Will my kids be better off????

[ali]

Originally Posted by Count Zero

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.

From a personal point of view I would disagree, I feel that my family and I 'fit in' here and we are none of the things that you describe. For us, the gains for us as a family have not been materialistic ones, but quality time together, reduced working hours for me and feeling more relaxed.

You can't tar everyone with the same brush.

[Count Zero]

Originally Posted by ali

From a personal point of view I would disagree, I feel that my family and I 'fit in' here and we are none of the things that you describe. For us, the gains for us as a family have not been materialistic ones, but quality time together, reduced working hours for me and feeling more relaxed.

You can't tar everyone with the same brush.

What I was trying to say is that if you are what I have described then you are more likely to fit into the Aussie way of life. I quite like it but its quite rough and ready and a bit primative. Also we have found the schooling is way behind, maybe about 2 years but they catch up apparently in high school.
You do need to be emotionally hard and a little bit selfish to survive away from everything you know and once cared about.

[Siblin!]

Originally Posted by Count Zero

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.

I have to disagree here , my kids never had the freedom to join clubs , play an instrument , go to camps ..........all of which do unfortunately cost money , therefore it is called being a good parent and giving your children the best start in life you possibly can , not valuing material things more.
The fact is, out here my kids enjoy life more because they can do these types of things with their friends.
Money does contribute to family life, we can all enjoy the freedom of going to the theatre if we want .....do things we never could afford to do in England .
As for schooling my kids are flying , they have been recognised for their academic achievements and been rewarded for these ..... they have opportunites to grow and mature in a fantastic environment. Choosing your area to live and school wisely will give you these opportunites.
I am the one out of my family who stuggles with Australia ( my environment ) but that aside, our family life out here is so much better , we are never stressed really . We have always been a close family and we used to go camping and walking , as cheap days out in England, we all lovedit but the kids need more than that and if extra money gives you the opportunity to offer your children more dimensions to their life then that is what i will always strive to do ................who wouldn't?

Oh and i am in no way shape or form emotionally hard

[kdal]

Originally Posted by Count Zero

What I was trying to say is that if you are what I have described then you are more likely to fit into the Aussie way of life. I quite like it but its quite rough and ready and a bit primative. Also we have found the schooling is way behind, maybe about 2 years but they catch up apparently in high school.
You do need to be emotionally hard and a little bit selfish to survive away from everything you know and once cared about.

..

You know I wonder sometimes if much of it is down to luck !! Now my son is doing very well here in school and enjoys going to school. It is not rough and ready where we are, perhaps once again we struck lucky with where we have settled, we have very nice neighbourhood.

Oh I dont think you have to be very hard and selfish, on the contrary sometimes we make huge sacrafises to give our children what we feel is a better future. You will 'always' care about the people you 'once cared about' , all because you move away you do not erase people from your mind. Tears filled my eyes when I received an email from my best friend today - emotionally hard ??? I think not !

[yorkshirlad]

Hi

I too am a reader but decided to become a member.

We have been here since Dec 2007 and my kids love it, 2 girls 20 & 18 and 1 Boy 10 in 2 weeks the girls have there own life already at uni ect ect we hardly see them but I suppose that could be any where in the world really. But my boy plays cricket all summer, football all winter and plays at the beach at weekends, there are tennis clubs everywhere a strange game called AFL which you may have heard of but I enjoy watching and two clubs are chasing my son but he's too busy!!! Education well it's like anywhere really if they want to learn they will learn we can only try and guide them in the right direction can't we?? The only thing my son struggled with when he first went to school was History or the lack of it!! Australia has a lack of castles which he couldnt grasp.

Im sorry I am going on a bit, yes yes yes it's the best thing you could possibly do for the little mites put them in as many clubs as possible, you will be amazed how many friends you will make...

Make the move

Andy

P.S I did have family in Birch Green is that far from you??

