MARYROSE02

I had the idea that, in earlier times when people travelled by ship, they'd spent all their money by the time they arrived at Freemantle (Fremantle? There's a burb in Southampton), so they got off the boat there. I flew to Singapore and got a ship to Freo 45 years ago. I loved Perth but I couldn't get a job and ended up where I never planned on going - Sydney. Now, after a 16 month "holiday" in Surfers I've decided I want to stay here. I had a great time when I went back to England for a 12 year "holiday" and I could still be there now but I had family in OZ.

Drugs ie "illegal" drugs are a fact of life wherever you live. When I worked for Royal Mail in England the guys who tipped the mail bags were issued gloves and warned about the dangers of "sharps" ie syringes dumped in mail boxes. I imagine Australia Post is much the same Here, many public toilets and in pubs have boxes for disposal of needles. You can get marijuana on prescription from a doctor here in QLD. The Rugby League World Cup is being held in England whilst the T20 Cricket World Cup is on here in Oz. England v Pakistan, the former colonial master versus one of its former colonies. That's the real face of British colonialism no matter what the activists say. Being here in Surfers, sitting in the shade in on the seafront I can't access my diary for 1978. God, I was naive and inexperienced, living in hostels, scrabbling for jobs I would never try to do now. I had a great little job in England too, operating a weighbridge, keeping records and a pleasant life at home with my parents and brothers in a village. What on Earth made me tear it all up?!

44 years ago this week I was in Perth after arriving on 3rd November, 1978, in Fremantle. I liked Perth but I couldn't get a job and I ended up in Sydney which I had never envisaged. My two brothers followed in 1979. I used to go back to England regularly, eventually going back for 12 years. Now, I've been here for 14 years on my second stint and I've not been back. This year I've been in Surfers Paradise which I think I prefer to Sydney with its milder winters. As the editor of the Gold Coast Bulletin said, "You either live on the Gold Coast or you want to live there! (?)"

That's why I moved from Narrabeen to Surry Hills and if others assume it's because I'm an aging ex yuppie hipster, so much the better. As I was saying elsewhere about Newtown, Surry Hills has its drawbacks but you can live without a car because it has excellent public transport and you can walk to most places. If I'd had a job in Narrabeen I'd probably have stayed there.

Does your wife feel the same way about Newtown - i.e. "dirty and noisy?" What attracted her to buy a flat in Newtown may still attract her? Dirty and noisy is the "price" you pay for the convenience of being able to walk almost everywhere and with an excellent public transport system. I live in Surry Hills which is much the same. If you work for the government then I assume you can apply for similar jobs with other government departments or the same government if you work for the Commonwealth. So, for example, if you liked Perth, look for jobs with the WA government. I like Perth too but did your wife like it too?

Travelling from many parts of Sydney will take 70 minutes and more, especially when you add on time to get to the station or a bus. The Blue Mts limited stops train does Penrith to Central in 48 minutes I think but unless you work walking distance from Central that means another train, bus or tram. If you are not walking distance from Penrith that means car or bus.

I automatically assumed that the B Line double decker buses had replaced the existing buses (bendy?) on the 190 (?) route all the way to Palm Beach. I remember sitting at Wynyard during one of the COVID lockdown and I saw a B line bus (which I've never ridden) and wondering if I could risk breaking the 5km from home rule and go to Narrabeen. I lived there in the 80s and I'm often nostalgic (but not for commuting to Sydney!) Why did they block the B Line buses? The thought of the plebs looking over their fences from the upper deck? I liked doing that on buses in Hants.

I suppose you learn to make compromises. When I went to Perth 5 years ago for two 6 week holidays, the first thing I noticed was that I could drive for pleasure, unlike in Sydney with its 7 day all day jams. How important is it to go away for weekends to other cities? For some it is important. For others you spend your weekends where you live. When I went back to England to live my passion was cycling and walking in The New Forest. Here in Surfers I spend my weekends with either walking distance or tram distance of places I want to go. I don't like what I see as the hassle of travelling, stuck in traffic jams, taking hours to get anywhere. Surry Hills to my brother's home in Spring Farm near Camden is 60 km without ever leaving Sydney. So, I could live in South Perth just off the north/south freeway and over the Swan from the CBD with all the facilities I need. If I wanted a week of culture in Sydney or Melbourne I'd take a week or two holiday there.

My brother just sent me a link to a one bedroom unit for sale in Redcliffe or is it Redcliff? ($450k plus) He's stayed in the complex and says I would like it. It looks nice in the photos, possibly like one of the suburbs on Sydney's Northern Beaches? I told him I'm not sure I want to start again. I've been in Surfers Paradise for nine months now, continually deferring returning to Sydney. I've got doctor, dentist, podiatrist that I like, made a few friends. Each time I move it's like emigrating again. You can commute to Brisbane from the Gold Coast but I wouldn't like to do it. I wondered what it would be like to live in a regional city like Toowoomba, Wollongong, Geelong. I talked to a guy from Ballarat or Bendigo (I always confuse them) and asked if commuting to Melbourne was do-able? He said yes. Cities like that are big enough to have all the services you want. The Gold Coast has all those services too.

