gpo1971

I watch repeats on Fox, usually of 30 or 40 yr old comedies from the UK (Fawlty Towers, Father Ted, Bottom, Porridge, Open All hours, Blackadder are all on series link). My Mrs watches a few dramas on the same channel as well as the American tripe she finds entertaining. I only watch news and sport on free-to-air TV, everything else is rubbish. There are some OK films on at the weekend but, with the adverts, it takes about 3 hrs to watch a 2 hr film. Would caveat this by saying I didn’t watch much modern telly whilst in the UK either. Whilst not quite as bad as over here it’s certainly not good by any stretch of the imagination. And, at least over here, you manage to avoid the worst of modern British culture i.e. z-list celeb shows, Big Brother types and shows about dancing on various surfaces. Reducing your TV time is no bad thing.

5 years, we rented for the first 2. We have lived in about 4 suburbs, albeit fairly local ones, we live near family so can't live too far away. I would get to know where you are living for a year or two before you sign for a mortgage otherwise it could end up being an expensive mistake. Might not, but it's a risk all the same. We would never have bought the house we are in now when we first moved here, it wouldn't have ticked our boxes then. But thankfully we waited and are now pigs in muck.

Wouldn't bother buying, there are high costs buying AND selling a house, and long drawn out processes. Plus, generally, I'd always advise living (& renting) here a year or 2 to decide whether it's a goer. If that's all you're going to be here anyway, don't bother. Lot of cost and risk.

What are the figures on how much treating smoking related illnesses costs the NHS against the revenues collected from tax on all forms of tobacco? I'd expect the tax revenue figure to be a lot higher.

We moved over here 5 years to be with wife’s family members, which made it easier (for her anyway). She has her Mum, 2 sisters & families, a brother & family, 5 cousins & families, Aunty & Uncle and a load of family friends all here. They have all made a go of it. Only one I ever heard of with a problem was a friend of her brothers who emigrated on a Tuesday and went back to the UK on the Friday as it was too hot. Seriously. For our part, thank God we made the move, best thing we ever did. We'll be going for our citizenship as soon as we get back from Bali in Sept.

I wouldn't drink the stuff out of the tap here either. But, to be honest, I wouldn't drink from a tap anywhere, don't think I have for years.

I love this thread. Talk about 'found out'.

Oh dear.

I think it probably depends where you live. My mate's a plumber (25 yr exp) in the NW and he reckons he earns less now than he did 10 years ago. He works Saturdays and alternate Sundays or he says they'd be on the street.

I'm not really that bothered Ali, I just think it's a shame for the guys who posed the original questions.

They don't sound to be doing too badly!! The last 3 jobs that I had in the UK (2000-2008) no longer exist. 2 of the companies went bust, the other laid off the whole dept I worked in.

2 posts in the WA section asking for advice, having had a good time in Perth (the other thread being "Hey"). And the same trolls are out as usual. It renders the site useless really.

Veterans footy NOR is Scousers versus Scots. It's fierce, ha ha!!!

We use ours for between 4 & 6 months a year, dependent on the summer. You can halve the pump running time when you're not using it in winter. Ours isn't heated. Don't get a pool guy, do the maintenance yourself. Once someone has shown you, it's straight-forward and cheap. The pool guy will rip you off. Obviously, if the pump or something goes, you will need to get someone in but the chemical stuff/back-washing etc. is easy. Sometimes seems nothing more than a 'nice-to-have' in the middle of winter when it seems like a lifetime since you were last in it. However, for the other half of the year, you will be chuffed with it. If you have kids, they will be in every day. In-laws have a heated pool but there's no way I would get in all year round, it doesn't raise the temp that much. They seem to get a couple more months out of it than we do each year.

I've found that if you send stuff over to your folks on the Aussie version of Mother's & Father's Day, you get extra kudos because they weren't expecting anything. They get stuff off my brother on the UK ones and then an unexpected treat from me on the Aussie one. Everyone's a winner. Plus of course, I have no idea when the UK ones are.

$2000 a month for a car???? What are you driving, the Batmobile?

