grizzly111

This reminds me of the great experiences I had when I was growing up in England. I want to have a child but am hanging out to return to England first as I want my child to also have these experiences too. In regional Australia I totally avoid going into the 'nature' for obvious reasons!

Wow - when I read this I physically nodded my head in agreement! This is something I noticed too and has made me unnecessarily suspicious of many interactions. I feel exactly the same way as you and couldn't have put it better. However I find when I talk to other races - Europeans and Asians in particular living in Australia that grew up overseas this is not the case. I find when I laugh with them I am actually laughing WITH them as it were. My Dad has always been saying that Aussies always are nice to your face but watch what they say behind your back and he has lived all around Oz. And to the OP - well done.

I can tell you that Australian residential building standards are inferior to British standards full stop - confirmed by architects and builders that have worked in the UK and Australia. I have looked at properties (new builds <7 years old) in excess of $1 million ($1-1.3mil) recently and the amount of corner-cutting is incredible even at this price point!

I moved to Australia about 20 years ago. Did school here and so forth. Thought it was great. Great weather, made some good friends, learnt how to drive. Seemed like a really free, laidback life. Stuff was cheap. Fast forward 20 years and I am counting the days until I can return back to the UK. As other posters have said, aussies are very money orientated people, with little culture to boot - you only have to look at the TV ads to see this. I miss the intelligent UK ads! People here are tooo laidback and lack often calibre. Most of the countryside is all eucalypt trees and a dirty, yellowy shade of green. Local councils (esp. in regional cities) seem to find it hard to create diversity in their streetscapes and invest little money in such improvements. A lot of stuff can injure you in Australia too - just going for a walk down the beach can have you eaten alive by sandflies etc - not to mention the sun....aussies overseas tend to stand out by the amount of wrinkles and pigmentation on their skin (even in their mid-30's) due to the extreme UV from the sun downunder. I like small towns and villages in the UK but the ones in Australia tend to be filled with bogans. Gah...so many things I'd like to leave behind....pretty much has all been mentioned before. Will see whether the grass is greener one day next year for a trip....

Whilst I can understand money is top priority for some but does anyone actually move back to the UK for a superior life? (ie: if money was no issue, where would you rather be UK vs Oz?)

OP: I've been here almost 20 years since a teenager. Believe me, if you are not enjoying it now then it ain't going to get better. At least as a kid I had the pleasure of enjoying life in Oz without the responsibility etc. and times were good, however now I can clearly see the lack of culture, boganism etc that you mention and really wish I could leave back to the UK but have commitments here that make it an issue in the medium term. I would personally have a discussion with your family and make a firm date in the future to return by and not look back. The longer you leave it, the more opportunities in life you could miss and ultimately you will regret it. You have to decide what it is about the UK that love, whether that is still true and whether that is enough for you to return home. Perhaps plan a short reconnaissance holiday first.

I think you and your daughter are making the right choice. I was in line, so to speak, to go to Oxbridge but parents decided to come over to Australia instead and did Year12 then into aussie uni. Had schooling in one of UK's top schools - consistently in the top 10 - and really enjoyed it. I didn't realise then as was still young but now I do - big mistake coming to Australia. Standards all over the place. Went to a normal uni here. Uni's here are no where near as recognised as Oxbridge globally. Also, conversely, no one cares in Australia if you went to Oxbridge. Make sure that your daughter goes and follows her dreams - it's worth it. I have several relatives that graduated from top uni's in the UK, including Oxbridge and they have been lucky enough to have been head-hunted world-wide. Some have come to Australia but promptly left after a few years to places where their degrees are highly valued and where there are more opportunities. All to my knowledge have been extremely successful.

Ain't that the truth. Not saying it doesn't happen in the UK but the rate it happens in Oz is something else....

I have a distinct failure to agree with how much tradies charge in Costralia! I'm not sure how much they charge in the UK but here it's insane. I just got a bill for a reputable company to fix my fridge. The charge was $90/hr for the tradesman to work on it and also a whopping $60/hr for his assistant to help him carry it to his ute. Yes...they charge his lackey out for $60/hr! PLUS there was a $40 call out charge!! Unbelievable. And all in all they could not find the fault and just regassed it. The other day I had a plumber come over to fix a tap (something I should have done myself) - very simple washer change in the end - and they charged $100/hr plus callout for $35 PLUS a fuel levy for $5.50 because fuel is so expensive they said! I got a quote last year for an electrician to come to my business to change about 30 fluoro lights as the ceiling is too high for my ladder and it came to $900. So I calculated that labour was around $420/hr!!!! They also managed to put a 100% markup on the bulbs too vs Bunnings. I decided to borrow a taller ladder and do it myself. Could this contribute to members failure to settle in Oz or are these just isolated cases of me being ripped off by tradesmen?

