DanielJ

Hi, I will be flying to Oz with Singapore Airlines at the end of July and I've just started looking for the checked luggage... and I'm a bit worried. Everybody keeps talking about the baggage weight, which is obvious enough (apart from the 20-23-32-40kg limits). But after checking on Singapore and then on a few different airlines it seems that they also impose some restrictions on the size of checked baggage. What's more, it seems that if I later wanted to use the same suitcase for flying internally within Australia the size limits for checked luggage are smaller. Here's an example of what I have found: Singapore - max standard IATA bag: 90 x 72 x 45cm British Airways: 90cm x 75cm x 43cm (35.5in x 29.5in x 16 in), including the handle, pockets and wheels.Virgin: Up to 90 x 75 x 43cm / 35.5 x 29.5 x 16ins Quantas domestic: Total dimensions of each piece must not exceed 140cm (54in). Quantas international: no 1 piece exceeding 158cm (62in) Virgin Australia domestic: exceed a total linear dimension (length + width + height) of 140cm Virgin Australia international: Total linear dimension (length + width + height) must not exceed 158cm (62in) per piece Cathay: a bag of 158cm (62in) in size: Does any of you remember if any airline has ever checked the SIZE of the checked luggage? Either on international or domestic Oz flights? I'm just not sure if I can buy the biggest bag that I can carry or if I have to limit myself a bit:-) Thank you!

Brisbane :-) And we will see how it goes... I didn't quite expect to stay so long in London, but then year after year after year - and I haven't even noticed how quickly the time passed.

I can say as a foreigner who's been living in London for the last 8 years (with 1 year break for Essex coast) that yes, it's possible to get tired of London, without being tired of life. And no, it's not like every foreigner likes London, it's just that either natives aren't really interested or some foreigners are afraid to say what they think. It's just like any big city with its problems. I can honestly say that it is the best city in Europe to visit as a tourist (comparing with Rome, Paris, Warsaw, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna). Amazing things to see, convenient to travel on weekends and surprisingly cheap if one knows where to go. Some parks are great - especially Richmond, but Bushy or Greenwich are also great. Restaurants are great. But for me it's awful to live in every day, especially living in Lewisham (recently mentioned on BBC as the most dangerous borough in the UK). It's crowded, driving anywhere is a pain, dirty, there's a big mess with social housing spread among other buildings and immigrants not integrating with the locals (and that's coming from an immigrant), everyone is trying to get to the lowest possible denominator. Every business just MUST be located in the centre, like there wasn't a huge open space around M25. As a result morning and after commute are a pain when thousands of people needlessly have to get to the same place and get out from the same place. Some people will love it. Some of my friends do, especially those that prefer restaurants and theatres to open, wild places. For me it's a pain. But just 2 more months;-)

This may be a weird suggestion, but would you be able to go together on a working holiday visa to another country? Let's say, New Zealand? If it's possible this could be a reasonably cheap option and you would have one more year to decide what to do while being together?

I already have a job (457), I spend a lot of time improving my skills anyway (IT), I can see hundreds of flats in Brisbane for 400-450 AUD pw, I compared my salary here and in Oz after taxes and expected expenses... And after growing up in continental climate I'm looking forward to occasional heavy rain and storm instead of a frequent mizzles, drizzles etc. I'm missing more outdoor lifestyle and I don't care too much about historic buildings etc. As I mentioned, I don't expect miracles, I just expect things to be a bit better. UK is by no means a bad country, it just seems to be missing things that I prefer.

I don't expect miracles. I'm expecting warmer weather (watching BBC weather forecast for the last year for Brisbane every 2-3 days), bigger flats for the same money (checked on realestate website), more outdoor lifestyle (checked the national parks within 2 hours drive). What's wrong with my attitude?

Last Sunday was finally nice and warm, I could go to Greenwich, eat something, have a drink and sit in the sun without freezing. I started wondering when was the last time I could do this and I checked my pictures from the last year: 23rd of September. After this we walked to Canary Wharf and took DLR back to our tiny flat in Lewisham. No hoodies on the way and more work than I want... These kinds of truth are very subjective. For me (living in the UK for the last 8 years, moving to Bris this year) the houses and flats are tiny, it's cold or wet or both for most of the year, quite a few hoodies (although this seems to be improving). Work - plenty of it, at least in London. I think that people who like cold weather, have good jobs and already own big houses with gardens may be happy in the UK. For me this isn't going to happen.

I would be careful in this case. They might have been just afraid what's going to happen if someone sees them talking to a foreigner. Despite all the glamour of big cities it's still a communist country.

Come on, we're not SO deprived. Although I must admit that my sense of humour is shameful... ;-) On a more serious note, speaking as Eastern European (actually Central, not Eastern ;-) ) living in the UK I must say that there is often some grumble about "all these immigrants coming here to steal our jobs and/or benefits" but actually, at least in London, people are very fair. Welcoming? Probably not everyone, not all the time. But definitely fair.

Ha, now I'm wondering what's going to happen to me and my wife when we arrive to Brisbane this August? We're Polish and we've been living in the UK for the last 8 years - never had any problems and we traveled a lot, including rural Wales and Scotland. UK is very welcoming towards foreigners (even too welcoming, I think that people guilty of serious crimes or frauds should be deported without a second of hesitation). I don't expect Australia to be different. You get idiots everywhere and sometimes they won't like you because of the colour of your skin, sometimes because of your accent, sometimes because you live on the wrong side of the street. But thankfully in most countries idiots don't make the rules. In the case of the guy in Sydney - he was clearly "mentally challenged" (Japanese bombing Melbourne?). Does it mean that other Australians are like him? I hope not. Although most passengers in this case seemed to be cowards for not doing anything. But where is the real blame? What would happen if any of these passengers called the police - would they arrest the abuser or not? Who would have problems? Well, a few more months and I will know how I am treated:-)