T-bone

Fab news Missus B! I believe the only wrong decision is no decision. And that's only because it tends to rip people apart on the inside. Whatever feels right IS right.

Wifi works in flight mode on iphones, whether the 777 has wifi is a different matter. Here's a thought though - Did any of the passengers have GPS luggage tags? Has this been researched with the family's/friends of the passengers? The majority of the passengers were Chinese and it's a possibility. The GPS tag helps locate the luggage if it goes missing whilst being loaded. Cats even have them fitted to their collars these days.

I can't understand why they waited a week to search the pilots house when every aviation expert in the world said it's highly unlikely to be a "catastrophic event" due to the last recorded altitude and that it was undoubtedly human intervention. It doesn't seem to have been properly acknowledged that, whomever was flying the plane, increased altitude to 45,000 ft which is beyond the aircrafts recommended capability. Did the pilot climb higher to ensure he reached his destination which was on the outermost possibility with the fuel on board, assuming the aircraft can fly further in thinner air? I thought from day one that it was incredibly coincidental the plane changed direction after handover of Malaysian air traffic control and before Vietnamese control. Why didn't the Malaysian authorities react sooner to this information? I think everyone, me included, are praying the passengers are being held captive somewhere and tis will turn out to be an act of piracy. However, piracy would normally have resulted in a ransom demand within a week so I guess that's looking doubtful.

Fantastic! You still loving it?.........I'll PM you rather than take over this thread..... but in Aug to Oct I'm supposed to be going on a little road trip from Sydney via Gold Coast, Whitsundays, NT, Northern WA, then down to Perth. In which case I'll pop by if you're around? I may have to delay it due to work, so it's a little up in the air at the mo.

Hello mate! How's it going? I'm currently in London but back to Perth in a couple of months. You still in Gold Coast?

So, hijacked by North Korea or Pakistan or terrorist group to be used as a delivery mechanism for a nuclear/dirty weapon? This could be a possible answer as it seems as though it flew for another four hours. Perhaps the NZ oil worker merely saw the diversion. The proposed crash spot by the hijackers to make the world think it crashed en-route to its destination. The hijacker's associates grabbed a pontoon, set light to it, and thought the search and rescue teams would spot it and buy them time to fly the aircraft out of the area? Plausible enough when coupled with the fact that it looks as though the transponders had been manually switched off.

I love the shoulder months in both hemispheres, but there is something very special about spring and autumn in the northern hemisphere. The fresh, crisp mornings and blue skies. It's cool enough to wear jeans and T-shirt but not hot enough to wear shorts and nothing else. I've always loved stylish clothes, so I cannot get on with wearing boardies every day and every night. There is always a sense of real optimism for the coming season. With the approach of winter you have August Bank Hols, Fireworks night, Halloween and Crimbo as markers. Then spring approaches with anticipation of comfortable warm days and long cool evenings for the summer. The spring countryside in the UK is absolutely gorgeous and the morning chorus melodic. The northern hemisphere is the right way round, but then I was born in the UK so that's why everything feels right. I always feel totally connected and on the pulse when in the UK/U.S. Whereas when I'm in Aust I always feel life is between the beats, like when you tap to a tune but you're just out of beat. There are many, many "different" things I love about Aust though. I lived in Keller, just outside Dallas, for a while and although the Tx weather is more like Aust than the UK, I loved it. I met the most friendliest people in the world whilst I was there and made a good circle of friends in no time at all. I met some of them whilst grocery shopping!! There is no need to join clubs or put yourself out. The houses are amazing and sooooo cheap in comparison to both Aust and UK. If I could, I would move to Southlakes tomorrow as it's my most favourite place in the world - for day to day living. The dollar goes far and there is plenty of work if you're in I.T, banking, project management, networks, etc. The big U.S employers are moving over there due to cheap real estate. I drove to Utah for a couple of ski trips with friends, also to New Mexico. Quick flights over to Vegas for some self indulgence. I met some of the prettiest and self assured women in the world when I was in Tx......but I'll save that for another day!

Nice one! Well done mate.

Why would the transponders be switched off, keeping in mind they have 10 back up generators on the 777?

I've been on http://www.tomnod.com for the last couple of days. Jump on if you want to help search.

I agree with Londongal76. It's highly topical and upsetting news that keeps provoking more and more questions by the hour. I also believe there is no such thing as a "Conspiracy Theory" as there are no facts surrounding the event, therefore almost anything is possible. My point of view - I think the aircraft is going to materialise somewhere in the Malacca Strait or elsewhere west of Malaysia, or on land. This was the first place the U.S sent their P3. No faffing around, no explanation, and hundreds of miles away from the scheduled route. At that point everyone was saying it was somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand. The U.S have an intensive surveillance operation over China and Asia, so they have given me the impression they know something more than they're saying. Couple this piece of information with the Vietnamese tracking the aircraft turning west and flying for 100 miles before dropping off their radar and it starts to build a different picture. I cannot understand why the Malaysian authorities didn't collect all the mobile numbers of the passengers and call every phone, and then continue to call every phone, from day one, especially in light of the recent information from the passenger relatives and friends.

Great post and nice to see someone give an completely honest view. I find Perth is exactly how you describe it. Thanks.

I used TEG and so did a couple of my mates. None of us had any issues or dramas with them.

