Red Rose

Sorry for another MCR post, but I stumbled across a link (not sure if we are allowed to post) from 2014 which declared confidently that MCR would become a world class city by 2020 alongside NY, London and Paris. I have not been in years so besides having world class football teams, I still need to venture NW to see how close it got to that lofty claim!!!

30 years ago I would have said Australia were, per capita, the best sporting nation on earth. The best cricket team; one of the best rugby teams (the wallabies were a lot stronger then than they are now); amazing tennis players: Pat Rafter, Hewitt, Pat Cash, the Woodies; one of the best golf players in Greg Norman (although he never won a major); best swimmers in the world. Since the Sydney games in 2000 my own entirely subjective view is that Australia is not nearly as strong as they used to be. On that basis it is perfectly understandable for most PIO to support the UK, being one of the best and most successful sporting nation's on earth.

Haha, but I think the sport angle actually gives a glimpse of where your loyalties really lie. Poms may love Australia, and love living in Australia, but more often than not they'll still be supporting England in the Ashes, the Lions against Australia, GB in the Olympics etc etc. As I said before, it would be very strange to hear someone with a UK accent supporting Australia over a British team.

No ways, if we put attached a poll to this thread the vast majority of poms with dual citizenship would support England over Australia, probably at least 90%

C'mon the vast vast majority of poms in Oz would support England in the Ashes. I would find it very strange to hear someone with an English accent supporting Australia.

The real barometer normally of where your heart lies is which team you support when England play Australia. I am going to guess that most of you will still support England still

No intention of returning to Australia? What is it about the UK that has made him feel that way about staying?

What do people make of Manchester?

Southampton, what a blast from the past. I used to go there to visit a friend when he was at Southampton Uni. It had this weird vibe, feeling a bit depressing, almost cold, with a feeling of emptiness. Hard to describe really, but it didn't feel like a warm, welcoming, buzzy city if that makes sense.

You're right, that is what meant, and how your feel about your nationality I guess changes depending on many factors. I'd imagine you could feel Australian in Australia, and return to the UK and feel British again. It's a fluid state of play to an extent.

It's a tricky one. It's healthy to describe yourself as a world citizen, but you can't put "world" or "N/A" down as your citizenship status when applying for a bank account as I don't think those options are available in the drop down menu.

To those Brits with Australian citizenship, do you consider yourself: Australian; British / Australian; or British (with an Australian passport)? I have a lot of Australian friends with British passports, but none of them refer to themselves as British, whereas I get the feeling that pomsinoz are more likely to refer to themselves as Australian.

Do you have a preference and if so why? As a side note, I finally got round to getting a Tesco clubcard. Used it today and my £38 shop got reduced to £31. I couldn't believe it. I should've got one years ago.

MR, I'm sure bug family are in a better position to comment on the virtues of Perth and it's suburbs than someone (such as yourself) who has never lived there.

Big punt moving to another Australian city by yourself where you don't know anyone. Playing devils advocate I would have thought that would be the worst thing you could do in your shoes. You feel lonely and the pull of the UK but want to gamble a few years of your life in Melbourne in the hope you will invent a new life for yourself with a new job, friends and a relationship. If I was you I'd rather give Sydney till the end of.the year (where you have friends and a good.job) and see how the dating scene goes, rather than upheaving your life to Melbourne for the sake of it. By end of 2021 you will have your citizenship and will definitely know if you want to come back to Blighty by then.

Be careful. According to press reports over the last week off the Western Australian coast, there has been more than 20 shark sightings, with 11 of those being off Rottnest Island.

Hmmm...it sounds like you are taking a huge huge risk moving to Australia now 1. Are you even eligible to renew the RRV? Have you met the conditions of the visa to renew it? 2. What job opportunities are there for you in Australia? It sounds like you are moving out there with no jobs lined up....you could be out of work for months with rent eating up your savings 3. What have you actually got to gain at this stage from moving to Australia? From what you describe I literally see no positives to moving. At. All. Sorry to be negative, but the way you are positioning this move sounds like you're acting on a whim and giving up financial security and employment for not a lot in return, especially during a pandemic.

There are a lot of freeloaders in the UK unfortunately and the problem which a lot of lefties gloss over is this: the more you give, the more they expect.

People must think I'm mad, but I *hated* the endless blue skies / blazing yellow sun in Perth...not only did I find it dull, but everyone seemed to look 10 years older because of it.

Jersey, very nice. Love the Channel Islands.

Not a rival thread but what is the one word that separates the two countries for you? As I was running today through some pretty tree lined English country lanes past some horse riders going for a hack, I thought the UK is sooooo quaint and that for me is the difference between the two countries that really stands out for me. Australia does have some character, but the UK oozes charm, even in 2020!

Going off topic, but Newcastle is a great city! I'd take it over Perth, near the Hunter, less than 3 hours to Sydney, great city for families, nice wide open streets and sense of space. Can't comment on job market there though.

My job is in Cambridge! Haven't physically moved there yet because of lockdown but seems like a nice city so far from what I have seen and very flat!

Maryrose the world you see through your lens is not the same world others see. I don't think you can't stand in the shoes of others and transpose how they should see the world according to you. Snoozy for instance has lived in Perth for longer than most people on these forums have been alive. If she has a particular view of the place who are we to question her perspective, especially if you are someone who has only ever passed through and spent a few days there