The irony, if that's the right word, is that I planned to live in Perth and had no intention of going to Sydney. I've got my diary for 1978 and I wrote in it for the day I arrived on 3 Nov, "I like it and and I want to stay." But I couldn't get a job and i decided to travel east, Adelaide first for a week then Sydney around 8 December and I finally got a job at the end of January. Looking back I think, "Why didn't you just stay in Perth? A job would have come up sooner or later." But also looking back I think, "If only you'd come to Surfers Paradise." But I would have hated commuting to Brisbane. You could do it in an hour but if the traffic is stuffed then double that time. Like commuting from my brother's home at Spring Farm near Camden to Sydney CBD. Some people say they don't mind commuting but if you don't like it then Perth and Adelaide are ideal, Canberra too, and I imagine Hobart. I was amazed when I was in Perth 5 years ago that I could drive for pleasure, which is almost impossible in Sydney. I suppose if you have an unlimited budget you can buy a house or unit at Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly or Coogee and if you work in the CBD, have a relatively painless commute for the 7 or 8 kilometres to work. The Northern Beaches or Cronulla are nice too but the commuting time increases. I thought Perth was like a smaller version of Sydney - great ocean beaches, and nice inner city suburbs easy to commute to Perth CBD, wineries 40 minutes away instead of 2 or 3 hours to the Hunter Valley. Maybe some of the suburbs are bland but they are wherever you go. It's a city of 2 million not 20,000 the way some of its detractors go on about it. What do you put on the wish list for migrating to Oz? Living the Dream? Live on a beach with nice weather, relatively cheap homes and relatively easy commute to work. Which place ticks all the boxes? It's now Surfers for me. Excellent public transport, walk to the beach and just about every other facility I need. Live a car-free life. And if you hanker for the big city then Brisbane is an hour away as you say but I don't hanker for it.

I thought Perth was nice when I first came to OZ in 1978 but I couldn't get a job. (I wish I'd just stayed there now) But I ended up in Sydney where I have spent most of my life in Oz bar the last few months living in Surfers Paradise. Now I wish I'd come come to Surfers and stuff both Perth and Sydney and everywhere else. Pick a place to live where, if possible you can buy a home with as short a possible commute to work as possible. I've heard it's a nightmare commuting to Brisbane - 50 miles(?) I don't know. I never go there. I have no reason to go there. It could be 5000 miles and the same for Sydney and Melbourne. Spending hours every day, morning and arvo, commuting to work is horrible (in my opinion). Geographical isolation is only a problem if you NEED to be able to get somewhere else - health, work, education, whatever. If you have all those facilities and services close by then life should be pleasant. I love Surfers. Everything I want is walking distance or a tram ride. I don't own a car and I don't need a car. I liked Perth. I liked it when I went back 5 years ago. If my family were all there I would move there now but they are in Sydney. Surfers is close(r) to Sydney than Perth so I'll stay here for now. Perth's isolation is only relevant in so far as my family are in Sydney. Otherwise it would be irrelevant.

If you make the move perhaps don't sell your house in Nelson until you are sure you are happy in Australia. You may even be homesick for Nelson/NZ. You wouldn't be the first, or last, to regret burning your bridges, wherever you are planning to go, UK to Oz, Oz to UK.

I've not been walking in the UK for a long time but if there's a public footpath thru a field then I THINK(?) the farmer has obligations regarding walkers. Walking between a cow and its calf is not a good idea but other than that situation I THINK(?) it's safe to walk through a field. Are farmers allowed to keep a bull on its own in a field? In the New Forest where I'm from livestock runs free and, again, walking between a cow or pony and its young is foolish, ditto trying to pay NF ponies. For all that, I'm a scaredy cat(and a poet) and I doubt I'd walk thru a field with livestock in it.

That's true but in the case of WA there is also the "us and them" situation with "them" being "The Eastern States" - remember McGowan closing WA for so long during the pandemic? I thought perhaps they might show some solidarity but footy rivalry trumps state rivalry. Then there's the situation where your state rival is playing a club which you hate even more. "Everybody hates Collingwood" I've heard more than once. A bit like "Who does a Man Utd fan want to lose more when Man City play Liverpool?" When Arsenal play Chelsea I want them both to lose but I'll go for the result that most favours Spurs. There's a similar attitude in QLD towards the southern states. I must ask some of the blokes I know who support the QLD NRL teams who they go for if one of their state rivals are playing a NSW club. I already know how they feel in State of Origin - more important to beat NSW than England in The Ashes.

