MARYROSE02

Yes, you are right about student debt - HECS but you only have to repay it if your income goes above whatever the threshold is. I did pay $3,000 a couple of years back when I worked for a whole year but my income is never high enough now. I've just enrolled in a new OU unit at Macquarie Uni starting this week. Funny but when I enrolled 2 weeks ago I thought the lockdown would end by the time the unit started and I'd withdraw. Now I'm thinking the 12 week plus break unit will finish before the lockdown does.

What do they call pubs in Pommieland then?

Watch a State of Origin game if you want to experience passion (without hooligans). Rugby League is very much my third footy code after football and Aussie Rules but Origin is my number one sporting event. Hopefully a 3rd win tonight over Qld which will make up for losing Euro.

No doubt I will be thinking, "If only I'd waited till 2022 (when the pound was worth 3 dollars too?!) Near Southampton, but not a posh part of the New Forest.

Why the two years in Sydney? Is that where your job offer is then your visa requires you stay in Sydney for two years? Anyway, you MIGHT find that after two years in Sydney you like it there and don't want to move to Brisbane. Not that it matters of course. My brother went up to QLD two weeks ago and has settled In to Redcliffe, says he likes it. Beach 'burb 40 minutes north east of Brisbane CBD? I've not been there. We both spent time in Surfers Paradise which I loved and he hated. He hates Sydney too. I don't hate it. I "just" live here in Surry Hills. I've been back from Surfers for three months and was planning to go back to Surfers for another look to see if I still liked it. Covid-19 had other plans for me. I even booked a hire car one way but then thought "I'll wait till I have me 2nd Pfizer jab". Too late. My part of Sydney locked down on the same day as the 2nd jab and every state has shut NSW out. I decided to sell.my house in England and I may use some of the money to buy a place in Surfers, maybe spend the winters there. We shall see.

That's pretty well my impression of Perth. I arrived there in 1978, loved it, but couldn't get a job and ended up in Sydney. 40 years later I went back to Perth for two trips, three months apart, seven and six weeks. I spent most of my time in South Perth, plus 2 weeks in Applecross, a week in Northbridge, and a couple of weeks in the country to the south and east. I admit to patronising Perth (in a positive way?!) by saying Perth's rush hour would not even get a mention on the Sydney radio traffic reports. But I liked driving in Perth whereas Sydney has a seven day, all day rush hour. Exaggerating I know. I was thinking of moving there, "emigrating" in a way, but the second of my visits was a reality check. I still liked it but I have friends and family in Sydney. I spent eight months in Surfers Paradise in 20 / 21 before coming back to Sydney three months ago to "sort things out" then go back there. Covid-19 has sorted me out instead. I could have gone but I postponed it for two weeks so I could get my 2nd Pfizer jab (25th June, Lockdown Day!) I had a chance to go to Perth too. @#$% happens. PS I have ping pinged too, doing 12 years back in England but since coming back to Sydney in December, 2008, I've not been back. Last week I cut another tie by putting my UK home up for sale. I get my England fix via Optus Sport and the Daily Mail.

Middlesbrough in May is probably/possibly beautiful but I'm not sure if I would like to winter there. Actually, I was born in South Shields though raised in the "Deep South", but I would not mind going back there for a few weeks. No preference regarding Melbourne or Manchester but again would prefer summer to winter in either. Here's an interesting "what if?" Imagine you are DESPERATE to return to your "home" and you are granted your wish, BUT, you cannot go back to your hometown; it has to be, in my case, South Shields not Southampton. Would it still be home or another alien place. You can play the game imagining you are homesick Aussie in UK as well.

I thought "Manchester" was something to do with cloth or linens and assumed Mandurah was too.

Melbourne has parc beaches and weather but good arts scene. Perth has parc arts but good weather and beaches? Let Paul be the arbiter!

I'm not into ballet, dance or plays either but if I was Perth does have them all, just not as much as Sydney or Melbourne. I just Googled them all and it's not "amateur hour" either. Plus, unlike Melbourne, Perth has beaches!

Clancys Fish Pub. That's the name of the other pub in Applecross. I was trying to think of it. I did 2 weeks at an Airbnb there and went to Raffles every night, occasionally to Clancys. It's a great way to get to know a burbs spending a week or so there. I did a week in Northbridge in apartment near WA Police HQ, and week revisiting South Perth and the Windsor hotel. South Perth has the magnificent view over the Swan to the city.

