an1ta

My eldest daughter got it twice, she was the only one that did. She also got a mild case of measles too. They had all ha their MMR too. She was just unlucky.

Your son needs to see a specialist because asthma is a potentially very serious condition and it needs to be properly assessed by an expert. As you're in Sydney, you're in luck: tell your doctor you want your son referred to the Clinic at Royal Prince Alfred - it's the best in the world, and it's bulk-billed.

 

Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology Service (Allergy and Asthma Consultants)

Clinic location: Ground floor, Alfred Hospital, "Private Consulting Suites"

Ph: 9076 2934

 

http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/introduction.html

Thank you for giving me this info. My son is now 19 and after seeing the best specialist in the UK from the age of 6 months old. He and I both know how to control his Asthma. I find the Drs know nothing. and I find that very sad. My Dr controlled my son asthma all the time, not a hospital. Drs don't seem to care in Australia. JMO

I think its different for people. My son suffered/ suffers with Asthma. He still does, normally the winter month's. The problem you have it can be so warm during the day and cold at night. I haven't found a good Dr at all since living here in Sydney. My son used to see a specialist every 3 months in the UK, he's not seen one since moving here 6 years ago. You need to go to a specialist to say that your child has got Asthma and normal Dr cannot do that. And I don't understand that at all. I expect its a money thing. Top up on inhalers in the UK..

Hi I was there 2 weeks ago for the weekend. I didn't find it at all interesting. its was great to have a look at the beach, but they where nothing special. I found it to hot and to dusty. I wouldn't go again. You might enjoy it though.

We opened out account over the phone in the uk with HSBC. When we got here we just took our passports in and that was it. They aren't the greatest of banks but I find them better than any of the Aussie banks. 6 years down the line and they are still our main bank.

Hi people have said change it to Germen, we changed ours to Spanish and it worked/ Good luck

I really cant believe how many people have said don't bring. Everyone I have met apart from one have brought everything with them. My tumble drier is still working as is my fridge, witch is now a beer fridge, but it works perfect, my freezer works too, as do all my electrical things Tele, (My Tele was brand new) videos, DVD surround sound, play station. And I have been here 6 years. We didn't have one thing that didn't work. Yes you have to change a plug, its not rocket science, I taught my kids to that b4 they where 10. Things are more expensive here, yes look it up at Harvey Norman.Most utility rooms are a fair size. Yes my tumble drier is on top on my washing machine, but I have a front loader and always will. If I had to do it all again I would still bring it all with me. Australia isn't as cheap as what people think.

Hi I bought all out white goods with us, My fridge was brand new and still works now. The washing machine worked too. I had to buy another one last year and I hate it. If you can afford to bring your stuff with you then do so. Everyone said don't bring my TV well I have been here 6 years and its still working fine like my dvd, video, and surround sound system. Good luck with the move

Hi, we returned in Feb after 6 years, I am not sure if I have read your post correctly re schools, but we are so impressed with the state schooling in the UK, I know it depends where you live, but we paid a lot of dosh for 3 really crap private schools in OZ. My eldest suffered badly, my youngest is getting back on track with some monumental effort (year 10). Don't fall the life is better for kids in OZ delusion, it’s really not necessarily so (again depending on where you live in the UK)

I couldn't agree with you more when you talking about schools. I moved here when my children 13, 15, and 16 and everyday I thank god they went to school in the UK first. Gun crime in Sydney is scary drugs are another big issue in Sydney, is it safer for my kids here or in England in the south. Not everything is a bed of roses there are also a lot of thorns that go with them. I have been here 6 years and if I could turn the clock back I would. Australia is a beautiful country but so is England. I hope everything turns out ok for you and the family. And like you said u can always come back. Good luck

Hi and welcome, there's a thread on here, looking for friends in the shire, try looking posting on that. Good luck x

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Consumers/Motor_vehicles/Vehicle_insurance_and_registration.page

 

Nope.

