Will my kids be better off????

All depends what you are looking for in regard to your kids.

I think if you get more time together as a family then thats a huge plus! Lots of people get more time together from the move!!

[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by TinRibs

Hi Everybody,

I am a newbie to the posting game but have been an active reader for some time.

We live in Hertfordshire and enjoy a nice home and an average day to day life.

My question is really, would my kids aged 9 and 7 be better off growing up, schooling and finally getting a desent job with descent earnings and descent life living in Herts, UK or Victoria, AU.

I realise at the moment jobs are difficult to find on both sides of the world but is there a future in the UK, I think not....

The main reason for the post is every day we hear more and more doom and gloom in the UK and the fact that our kids will be paying for Gordon Brown for the rest of their lives.

Thanks.

I think you have to seriously consider what you want out of life! I have certainly seen kids here more engaged in outdoor activities than the uk! Surf clubs, outdoor sports etc. If you have young children i would say come because i wish we had when we were younger! Our daughter ( 18 ) stayed in uk and refuses to come here. Had we done it years ago then she wouldnt have had a choice. I believe she would have had a better life? If you have jobs on arrival here then i would say go for it! However, consider postponing coming here if that is not the case. Its a difficult time to come to oz and with kids to consider, you have to look at all the options. Im sure when the economy recovers then i would not doubt, in my opinion, say that your kids would have a better life here. Im saying that as a mother myself and its what i would have wished for my own daughter years ago. Not everyone would agree! Good luck!

[Durathor]

Originally Posted by Mad Cow

I think you have to seriously consider what you want out of life! I have certainly seen kids here more engaged in outdoor activities than the uk! Surf clubs, outdoor sports etc. If you have young children i would say come because i wish we had when we were younger! Our daughter ( 18 ) stayed in uk and refuses to come here. Had we done it years ago then she wouldnt have had a choice. I believe she would have had a better life? If you have jobs on arrival here then i would say go for it! However, consider postponing coming here if that is not the case. Its a difficult time to come to oz and with kids to consider, you have to look at all the options. Im sure when the economy recovers then i would not doubt, in my opinion, say that your kids would have a better life here. Im saying that as a mother myself and its what i would have wished for my own daughter years ago. Not everyone would agree! Good luck!

It is quite impossible for you to to imagine, or me to describe adequately, the profound differences between England and Australia.
Melbourne could not be any more different to London. It is suburban to it's very core.
Visually it is very low rise, very flat and monotone. Unlike the UK, it's architecture is designed to sap the soul. No matter how dramatic the backdrop, the Aussies can design a building that sucks the life from it's sourroundings.
It's media is third world. Locally focused drivel. If you enjoy cop shows with acronyms like NCIS, SVU, CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI:Las Vegas, CSI:New York and so on, then you will be right at home. Because that is Aussie television. Night after night. After night. Squeezed inbetween various cops solving murders, all refusing to do it by the book, there is the odd fat person going on 'a journey'.
Sport wise there is footy. That's all. A local game, played by locals who play other locals watched by locals. No-one outside Victoria plays the game or cares about the game. Victoria doesn't care.
Victoria is a country. Not a state. It doesn't interact with Sydney or any other city. At all. Sydney, Perth and Brisbane do not exist. At all. Only Victoria exists. It is a self-contained world at the end of the earth.
House prices appear to have been decided in a parallel universe, where geographical locale, amenities and global travel play no part. Aussies spend every cent on their mortgage. The highest income to mortgage ratio in the developed world. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