I hate dark chocolate, it tastes like soil. I eat a ton of chocolate, always have, and I can't tell any difference. Maybe I'm used to Aussie now, maybe my taste buds are bogan, whatever. It doesn't really make any odds. The UK shop in Joondalup sells proper English stuff, I bought a Star Bar last weekend, but I'm still no nearer cracking this 'difference' dilemma. Now, Heinz Chicken Soup, I can taste the difference there but, chocolate, no. I'm afraid, if you can, that's your problem. Sorry.

Is this the G8 'protesters'? Probably lead by Bryan Ferry and David Gilmours kids as usual. You know, people to whom capitalism has been a real kick in the pants.

Bit harsh that, the bloke was asking for advice not a lecture.

Liable for what? I give her the employer statement, she asks me a dozen or so questions e.g. travelling between offices, wearing a uniform, doing some work at home, all of which I answer truthfully, then she transfers money into my account.

Have never bothered to investigate all this nonsense. All I know is, sometime in June, I get an annual statement from my employer which I give to a girl who sits at a temporary desk in our local shopping centre. Hey presto, a week later, my current account is credited with enough money to pay for a week's holiday in Bali. It's a bit like watching juggling on the telly; I know it impresses me but I don't want to know how it's done as that would ruin the magic.

Will be a tremendous atmos, wish I was going.

Bored in work so here goes Pros Clean and tidy Weather is great – we’ve been here 5 years and it’s never been below 15 in the day. There are usually 4 months of 30+ temps and min mid 20 temps for another 4 months of the year Beaches are ridiculous, World class. And abundantly non-stop Superb for families – must be great to be a kid here Plenty to do – mostly natural amenities Lots of holiday opportunities – we love going South West. The scenery there is gorgeous Some great pubs, superb scenery and settings to have a pint in (see cons) Casual dining is of a good standard, better than in the UK (see cons) Our house is tremendous I can walk to the pub, coffee shop & café, general shops and an amazing beach I am healthier here. I eat better (the food is better), I walk more, I sleep like a 6 month old baby. Mind you, I drink about 3 times as much as I used to (still a pro I reckon) Cons Everything is spaced out so much it takes ages to get anywhere. Petrol’s half the price here but you’ll be driving twice the distance anyway Most stuff is over-priced, especially eating out & drinking You pay more here than the rest of the Country for no other reason than the excuse of ‘isolation’ which doesn’t really exist other than to justify gouging Wouldn’t live here if we were a young couple, there is a ‘scene’ but it is not like the UK is for that type of thing Advice – Don’t watch the News if you get wound up easily by corruption, gouging, price-fixing etc., it’s rife here The Politicians are Neanderthal scumbags; even compared to those in the UK Commercially, competition is discouraged, retailers are in cartels to simply extract as much of everyone’s money as possible The Federal Government shaft WA and take all its money to pay for the Eastern States who don’t make any The drivers are abysmal and dangerous. Drink-driving is rife. It is every young Aussie blokes birth right to be a maniac driver A lot of the young blokes are dickheads Crime has got a fair bit worse in the 5 years we have been here Too many Poms – most are boring, moaning, keep-up-with-the-Jones’, this-isn’t-the-same-as-in-England types. We mixed with a few for 3 months or so then have avoided for the past 4.5 years Am sure there are others, this passed 10 mins tho. Perth is a metro area of nearly 2M people now. If you live in a large metro area of the UK, some of the cons I have listed will be nowhere near as bad here as they are in the UK e.g. crime. However, some of the pros will be nowhere near as good either e.g. depth of amenities. All in all, we are happy here. We have more money and do tons more things. We still go and watch sunsets once or twice a month and still take photos. It is a great place to live. I think the comment from an earlier poster about coming here on holiday and thinking ‘this is a great place to live’ is a good one, it’s not really something that has ever worn off for us.

Something I've been meaning to do for a while. This thread has just inspired me to download the forms (which I'm sure will take about 59 years to fill in).

Good game. NSW pack was awesome. No way Thurston was 100%. Still, I was half expecting them to pull it off. Sets the series up nicely, needed a NSW win to open IMO.