Well I can only go by the what the coppers said to my daughter. I also got told you don't need to carry ur driving licence, and then got stopped and fined for not having it. who knows the rules in Australia it changes every time u talk to a different person. At the end of the day I hope the person in the accident sorts everything out and gets a new car

Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Insurance, also known as a ‘Green Slip’ in New South Wales, protects vehicle owners and drivers who are legally liable for personal injuries caused to others. CTP Insurance is mandatory for all vehicles registered in NSW.

Yes I'm sorry I wrote it wrong the 1st time. But you also have to have insurance for your car, even if its only 3rd party. You cannot drive a car (or should say you should not drive ur car without it The first thing my daughter got asked by the police when in a hit and run was who she was insured with, and if she wasn't then she was breaking the law

No, the minimum insurance you need in Australia is the 3rd party personal insurance which is part of your rego. Crazy yes.

If you live in NSW you have to CTP and 3rd party insurance

I'm fully comp (thankfully)

Glad to hear that no one was hurt... Let your insurance deal with it. The one thing that you might lose os your no claims bonus, but you will get a brand new car..The police should be taking this woman to court, and if I was you I would be reporting her again to the police. Its against the law to drive without any insurance... Hope its all sorted out fast for you

Just so people know more tickets went on sale today for the tesy match im Sydney..

I'm not going to explain myself or what my mate (yes Tonyman, he does actually exist, but great assumption otherwise) is doing.

No one wants them on here, cool. I hope he sells all 7 for a grand a piece an makes a fortune now.

Enjoy the game on TV lads. I'll be on the half way line at the Etihad thinking of you all.

To make it worse, I don't even like rugby, so there is another seat took from a proper fan missing out.

Take care gents. Phil

I hope you dont sell them and if you do I hope its to the cops. Thank God I have got my tickets for the test game in Sydney. I even turned up at the game on sat in Sydney without a ticket, I asked around, a lady had one going and gave it to me free as she had a family ticket and her hubby could'nt go. Shame there are'nt more people out there like her, she knew I loved rugby just like her.

Hi, looking at booking a flight for our daughter and grandson to come over to visit, seen quite reasonable flights with Etihad, but the reviews I have read were awful, from delayed flights, missing connection flights, lost luggage appalling customer service but these were over 2 years old....

​

I would be interested in hearing your experiences if you have flown with them.

Hi I flew with them in feb this year with my 2 daughters. I thought they where great. Food, staff, movies and games for the kids. I would use them again..

Hi there,

 

We've just moved back to Sutherlandshire (Caringbah) from the UK with our 2 and 4 yr old and would really like to meet up with other PomsinOz to share humour, barbies and funny Oz experiences etc. So if you are local it would be lovely to hear from you.

Hi and welcome, I live in caringbah and would love to meet up for coffee, I do not hav young children, but I have friends that do... If you would like to meet just PM :xmas16:Anita

There are usually 2 weeks of school holidays in late September/early October with the 4th term starting around the 7/8th October. Barker might start their Year 11 course then (I don't know if they do) - but either way I'd imagine that it would be ideal for your son to start school then.

 

So your son ought to go into last term of Year 10 where he will possibly begin the Year 11 course immediately.

 

A lot of schools are doing this Year 11 thing early as it means that the kids get 2 full years to study the HSC course. Year 12 is only three teaching terms as the fourth term is study and exams only - starting Year 11 early means they don't have to squeeze everything into 7 terms.

 

If your son wants to do well in the HSC - which is a requirement for any decent uni course - then he must do the full 2 year course. Don't be tempted to put him into (the end of) Year 11 when you arrive.

I agree with what u have said, and yes all schools start doing school work towards there HCS in the last term of year 10 and if you can get your son in then I would.

We did'nt get here until the Jan so my daughter had to wait untill the new school year started , she then went into year 11 and it did not do her any harm at all. She passed her HSC and has now got a good job, she left school 2 years ago.