"Such a small place?" Remind me of the population and area of Perth? Two million? My home town, Southampton, has over 200, 000 and I lived in a village 8 miles away. It must be horrible to live in regional cities like Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Wagga, Albury, Toowoomba, Townsville, even state capitals like Hobart and Canberra. Some people crave going to new places every weekend whilst others are happy in their own suburb. I like to become a local in 3 or 4 pubs rather than go to loads but never get to know anybody. In two months back in Sydney, I've rarely left Surry Hills. In 8 months in Surfers it was the same. The suburb becomes the village without the greenfield surrounding it. I went to Brisbane once. Nothing wrong with it. I just could not be bothered. I spent most weekends in my 12 years back in England out in the New Forest going to the same villages and towns on my bike. So, for me Perth is ok. I loved it when I arrived in 1978 but ended up in Sydney which is home but it's just where I found my first job. Had I got one in Perth or Adelaide it would have been there.

Actually he or she was complaining about the top performers NOT playing in Perth. I just looked up the Perth Arena website and all the top stars have played or are playing there. Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Slash, etc etc plus the top Aussie acts. Maybe the big acts might only play one or two shows in Perth but more in Melbourne or Sydney but to say the big acts don't play Perth is BS. And of course I forgot the basketball teams, not my sport, but again Perth I think has a national team, just like, cricket, soccer, AFL. Tough if you go for non-WA team but if you follow Eagles or Dockers you watch the home games live and the away games on TV, though plenty of fans are keen enough to go to the away games as well. I've got mate who's been to Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth recently to watch AFL. As for the big shows in Melbourne and Sydney, well, that's just the way it is. What do you do if you live in the West Coast of the US and you want to see shows on Broadway. I doubt if I'll ever see Spurs in London but I make do by watching every game live on TV. It is what it is.

Yes, had he moved anywhere in OZ last year I would have joined him. I'd been to Surfers for holidays but never thought of moving there. Once there I grew into liking it. He just went to Adelaide on a road trip with my other brother and he was VERY impressed with Adelaide. I think he appreciated the smaller scale of Adelaide, which is what I like about Perth. He also said Adelaide was very lively. I imagine given that Adelaide is smaller than Perth then people who hate Perth would also hate Adelaide? I don't know. "Subjective" remember. Yes, I do own my unit in Sydney. Last week I bumped into an RE agent who was showing a 2 bedroom unit above mine. He inspected my one bedroom place and later emailed me a report for both rental and purchase. I don't want to sell my unit but if I like SP enough to want to move I might rent it out. I've also made decision to sell the UK house. (Meant to reply to someone else who commented with some advice. Keep losing their post.) My friend in Perth has been prodding me to go over there. I'm thinking Goldie for the winter, WA in spring for the wildflowers. Cold here in my flat though I've got shorts on and the window ajar but it's nice in the sun. My brothers actually followed me to OZ back in 1979. Had I been in Perth (which I liked but couldn't get a job) we might all be there but I washed up in Sydney.

I'm not sure if I follow you. Perth ALWAYS gets a Test Cricket match. You have two AFL teams and and a brand new 60 000 capacity stadium so you can see all the other AFL teams. If one of the WA teams makes the Finals then that often means some of the Finals games are played there. Perth also has an A League team so you get to see all the other Australian and NZ teams. Perth does not have an NRL team but you sometimes get one of the State of Origin games (which are of course traditionally held in Sydney or Brisbane. The AFL grand final is always held in Melbourne at the MCG and the NRL grand final is always held in Sydney, bar exceptional circumstances. You may as well complain about having to go to Wembley if your non-London team gets to the FA or League Cup Final. In any case, just as with the AFL and NRL, it's part of the tradition to go to the "home" or "HQ" of the game. Correct me if I'm wrong but one of the big world surfing contests was just held in WA at Margaret River. I'm not into motor racing or boating or horse racing but sure WA hosts its own events. And the top bands, performers, etc usually play a gig at the Perth Ent Centre. Perth has theatres and concert halls but Melbourne and Sydney naturally dominate the arts. So what. London does in the UK. You have a huge casino in Perth, as good as the ones in Sydney Melbourne, Gold Coast. The beaches are the equal of other parts of Oz. So, you can't watch NRL live in Perth and if you want to watch your fave AFL or NRL team (which ones do you support?) you have to go to Melbourne or Sydney and if you want to see the big boating show, you also have to go to the Eastern States. That does not sound too onerous to me

You make me sound perfect Marisa! I would not fancy living in one of the burbs far from the local services though. But then again if you want a home with garden then that's where you have to live. Actually I'd not fancy living in some of the posh suburbs because they are long distances from "the shops", but I'd like the money of course. Then again I fancy even with an unlimited budgets some people would reject every part of the city or country. And again and again, it's the local pub that I want not an ENGLISH pub or for that matter, AUSSIE pub.

