Reasons to leave OZ

[Sol2Oz]

21.7% "other" - The reporting person needs to narrow some of those fields down - I can't imagine giving my boss a report with 21.7% "other" - the whole thing would have to be redone :cry:

[johnjinky]

So very many holes in that statement where would one begin?

 

i have trouble writing down things the way i feel my spelling and one thing and another are dreadful...would love to hear what you acctually mean by holes in the situation i wrote about...

[Mike@Bonbeach]

We came out here just over 5 years ago. If we were looking to emigrate now we would definitely look at the cost of housing.

2 things to consider.

Can you sell your house in the UK? and secondly what could you buy with that money in Australia.

When we came out here we sold our UK home in 1 week at a very good price and with the exchange rate of roughly 2.5$/GBP were able to buy a nice property outright here. At today's ER (1.5$/GBP approx)and with the UK housing market as it is there is no way we would consider it now, bearing in mind we are both retired and on a fixed pension income from the UK.

I guess you will be working so things would probably be a lot different. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Mike

[Sydneyhorn]

Hi exiled in Wales,

 

I think (and it seems to be backed up by the stats) that very few people return to the UK for negative reasons (e.g. they hate Australia!).

 

My wife and I came out here 12 years ago and had our son here (he's now 8). We have made the decision to return to the UK simply because we have "done" Australia and now we want to spend time back in the UK, especially while our son and his grandparents are all young enough to appreciate and get to know each other!

 

In my experience there are 3 types of people in the world :-

 

- Those that are totally satisfied with where they are and what they are doing. These are the people that stay in their home town and have no desire to move. I envy these people!

 

- Then there are those that want to experience new places and new ways of life. This is my wife and I. We are returning to the UK but will we stay there for good? We never say never and we never say forever either!

 

- Then there are those people that are not happy where they are but always come up with some reason not to move. There are plenty on this forum who talk about moving to Australia but "not now". I have lots of friends back home like that who always say how lucky I am living here but, when I ask them why they don't do it themselves, they come up with some (normally lame) excuse about why the time is not right and "may be they will one day". Some of them have simply left it too long and couldn't get a working visa now even if they wanted one.

 

I think those people in the last category will die with the most regrets. Sure, it doesn't always work out for those people that do come out here but you will never know if you don't try. I certainly would never class anyone who moves between countries as a "failure" whatever other poster say.

 

Do all the practical preparation that you can and then just go for it. And remember that nothing has to be forever.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Sydneyhorn

[Bob1]

I want to know the real downsides of life in Oz for a married couple with 4 kids (aged 2-12) compared to our current UK life.

 

I think this is the key factor - a lot depends on your current way of life. If you are surrounded by family and go to the Grandparents for Sunday lunch every week, and have Auntie looking after the kids after school etc, and have lived in the same town your whole life, then it will be tough. I have never lived near family since my kids were born so just had to get on with it. If you are resilient kind of people who can tough out the difficulties then that helps. Knowing that the first 6-12 months will be hard helps. You are going to long for things from home but it will get better and eventually things become familiar here.

Finances will also determine how easy it is too - if you are coming out to a well paid job and don't have to live on baked beans counting every penny then that will make it better. It really is a very individual thing - I was miserable on my first move to a foreign country but by the time I got to Oz I knew I had to make the effort - say yes to every invite even when I didn't want to do it, look for things to do, chat to people, volunteer for things at school - anything to make connections. Come with the right frame of mind and it'll help big time.

[RoseBrown1972]

I think it can be as simple as some people love it and some don't, I'm in the don't category and have friends who love it and don't know why I don't and don't know why they do. For me it comes down to prefer the life I had in the Uk but I can see why other people might prefer it here. We all come from different parts of the uk with different life experiences and then move to different parts of Oz and have different experiences so of course we all feel different once here.