Also for the GCSE my daughter took her Maths in year 10 in the UK, It did not mean anything to them in NSW..

Good luck with everything

OK, I appreciate that this post is in danger of becoming an Australia vs UK debate, however I would like to post my impressions of my first visit back to the UK since I emigrated from West London to Melbourne with my wife and twin 2 year old daughters over 5 years ago.

 

We just came back from 3 weeks visiting England and there was quite a lot that surprised me.

 

My very first impression was that I was astounded how many people smoke in England. Young, old, middle aged, rich, poor, so many people smoke it is really noticeable. And while the advertising in Australia is along the lines of “don’t smoke, it will cause death by cancer”, advertising in England is all about making sure you put your fag out so you don’t cause a house fire. One follow-on from all this smoking is the massive amount of fag butt litter.

 

I had forgotten the visual impact of every house having white plastic windows.

 

I was surprised how clean and nice the kids playpark was near where we were staying. There was no broken glass and no outwardly visible graffiti. Unfortunately this was spoiled by one of my daughters stating she was upset by some writing she had found on the playpark. I asked her what it said and she replied “it says – Casey you are a ****ing bitch”. My daughter has never used this word before and we have never seen such explicit graffiti in Melbourne, just meaningless tags. Very disappointing.

 

Supermarkets in England, as we all know, are way cheaper and have far more choice. Or do they? They have far more choice in prepared and processed foods certainly, I didn’t see more choice in fresh food though, I think Australia definitely has the edge there. But supermarket shopping in England is hell on earth. You are bumped and jostled and banged by the sheer number of shoppers, people bashing you with trolleys, queueing for ages, wait for people to get out the way before you can choose something off the shelf, driving round and round to try and spot someone just coming out of a parking space. I would not choose to shop in an English supermarket again in my life.

 

Shopping for clothes is phenomenally cheap in England when you are converting from AU$, we did a lot of clothes shopping. Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush is incredible.

 

The cost of Transport is an art, not a science. We were given prices by National Rail Inquiries, TFL, the ticket machine and the man behind the counter of 60, 40, 18 and 12 pounds respectively for the same journey so we took the cheapest offer! Then we had to pay over 7 pounds to go a couple of miles on a bus! The trains are much quieter and smoother in England, they swoosh instead of “clackety clack”.

 

Driving in the UK – 100kph does not feel as fast in England as it does in Australia, and we did go much faster at times, but we were very aware of how many more fixed speed cameras there are now than there used to be, and how people seem to be obeying the speed limits much more in England than they used to.

 

My kids were very surprised when I had to “pay and display” – “but why do you have to PAY to park the car Dad????”

 

Weather – mainly OK, although I never had that much of a problem with London weather, it was the winter early dark that used to depress me. But what was weird was the finding that 15 degrees in London didn’t feel as cold as 15 degrees in Melbourne. And people in England wear shorts and short skirts in 15 degrees. Nutters!

 

It was funny having to teach the kids not to touch stinging nettles, and seeing how enamoured they were with squirrels.

 

London was looking surprisingly clean and done-up. Our English friends said that this was just for the Olympics, even so, it was looking pretty good. And people were friendlier than I remember, people offered us seats on trains, talked to our kids, were generally very good-humoured.

 

But I did notice a lot more shouting and swearing in public. My children were upset by overhearing a man on the bus shouting into his mobile phone that he was going to “smash someones ****ing face in.” I heard several other instances of people shouting aggressively in the street.

 

Weekends - in Aussie we might take the kids to the beach, or to the park. In the UK people seem to take their kids to expensive theme parks of various sizes, pay a lot of money to get in, a lot of money for food/drinks etc and then come home and moan about the cost of it.

