Scrutineer

I'd say spraying graffiti everywhere if the train stations are anything to go by.

Hi. SCRUTINEER,

SORRY FOR ADDRESSING YOU

as Julie.

Regards Joan

I'm only Julie when my wife's in Paris, Joro, so don't worry about it. Joking, by the way... seriously, no worries and enjoy your retirement in Adelaide.

Those Japanese demographics are terrifying.

"A report compiled with the government’s co-operation two years ago warne d that by 2060 the number of Japanese will have fallen from 127m to about 87m, of whom almost 40% will be 65 or older."

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/03/japans-demography

It's basically going to be the world's first nation-sized old people's home.

This takes me back, really, to when we were waiting for various things to slot into place. There are so many hurdles that you can forget to be excited by it all.

The bottom line is the UK cannot control the majority of the immigrants because they are internal EU migrants and have every right to travel and work in the UK so any grandstanding by politicians is just codswallop.

"How much are second hand cars in Brisbane?"

About four cats.

I think the key is being able to live away from the overpriced large cities, unless of course you're on a massive salary.

And that's a major benefit of Adelaide - it's a large city with affordable housing. The house we have here would cost around seven or eight times more in my hometown and yet we're an effortless 30 minute drive from the CBD.

Hi,Julie,

Thankyou for your reply, we received our visa last year,which took 18. months in all.

we are going to Adelaide SA We have been out twice and enjoyed our stay.my Son took us to lots of places

including Clarence Vale where they make the Wine.

Last year when we were over there, we got our Medicare sorted out and opened a Bank Account.

The house is up for sale,so when it's sold we will be on our way hopefully.

I wish you luck with everything, and I am sure you will have a better life in Oz.

Warm Regards

Joan

That's McLaren Vale, Joan. Just on our doorstep. Is the 143 CPV the expensive one or the one with the long waiting list? If the latter I wondered how long you had to wait- when you applied for it? I thought they were ending it.

The last free movement en masse in the Commonwealth meant millions of Asian subcontinentals and West Indians moving to London, which you might have noticed has not gone down particularly well with many people. This is talking about something different from the Commonwealth - it's cherry-picking four English-speaking countries - which is a good thing IMO and I would love freedom of movement between them, but I can assure you the governments of these nations will never do this.

Providing you can get visas for either, then you're spoilt for choice. I've never been to NZ, but really want to go there. The weather seems nicer, and the topography more varied and within easier travelling distance. On the other hand, it's a much longer flight to civilization than Australia, and also the NZ government have been running a programme to try and entice NZ citizens back to the country because so many are leaving. In fact around 55,000 move to Australia every year, so that might tell you something. Also, people with Australian PR or nationality have more rights in NZ than people with NZ PR or nationality have in Australia, so that might be another thing to consider for long-term plans.

When should we start the cull?

At dawn.

As I say in the Farage thread, the optimum population is 30 million, which was reached in approx. 1890. However, no reason this can't get much bigger so long as infrastructure can be paid for. Obviously in the UK there are limits because it's so small, but look at Australia - much of the north has the same climate Indonesia where 250 million people. The north of Australia could support 50 million or even 100 million easily - but there is no money for the infrastructure, it has to be developed in phases.

Hi folks, my husband and I are spending one short week in Perth in November this year to try and gain as much of an insight into life in Australia as possible before we decide whether or not to emigrate with our three children. Just wondered if anyone could advise us of things that are a 'must do' in our week,any good schools to potentially try and look around,any nice suburbs to look around for property etc,any suburbs to avoid,any info would be gratefully appreciated. thanks in advance.

I would deliberately go to the "suburbs to avoid" one afternoon, just to get a proper understanding of Australian life. We have a much higher standard of living here, but we also have our bogans as well. You'll go home much better informed than if you just spend the week looking at nice houses and drinking in pubs on the Swan River.

There's no absence of culture in Australia at all, if we're talking about art, etc., and in fact it's much more accessible to me now than it was when I lived in the sticks in England. What there is an absence of in Australia is architectural stuff, for obvious reasons, and also homegrown culture, which is practically non-existent. That frustrates me.