 

Emotions aside on why I prefer my life in the UK, Out of the 15 couples we know, only one person works less than in the UK, the rest all work longer, harder and are all more stressed. It is expensive here, for us we earn to compensate but I know couple with kids who don't earn enough and financially are worse off. So I'd say make sure that you know job wise that you can afford to live the lifestyle you want/expect to have

[VERYSTORMY]

It depends a lot on the individual. People leave for a range of reasons. We very nearly left in January. The reasons for us were that i could earn similar money in the UK (had a job offer) which compared to the cost of living in Oz would be a higher standard of living. The reason we didnt was a combination of personal circumstances changing with family in the UK, me deciding that it wasnt best for my career and my wife deciding it wasnt the right time for her.

 

We probably will leave at some point in the next few years. The reason being that at that time it will be better for my career and while i have nothing against Oz and we enjoy ourselves here, i dont feel any pull to it either. We have lived in other countries and when we came it was just another one on the map that we had to do.

 

We are also now missing family as now my wifes brother has children and we would very much like to be part of their lives and after a couple of family tragedies of sudden dealths (my daughter and my wifes father) recently i think we are realising that although we werent a close family, it is maybe time as some are getting older to spend a bit of time with them before its too late.

[Somgirl]

hi there im gonna give you my honest opinion make of it what you will its just my experience...we moved here nearly 5 years ago with one child...we came after visiting my sister on holiday...we too were very exited and looked forward to the challenge .the first year or so was easy for me but not for my wife she struggled with the homesickness thing quite bad...i did notice however straight away how expensive it was for perscriptions etc etc.but it just never bothered me at the time...eventually my wife settled and things were cool i got (and still have)an extremley well paid job and we travelled around oz doing what we wanted..but as time went on i started to get pissed off with the whole racism attitude from MOST (not all)of the aussies i lived and worked with...there very anti indian very anti uk infact anti anyone who wasnt born here or anyone who isnt patriotic about australia...add this to the rising cost of day to day living it just isnt worth the hassle anymore...little example (AND BEFORE PEOPLE COMMENT WHO HAVE NEVER ACCTUALLY LIVED HERE I CAN PROVE THIS)my gas bill for 8 weeks was $185 that was the one before the one i recieved last week which was $420...thats the same 3 people living in the same house nothing different its just the increase..when i rang them they said they would send someone out to re read the meter but if it was right they would charge me $38 extra which they did when it was right...groceries is shocking really really shocking..$13 for a 2 ltr of ribena...these are facts which may sound trivial to most people but are important to know before you come...all that said australia is an amazimg place to visit melbourne has some amazing things to do and i have enjoyed alot of my time here...i would not ever ever tell anyone not to move here even if its just for the experiance but to us its just not worth it....one of the worst things is adults with oz accents..kids is ok cos thats natural although my son was 9 when we moved here his yorkshire accent is as strong as ever(THANK GOD) but uk adults greeting another uk adult with the term hey how you doing ..then the other replying yeah all good mate hows yourself in a false aussie accent makes me feel ill...its wrong emmbarresing so stop it now people out there..hope this helps a bit mate and good look with your journey

 

Just interested, are you planning on staying in Oz or relocating back to the UK?

[whatsitallabout]

The people we have met along our stay here returned for a number of reasons, homesickness, the high cost of living, the long working hours & the lack of making good friends. It is hard but these issues haven't really effected us yet! Was homesick but after 3 yaers here it has started to wear off (only a little bit)

[exiled in Wales]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and experiences. As a London boy living in Merthyr for the past 13 years I don't think any Aussie anti-uk attitude will bother me - I have gotten used to the veiled hatred of the Welsh. Don't see family much now anyway - if they visit for 3-4 weeks every other year we'll see them much more than we do now anyway. Gas bill seems shocking though - particularly as I presume this is just for cooking rather than any heating needs. The call out charge and the cost of Ribena are also considerations, we have found during the whole process that you have to pay through the nose for everything - we're already nearly £1,000 down getting qualifications accredited and stuff for the visa application.

