fifi69 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I'm just back from an unplanned two week trip to the UK. I Didnt expect to see much difference , I've only been gone 21 months. I wasnt there for a holiday or happy reasons but these are my own reflections. The weather was horrible, so so cold, I had to do an emergency clothes shop for boots, coat etc. don't remember April being that bad, but to be fair the sun did come out for the last three days and its true it does make such a difference. Found it to be expensive, which living in Perth I really Didnt expect. So many things seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds, ie we've been pricing up a theatre room suite here in Perth, say we would pay $2000, a similar suite in the shops there would be £2000. That was the case for so many things, the most shocking by far though was the price of fuel, again what it costs me in dollars to fill my car here, it cost the same in pounds there. a friend who used to have a 50 min commute to work, is now working nearer to home. It saves him £300 a month. Eating out I Didnt find any cheaper on a like for like basis, but at least you do have a choice of going cheaper if you want, to the likes of weatherspoons, also supermarket cafes are great for getting a cheap breakfast. tv is so much better in the UK :wink:. The housing market looks to be on the up, which is good, but I thought what you were getting for your money Didnt equal good value. Shops, pubs, restaurants seemed busy, plenty of new posh cars on the road. Could of been because it was Easter but the place came across as being on the up, def not as downbeat as it seemed when we left. Although I already knew that Aussie humour was different, this was reaffirmed. Def can't beat british humour. one of the biggest bug bears for me was travelling from the north of Scotland to Yorkshire and back again was bloody roadworks, cones and average speed cameras, what is it with the UK and roadworks. Oh, the M1 being upgraded to a smart motorway....what the hell is one of them when its at home?? On the parts of motorway that Didnt have roadworks, it was nice to be able to get some proper speed up though. Much better drivers in the UK in general. talking of roads, and this may only be a Sheffield problem, potholes that shatter your teeth. Just pothole after pothole. Those roads need to be condemned. the nicest thing though about being back was seeing family:jiggy:. It's true I love living in Perth and maybe even appreciate it more now.....but being back does mess with your head :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 On the parts of motorway that Didnt have roadworks, it was nice to be able to get some proper speed up though. Much better drivers in the UK in general. talking of roads, and this may only be a Sheffield problem, potholes that shatter your teeth. Just pothole after pothole. Those roads need to be condemned. The potholes are so much worse I think because of all the rain last winter. The roads in Surrey are the worst I have ever known. This also explains the high amount of roadworks with so many roads being resurfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I'm just back from an unplanned two week trip to the UK. I Didnt expect to see much difference , I've only been gone 21 months. I wasnt there for a holiday or happy reasons but these are my own reflections. The weather was horrible, so so cold, I had to do an emergency clothes shop for boots, coat etc. don't remember April being that bad, but to be fair the sun did come out for the last three days and its true it does make such a difference. Found it to be expensive, which living in Perth I really Didnt expect. seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds, ie we've been pricing up a theatre room suite here in Perth, say we would pay $2000, a similar suite in the shops there would be £2000. That was the case for so many things, the most shocking by far though was the price of fuel, again what it costs me in dollars to fill my car here, it cost the same in pounds there. a friend who used to have a 50 min commute to work, is now working nearer to home. It saves him £300 a month. Eating out I Didnt find any cheaper on a like for like basis, but at least you do have a choice of going cheaper if you want, to the likes of weatherspoons, also supermarket cafes are great for getting a cheap breakfast. tv is so much better in the UK :wink:. The housing market looks to be on the up, which is good, but I thought what you were getting for your money Didnt equal good value. Shops, pubs, restaurants seemed busy, plenty of new posh cars on the road. Could of been because it was Easter but the place came across as being on the up, def not as downbeat as it seemed when we left. Although I already knew that Aussie humour was different, this was reaffirmed. Def can't beat british humour. one of the biggest bug bears for me was travelling from the north of Scotland to Yorkshire and back again was bloody roadworks, cones and average speed cameras, what is it with the UK and roadworks. Oh, the M1 being upgraded to a smart motorway....what the hell is one of them when its at home?? On the parts of motorway that Didnt have roadworks, it was nice to be able to get some proper speed up though. Much better drivers in the UK in general. talking of roads, and this may only be a Sheffield problem, potholes that shatter your teeth. Just pothole after pothole. Those roads need to be condemned. the nicest thing though about being back was seeing family:jiggy:. It's true I love living in Perth and maybe even appreciate it more now.....but being back does mess with your head :confused: Would love to put the $2000 and the £2000 suite side by side. I'm afraid as much as people say about prices being similar , the quality here is truly shocking. You want a good quality suite.. Nearer $6000 I feel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londongal76 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 The potholes are the country over, they started about 3 winters ago and haven't bloody been fixed. After the floods they're now even worse, and even though there's money in central government to fix them, the local councils have cut costs back so