Simonrbh

Hi Al I only moved over in October 2014, mainly for a lifestyle change. We settled in my OH's home town, where she was brought up for her first 22 years. I've struggled to get a job and hence disposable income is not in abundance and social interaction is non-existent. I used to work for a Global company in the UK and took redundancy after 23hrs. I've applied for hundreds of jobs and in all my time here I've only had one 12 month contract for 24hr pw that ended June last year. I've tried things like the local Mens Shed (woodworking is not what I'm looking for) and looked at different groups on Meetup (distance to meet ups an issue as the tend to be 55km away in Brisbane CBD). All this has lead to me feeling totally isolated, with my only mates 1000's of kms way in WA and SA (can't afford trips there). I find country folk have a different mindset and Aussies in general don't seem to want to interact like in the UK, strong meaningful friendships are a myth. So in a nutshell, the lack of a job and rural living means purse strings are tight and no social interaction.....and my OH is happy as a pig in ****! It's not been a lifestyle change for the better but it's certainly been a lifestyle change! Simon.

To generalise from what I've seen over the last 3 years, I think it's a myth!

Hi Al Can't advise but I'm interested in your post as I'm thinking of doing the same. Your reason to move back? Simon.

Like a lot of posts, both Rachel and Ggs have very eloquently worded their replies to embody what is truly important to most, if not all of us.

Thanks for the advice on renting, I'll look into how much we could get in rental so I know what we can also afford to pay out in renting. As far as the job goes, I actually already work in Brisbane CBD. My background is in the manufacturing of home and personal care products. I have a wide range of transportable skills and knowledge but unfortunately the 'natural fit' jobs are all South of Brisbane, like Yatala, which isn't feasible for a commute. With the current job market as it is I've ended up taking a basic level position on a 24hr a week basis for a 12 month contract. I commute 50kms each way by car or motorbike 4, sometimes 5 times a week due to the working hours being from 06:30 to midnight any day of the week, including public holidays. I'd love to perhaps have a night in the city after work but then I couldn't have a few drinks due to having to drive or ride back the 50kms home. Only last week I encountered a random breath test road block on the way home from work at 13:30, which seemed a strange time of day to have such a thing! On Saturday night I finished at 23:00hrs and the if I'd joined the guy going to watch the rugby at The Pig & Whistle it would mean heading home 01:30-02:00 in the morning! Ideally I need to be closer to a rail connection for social events. Like you say, I'm already outside my usual career and continuing to look at all avenues for opportunities to provide the work/lifestyle balance that is of high priority to me. As far as the job market goes, it all seems doom and gloom at the moment with redundancies and restructuring announcements virtually every week. Even in the organisation I'm currently working for, there has been a major restructure in the last 18 months and even in the last 2 months they've announced further sites to close and all the distribution drivers are also going to be made redundant. Over 50% of the staff are part-time like myself. I took the position I have to get some aussie work history on my CV/Resume. My UK qualifications cannot be transposed into the aussie equivalents so are not internationally recognised. I hope the RSL Lottery or Golden Casket comes in soon!

I was in there last Christmas getting the meats for the festivities and spent a considerable amount of money. I asked the young lad behind the counter for some streaky bacon (to make pigs in blankets). He didn't know what I meant so I told him it was the thinner part of the full rasher and went to look at the display cabinet whilst he sorted it. When I came back to the counter he informed me that his boss had said he couldn't do streaky bacon. I found this rather strange because you could have short cut, which is the other half! The boss was there but never uttered a word. I've not been back there since, but like you say, great sausages……..at a price!

Jjb - I'm not saying you can't say what you have said. What I'm trying to point out is that just because you personally find it an attractive proposition as a place to live doesn't mean that another person has to feel the same way. There are positives and negatives to anywhere you live and in my current situation it appears to be more slanted to the negative side. If I'd already made my mind up then I wouldn't be open to suggestions, like your excellent one of the meetup website, or discussion either. If if you're truely considering moving here you'd be more than welcome to come and stay to see if the reality fits your dream before making such a commitment, I wish I'd had such an opportunity! Who knows, you may even want to buy our property!

Hi Bungo I've not suggested the majority or everyone has said they would love to live here, hence the 'So before people start saying'. If you look on pg4 when I've replied to Ggs I've mentioned that if we do anything in the immediate future it is likely to be looking at renting out our property and renting elsewhere. It is a option, not one that you can do within 24hrs and it can be quite expensive too, hence why Ive asked for peoples help on the matter, so that I can consider all options (including the Coastguard Volunteer that buzzy-bee has mentioned). When I have spoken to my OH and mentioned areas that might be suitable for renting and providing more social interaction, quite rightly, she has pointed out that some of those areas would virtually double her commute. If we did that I could see the end result just being a reversal of who's unhappy! I'm also glad to Ggs for pointing out possible tax implications of renting out.

