather was great and this winter has not been bad has it? I'm surprised that registered nurses would be on wages in the UK, would have thought they would be salaried and on shift allowances. On another thread i remember somebody mentioned registered nurses were on 35k in the UK.

Have you been to Melbourne or Sydney in June? Best wishes with your plans.:smile:

LOL...i live in Adelaide and this past year has seen a very average summer and a cold start to Autumn. What you get in the uk is a more enjoyable summer without the extremities and lovely long summer days. Tonight we have the gas heating on in the hills.:huh:

May i ask what your OH does as i have never met any Brit that has arrived in OZ and earns 5 times the salary that they earned back in the Uk.

In a sense it was a form of detention in a way, as you say many could not get the money together to pay back the passage and the "bribe" if you will. My parents came out as ten quid poms and were on the hostel for 6 months as it was expenisve to stay on the hostel and then get the money to get off. I think it's important to stress that people still were not forced to stay for two years more like they found difficulties if they wanted to return within two. Were they aware of the ramifications regarding the payback, i'd say they were. It is much different today as the British cities and towns are no longer smog ridden and the ability to zip over to the continent is within reach of most working families. Psst war Britain was a bit dreary in the big cities so i guess the clean air was an attraction. Not sure of the cost of living as the cost of food and clothing was very high in OZ much like today.

Personally i would give it time especially with how expensive it is to emigrate here these days. I often wonder sometimes if the whole emigration thing is worth is at all unless of course people come from a dire place. I think the old Miltiary career that takes you around the world and pays for it all is the way to go.

This is not true, not sure from whom you ahve received this information but ican assure you nobody was forced to stay for two years and some when straight back. You say that 8 months is way too early but how can you put a time on anothers assessment. Many ofus can make our minds up within a couple of weeks. You can like a place initially and then the novelty drops away and then other times you can go the other way. We are all different.

Your post is a little condradictory, "loved everyday going back alone in April can't wait" So you are sure you are settled here? I agree that Portland is different to Manchester, you could say that the Welsh coast is also, as Portland is a very remote town compared to say Melbourne. For you Australia might well be ten times better but that is a subjective perspective only and for many it is no better and for many it is worse. I'm in the Adelaide hills, today it is cold and raining i nthe middle of summer and a few days ago is was a scorching heatwave with risk of bushfire devastation. On days like this it far from perfect.

I guess for some it takes just one aspect of change to make them feel that they are 'living the dream' which should be stated more like 'Living my dream' or 'living our dream' because what is 'Living THE dream' ? After my recent trip back to England i did speak to many folks who are more wise to the pros and cons of Australia and many seemed enlightened and knowledgeable when it comes to a life down under.

AC is a necessity especially for older folks. Poms other migrants and born and bred Aussies all suffer and all hate it when we get those 40 plus heatwaves. This is commonly omitted from the glossy sales mags and from those Australia house expos. If you have an job where you have climate control it's all good but many don't. We run reverse cycle AC for heating and cooling here in Adelaide for 9 months of the year and it costs a lot. This is something that working class migrants should consider as a reality.

Until it gets to over 40-45 for two weeks straight like it is doing more often in southern and eastern Oz come summer. Last summer here in Adelaide was the hottest i have felt in 30 years. The power bills come in very high as AC is a must especially as one ages.

A lot of old homes in the outer suburbs are being detonated and the 800 sqm blocks are being halved. I think within 20 years it will be hard to find home with a large block as many will be either very expensive and desired or would have given way to subdivision. It all depend son how much the economy grows of course and that's a hot issue in Oz right now.

The thing is oz doesn't have room to grow either hence the smaller sub divisions now and homes built not unlike English estates. I just got back from a visit to the Midlands and the new two story estates remind me of some new Oz suburban and city developments. I just found the road traffic to have increased dramatically in ten years. The towns didn't seem much busier and in the countryside and small towns it seemed much as i remember.