Conniebygaslight

Normally get mine at the farm shop but only realised I had run out last night...wont do that again!!

Loose potatoes in Co-op £1.67 for 1KG...outrageous! Same potatoes bagged £1.00 for 2 KG.....but none left...

Dentist in Oz....OMG!!! Check up clean & polish in UK £17 Kids....free School books etc in Oz..... UK Free

I have my hair blow dryed every week...£9.75, Cut and colour and BD cost me £45..shoulder length hair.

We found that too...they felt the cold a lot quicker than us but the heat was just as unbearable for them at 40 degs as it was for us...we didn't expect that, we thought we would be the only one's too hot....funny old world.

Never a truer word spoken....

We didn't ike Australia - but this isn't an Oz bashing post...to say something that I found difficult to adjust to (in the spirit of this thread- not the reason we left) was the short nights in Summer...coupled with the swarms of Mozzies that come out at dusk....not nice to sit outside..after about 6pm. Lovely night skies though...

Pleased it's all working out for you Dom.

We used Chess and they were brilliant...(Brisbane to UK)..we were worried when they turned up because the packers really did look like you wouldn't want to meet them down a dark alley! (as opposed to Crown who we used to ship to Oz and were all kitted out in their corporate uniform). But they were friendly and professional no bells or whistles just did the job would definitely recommend.

How dare you dis the the Quoll!!

Me neither...Aussie husband too and we still prefer the uk....tried being back in oz (and glad we did) but frankly hubby would rather eat his own hair than live back there!

I honestly though I wouldn't miss anything really (other than the given friends etc) how wrong I was....I don't think that the things people miss about the UK seem trite...these thngs are in our blood and for a lot are very hard to shake. TBH the sunshine doesn't make up for the rest in anyway, shape or form IMO.

I too do not know your circumstances but what I do know is that once your baby is born...you will not be able to return to UK if your husband doesn't want you to. Sounds dramatic but that is how it is.

I'm saying from experience of living in Oz the houses are freezing in winter.....generally speaking in the UK they aren't. Many Aussies I met and family over there accepted the fact that they just had to live in the cold....but really didn't like it. They seem to have a form of acceptance in Oz about a lot of things that we don't have. My house here in the UK is nearly 100 years old my last one was 200 years old...very draughty but nothing like a new build in Oz.

It's not just the glazing, it's the lack of insulation and tiled floors and lack of heating. It's rare you see that anywhere in the UK....most houses have somesort of central heating and insulation.

I think you secretly want to come back to Aus. :laugh: Shh you got me:wink:

Aw sorry Jimbo....just can't resist

I can only speak from my experience in Qld (and also that of my friends in NSW and Vic). I was astonished at the quality to be honest (or lack of it). A friend of mine lived in a beautiful old queenslander on stilts, I went over one winters day to find her and her children all wrapped in duvets in the living room....the wooden floors had no insulation and you could see the ground through the floor boards. She accepted this as perfectly normal. I fould that the houses are geared up more for summer (lots of shade, very dark and tiled floors etc), but of course it does get very cold in winter and the houses are simply not geared up for it. I used to come in from the school run and found it just as cold on the inside as it was on the outside. Imagine your house in the uk when it's 8 degrees outside and no heating on (except a blower in one room)....but with tiled floors and single glazing and no insulation....brrr. Here in the UK we expect to be able to walk around indoors toastie warm even when it's freezing outside....I really do think that Aussies have lower expectations in most things....in theory you could say that's why they are so happy and we are miserable buggers...but it is really difficult not to challenge things when as a nation it's what we are used to doing.

We definitely had no plans to return....we have no family in the UK and all our family are in Oz. We sold up and shipped 2 cars and all our stuff in a separate 40ft container- we really thought it would be forever. In returning we lost about 100k and had to start from scratch...we have moved mountains and love our life in the UK...we don't regret going, the peace and satisfaction we have now is really incredible. (miss Oz family though).

100 show homes on your holidays.....crikey bet you're a barrell of laughs

My walls in UK are 13inches thick...this is part of our new extension so are very well insulated...the rest of the house is nearly 100 years old so I suspect the walls will be thicker. My Aussie brother in law is a builder andis coming over to UK for Easter. He can never get over the quality of building over here. Even our new builds which personally I think are dreadful.

It wasn't the point of not having window sills for something to put on them-if you read my post properly it was an indication of the thickness of the walls!

The houses in Australia are generally very flimsy...we noticed that they don't have proper window sills -not a big problem you may think- but the reason is the walls aren't thick enough to make one....! The insulation is appalling and double glazing is incredibly rare...don't think you don't need it in winter!. The cost of aircon is just the same as having your heating on all year round here. The same problems exist there as here but the sun shines more....I believe the trade off is massive....& I don't just mean family & friends.

Glad to hear it Sarah, We've been back 18 months and that feeling of loving the UK has not left for a single second. We feel so lucky to have been able to return.

Oy, oy,oy