much that they aren't getting anyone to do anything apart from temporary repairs which just come loose a week later. It's why i've stopped riding my motorbike pretty much. Some of them are deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tappers2oz Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 The potholes are so much worse I think because of all the rain last winter. The roads in Surrey are the worst I have ever known. This also explains the high amount of roadworks with so many roads being resurfaced. I agree, Surrey has some shocking ones! Moved to Cornwall last year and the locals moan about the pot holes they have here. Don't think they've seen 'proper' pot holes and are surprised when we describe how bad some were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasepom Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Couldn't agree more with your observations. The weather is a killer after living in Australia and the price of travel is shocking. The driving drives me crazy you just don't have the freedom to get around easily in the cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 My sister in law said prices were similar when she was here with me in March. As for the quality of the suite, why buy a good one, they throw them away with the breakfast cereal packets these days, just have to look at Gumtree for good quality second hand, people cannot get rid of them. Move house get new furniture it seems for most Aussies these days. I think its always hard though if people have close family in UK and of course the heart strings get tugged. Fortunately for me my parents moved so much I never got the time to have any touching relationships with my family so immune to missing them :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Sorry to hear about your trip back being for more urgent reasons than you'd like FiFi - but enjoyed reading your observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Not sure what the reasons to go back were but it doesn't sound like a good one so here's a :hug: Thanks for the update Fi. My OH's Brother is getting married in October and he wants us all to go. I'm soo not sure, its a long way and a lot of money and nearly 4 years on I just don't miss anything. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'm just back from an unplanned two week trip to the UK. The weather was horrible, so so cold, I had to do an emergency clothes shop for boots, coat etc. don't remember April being that bad... Found it to be expensive, which living in Perth I really Didnt expect. So many things seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds You've acclimatized! You don't realize how much your body adjusts to Aussie weather. I remember the same thing when I first moved here. The first winter in Sydney, I didn't need a heater at all and was walking around in t-shirts. The second winter I had the jumpers out. Then I went home to Aberdeen (in June) and had to go and buy some cardigans! I couldn't believe how cold it felt. As for the dollars being pounds thing - I remember that from my last visit and it's a worry. We're considering going back to the UK to retire. Looking online, it appears it would be much, much cheaper to buy or rent a flat in the UK than in Sydney, but if our living expenses will be higher, then we probably can't afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kungfustu Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'm just back from an unplanned two week trip to the UK. I Didnt expect to see much difference , I've only been gone 21 months. I wasnt there for a holiday or happy reasons but these are my own reflections. The weather was horrible, so so cold, I had to do an emergency clothes shop for boots, coat etc. don't remember April being that bad, but to be fair the sun did come out for the last three days and its true it does make such a difference. Found it to be expensive, which living in Perth I really Didnt expect. So many things seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds, ie we've been pricing up a theatre room suite here in Perth, say we would pay $2000, a similar suite in the shops there would be £2000. That was the case for so many things, the most shocking by far though was the price of fuel, again what it costs me in dollars to fill my car here, it cost the same in pounds there. a friend who used to have a 50 min commute to work, is now working nearer to home. It saves him £300 a month. Eating out I Didnt find any cheaper on a like for like basis, but at least you do have a choice of going cheaper if you want, to the likes of weatherspoons, also supermarket cafes are great for getting a cheap breakfast. tv is so much better in the UK :wink:. The housing market looks to be on the up, which is good, but I thought what you were getting for your money Didnt equal good value. Shops, pubs, restaurants seemed busy, plenty of new posh cars on the road. Could of been because it was Easter but the place came across as being on the up, def not as downbeat as it seemed when we left. Although I already knew that Aussie humour was different, this was reaffirmed. Def can't beat british humour. one of the biggest bug bears for me was travelling from the north of Scotland to Yorkshire and back again was bloody roadworks, cones and average speed cameras, what is it with the UK and roadworks. Oh, the M1 being upgraded to a smart motorway....what the hell is one of them when its at home?? On the parts of motorway that Didnt have roadworks, it was nice to be able to get some proper speed up though. Much better drivers in the UK in general. talking of roads, and this may only be a Sheffield problem, potholes that shatter your teeth. Just pothole after pothole. Those roads need to be condemned. the nicest thing though about being back was seeing family:jiggy:. It's true I love living in Perth and maybe even appreciate it more now.....but being back does mess with your head :confused: good balanced post....thanks:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasepom Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Yeah nice post the weather is pretty horrible at times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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