HappyHeart

Not really that simple though. Sometimes it's an impossible choice.

That's why we're moving there....it's 'country' though so as always won't suit all as a permanent place to live rather than a holiday spot. Suits us.

Remind me to renounce my citizenship now....

You'd have to have rocks in your head to think that. There's something seriously wrong somewhere.

I don't even like sport but if probably cheer for Australia over UK tbh. (Though I'd still be keen to see UK wins) We actually had this convo yesterday about the Olympics and my son looked at me like I was silly when I asked who he'd be cheering for. My husband would support Britain over Aus in football if they were playing each other otherwise equal. If it was any other sport he'd go for Australia

I would wager that the 2 posters do not live in altogether dissimilar areas, rather their perceptions of what's on offer is the main variable. I know where Paul lives and i dont think its a place that suits someone who needs a lot of 'entertainment' Its a place where you utilise what s on your doorstep in terms of the natural world for fun.

The concept of 'something to do' is entirely subjective. Individuals have different wants, needs and likes. It's about is the place right for you not how boring or exciting is the place. Some peoole get excited about plants, rocks birds and stars. Others would find that unfulfilling and need more to thrill them. Some prefer space, peace and minimal interaction with others, other prefer high density, noise, a constant buzz. Therefore you cannot claim a place to be better or worse. Just different.

No not a range. We can only fit 900mm in the space and I've already shaved a bit off the pantry to fit it in. I prefer a gas cook top. Just what you get used to I guess.

Never considered induction. We'll have electric oven and gas cook top. 900mm which will be a luxury compared to what we have now.

If somebody called me woke I'd take it as a compliment.

Yes we've done our elecrrical plan and thought out what to put where. Sound advice. You always need more than they include.

Oh ye of little faith. Negative Nelly! As one of my friends said, whatever you choose you will want something else. She knows me so well. I think having lived in a home without all mod cons for most of my life I will be happy as a pig in muck with my own little designer pad I've incorporated some of the things I've coveted over the years in other peoples homes. A real thrill once the nerves settled. My only regret so far is the lack of timber doors and no feature stained glass window. I expect we can look at those things in the future if we decide it's worthwhile. As long as the outside areas are on point (they should be after all my planning) and the place doesn't fall down after a year she'll be right....

Born in Australia. Quite a privilege to have the options either way. I wonder how difficult to move to a country you've never lived in regardless of having citizenship...automatically entitled to health, welfare, education and so on?

My Grandchildren are born to UK born mother and Australian father. I presume they have automatic dual citizenship. I think I looked into it once and that was the case. My son thinks he might live/work in UK for a time but his preference is Canada. I (selfishly) hope he stays here with me.

Not sure of the ins and outs of it but my friend delayed getting her Australian citizenship purely because of this. I think eventually she just decided to go for it having lived here for many years and feeling quite settled. Her son has dual citizenship having a British father and that they lived in UK for a time and also Dubai. I'm not sure that she ever got British citizenship. Such complexity involved when we move and have children in different countries.

What a choice. I wouldn’t hesitate. Some people really do have to make that decision. My German friend had to.

True that!! He sounds more like he's from the South of England than the Midlands like us. The vowels are different. I guess that's the Australian effect

I just asked my 15 yr old son. He was 2 when we arrived. He said Australian. Surprised me actually. His accent is very British with mild Australianisms and ‘proper’...not sure where that came from?! Not me or Dad. If push came to shove Australian-British and not the other way around....

I felt that quite strongly after only 5 years away. A definite sense of I don’t belong here anymore. A sense of relief as the plane touched down in Perth. Interestingly though, tearful at touching down in the UK too. Heart in both places. Maybe that happens to everyone who moves away from their place of birth? Depends how long you live in a particular place too. Funny because your Englishness is always picked by born and bred Australians. Since that last trip, our 2nd, we haven’t been back and no particular desire to go either, other than to see older relatives. At the end of the day it’s an irrelevance, to me at least...I’ve never felt out of place (except perhaps during my 1st job here when I was very green about all things Australian and working with a mainly Australian workforce) How you came to be in a place and whether you feel like part of the community is probably more due to internal factors. It just is. I honestly think the world is a much smaller place. People are so well travelled and have lived and worked in many places. I don’t see too much ingrained and exclusionary patriotism around me. If I do I dismiss it. It tends to be those who’ve never strayed far from their own back yard that hold those attitudes. Think they own the place. Silly really. Here and there.

I disagree! I've designed our new home just as I want it. Would not have found all of those features for the same price in the same location. True there's compromises along the way but if you plan well, take your time and have reasonable expectations (champagne tsste/beer money) you can end up with something you're very pleased with. Never thought we'd build but here we are.

Indeed. Factual though, not woke. Don't you just hate that terminology?

Thats right of course but your question was more about how you 'feel'. At least thats how I took it.

Why?

The longer I stay here the more Australian I feel. I have dual nationality, citizenship 8 years ago, been here 12 plus years. If I had to define it (which I don't like to do) I'd say I'm British-Australian. I lived in Britain for 3/4 of my life and Australia 1/4. My son who was 2 when we arrived also says British Australian. He's proud of his heritage. It's a small world. We don't need to put labels on ourselves. We're all world citizens in effect.

Agree. I think there must be things to like and dislike about every place on earth though. A misconception is that you NEED to love beaches to like Perth as a place to live. The beaches are on the coast. There's thousands of Kms of habitable areas not close to the beach. I think part of the issue is a one eyed superficial approach to a place. Once you've decided for or against something you can talk yourself into anything. Whatever suits your subconscious agenda. I know because I'm like that.