 

But I felt the only massive downside to life in England, one of the reasons we emigrated, and the biggest item to stop me wanting to live in England again, was the lack of space. There is just not enough room in English houses to live the lifestyles people live now. If you bang your elbow when you turn round in the shower, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. If you have to move the dining room table to eat a meal, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. if you have to sit on the toilet diagonally this means there is not enough room for you in your house. You have to squeeze your car in between others – I found I had forgotten how to parallel park with any degree of accuracy! People in the UK seem to put in an enormous amount of effort to build an extension that actually gains them a very few square feet more of space, like a porch or something.

 

One of my daughters summed it up well when I asked her if she thought she would like to live in England. She said “I don’t think so Dad, it’s too squashy!”

 

BB

I found this very interesting. Im going home to England ffor a holiday In Feb and I'm so looking forward to it. I know it will be cold I can't wait. I never had a problem shopping in Asda or tescos, and always found loads of places to park.

I see kids and adults smoking everywhere I go, just like I did in the UK.

We also had to pay for parking in the UK just like we do in NSW...

My house is a lot smaller here in OZ but I spend more time outdoors here so thats not a problem.

As for parks I cannot speak of them, I do find there is a lot more dog mess here in OZ than there ever was in the UK.

I really can't wait to go home and see my family and friends but Im going to enjoy every minute of it when I'm their. But I know Im going to also know that in 3 weeks time I will be on a plane ready to see and enjoy more of what Australia has to offer me

I have lived in cronulla for 9 months, and had a bulk bill doctor (medical practice) nearby, however I do not want to go back.(won't go into detail..just didn't feel he was professional lets say). So does anybody go to a good doctor near cronulla??

Hi I live in Caringbah, and either go to the Miranda medical centre, never had a propblem there, or the the medical centre in Caringbah. I like the one in Miranda better though, they just seem nicer

Just a quickie.

 

I've seen on here that people mention tipping the packers.

 

Did anyone do that and if so, how much did they tip?

 

They arrive next week so want to play fair.

 

I do have mountains of biscuits as well....:wink:

I tipped my packers, at both ends, they put all my beds up for me so that we could all sleep well that night. Something less for us to worry about. I also fed them... Don't know why some people would'nt

Just wondering why he didn't do it when he was in Year 11 though as he obviously working two years ahead of every Australian student, thanks to every school in the UK being two years ahead of every school in Australia, and he'd now be back in the UK for his University education, because University education here is obviously two years behind the UK as well so you'd want him to return to the Uk with his worthless HSC.

My older son is 19 and just finishing third year Uni (in Australia), started when he was 16. Must have been the year he spent in a UK nursery school in 1995 that made him so clever.

You must be very PROUD. My kids are proud of there mum aswell, WHY because she does'nt need to have a go at people for everything they say or do. You sound like a very nice man. NOT

Amazing, you must be so proud. Thank goodness for that early British education. Shouldn't he have been allowed to do his HSC a couple of years early though if he found everything two years behind? We allow gifted kids in WA to do that.

Well with him going up a year in school here hes doing it a year before he should. I thought with ur KNOWLEDGE you would have worked that out.

And yes I'm PROUD of all of my children.. I keep having to say THANK YOU to you today

After 3 years of working in a primary school office I lost count of the number of british parents who thought their kids were 'gifted'.

 

Ha ha that's funny. I worked as an educational psychologist at a catholic primary school here in Perth for a couple of years and I'd say at least once a term we'd have British families enrolling at the school saying their kids were gifted and I gave IQ tests to a few - always very average and placed with their same age peers much to the parents disgust. Never once found a gifted child who needed to be in the year above. They don't seem to understand that e.g Year 4 here is different from Year 4 in the UK and they see it as 'going back' a year whereas it is two completely different systems.

Well Bob U had a go at me o another thread, but Im pleased to tell you that my son was put up a year in school when we arrived here in Sydney. My son should have gone into year 8 but was put into year 9 due to te fact that he could do the work. When taking his exams in year 10 he was getting 90s, not bad for the youngest kid in his year. Just waitig to see what happens in his HSC I'll keep u posted and hes just 17