Red Rose

Hi all, I'm sure this has been asked many times before and I am being lazy not using the search button Do those who have moved back to the UK still make contributions to their Super fund from their UK accounts (I would propose to make one or two contributions a year to top it up) as well as contributing to a UK pension? thank you!

True, true.

I have not read all the posts in this thread, but for some people they just have this strong emotional attachment to the UK and don't realise what they have been missing until they have experienced living overseas. The UK is far from perfect of, of course, but for me it is the quaintness and old fashioned charm of this country that I find most appealing. I realise how much I love old fashioned royal mail post boxes built into stone walls, national trust houses, English pubs, places like the lake District, cream teas, the cold, open fires, narrow country lanes, and just the sheer diversity of landscape, accents and culture in such a small country. The attachment and yearning some people have for the UK will always be more than superficial because the UK is a part of them, it's in their DNA, and no amount of counselling or counter arguments will ever change that.

I think one area where Australia thrashes the UK hands down for salaries is public sector work. Teachers, nurses, police, civil servants, all do significantly better in Oz than in the UK. I'm still not convinced though whether the generally higher salaries in Oz leave you financially better off compared to the UK.....but have just done a quick google search it seems I am wrong and Australia wins by far with a much better cost of living Australia vs United Kingdom: Cost of Living. Who has it better? - Odin Land

Here is an alternative POV for this chat. Work is better than retirement (including voluntary work) It gives you purpose. You're continuing to use the grey matter. You have more social and human interaction working than not. It's proven to be better for your health than retirement.

Yeah I've heard about that....I think you may be referring to this: www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/article-what-i-saw-in-a-day-on-the-downtown-eastside-shocked-me/

I'd love to visit Canada. One city which I want to find out more about is Vancouver, it seems to really polarise opinions (much like Perth), it looks beautiful, but I've read online that it's incredibly insular and unfriendly.

Crikey those places sound unsafe. Reminds me of growing up in South Africa with bars around the windows. Now there is a country that is a complete enigma. Really progressive politically but still so unstable and unsafe.

My god. I just did a Google Street view of tennant creek. That must be a contender for the worst town in Australia.

I would take Brighton over Bournemouth...London by the sea!

Toots, I respect your right to critique my view 100%. I am only expressing a personal view on a topic specifically about Perth where the OP has asked for a view on Perth. I don't think I have expressed that view disrespectfully or said anything personal about any poster. I am not really sure what you are looking for here other for me to censor my views, which is fine. I shan't say anything more on the topic and apologies if I have upset anyone!

Those comments reflect what many people have described about Perth. As an outsider who moves to Perth you need to experience it to understand it. Many will not recognise what you have described above, but many do because you hear the same things about Perth being superficial, cliquey, parochial time and time again.

Perth is a funny one. I found it incredibly unfriendly and parochial whereas I found Sydney, which is a lot bigger and busier, incredibly friendly. It is very subjective though and everyone's mileage will vary.

Nice is very subjective Paul!

Everywhere just seems expensive these days. Anyone been to Cambridge before? If you are looking at living near the centre of Cambridge you don't get much for half a million quid, maybe a 2 bedroom flat. Brighton is probably even more expensive.

I haven't read this whole thread so you may have already covered these points. From reading your post, I wonder whether what's really happening is that you're no longer really that in to Australia? Sounds like it's got to the point where you're getting through the motions without really thriving. If you have that feeling right now, it doesn't really go away. It doesn't help that all your friends are in the UK. It all comes down to what your value and priorities are, and what nourishes your soul. If your priorities are your family and friends, and those lovely green tree lined streets, then I hope one day that is what you return to

That's the UK for you, for such a small island, we're extremely diverse, which is what makes it interesting. There can't many other countries in the world which have such diverse accents too across such a small landmass, but that's a different topic entirely....!

I think what is hard to beat with the UK is our proximity to things. It feels like we are a global hub, in the middle of everything. The biggest draw card as others have mentioned is Europe, which cannot be beaten anywhere in the world for diversity, history or culture. If you love Africa, that's not far away. If you love New York that's, what, about 7 hours. That's why so many Aussies come to London (which in itself is a world in one city), and don't want to leave because they are suddenly on the cusp of everything.

I went through a phase where I thought 7/11 coffee was the future, tasted really good and a quarter of the price of my $4 barista coffee, until one day I bought one and the milk they were using had gone off. It turned my stomach and I never bought another one again. As much as I love coffee, I spent far too much on it, probably close to $2k a year on barista coffee.

Costa coffee just taste like hot milk to me. I miss the real bite of Australian coffee. My flat whites in the UK just don't seem as consistently good or punchy as they were down under.

Besides the weather (it is hard to top Sydney's weather IMO) for me it's got to be breakfasts and coffee. It's only when you get back to the UK do you realise that breakfasts and coffee down under are levels above the UK.

Really awesome list of world's top 100 cities, beautifully produced with no scrolling of pages, well worth a look https://www.bestcities.org/rankings/worlds-best-cities/ Only 3 UK cities that I could find in the top 100, I think Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane also made it. Really interesting read.

I think what doesn't help is the weather in the NW, unfortunately that part of the UK does get more rain and grey skies than other parts of the UK which doesn't help.

Bulya out of interest which part of the UK were you from before moving to Oz?

I take back what I said. The weather in May has been disgusting.