 

Action one on my list - ship over a crate or two of Ribena :biglaugh:

 

As people have said on here the way I'm looking at it is: - definitely go for it, if we come back after a year or two then we've all had a nice long holiday and seen Australia, so nothing lost really. We won't sell up in the UK until we are sure we are staying in Oz - also from the reasearch I've done the Oz housing market seems to be in a bubble - the Economist has rated it as one of the most overpriced markets since 2009 so I won't be jumping into the bubble until I've been there a while and seen the situation for myself.

 

Thanks to all that have contributed so far, any more pitfalls of Australian life would still be gratefully received.

[fish.01]

you def need to go home mate, sounds like you've had a gutful. I've felt like that on previous 'tours'.

 

I can see where you're coming from re the rip off culture. Charging $38 for checking the meter is a good example, but its endemic in the retail and service industry.

 

Whilst I don't agree that Aus is a racist country (well no more racist than the UK), I totally appreciate the 'anti anyone who isnt patriotic about Australia', you see evidence of that all the time on here from both Aussies and Waussies alike. Its just something I don't (never will, never want to) understand. It's not something I want to be part of, I don't want my children brainwashed to think that way either. I want them to be proud of who/what they are (Aus/British) but not to view 'outsiders' with suspicion or a begrudging superficial acceptance (which in reality is just one step away from telling them to FI or FO).

 

To add another point of view, having grown up in Australia surrounded by "outsiders" who were just part of the furniture I disagree that it is more of an issue than a comparable place in other countries. Given that Australia has 24% of people born overseas and 46% of people with one parent born overseas I think it could even be argued that outsiders in the main would be more accepted than many other countries which generally have a far lower percentage of outsiders melded into the community.

 

I also don't agree that nationalism is more evident from Aussies and Waussies I observe on here than the other groups.

Edited August 8, 2012 by fish.01

[northshorepom]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and experiences. As a London boy living in Merthyr for the past 13 years I don't think any Aussie anti-uk attitude will bother me - I have gotten used to the veiled hatred of the Welsh.

To be fair to the Taffies, I lived there for years and was made to feel completely welcome from day one. Excellent people. I was a bit further south than Merthyr mind, but one of my mates came from there. The trick with fitting in in Wales is just to quickly be one of the "us" against "them" - whoever "they" are. No Welshman is happy unless he's having a feud of some sort - North Wales v South Wales, Cardiff v Swansea, Mountains v Valleys, Cynon Valley v Rhondda, Porth v Ponty, One side of Ponty v the other side of Ponty, Pub v Pub, Brother v brother, you name it. And if they're not having a feud, they're politicking via the "commiteeaay" - preferably of the Rugby Club. Lol, tribal, not half

 

 

Gas bill seems shocking though - particularly as I presume this is just for cooking rather than any heating needs.

Careful! Heating very much is required i much of Australia in winter and it can cost a bomb, especially if you're relying on electricity as many do. Nowhere in Victoria is going to be warm at this time of year at night. Lots of houses are also pretty poor at dealing with the cold, so the bills can mount up

 

 

As people have said on here the way I'm looking at it is: - definitely go for it, if we come back after a year or two then we've all had a nice long holiday and seen Australia, so nothing lost really. We won't sell up in the UK until we are sure we are staying in Oz - also from the reasearch I've done the Oz housing market seems to be in a bubble - the Economist has rated it as one of the most overpriced markets since 2009 so I won't be jumping into the bubble until I've been there a while and seen the situation for myself.

Good plan. Aussie housing market certainly isn''t going anywhere fast so there's no pressing need to jump on the ladder. Particularly if to buy you're reliant on UK capital brought over at current rubbish exchange rates

[blobby1000]

Oh my God, my perfect thread!!

 

Where can I start!!

 

I think for us its mainly four things:

 

1) After 2 years a real sense of not belonging here (yes, it may take longer than 2 years, but we feel it wont change)

 

2) Really not making any proper friends here....we have met nice people and we have acquantances but its not the close friendshipd we are used to

 

3) Missing England itself, the arcitecture, the culture, the sense of humour

 

4) Missing family and friends, not on a daily basis but not happy with the thought of never being physically close again and slowly becoming emotionally more distant as the years roll by.