Like the area immediately to the west of Surfers then? Chevron Island, Isle of Capri, etc, lovely homes on the river / canals, many with their own pier or wharf. I've got a little courtyard in my flat which I like to potter about in ie sweep the leaves up but I've got a few plants. I was thinking Id like to have a garden flat or town house/villa but there's not many in Surfers and as soon as I'm out of walking distance I don't live want to live there. So, the beach replaces the garden. One thing puzzles me about people who say "X is boring with nothing to do" is that I assume some of them have homes with gardens? Whether in Oz or UK many people adore their gardens and spend much time in them?

From what I recall of Hilarys it's a mini Darling Harbour or, now, Barangaroo and I rarely go to either of them. Go once and it's enough whether there's 5 restaurants and bars or 50. Actually, I should qualify that. If I lived easy walking distance from a place like Hilarys I'd go there regularly but I LOATHE having to drive anywhere, joining the other grockles fighting for parking places.

Funny but I disagree with both of you. I don't see WA as being isolated and limited with nothing beyond City, Freo, Busselton, Mandurah, Swan Valley. I'm happy usually wherever I am. My Hants village had 3 pubs, 2 takeaways and 1 cafe. Surry Hills has - exaggerating - 100 with another 100 in the adjoining suburbs - City, E Sydney, Darlo, Paddo, Newtown, Glen. On my two stints in Perth I "sampled" three suburbs - South Perth, Applecross and Northbridge. I mean i stayed there and in each one I found a local pub and local cafe which I could walk to. I did check out some other burbs - Subiaco, Ardross, and the casino if I needed to be out after midnight ie to watch Tottenham. In Sydney you can drive north, south or west. In Perth you can drive north, south or east. Perhaps there are more towns in NSW but I went to plenty of places in WA on my road trips - Margaret River, The Wheatbelt and down to Albany. If I CRAVED going on trips every weekend I could have gone to plenty - Northam, York (stayed there 2 nights) Beverley, Bridgetown and a hundred places ending in "Up." Since when does a town, place or suburb become boring after you've been once anyway?

I was just thinking that I could spend my winters in QLD. I saw a doco about Quebecois "snowbirds"(?) who migrate to Miami to escape the Canadian winters. When I was a kid I adored snow and ice but now I'm frightened to drive and frightened to slip. However, I must admit I adjusted to English winters, central heating, warm clothes, going for my bike rides at 10 am rather than 4pm.

I know what you mean but as I liked Surfers - stayed eight.months - I'd like to try it again, and I like the warmer weather in winter there. Of course that question, "What's wrong with staying exactly where you are and enjoying it?" is what we all ask ourselves when we migrate?!!? I suppose things occur, often unplanned, which have lead to some of my moves. I'd never have gone back to England to live had I not lost my job in Sydney and my parents were still in Hants. Same last year, I would not have joined my brother in Surfers had I not feared another lockdown and going through it on my own. Perhaps Covid-19 is making me unsettled too. It seemed somehow "safer" there!

Yes, I feel the same way about the inner city. Surry Hills is like a village in some respects with some very quiet streets away from the traffic yet walking distance to the "action" in Crown St. Living in the burbs can also be pleasant but a different sort of pleasant and you almost certainly need a car for every adult because it's too far to walk to the shops. Here, the cafe is downstairs from my flat as is the 7-11. My fave restaurant is 50 metres and pub 100 metres. I've driven a car once in two months and been on the tram twice, no bus or train. Better to go for a weekend if you want the country and definitely not on holiday weekend. I don't get it. Two days in 12 hour traffic jams on Friday and Monday for Sat and Sun away (Easter) better to stay in the city. I liked Surfers, not for the clubs and pubs although I did go to some of them but everything else, 3 supermarkets easy walking distance. Two or three minutes, tram stop same. Beach same, doctor, dentist. My brother hated the weekend crowds but I rather liked observing the excitement. Oh, reading those reviews there are always some who seem determined to whinge too!? The staff are rude, the food cold, the wait long etc ad nauseam. I read reviews of Surry Hills and thought "OMG I'm living in hell and I didn't know it.:

