Just pondering....

[MattUK83]

Hello All!!!!

I was just wondering, I read these forums quite a lot. I am seriously considering moving to Oz as I can get sponsorship, in fact I am just in the final stages of sending off for my skills (or lack of) to be assessed.

It seems to me, that, on these forums there are a lot of young families etc, who chat and meet up.

The thing is... I'm not in a family. I am in my mid 20's, professional, but single, and like to go out and socialise. I work hard in the week and play hard at the weekend.

My question is; as someone as I have described above, how does Oz really compare with England? Is the night life good? Are the locals as easy going as I can remember? Is it easy to make friends?

[Caitmelbourne]

Hi there

I think it depends where in Aus you are thinking of living, and also perhaps where in the UK you are leaving.

I came over with my sister last year age 28 (she is 26) with the aim to gain sponsorship which I now have. I decided to settle in Melbourne as I had visited previously & loved it (although Sydney is great too) & I struggled at first as I missed London so much...the nightlife, the people, the feeling of being able to explore new places each weekend after living there for 3 years. I'd also lived in Newcastle & Leeds previously but have never missed these Cities.

However, I'm now feeling so much more settled & absolutely loving everything Melbourne has to offer. I think the nightlife is great for our age-group, massive bar culture & also some decent clubs if you're into that. I do find things like festivals & gigs expensive & the line-ups are no where as good as UK (or as frequent) but I've had great fun at them still. It's also nice to be able to spend days in the Park or beach with friends with a load of grub & booze...that would happen once or twice a year in London when the weather was good enough.

I've made plenty of Aussie mates but I must admit I do feel more relaxed with my English buddies...alot of my Aussie mates don't get my sense of humour (or maybe I'm just not funny). I've also recently met a guy & finding that Melbourne is a great place to go dating in

There's plenty of fun to be had here, I'd say more so than the UK for now but that could be because it's still all shiny and new for me. I really don't miss the freezing cold & tube strikes which could really balls up a weekend in London!!

[MattUK83]

Thanks Kitty. Certainly food for thought. My sister lives in Melbourne, so off visiting her in Feb... looking forward to exploring Queensland a little too!