 

5) Not really being that fond of Australia (but you cant really say that having only lived in 2 places)

 

6) A sense of going backwards....we are renting for the first time in 12 years with no real propsects of buying anywhere decent at these prices, not impressed with the schooling so far.

 

7) Other less important stuff: the drivers are terrible, the laws are very punitive, most people are impatient and rude.

 

8) the summer is far too hot for us (we could have figured that out before we came)

 

So that is in fact 8 things......

 

Essentially we missed the boat, the days of selling your house, multiplying the equity by 2.8 and buying a house on the beach are long gone......

[Rugby Lad]

To be fair to the Taffies, I lived there for years and was made to feel completely welcome from day one. Excellent people. I was a bit further south than Merthyr mind, but one of my mates came from there. The trick with fitting in in Wales is just to quickly be one of the "us" against "them" - whoever "they" are. No Welshman is happy unless he's having a feud of some sort - North Wales v South Wales, Cardiff v Swansea, Mountains v Valleys, Cynon Valley v Rhondda, Porth v Ponty, One side of Ponty v the other side of Ponty, Pub v Pub, Brother v brother, you name it. And if they're not having a feud, they're politicking via the "commiteeaay" - preferably of the Rugby Club. Lol, tribal, not half

 

Ha Ha!!!! So,so very true.

[northshorepom]

I played rugby for the town team as well, that probably helped in terms of fitting in, forgot about that

:wink:

[exiled in Wales]

To be fair to the Taffies, I lived there for years and was made to feel completely welcome from day one. Excellent people. I was a bit further south than Merthyr mind, but one of my mates came from there. The trick with fitting in in Wales is just to quickly be one of the "us" against "them" - whoever "they" are. No Welshman is happy unless he's having a feud of some sort - North Wales v South Wales, Cardiff v Swansea, Mountains v Valleys, Cynon Valley v Rhondda, Porth v Ponty, One side of Ponty v the other side of Ponty, Pub v Pub, Brother v brother, you name it. And if they're not having a feud, they're politicking via the "commiteeaay" - preferably of the Rugby Club. Lol, tribal, not half

 

 

 

All of the above is sooo true. I should clarify I meant the underlying acceptance of "anti-English" language and behaviour that would never be accepted if the recipients were black or asian. But I also agree the vast majority of the Welsh are lovely, I love them so much I married one and my 4 kids were all born here but they get comments about how they talk - because we speak in a way anyone outside of Merthyr would still understand - they assume my kids & my wife (who has lived her whole life in Wales) are also English.

 

So I am used to living with perochial types and getting on with them well - that is the point I was trying to make, albeit in a rather cack handed way.

 

I also appreciate in Victoria heating will be required in the Winter months, although we'll probably have the lowest bills in the neighbourhood - my eldest son is like a mini-Geordie playing football out in the snow in his T-shirt - they make them hard in Merthyr.

[northshorepom]

All of the above is sooo true. I should clarify I meant the underlying acceptance of "anti-English" language and behaviour that would never be accepted if the recipients were black or asian. But I also agree the vast majority of the Welsh are lovely, I love them so much I married one and my 4 kids were all born here but they get comments about how they talk - because we speak in a way anyone outside of Merthyr would still understand - they assume my kids & my wife (who has lived her whole life in Wales) are also English.

 

So I am used to living with perochial types and getting on with them well - that is the point I was trying to make, albeit in a rather cack handed way.

 

I also appreciate in Victoria heating will be required in the Winter months, although we'll probably have the lowest bills in the neighbourhood - my eldest son is like a mini-Geordie playing football out in the snow in his T-shirt - they make them hard in Merthyr.

