Andy, Paula & co Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 i for one am not prepared to delude myself into thinking that moving to oz will be the answer to all problems. inevitably there will still be a certain ammount of stress and anxiety that is par for the course but i feel that as a mother of three boys i have a certain amount of responsiblity to try and ensure that they have the best opportunities possible. i only wish i had decided to move to oz earlier. as i said i have three boys 18, 8 and 5. my 18 year old has been on an aprenticeship as a brickie since leaving school, he is now a qualified brickie but can he find any decent work?.. no all the work is taken by EU immigrants who are prepared to work longer hours than is really acceptable or legal, live in three bedroomed houses with up twenty other EU workers and send the money back home. to my horror, as a result my son has now committed himself to the army, the thought of which absolutely terrifies and maddens me. my son is a hard worker and instead of sitting on his a*** when he left school decided to get himself a trade but what good has it done him... i feel that i cannot risk this with my other 2 boys and so am prepared to take the risk of trying a life in oz. if it doesnt work out then so be it. as for someone mentioning the fact that there is no state pension in oz, by the time most of us come to pension age there will be no state pension in britain or an NHS, so if given the choice of being old, poor and needy in uk or oz i think most would prefer to be old, poor and needy whilst looking at blue skyies and sunshine rather than grey smog and rising council tax bills. anyway just my opinion Paula :daydreaming: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Les & Woz Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi Paula I agree with all you say and can't wait to get to Oz and try and make a new and more fulfilling life. At least we will have tried whether it works out or not. Les :v_SPIN: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy, Paula & co Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi Les, i'm with you. all we can do is try and if it all goes pear- shaped than at least we'll know we tried it. there will be no what ifs in ten-twenty years time. i would rather be skint, bored, hate my job etc where the sun is shining and know that i tried to give my boys a decent chance at a better life. british society is at an all time low and no government will ever be able to change that now. educating kids about citizenship and taking pledges is all well and good but in a murder case local to me a 15 year boy stamped a girl to death in a Bacup park and whilst the court case was in process his parents laughed and joked all the way through with no regard for the victims family. if the parents are instilling this behaviour in their kids is it not true that new labours initiatives have completely missed a generation and therefore it is too little too late. i appreciate oz will have the same kind of issues but in no way can i see how it could be to the same extent. my mum just returned from a trip to oz (albany) she told me go for it. she said it is clean, the kids she met were all really respectful and people on dole were giving back to society by taking part in voluntary work she also said it was like being on a different planet to the uk. so i will give it a go...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrammies Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 There maybe no state pension as such but you are forced to save 9% of your wages and i dare bet that gives you more income than a state pension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy, Paula & co Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 well if thats the case then brill.. i would rather be forced to save 9% of my wage for my old age than forced to pay over 9% of my wage on rip-off bills car insurance where those that pay supplement those that dont and council tax that goes up way beyond inflation for services that are c*** anyway... does anyone know why my council sweep the streets with a little machine thingy with two men sat in it.. why does it take two of them to scatter the rubbish even further afield than the 70 mph gales are blowing it. wot is all that about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shar07 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I totally agree with you, I just want a better life for my 2 children. If it does not work out so be it at least we would have tried it. Im not wearing rose tinted specs and know that oz has its problems too but as you say I would rather be sitting in the sun and having problems than here. I think you just have to give it a go and good luck to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cantwait Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi I couldn't agree more with the above posts. :smile: I am also a strong believer in not regretting the things you do, only the things you don't. If we get there and hate it, we'd never come back here. I would try America, Spain, Cyprus (not necessarily in that order), but like I said, we'd never return to UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy, Paula & co Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi I couldn't agree more with the above posts. :smile: I am also a strong believer in not regretting the things you do, only the things you don't. If we get there and hate it, we'd never come back here. I would try America, Spain, Cyprus (not necessarily in that order), but like I said, we'd never return to UK. it is the thought of having those regrets which urges me to continue with my mission. if i cant get to oz for whatever reason i may even try canada even tho its very cold there in most places... i once watched a film' grumpy old men' at the end one of them said "your greatest regret in life will be the chance you didnt take to find happiness". this is so true and if we all keep this in mind it may make more sense of why we are putting ourselves through all the stress of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alisonstevens Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hi Les, i'm with you. all we can do is try and if it all goes pear- shaped than at least we'll know we tried it. there will be no what ifs in ten-twenty years time. i would rather be skint, bored, hate my job etc where the sun is shining and know that i tried to give my boys a decent chance at a better life. british society is at an all time low and no government will ever be able to change that now. educating kids about citizenship and taking pledges is all well and good but in a murder case local to me a 15 year boy stamped a girl to death in a Bacup park and whilst the court case was in process his parents laughed and joked all the way through with no regard for the victims family... Hi Paula, I feel as you do. I dont know if it is politics or whether people are changing, I feel it is more the latter. We have