[woz]

Thank you for your honest response. I am deliberating at the moment whether to stay in Oz or return to the u.k. I am a solo parent with 2 children (3 and 6) and I am in a comtemplative mood at present. I came over her for a better way of life for my children and myself. Having seriously considered the kids future with a 'fit to burst at the seams' u.k way of life. However, the things that matter most in life become paramount when you up root to the other side of the world. Admittedly Oz is a beautiful, diverse country (not forgetting I have only glimpsed the victorian state), but finally one has to reflect on values in life and those around that are important and part of your family, support network may it be from a distance. I miss feeling comfortable in the company of mutual friends and I miss the chance of reaching out to honest, true, dependable family and friends, something I can honsetly say with my hand on my heart I don't think I will ever find here in Oz. People here are very superficial and insincere and I don't feel the element of trust and need to share my personal situation with these people. Sometimes others around me suggest being open and true to embrace new friends, but I don't feel the feeling is mutual and they would rather keep "pommies" at arms length (just my opinion). Certainly I haven't become paranoid and quite often will walk in on discussions (re: bloody immigrants) during my lunch break - which is demoralising but a factor of Ozzie point of view.
Any way just wanted to say thanks re: the importance of close loved ones and the values that they install in our off spring. Needless to say my 6 year old is battling at school trying to connect with class mates and struggling with their bossy, domineering style something that I have witnessed as a common trait to Ozzies in this short space of time.

[TinRibs]

Thanks for your views they are all important. We are near to Hertford so not far from your friends.

[fish.01]

Originally Posted by woz

Thank you for your honest response. I am deliberating at the moment whether to stay in Oz or return to the u.k. I am a solo parent with 2 children (3 and 6) and I am in a comtemplative mood at present. I came over her for a better way of life for my children and myself. Having seriously considered the kids future with a 'fit to burst at the seams' u.k way of life. However, the things that matter most in life become paramount when you up root to the other side of the world. Admittedly Oz is a beautiful, diverse country (not forgetting I have only glimpsed the victorian state), but finally one has to reflect on values in life and those around that are important and part of your family, support network may it be from a distance. I miss feeling comfortable in the company of mutual friends and I miss the chance of reaching out to honest, true, dependable family and friends, something I can honsetly say with my hand on my heart I don't think I will ever find here in Oz. People here are very superficial and insincere and I don't feel the element of trust and need to share my personal situation with these people. Sometimes others around me suggest being open and true to embrace new friends, but I don't feel the feeling is mutual and they would rather keep "pommies" at arms length (just my opinion). Certainly I haven't become paranoid and quite often will walk in on discussions (re: bloody immigrants) during my lunch break - which is demoralising but a factor of Ozzie point of view.
Any way just wanted to say thanks re: the importance of close loved ones and the values that they install in our off spring. Needless to say my 6 year old is battling at school trying to connect with class mates and struggling with their bossy, domineering style something that I have witnessed as a common trait to Ozzies in this short space of time.

Fair enough, your point view, but I disagree. People are people everywhere. You will find the same number of decent and sincere people here than you will anywhere. This is just a reverse example, I don't want to tar the whole UK with the same brush you are using to paint Australia, but I find my UK relatives speak about immigrants far more than family/friends here do. Most people couldn't give two hoots about UK immigrants. They just accept a new face at work - if anything they discuss it less than I expect them to - not more. I understand this attitude might vary with different types of jobs - they might take more notice in the building trade at the mo:) All of us grew up with English, Welsh, Scots, Irish on our streets.

Maybe you are going through that homesickness stage that everyone on here talks about and everything looks negative at the moment. Either that or a lot of my family and friends are:
- Superficial
- Insincere
- Not worth trusting
- Don't like immigrants
- Bossy
- Domineering

I'm sure at least 1 of those traits does not apply to me.

Just remember that a lot of those people you are judging that way are often only one generation from Britain - your kids in 20 years if you stay.

I hope you find some peace wherever you live.