I didnt like the Giants at first but now I've got them as my second team. I have a soft spot for Carlton too. I felt sorry for them yesterday losing by a point to Collingwood. With the help of blokes in the Surf Club in Surfers I put my first bet on since the Melbourne Cup on Melbourne Storm, Sydney Swans and Tottenham to win their three games. It came thru too, just, and I won $15.10 for my $5 stake. One of the other bloke put $50 on the same bet.

I don't follow either and when I was over there I was interested to note that, whilst the Sandgropers might talk disparagingly about "The Eastern States", when one of their AFL clubs was playing a Melbourne team, there was no WA solidarity. If the Dockers were playing them then the Eagles supported the Melbourne team, and vice versa. Strangely, for me, I used to hate the Giants (I like the Swans) but now I think of them as my second or third team. I have a soft spot for Carlton as I liked John Elliot.

There are worse places to live in Sydney than Mt Druitt! It's got a railway station, hospital. I overcame my prejudices about "Westies" (flanno shirt with torn off arms, ACDC shirt, UGG boots, no teeth) when I worked in Penrith - 55 km from my home in Surry Hills. It's living outside walking distance from the facilities that I need that I dislike so, whilst I love Surfers I could not live in the Hinterland or even some of the beach suburbs down towards Coolangatta where the Gold Coast Highway is a barrier between the beach and the homes to the west. I went down to the airport today with my brother to drop a friend off and the traffic was equally unpleasant in both GC Highway and the motorway. I suppose most of us have to make compromises, according to finances, where we work, whether we are prepared to endure a long commute, etc. I'm sure there are people who can give a long list of horrible things about Surfers Paradise?!

"Perth, I'm loving it?!" I've not been there for over 4 years now and it's Surfers Paradise that "I'm loving it"

Purple? Is that the West Coast Eagles' shirt colour!?!? Purple sounds suspiciously like the Freemantle Dockers? Not that you have to follow either. You can be "true" to your state or you can choose another team. In my case, despite them playing in "Gooner" red and white, I go for the Sydney Swans.

I haven't got a car and don't want or need one but how do I compare the costs of living without a car in Australia with living without a car in the UK? As I'm over 60 I get a senior's travel card which means a maximum of $2.50 on most public transport, same in Qld as it is in NSW. I've got a feeling I'd get a free bus pass in England? Does that cover train too? But then in England I lived in a village with limited bus service whereas in Surfers I've got a wonderful tram but that's only wonderful because of where I live SO how do I compare the two countries?

I only went to Qld House and WA too I think after I decided to fly to Singapore and get a ship to Fremantle/Freemantle (I confuse it with the suburb of Southampton). I don't think I ever went to NSW House if there is one as I had no intention of going there, but spent most of my life in Sydney. I spoke to a young mum from Newcastle upon Tyne today in the Laundromat in Surfers. I told her I was born in South Shields. She lives in Northern Beaches of Sydney - Elanora Heights so we had that in common as I lived in Narrabeen. I said to her, "Is life in Australia better than in England?" "100 per cent - everything lifestyle, weather". What about your parents? I said ."They're ok, come out to see me." I didn't ask her any leading questions!

It didn't seem like "The Lucky Country" to me (A ironic term if I recall). I went from a secure and well paid job and a pleasant life living with my parents, to living in hostels, scrabbling for parc jobs, watching every penny, and travelling huge distances in buses. I'd run out of money after 3 months and was going home but my Dad persuaded me to stay and he sent me more money One thing I did not do was spend my by time comparing prices in Oz with UK. I had no common measure. I was doing it tough in Oz because I couldn't get a job not because Oz was dearer or cheaper for that matter. Once I got a job my financial problems disappeared. Australia seems much better to me now because I don't need to work and I've got no debts. I imagine if you've got a mortgage, other loans, school fees etc, it doesn't matter where you live or when you live(d). My mortgage interest rate in 1987 was 18 per cent(?) Was Australian Outlook "propaganda?" I can't remember. Was it an arm of the Australian govt? Whatever. It was one of the few ways I could find out about life in OZ, along with books from the library and maybe trips to London to the state govt houses. Isn't it usually other aspects of life in Australia that make people unhappy? Homesickness, unable to settle, not getting on or fitting in with Australia, loneliness. The cost of living might be another strand, the "straw".

Well, they might have got my back up by telling me that "Australia is boring and there's nothing to do!"

Perhaps we are thinking that, between the people who love Australia from day one and the ones who hate it from day one, there are others who are undecided, and we can convince them to stay? I always remember reading about a couple who went to NZ and they hated it, and decided to go home. But first they had to save up enough to pay for the passage back, and by the time they'd got the money together, they'd changed their minds and fallen in love with NZ

Before I came to Australia I did hours and hours of research scouring the libraries for books about Australia and subscribing to that newspaper (Australian Outlook?) but it never occurred to me to try to compare the cost of living. Perhaps I should have done? Perhaps I would have seen the costs of living in Australia and the awful FX rate at that time (1978) and thought, "No, the costs don't add up. The debits outweigh the credits. Australia is not for me. It's just too expensive." And I would have been right!?!?