lived in this house for 21 years and in this area all our lives. I am 45 my OH is 44. Throughout the past 20 years there have been minor incidents from kids an adults alike towards sometimes due to our being Jehovahs Witnesses. However we still have the same cultural background as the majority of our peers. So what do you make of this? A couple of weeks ago my youngest son (9) was punched in the face again!! This time I decided to try and talk to the mother, maybe invite them over to us for lunch or something just to try and alleviate the problems. Every time her son (11) sees mine outside he assaults/insults him to the point that Andrew (my son) immeditely comes home as soon as the other boy appears. Anyway I go to try and speak to her and all I get is eff this and that and if I dont "go away" she will effin batter me. So I go to leave and am walking back tward my house and she decides to attack me anyway punches me in the face twice and pulls my hair out! Dont get me wrong I wanted to whoop her ass but all I can think of is "police check -police check" so I walked away. Then she goes to start on my 17 yr old daughter because she had dared to try and get the boys to shake hands. I called the police worrying about MY name then appearing in a bad light re. police report!. Anyhoo upshot is if she admits to assaulting me and has no other criminal history she will walk away with a caution! Even tho incident witnessed by other neighbours (and embarrassingly ALL the kids!) Watsthatallabout? I want to get away from here because people are so Angry, and there is no reasoning with them. I am not a scaredy cat, I was not brought up religious and know how to stick up for myself. However there is so much crime that the police dont have the time to pursue minor incidents like mine (lets face it I wasnt seriously hurt unlike the poor girl you mentioned). Understandably the police dont want to get involved with scraps between children, they should be able to leave that to the parents. Generally if people get away with anti-social behaviour they continue to act up. Blame it on the weather but like its been said I would rather face these trials in a place where the sun shines, at least I could sit n chill in the garden with friends and nice cold beer!. House prices here dont allow us to move away and buy the same size house elsewhere. At our age its time for a new start b4 its too late. In the words of Forest Gump " thats all I have to say about that.":smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy, Paula & co Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 i am so sorry about the experiences you and your family are having to endure but must say that it comes as no surprise to me. i have not been the target of such discrimination etc but have had the mis-fortune to work with teenagers that inflicted such hurt and disrepect on others. i believe that we are born with the capability of being bad which develops throughout childhood if not reigned in by decent responsible parents. in this case it sounds to me like this family has little chance of keeping their offspring on the straight and narrow and being decent members of society whilst they are displaying such behaviour themselves. as a social worker i deal with many families like this and find it so disheartening that we are expected to change and rehabilitate these individuals when parents make this an impossible task. as in the case of the girl who was murdered i worked with the young man charged with her murder and his rather extended family. the mentality of these people is that to get an ASBO is to wear a badge of honor and if the parents dont have one then they are not considered to be a 'hard' family. it doesnt matter which county or town that we live in these problems are throughout our country and is what is making us all want to flee to something better. i fear for my kids like a decent parent should do and i do not intend to take pleasure in my 'kid being excluded for butting a teacher' as some do. as i said in previous post things cannot get better now, it is too late a full generation has been missed. i have 3 boys 18, 8 and 5. the 18 year old soon to go in army never had a days worry with him and never been in trouble. the 8 and 5 year old already insist on wearing sweaters with hoods up because it is already instilled in them at school and such, that this is the thing to do and you're not cool if you dont. please just let me get them out of here and away to sun and surf. we too couldnt afford to buy bigger or better in this country and even if we could i wouldnt want to. the kids in oz are being taught from an early age the art of respect and consideration and i want this for my boys. the question of whether its politics or people in my mind is easily answered. policies in this country are made by mid-upper class people who do not live as we have to and do not experince things as we do. they are all pc mad and love spouting about communities etc... wake up there are very few communities left in this country who will support each other without some ulterior motive. some may think that i am somewhat negative but i prefer to call it realistic... sorry for waffling but feel very strongly about these type of issues which is why i need to flee before i explode... with regrds the cold beer in garden i might join you if we ever get there... keep your chin up and dont let them get you down..dont forget they will never have the chance to do what we are trying to do so leave them to it. in my experience people like them enjoy their sad lives living in relative squalor (bit like pigs in s*** really) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest karen111 Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 i am so sorry about the experiences you and your family are having to endure but must say that it comes as no surprise to me. i have not been the target of such discrimination etc but have had the mis-fortune to work with teenagers that inflicted such hurt and disrepect on others. i believe that we are born with the capability of being bad which develops throughout childhood if not reigned in by decent responsible parents. in this case it sounds to me like this family has little chance of keeping their offspring on the straight and narrow and being decent members of society whilst they are displaying such behaviour themselves. as a social worker i deal with many families like this and find it so disheartening that we are expected to change and rehabilitate these individuals when parents make this an impossible task. as in the case of the girl who was murdered i worked with the young man charged with her murder and his rather extended family. the mentality of these people is that to get an ASBO is to wear a badge of honor and if the parents dont have one then they are not considered to be a 'hard' family. it doesnt matter which county or town that we live in these problems are throughout our country and is what is making us all want to flee to something better. i fear