I just spent 15 minutes typing one fingered on my phone, pressed something and lost it! I'll be briefer. You are right about second visit to Perth. I went in Dec 17 for 7 weeks, staying 6 of them in South Perth. I decided to come back in May with a view to asking for a transfer with my employer (Commonwealth Govt Dept) I had a friend there but I fell out In a big way with her. I fell out with her the first visit. Anyway, after that I was in strange mood. I had 2 weeks in Applecross, a week in Northbridge, a week in the country and a week in South Perth. I guess I gradually concluded that although I liked Perth, Sydney was home and if I stayed in Perth I would be "Living" there not on holiday. (Same feeling some of us get going to UK on holiday especially in spring/summer, "This is GREAT! I want to "live" here. I did that too! Went for a holiday and stayed 12 years. ) The difference with Surfers is I started 8 months so began to "live" there but 2nd time around could be different. Surfers is as you describe it but it is different too, quieter during the week, busy weekends. I liked the contrast and as a "local" I could ignore it. Other parts of Surfers are quieter. I rather like Main Beach, a little more sophisticated. Noosa is different too though I've not been there for a long time. Surfers had everything I wanted within a small square beach, doctor, dentist, pubs , restaurants, shops, and the excellent tram service. Drugs are always around but I wasn't aware of people pushing them. I knew guys in SP who did coke. I know guys who do it here and pot. Occasionally I'm tempted to have a toke. For me there are illegal drugs and legal drugs with booze and fags far worse but legal. I bumped into RE agent coming out of my complex and he looked at my unit. Said it would rent, maybe freshen up with paint. So, I may rent it if I decide I like Surfers. I've also decided to sell house in UK and use the money, well SPEND it. What is your intention? To move somewhere else?

Yes, "Subjective" so wherever you are thinking of going or staying, read the reviews and if enough people say the same thing it may lean towards the truth!? I have been reading reviews of apartment/hotels in Surfers Paradise. There's one called "Chateau" which is in excellent location on the beach. I went in a couple of the flats. I had two mates who rented there, long term, not holiday rental, so I've got an idea. I know it's dated now but it's relatively cheap $750 a week (less for long term half that or less). I may go there. But when does "Subjective" become biased or prejudiced or untrue? Whom do you believe? I might go back to Perth for another look, see how I get on with my friend there whom I've not seen for 3 years. More choices - Sydney (Surry Hills), Surfers Paradise, or South Perth!?

Although the only thing I miss about England is being walking or cycling distance from the countryside, here in OZ I want to be as close to the city as I can. So, in Sydney that means Surry Hills, on the Gold Coast, close to Cavill Ave in Surfers Paradise, and when I was in Perth - South Perth near to Mends St. Actually, Northbridge reminded me a little of Surry Hills and I liked Subiaco too but I was long enough in South Perth to become fond of it. I've been back in Surry Hills for two months after eight months in Surfers Paradise, wondering where I want to be. I describe Surfers as "Surry Hills with a beach" because the only thing I can't walk to in Surry Hills is the beach. I guess Surfers is the epitome (?) of "artificial?" I'm older than most of the buildings there but I liked it all the same. I was with my brother there and I'm contemplating going back on my own for a few weeks to see how I get on. Nicer winter weather there definitely. I don't know what to say about places becoming "dead" after 8pm. I'm single so I often go out to the pub rather than stay in but families usually make their lives inside their homes, at least after dark. Living out in the "burbs" is a trade off - nice house with a garden hopefully in a quiet area - my brother, my niece, my nephew, or a flat in the inner city where I can drink till 4am if the mood takes me. I don't know if Sydney has 24hr supermarkets like the IGA I'm Applecross? 24 hour convenience shops of course and servos with a Woolies attached. I stayed for a fortnight opposite that IGA with Raffles pub 200 metres away which I think was open to midnight which is usually late enough for me unless I want to watch the EPL. In Perth that meant the Casino. I guess it is all subjective.