I'll let Mims explain why they feel it is a horrible journey to get to and from Dayboro, I do appreciate what they are saying. I'f it's anything to do with using the Bruce, Gateway or Pacific Highways, or should I call them car parks, then you'll understand. Coming home from work last week I had a Koala scurry across the road right in front of my car. I'f he/she had stopped I'd of killed them, I'd of been mortified if that had happened. If I'd been on my motorbike, it might have taken my off. Don't ride at dawn or dusk they say……if only I could! In the pitch dark of the early morning I regularly get tradies passing me well in excess of the limit and a couple of weeks a go, when going to work on my motorbike, I sped up to see what sort of speed the tradie had passed me was doing and I hit 150 and I wasn't even gaining on him/her! And then there's double white lines…….don't even get me started on that! These drivers don't appreciate that they have just got up and their senses and reaction times are not at their optimum. To some it may seem an idyllic place to live and it is not without it's virtues and as it has already been said, attracts a lot of people with it's scenery, cafe's, winery close by, etc. Every person is different, has different circumstances, jobs, hobbies etc. My OH grew up on a pineapple farm less that 5kms from where we live and feels at home here. She's not one for socialising and hobbies but when I am reminded that as a kid she used to have her nose stuck in a book reading it whilst in the outdoor dunny, with a carpet snake peering down from the rafters, then it may answer a lot of questions! The 2 restaurants don't open past 20:00hrs and are closed on Monday, the same for the pizza place and a similar closing time for the pub too. The roads around here are 100kph limits and given the average aussie drivers standard, it would be suicidal to even think about riding a push bike or walking along the roads around here. To beat the kamikaze tradies, and to get free on-street parking, I head out at 04:40hrs when I'm on early shift, having to arrive by 05:30 to get a parking space…….I don't start work until 06:30! There is a bus that goes from Dayboro to Strathpine in the morning and returns in the afternoon, once only a day! The nearest taxi service is in Samford, 25kms away. The nearest train link is either Petrie of Ferny Grove and both of those are 30+kms away. All the clubs, volunteering groups, etc seem to be in the city and given the fact that I get up at 'daft o'clock' when I'm on early shift, it's not practicable to work, come home, go back out and drive for an hour each way to attend a club that starts after work hours, most probably 19:00hrs, to then drive home a couple of hours later and get in for 22:00 to get back up the following day for an early shift. Late shifts means it would be a 'no-show' anyway. The best I can hope for is a club/organisation that meets weekends! By the way, I work weekends too, depending on my roster! Last night I worked 16:30-23:00 and got in at midnight. Talking to one of my colleagues and asking him if he was going to enjoy his favourite tipple of a single malt when he got in, I was informed 'No, I'm going to go and watch Australia v Wales at The Pig & Whistle' ……..hell was I envious! I don't want to 'live' in a pub, a lifetime of shift work has never been conducive to that, but as many will acknowledge, it's a great place to 'chew the fat' , make plans for hiking, camping trips, stop off after a motorbike ride etc etc…at least in the UK pubs anyway! We went to New Farm Park yesterday for a relatives engagement party and speaking to people they were asking how I was finding it and whether I was settled. When I told them my woes, and bear in mind these are fully fledged Aussies ranging from early 20's to mid 50's in age, a common response was 'I can imagine…….I'd be pulling my hair out living there'! Perhaps that's the reason for my baldness! The other question one of the extended family asked my OH was 'What hobbies and pastimes do you have'? 'None really' came the reply……hmmmm! With my OH having spent 12 years in the UK, 10 of those with me, it only seemed fair to give things a chance here and perhaps hence the reason I have gone along with her wishes. We do have a beautiful house, with a great view, it's just not for me. So before people start saying it looks wonderful and how envious they are of the views and how they'd live here at the drop of a hat, I'll point out that Everest Base Camp has wonderful views…..I'd love to see it, but I don't want to live there! Thanks to everyone for your comments and helpful suggestions so far, please keep them coming. Simon.

Hi Tina I hate snakes myself too and had 3 'encounters' in the first 4 months of arriving in Brisbane! I have been told by locals if you have a red bellied black around its a good thing as they kill brown snakes!….the lesser of two evils, what an option!