 

lol

 

My mate grew up on the Gurnos. He was a good looking lad and totally cocky so when on the pull in Cardiff or on holiday would steam in to the prettiest girls in the place without any concern. I got SO much action as his wingman, providing translation services, it was untrue. Educated English bloke on the pull with a nutter from the worst council estate in the world (except perhaps Penrhys) was a magic combination for being so unusual

 

And anyway, I understand what they mean about assuming your family is English. As Chris used to say "Anywhere south of Ponty is more or less England anyway", not that they're tribal or anything, oh no

:wink:

[fish.01]

All of the above is sooo true. I should clarify I meant the underlying acceptance of "anti-English" language and behaviour that would never be accepted if the recipients were black or asian. But I also agree the vast majority of the Welsh are lovely, I love them so much I married one and my 4 kids were all born here but they get comments about how they talk - because we speak in a way anyone outside of Merthyr would still understand - they assume my kids & my wife (who has lived her whole life in Wales) are also English.

 

So I am used to living with perochial types and getting on with them well - that is the point I was trying to make, albeit in a rather cack handed way.

 

I also appreciate in Victoria heating will be required in the Winter months, although we'll probably have the lowest bills in the neighbourhood - my eldest son is like a mini-Geordie playing football out in the snow in his T-shirt - they make them hard in Merthyr.

 

Large Australians cities are very diverse demographically as no one city dominates and cities are large and sprawling. In Melbourne you could meet a "best country in the world" bogan to a sneering leftie and everything in-between. Don't believe any suggestion that they are like this or like that because your experience could be the total opposite depending on which part of the city you settle and which people you befriend.

[Skani]

Research on the internet often contradicts itself - looking at climate for Warragul I found figures that were contradictory to the testamony of a local I spoke to.

 

These are the official Bureau of Meteorology figures for Warragul, taken over many years.

 

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=85093

[Stovies]

The lemon trees are groaning with the weight of fruit just now.... but if you don't happen to have a lemon tree there are many places that have large boxes full with signs saying 'free lemons' that make up for the expense of the Ribena. Vitamin C is vitamin C.

 

Apart from that nugget of advice, I would say it all depends on what and where you are coming from. If you have a full on loving, family life with your relatives, I would say you will miss them. If your immediate family is your main and 'only' family then you perhaps stand a better chance of not sinking into the Titanical misery of homesickness. Have a look at my thread 'Think hard before you give it all up in Aus', it may show you a lot of sides of what moving away entails. We are happily back in Australia : ) but the emotional and financial costs of returning to the UK because of homesickness have been huge. I am soo soooo happy to be back but I did have a terrible reality check re family that I had left behind and 'pined' for in the UK. I was lucky to be able to come back. Factor in the possibility of going back to the UK for longish holidays if homesickness does set in, that would be my advice to you.

 

Best of luck with your decisions.

[jove]

Hoff I hear because of the oil and Gas industry, as well as the mining boom, Perth has become very pricey place to live.

 

Sure it is lovely place though. You would need to be on a good wage i think to truely enjoy the place the way it is supposed to be enjoyed LOL

[Guest SCF]

Hi, and the very best of luck to you and your family.

 

I honestly believe that when people move away from their native home they often don't have a sense of belonging and that's something that's very important for a lot of people.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Hoff I hear because of the oil and Gas industry, as well as the mining boom, Perth has become very pricey place to live.

 

Sure it is lovely place though. You would need to be on a good wage i think to truely enjoy the place the way it is supposed to be enjoyed LOL

 

We are lucky we will be on good wages, people need to make sure they get a wage close to 2.2 times their UK wage to have a decent standard of living.

[jove]

hey hoff do you think 70-80 k is enough for a good life in Adelaide?

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

hey hoff do you think 70-80 k is enough for a good life in Adelaide?

 

 

Theres been so many threads about this, its all up to a lot of variables, how many there are of you, what you spend on food, drink, rent, or mortgage, car loan etc, its too complicated, but i look at the $2.2 to £1 rate, or more like $2 to €1 where your from, so if you are earning €40,000 in Holland, are you managing OK on that?