Right, the other side of the coin. My son's school is fantastic. Infinately better than the failing inner London Primary he attended previously. He loves it. The beach is 3 roads down from my house. I still pinch myself as I cycle or jog along the beach and clear blue water. It's wonderful. The climate is mediterranean. I can't speak about the damage it does, we take precautions, but apart from one month a year I find the temperature fine. Spring and Autumn are simply glorious. Long bright days between 60 - 70 degrees.
Melbourne is very laid back, and I live centrally. Out in the suburbs it is practically horizontal. It depends where you are in life as a person as to how you feel about that. For me, after many years in central London, it's good. Peaceful. But I live a short walk from St Kilda because I couldn't bear to live too far from something, anything, happening.
Victoria is like a little eco system. The lush wineries of the Mornington Peninsula to the East of Melbourne and the surfing beaches of the Great Ocean Road to the West. You can surf, walk, sail and ski.
As for the kids? Personally I would rather grow up here than a London suburb. But then, I think I would rather grow up anywhere but a London suburb. My children have embraced the lifestyle, they are outside much, much more than at home. I am amazed at people saying there is no difference. There is a huge difference between bright warm evenings and long dark wet evenings.
There is no discernible class system. Which is simply magic. Nobody judging your sofas and curtains. I never thought you could live like this. Free of English snobbery. I hadn't realised just how repulsive it was until I moved here. The people are friendly. But best of all there is a genuine lack of cynicism. they believe you should 'have a go' and applaud you for it. They don't wait for you to fail, they encourage you and support you.
The children's future? My advice?
Dual passport.
I want my children to go back to London at some point and live and work. It's an amazing place. Maybe after that they will come back here and settle with their children by the sea. But they can choose. Their oppotunities in London, or anywhere in Europe, will not be limited by growing up in Australia. Not a possibility open to the Aussies.
I don't care what Aussies, or the IMF say. I worked in finance for many years and I think Australia's economy is fragile. The UK economy is the 4th largest in the world. It serves 60 million people domestically and 300 million people in an expanding European market. It leads the world in banking, advertising, art, literature and sport.
Australia digs stuff out of the ground. That's it. Oh and Swimming.

My advice is think carefully and choose your life here even more carefully. Think about what it is you want. For yourself and your children. have a very clear and recordable vision.

Get it right and it's great. I am very, very happy.

Get it wrong....

[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by southrick

It is quite impossible for you to to imagine, or me to describe adequately, the profound differences between England and Australia.
Melbourne could not be any more different to London. It is suburban to it's very core.
Visually it is very low rise, very flat and monotone. Unlike the UK, it's architecture is designed to sap the soul. No matter how dramatic the backdrop, the Aussies can design a building that sucks the life from it's sourroundings.
It's media is third world. Locally focused drivel. If you enjoy cop shows with acronyms like NCIS, SVU, CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI:Las Vegas, CSI:New York and so on, then you will be right at home. Because that is Aussie television. Night after night. After night. Squeezed inbetween various cops solving murders, all refusing to do it by the book, there is the odd fat person going on 'a journey'.
Sport wise there is footy. That's all. A local game, played by locals who play other locals watched by locals. No-one outside Victoria plays the game or cares about the game. Victoria doesn't care.
Victoria is a country. Not a state. It doesn't interact with Sydney or any other city. At all. Sydney, Perth and Brisbane do not exist. At all. Only Victoria exists. It is a self-contained world at the end of the earth.
House prices appear to have been decided in a parallel universe, where geographical locale, amenities and global travel play no part. Aussies spend every cent on their mortgage. The highest income to mortgage ratio in the developed world. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

Right, the other side of the coin. My son's school is fantastic. Infinately better than the failing inner London Primary he attended previously. He loves it. The beach is 3 roads down from my house. I still pinch myself as I cycle or jog along the beach and clear blue water. It's wonderful. The climate is mediterranean. I can't speak about the damage it does, we take precautions, but apart from one month a year I find the temperature fine. Spring and Autumn are simply glorious. Long bright days between 60 - 70 degrees.
Melbourne is very laid back, and I live centrally. Out in the suburbs it is practically horizontal. It depends where you are in life as a person as to how you feel about that. For me, after many years in central London, it's good. Peaceful. But I live a short walk from St Kilda because I couldn't bear to live too far from something, anything, happening.
Victoria is like a little eco system. The lush wineries of the Mornington Peninsula to the East of Melbourne and the surfing beaches of the Great Ocean Road to the West. You can surf, walk, sail and ski.
As for the kids? Personally I would rather grow up here than a London suburb. But then, I think I would rather grow up anywhere but a London suburb. My children have embraced the lifestyle, they are outside much, much more than at home. I am amazed at people saying there is no difference. There is a huge difference between bright warm evenings and long dark wet evenings.
There is no discernible class system. Which is simply magic. Nobody judging your sofas and curtains. I never thought you could live like this. Free of English snobbery. I hadn't realised just how repulsive it was until I moved here. The people are friendly. But best of all there is a genuine lack of cynicism. they believe you should 'have a go' and applaud you for it. They don't wait for you to fail, they encourage you and support you.
The children's future? My advice?
Dual passport.
I want my children to go back to London at some point and live and work. It's an amazing place. Maybe after that they will come back here and settle with their children by the sea. But they can choose. Their oppotunities in London, or anywhere in Europe, will not be limited by growing up in Australia. Not a possibility open to the Aussies.
I don't care what Aussies, or the IMF say. I worked in finance for many years and I think Australia's economy is fragile. The UK economy is the 4th largest in the world. It serves 60 million people domestically and 300 million people in an expanding European market. It leads the world in banking, advertising, art, literature and sport.
Australia digs stuff out of the ground. That's it. Oh and Swimming.