Hi Ggs I think you and I seem to think on the same wavelength. What was I thinking! You're right, everyone is so busy with their own lives and work, plus being the paternal taxi too. My OH's S-I-L is forever running two teenagers here,there and everywhere. So people say you shouldn't look back and only look to the future but having the analytical mind I do, IMHO unless you look at why you are unhappy, which means comparing the present with the past, and to some extent your possible future without changes, then you're never going to resolve the cause of that unhappiness! My OH was born and brought up 5kms down the road and lived on a pineapple farm until she left to go to UQ in Brisbane to study, so I think it's inherent that she adores the set up we have. Top of her 'wish list ' when we were deciding on a property was 'not to be within spitting distance of neighbours'! Back in the UK we were also rural, backing onto a forest, but with neighbours close by and also a market town 4 miles away where you could get everything that I now have to travel 5 times that distance for! We also had several pubs that stayed open until 23:00hrs or longer. To add to that there is also the friends and family factors and to be honest, I truly believe that Brits are, in general, more friendly and have more meaningful relationships that antipodeans. There are obviously contributory factors to this, not that I'm going to analyse it here and now. Having only bought in Dec 2014, and having paid over $20K in stamp duty, you're right, to sell would mean losing quite a bit of money when you factor in the real estate fees, buying, selling, moving costs and taxes! If we do anything in the immediate future it may well be to look at renting our property out and renting somewhere closer to the things I'm looking for in my existence. Simon.

Hi Elena Thanks for your reply. I love Redcliffe! I'd be interested in meeting up for a bike ride if you'd like to pm me personal details. Cheers Simon.

Already have one, Tiger 1050SE. I brought it over from the UK and use it to commute to work most of the time. Shame you're not closer for a ride out!

Whoops, well spotted the 'deliberate' mistakes! …………... *October 2014* & *Dec 2014* !

Has anybody got advice? SOME BACKGROUND:- I migrated from Cheshire, UK in October 2014 with my Australian partner. I migrated on a partner migration visa, which I activated on a recce trip in May 2014 and have permanent residency status since that date. If I'm correct I can get my citizenship 4 years after my visa was activated, which is 15th May 2018. I've been to Oz about a dozen times in 15 years and about 5 of those have been with my partner. I've been to every state and travelled quite extensively. I'm in my early 50's and took a redundancy package after 23 years with a large multinational company, but unfortunately not old enough to retire and not enough in the pension pot either to live on after the penalties if I was to draw it early at 55! We live close to Dayboro, 50km North of Brisbane CBD. I have 3 siblings back in the UK, including an identical twin, my parents are no longer around. My partner is late 40's, has dual citizenship after living in the Uk for 12 years and has 3 brothers (and their families) all within 30kms and another one 5hrs drive North of Brisbane too. My partner's parents have also passed away. My partner works full time as a vet. We bought our property in Dec 2015 and live on 2.5 acres, which is quite rural and can't even see our neighbours houses, never mind socialise with them! We have no mortgage, no children either and a reasonable amount of savings. I've managed to secure a one year contract for 24 hrs work per week after 9 months of applying for anything and everything. To get a full time job that is more a 'natural fit' would likely mean a 200km round trip daily and 12hr shifts too! I work earlies (06:30 -13:00) and late shifts (15:30-22:00, later at weekends). I get up early (04:15) to commute 50km to work, to try and miss the kamikaze tradies that want to run you off the road. THE DILEMMA:- I have a constant feeling of loneliness and isolation and feel I've made the biggest mistake of my life by moving to Oz. We have a lovely view to our property but there is no real community and Dayboro is a ghost town once everyone gets in from work. Nobody goes to the pub as they work long hours and get up really early to commute to work, so the pub is shut by 19:30 most nights. It is so difficult to make friends with people. If you don't have children then you seem to not even exist in most peoples eyes! For the majority of the time, the only social contact we have is with my partner's siblings and their families and that is going to visit them at their homes. I keep telling my OH "I didn't come all the way to Oz just to go from our house to someone else's"! I've no friends to 'chew the fat' with here and my unhappiness is a major cause of arguments. My OH is 'as happy as a pig in ****'. She is close to her siblings after so long away from them and has a job she generally enjoys. In the UK I really enjoyed hiking, cycling, motorcycling, scuba diving, swimming, having a beer and eating out with friends I've still got from as far back as school days. My partner on the other hand is less of a social sort and is happy to just stay at home, read her Kindle, play a game on her iPad, knit, or just watch TV. I've looked at things like MEETUP.COM to try and fill the void but all the groups are too far away with my working hours. Men's Shed I'm too young for really, it's more suited to retirees (no offence intended). I also feel that if I don't move back in the imminent future then I'll never get a job again in the UK full stop! We spent a lot of time, effort and money making this move and after 12 months all I want is to go home but that is likely to mean by myself, with no partner (of 10 years), nowhere to live, no job and the likelihood of me being in a similar dilemma to now if I only have enough income to exist and not enjoy an active social life. Has anyone had similar experiences? If so, how did you overcome it? I feel I'm in a really dark hole! (Big) Si.