I guess it depends what university you want him to go to back in the UK. Have a look at the entry requirements. It may be better for him to do as much of his secondary education in the UK.

Marisa - you mention tax and pension implications upon moving back to the UK for retirement - my parents are thinking about moving back - care to elaborate? OP - Australia is a country of extremes. I think you need to weigh up very carefully if and why you want to stay. How do you find the people - Australians?

Just saw this post. Thanks for the advice Tony. Still debating what to do. Had a look at few houses online in Dorset. You are right - they ain't cheap that's for sure but as you say you get what you pay for in terms of area. Seems like a lovely place. Just recently had someone I thought I could trust stab me in the back out of what I can only assume is pure jealousy. Seems to be rife in Australia - no kidding. People here esp. in regional Aus. just don't like seeing others succeed especially poms! I just don't understand this mentality. I've been all over the globe and seen a lot of things and spoken to a lot of people. This sort of thing (pretending to be your friend, getting tall-poppy syndrome, rumour spreading, backstabbing) happens elsewhere but it's just so prevalent here it's unreal. Ah well on to the next thing....

Not sure if stickers are going to work too well...they don't light up at night for starters. Nice idea though. Looks like one would have to buy a new instrument cluster!

Don't think the Maloo will keep up with the M5 (especially at those speeds) unless heavily modified!!! Even the old V10 (what an engine!) was known for it's high speed performance. Would be an unusual sight on UK roads though I can imagine. It's a personal decision whether to sell or keep. I want to know where to change the speedo to mph from km/h and when too.

Julesy - yup. I've told it how it is. Australia is decent if you like the outdoorsy, laidback lifestyle. But eventually it catches up to you. I see many patients that have terrible skin, aged by the sun, solar keratoses galore vs those from the UK. And this whole laidback thing - sometimes I feel people are a little TOO laidback in Australia! One tip I will give people with kids thinking of moving to Oz - think CAREFULLY. If you child(ren) have gotten into a decent senior school in the UK (and I'm talking top schools here) or really enjoy their school life I would advise please be cautious about moving them. The schools in this range I don't think are not quite as good in Oz (I speak from experience) and the value placed on education and so forth is less than the UK. If your kids have a shot at getting into one of the top universities in the UK then whatever you do consider leaving them there! They will have much greater value and better opportunity in UK/Europe. A top UK education and a degree from Oxbridge ain't worth as much in Oz as it is in other parts of the planet. Unless you happen to be very, very lucky.

I miss the beautiful birdsong in England. Also the trees - such variety and lushness of green. No comparison in my opinion. I also have come to appreciate how I could walk around without worrying about getting bitten by anything!!! In Australia during summer (Esp. in the evenings/night) I don't go out for a walk without wearing mosquito repellent. Depends where you are though. I personally can't wait to go back to the UK for a holiday maybe during Summer/Autumn. I have fond memories of encouraging the chestnuts to drop from the trees by throwing stones at them and playing conkers during the autumn months. Would be good to relive some of those memories that are an impossibility in Oz. One day....

Guys I was wondering how to get the speedo changed from km/h to mph in the UK? What is the process - ie the car lands in the UK, is unloading, goes through checks...how and where do you get the speedo changed? It's for a new BMW.

The reality is that it is relatively expensive to retire in Australia. My super fund reckons that to retire comfortably you will need around $45,000 per annum for a single person. I'm not sure how much you need in the UK. I can also say that amassing several hundreds of thousands of dollars into super by just working 10 years in Australia is not going be easy. If you are starting from $0 you will have to have a salary well into the six figures and make some BULK contributions and pray for a very positive share market/investment strategy for that to happen - I guarantee it from experience. And who has the leftover money to contribute if you are enjoying yourself downunder/have a mortgage to pay off/kids to send to private school? There are plenty of online calculators for one to play around with in any case. The comments made from Bob are interesting. I note he lives in Mackay which happens to be a fairly expensive place to live in Australia for your average person - people there really pay 5 star prices for 3 star quality. For those who don't know about this place, it's a regional town. It's known largely for its mining industry surrounding it which pushes up the cost of living significantly. See: http://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/high-costs-eat-into-budget/1370375/ Just to see a non-bulk billing GP (trust me the decent ones tend to be non-bulk billing and often have spaces) will be around $70-80. A 10+ min. 'extended' consult could cost around $120 for some GP's although I have heard higher. Regional areas supported by mining tend to be more expensive to live. There is a 'transport tax' on everything. I recently compared prices of items in a regional town from a major retailer to those found in a major city and discovered that the regional retailers where putting anywhere from 10-20% markups on their goods. If you want to retire in Australia one of the least expensive cities I've been to is Adelaide. Do you own research is my recommendation.