Speak for yourself.

 

I've spent weeks when I was in my 20's touring all the art galleries, museums etc. These days I'd rather just watch a good documentary about them from the comfort of my armchair :wink: Travelling doesn't really interest me anymore neither do the crowds of tourists usually packing these places :dull:

A good point. I definitely miss weekend breaks in Europe, but having seen so much of it, and USA as well (nearly all the major cities except Chicago and Seattle) I can wait for more. The debate we have is that Australia obviously is a superior place to raise a family for so many reasons ranging from childcare support, education levels, access to services, lower stress with zero traffic & house prices (might be just an Adelaide thing), etc., but on the other hand the absence of family is a major thing for us, and nipping over to Paris or Rome is another. I have noticed though that the two things I miss about the UK aren't inherent to the place at all - family and Europe!

Whatever you think of any of them I enjoy the differences between UK and Australian politics.

It didn't cost us that either, but then we were a childless couple and we didn't have much in the way of furniture or belongings to bring. An established family with kids is a different story.

 

And I do notice you say that you "couldn't afford to go back in the foreseeable future" when you came to Australia. Some people might find that a motivation to make ti work, others might just feel trapped.

Sorry Marisa, what was the context of my saying the foreseeable future bit? I can't recall.

I don't agree with this, unless the OP is very well off. If they were buying a farmhouse in the Loire or moving to Cornwall, the move would cost them a mere fraction of what the move to Oz will cost, so undoing it wouldn't be too painful. However, few families with children can contemplate spending over $100,000 on relocation costs there and back, for the sake of a few years' adventure in Australia. That's why a failed migration can be so devastating for some families - they end up broke when they limp back to their original country.

It certainly didn't cost us even a small fraction of that amount, but even if it happened to, I think saving up for two or three years is all part of the adventure, to be honest. Nothing in this world is free, least of all experiencing life on the other side of the world. If you don't feel like that then I would advise against galavanting around the planet!

While it is natural to see "emigrating" as one-way and permanent, it really isn't like that. You're moving to Victoria but you could just as easily move on to New Zealand, or Queensland or even back to England or buy a farmhouse in the Loire in five years. You just don't know. Don't look at it like emigrating, the word brings too much weight, see it as a simple adventure and life experience and see what unfolds. As for advice about what might make it work - accept your new home for what it is and dump pre-existing fantasy ideas about what you think it's going to be. So, buena suerte, as they say in Santiago!

Only one paper supports Labour. 12 support the conservatives.

That is somewhat disingenuous as the Guardian, Observer, Mirror, Sun, Daily Mail, Times, FT, and Independent have at one time i recent history supported Labour, and many would again, especially the first three.

Debates like this always go against the incumbent, but that's part of being PM. Cameron was a coward to back out but he can't let them go ahead without him so he'll have to u-turn.

What's an English drawl though? :err:

Zummerzet maybe?

I grew up in Britain and Australia and had both accents as a child. Today, my accent is southern English and always will be I presume. However, I do use a lot of Australian words and terms but these were acquired in childhood, not as an adult. I once saw one of the Brits in Oz programmes and there was this English guy on a beach being interviewed. He'd been in Australia a matter of weeks and had a full-on Croc Dundee accent, which was obviously fake and totally ridiculous. I think as an adult your accent won't change unless you're faking it, at least not for a very long time. I know someone who has been in Aus for maybe 20 - 25 years and even she has only the vaguest hint of an Aussie accent.

Tough stuff, and no real answers. My family supported us, my wife's family did not, but kept their lack of enthusiasm to ignoring the whole thing and never saying anything nice about it, rather than actively being difficult, although there was a brief time when we needed somewhere to stay before we left and we asked them - they said no and tried to talk us out of going. Luckily my family stepped in and lent us a house. I know it's tough, but I'll never forgive them for their attitude even if we move back, so it's just not worth it. You must support your kids in what they want to do. It's their life, not yours, and the grandchildren are not amusements for grandparents but your kids, and you are offering them an amazing adventure in life.

Enjoyed talking religion with you NWM. Good luck and enjoy your free time!