My advice is think carefully and choose your life here even more carefully. Think about what it is you want. For yourself and your children. have a very clear and recordable vision.

Get it right and it's great. I am very, very happy.

Get it wrong....

Was that meant for the original post? I know the differences between england and oz, I live here!

[ali]

My children were 7 and 11 when we moved here (2007) and I wouldn't say they have a better life per se, but they are happy, healthy, relaxed and enjoy school. We wanted the opportunity to have a different life, we enjoy living in Australia, and don't forsee going back to the UK, my OH who was keen for a holiday there has now 'changed his mind', which is great for me 'cos the thought always filled me with dread as I didn't want to go (but would have if he wanted to).

We can all have the same experience yet internalise it and view it very differently .... you'll only know if it's for you if you give it a go ... we can only tell you of our experiences and how it's effected us .. as Siblin said, what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. Come with an open mind

Ali

[Count Zero]

Originally Posted by TinRibs

Hi Everybody,

I am a newbie to the posting game but have been an active reader for some time.

We live in Hertfordshire and enjoy a nice home and an average day to day life.

My question is really, would my kids aged 9 and 7 be better off growing up, schooling and finally getting a desent job with descent earnings and descent life living in Herts, UK or Victoria, AU.

I realise at the moment jobs are difficult to find on both sides of the world but is there a future in the UK, I think not....

The main reason for the post is every day we hear more and more doom and gloom in the UK and the fact that our kids will be paying for Gordon Brown for the rest of their lives.

Thanks.

If you like it your kids will probably like it and get on well. If you are emotionally hard, don't appreciate the subtle gentle things in life and put material goods ahead of relationships then you will fit in a treat.

[TinRibs]

Do you therefore think people in OZ are more materialistic than the UK, we find many people in our area materialistic and there is a lot of one up manship, which is something we are keen to escape?

[Quoll]

Originally Posted by TinRibs

Do you therefore think people in OZ are more materialistic than the UK, we find many people in our area materialistic and there is a lot of one up manship, which is something we are keen to escape?

Personally, yes I do find them more materialistic. They will tell you how much they paid for something and not be in the least bit shy about asking you how much your stuff cost and then they will tell you how they would have got it much cheaper. They dont really care about what you have only that they have one bigger, better, cheaper, more expensive and more of them. Aussies arent really good at the give and take and genuine interest stuff, they just lob in questions because they want to get you started so they can tell you about their stuff both material and emotional.

[The Ozcans]

Well, in the last 3 days,(in UK) I've had 2 guys tell me that they get paid sh1t loads of money for doing nothing, one works in a warehouse and the other is an IT consultant "if people are going to pay me I'm not going to complain" And several women have told me where they got something and exactly how much it cost when all I said was "oh, that's a nice skirt/mac/dress" that their daughters were wearing. I never asked! I asked "how's work?" or I never asked!
People where I live will look you up and down before they speak to you and will dress up with a face full of make up to go to Sainsbury's.
Just think it's modern life and the insecurities of it!

Sue x

[chippy2]

Originally Posted by TinRibs

Hi Everybody,

I am a newbie to the posting game but have been an active reader for some time.

We live in Hertfordshire and enjoy a nice home and an average day to day life.

My question is really, would my kids aged 9 and 7 be better off growing up, schooling and finally getting a desent job with descent earnings and descent life living in Herts, UK or Victoria, AU.

I realise at the moment jobs are difficult to find on both sides of the world but is there a future in the UK, I think not....

The main reason for the post is every day we hear more and more doom and gloom in the UK and the fact that our kids will be paying for Gordon Brown for the rest of their lives.

Thanks.

would recommend you look deeply in to the aussie schooling system as it is terrible and had we knowned would never have made the move,yes when you get there you will find your child does very well,or even top of the class this is because the schools are so far behind it makes the mind boggle,will get a lot of negatives replys,but you dont know untill you get there