It's true if you mention to true blue aussies that you are a pom they won't be particularly enthused by it and most likely say something derogatory behind your back. Especially in regional areas of Australia. I have had the interesting experience to have worked all over Australia and I learnt the hard way: try not to mention where you were originally from to your work colleagues. Almost each time I have done so they don't say things like "oh wow that's such a great background/country etc etc". INSTEAD they say 9 times out of 10: "Oh...you're a pom! Hey everyone he's a bloody pommy!". So now I try to avoid the question and just tell em that I am from the state I originally came to 15 years ago. I have developed an aussie accent so I can cover it up easier than most I expect. And whatever you do don't say you were sent here as a prison warder! (it really gets the aussies going!):twitcy:

Well I know one thing's certain: that I don't want to remain my entire life in Australia. Certainly wouldn't want to die here. One of things I like about the UK is how much pride the people have in their country. Not sure that I've discovered that on the same level here in Australia. And I've lived and worked all over OZ (regional and city) too. To be honest most cities in Oz feel like big country towns with a lot more things to do (and traffic) of course.

It depends if you preferred life back home. Age can play a factor too. If you do and can find work there more readily and for a higher pay then the choice is obvious. Otherwise you will have to keep trying. My parents came over here with me over 10 years ago and now, in retrospect, although its always hard to say, we should have stayed and ploughed through the UK recession at the time. My education and prospects suffered somewhat coming to Oz and they were not able to find a steady job in their professional fields upon arriving. If I were in your shoes, I would trial things for a further 3 months and then re-assess your situation.

Yes I wouldn't mind the southwest from memory. But I would be taking a pay cut vs what I'd get in Oz. I don't mind that at all. But worried that jobs may be limited in a small town? Also I think you are correct that I may be viewing the UK through rose-tinted glasses - I think you are right that It's best to take a working holiday of sorts. I have a base in Oz that I can always return to. I was originally from SW London so the south of England is what I am most familiar with. But I know that I wouldn't want to live in London again.

Thanks for the replies! I've been in Oz now for about 15 years. When I first came I naturally didn't like it as I had left my mates, family etc behind. However I adapted quickly to Aussie life being in my early teens. Learnt to drive, made friends etc. I even remember telling my parents at the time that I was a true Aussie now! My parents, however, had a hard time adapting - their qualifications were not recognised in Oz for starters. And they found people very different. They had been on reconnaissance trips beforehand so I'm not sure how this all happened. I know that they wanted to escape the downturn/recession of the 90's in the UK. But they carried on in true Brit fashion and it has only been recently that they have admitted that perhaps they made a mistake coming to Oz. Now that I have worked here as a health professional I can understand exactly how they feel. Life is not bad in Oz by any means. I've certainly made the most of it. However I just feel that somehow, even after so many years, I don't belong. It's a very strange feeling. I'm looking at southern England to live. Not London though which is where I'm from. I haven't been back since I left but I intend to make a trip back to see if England is right for us in late spring/early summer.

Was born and raised happily in the UK for the first 15 years of my life when my parents decided to migrate to Oz. Never wanted to leave UK but had no say in the matter of course. Did year 12 in Oz, went to uni, graduated. Worked for 10 years in well paid jobs. Just been made redundant from a position I held for 7 years which has made me reflect on my current life etc. Other half here has just started a business. I have discovered that in Australia: 1. Things are overpriced. 2. People are generally rude, self-centred although pretend to be friendly. 3. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do. 4. Service is some of the poorest in the world. 5. Lack of culture and history. 7. Small town mentality & tall poppy syndrome is rife here! 6. Scenery is dull. I miss the greenery of the UK - the parks and countryside. Over here all you see are eucalyptus trees and various other scraggly native flora. Was thinking of returning and living in a larger country town in the South of England. BUT I have heard the UK has changed dramatically - lots of dodgy immigrants, no jobs, poor economy etc. Am I mad to want to return? My other half doesn't mind even though she has a business here as she can see that I am not happy in my self living in Australia.