I found that Aussies in WA are the most friendliest and welcoming towards me, followed by Victoria, southern Queensland, Adelaide, and Sydney as the least. I've not spent any time up north so I can't comment on the people. One of my best encounters was when I was a little low due to feeling a somewhat isolated in NSW and wandered over to Melbourne for a while. The Aussies I met, upon learning that I was feeling a little dejected and disheartened, not only welcomed me with open arms, they positively hugged me and got me involved in everything. I found them super friendly and welcoming. I think the bar culture is a little more convivial in Melbourne so it helps with settling and meeting people. Overall I have no complaints with any Aussies. Generally speaking I've found you reap what you sow. There have been exceptions, but then I don't get on with everyone I meet in the UK!

I have a wayyyyy better outdoor life in Aust. I love participating in most sports, especially if it's anything to do with the water. The water around Blighty is too cold most of the year, where as it's only too cold in the winter for me in Aust. The main factor that inhibits outdoor life for me is hay fever. I'm extremely allergic to grass pollens and I don't suffer when I'm down under. On the other hand I get incredibly bad attacks between Feb - Oct when I'm in the UK, almost to the point that I can't breathe. All this adds up to my outdoor sports life, other than sailing, being almost non existent in the UK.

Tesco have a grey import side of their business.... http://www.insurancefactory.co.uk/tc/import-car-insurance.html?cmp=tcomp I used to get the phone number from the back of Bike Trader magazine when it came to insuring my grey import bike many years ago. Maybe Car Trader has the same adverts, aimed at the Jap market?

I don't know if it's of any help but I thought I'd share the history of some of my mates from SA. I've got five SA mates (ten if you count their partners) who all moved to the UK for a better life. One moved to the UK, then back to his place in Stellenbosch, then back to the UK again as he missed his career in the city, the people, weather (believe it or not), and culture. He's now settled and happy in the UK. One guy (Val) lived in Durban and moved to the UK and never wants to live anywhere else. He absolutely loves it for the same reason as my Stellenbosch mate. Three of them moved to the UK and enjoyed everything it had to offer for a number of years, before moving to "big countries with big skies". One is now in Texas and the other two are in Australia (Perth and rural NSW). They all loved SA but all moved for the same reason, safety and wanted a better life for their families. And they all had great qualifications that opened up the world in opportunities. My mate in rural NSW is loving it and will never leave, however, he admitted that he would never have got a decent Civil Engineers position in Australia had he not worked on Heathrow's Terminal 5 and had that on his Resume. This was due to it being a mahoosive project with worldwide exposure. My mate in Tx worked in the city for a few years and there is no way would ever have got there without it on his Resume. My mate in perth actually had a better career in the UK, but hated the weather so he's happy taking a step back in his career for a while. None of my mates ever regretted moving to the UK and they all massively enhanced their career prospects by doing so as the UK has an outstanding Kudos within the international business community. Their field of specialty ranged from IT networks, Commodities Trader, civil Engineer x 2, and Chartered Accountant.

LOL!! Don't worry about it being your third time.....I'm on my 5th....or maybe the 6th if you count when I was there on a WHV 11 years ago...anyway, I actually love everything about Blighty and Europe, but also love many elements of Aust., so I move when my heart tells me. It's all an adventure so I try to enjoy the ride, even when my bank account gets a battering!

My advice would be to make life easy on yourself and hire a vehicle at the airport, that's large enough for everyone and their luggage, for a few weeks. You can always drop it back early and save money if you buy a car within that time. I wouldn't want to muck around with public transport, maxed out luggage and jet lag, to only have to worry about renting a car the following day.

Thankfully there will undoubtedly be a Judicial Appeal and this disgusting maggot will be banged up for longer.

My thoughts - The more disposable income you have at the end of each month, the better the quality of life you'll live. It's a sweeping, generic, statement and others will disagree. If you're worried about your PR why not apply for a 5 year RRV in 6 months time? This won't obviously help any schooling issues for your kids, moving back and forth, but what's the worse that can happen? You spend a bit of money but you earn even more.

They had a 40% market share in the early 90's and now it's 17% and dropping. They also have a labour intensive work force, particularly in middle management, when compared to other airlines. Rumour has it that they are in such a bad state that they are even looking at leasing out their new aircraft and cutting their most lucrative flight routes in a bid to stop the haemorrhaging. I hope, for the sake of their remaining staff they sort out their issues. The way I see it, selling a large chunk of the business and restructuring the overall management seems to be the best/only solution. I have flown Qantas many times and I find the cabin staff to be amazing, but I would choose to fly one of the Asian airlines for quality, comfort and cost.

Hi Jerry, Hopefully you'll undoubtedly receive loads of advice from everyone on here. I think people have already raised questions on climate, topography and environment. I don't know the type of graphic design work that your husband specialises in, however, a mate of mine is in that field and chose to live in Sydney due to this being the best place to establish his business. I don't know whether or not Melbourne ever featured in his plans, but I do know he's a really keen surfer and preferred the breaks on NSW over Victoria. T

I love the old NFSA films. If you want a laugh, or to see what it was like in the 60's, check this one out on Mount Gambier...

Hey Katherine! The first six months can be really harsh in a new country, especially when you don't have a job that offers you that "feel good" factor of earning money and making friends. It can also be extremely exhausting trying to settle. It normally get better as everything becomes more familiar and when you land a job. The only advice I can offer is try not to think of anything as being final. Whether you stay in Aust or wander back to the UK, any decision can be reversed. I don't know where you live, however in my opinion, each of the states can almost be a different country. Maybe try a different city before hauling all the way back to the UK? Best of luck - Hope you work it out! T T