for my kids like a decent parent should do and i do not intend to take pleasure in my 'kid being excluded for butting a teacher' as some do. as i said in previous post things cannot get better now, it is too late a full generation has been missed. i have 3 boys 18, 8 and 5. the 18 year old soon to go in army never had a days worry with him and never been in trouble. the 8 and 5 year old already insist on wearing sweaters with hoods up because it is already instilled in them at school and such, that this is the thing to do and you're not cool if you dont. please just let me get them out of here and away to sun and surf. we too couldnt afford to buy bigger or better in this country and even if we could i wouldnt want to. the kids in oz are being taught from an early age the art of respect and consideration and i want this for my boys. the question of whether its politics or people in my mind is easily answered. policies in this country are made by mid-upper class people who do not live as we have to and do not experince things as we do. they are all pc mad and love spouting about communities etc... wake up there are very few communities left in this country who will support each other without some ulterior motive. some may think that i am somewhat negative but i prefer to call it realistic... sorry for waffling but feel very strongly about these type of issues which is why i need to flee before i explode... with regrds the cold beer in garden i might join you if we ever get there... keep your chin up and dont let them get you down..dont forget they will never have the chance to do what we are trying to do so leave them to it. in my experience people like them enjoy their sad lives living in relative squalor (bit like pigs in s*** really) wow thank god someone who finally says what she/he means. i couldn,t agree with you more and couldn,t have said it better. we live in a supposed 'good area' rubbish, i dont think there are any 'good area,s' left, even if there were some yob would make sure they ruined it. we aren,t snobs ... god far from it i just beleive kids should be kids..what sold me on oz was when i heard that children in oz actually behave and dress like children, not like some round our way, who think it,s 'sweet to dress their 9/10 yr olds as little mini me,s and then sit there and wonder why their kids grow up so fast. our 10yr old son wont go out to play at all, as the one time he did, he got punched to the floor and then the same lot put his best freind (also 10) in hospital for 4 days after beating him so badly whilst walking home from school that he had a broken wrist and severe concussion the lads that did it got caught, but that doesn,t help my son or his freind. i personally cant wait to get away from uk my best freind was also a child social worker, she trained for years for that job and packed it in after 3 years before she had a nervous breakdown, she said at the time it wasn,t becouse of some of the things she heard and saw (that was bad enough) but rather the mentality from some of the parents of these kids that drove her to quit, she is now a drugs rehabilitations officer in a prison and says thats a dodle compared to trying to work with some of our lovely teenage society. dont it make you proud to be british? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlswood Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hi Les, i'm with you. all we can do is try and if it all goes pear- shaped than at least we'll know we tried it. there will be no what ifs in ten-twenty years time. i would rather be skint, bored, hate my job etc where the sun is shining and know that i tried to give my boys a decent chance at a better life. british society is at an all time low and no government will ever be able to change that now. educating kids about citizenship and taking pledges is all well and good but in a murder case local to me a 15 year boy stamped a girl to death in a Bacup park and whilst the court case was in process his parents laughed and joked all the way through with no regard for the victims family. if the parents are instilling this behaviour in their kids is it not true that new labours initiatives have completely missed a generation and therefore it is too little too late. i appreciate oz will have the same kind of issues but in no way can i see how it could be to the same extent. my mum just returned from a trip to oz (albany) she told me go for it. she said it is clean, the kids she met were all really respectful and people on dole were giving back to society by taking part in voluntary work she also said it was like being on a different planet to the uk. so i will give it a go...... Andy you will find there is just as much crime and trouble with society over here as there is back in the UK...the sun is out a lot in the summer but when you only see it one day a week because of work it kinda loses its shine. I really think people coming over to Oz should hear the bad as well as the good to get a balanced view before they come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alisonstevens Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I agree with karen and Paula, When I received this reply I was so relieved- not that others have had bad experiences -but it made me feel a lot less isolated. Since then on two occasions my 12 year old has been to the shop just around the corner. Both times he has been set upon by groups of his peers and physically assaulted, as were the friends that he was with-the first time a boy the same age was with him and the second time he was with a girl. On both occassions girls were among the assailants. It makes me so angry!! Just like your friend I want out of here before its me that does some stupid revenge thing that gets me into trouble because these "poor neglected" little b**** have had sad lives. Earlswood-Dont get me wrong I know that there is crime and violence everywhere even in AU and NZ (thinking of going there too) but I still would like to give it a go. Even if it doesnt work it would be an experience eh? Just thinking about it calms me down haha ah! If you think that makes me niave then good for you, but I dont think anyone contemplating such a drastic move to the other side of the world does it without wieghing things up real carefully before actually heading over. Hopefully you are just worried in case anyone of us makes a mistake but ateotd people can (and do) return to UK and whatsmore live to tell the tale!:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy, Paula & co Posted April 3, 2008 Author Share Posted April 3, 2008 hi earlswood, i appreciate that you are wanting us folks to understand that the grass isnt always greener but you seem to be really down on oz. is it really that bad? is there really no chance of us poms finding the kind of life we so want over in oz. lensign keeps saying we will be hated but how come the canadians dont think like that. do you reckon its cos we cut from the same cloth as most of them and they dont want to admit it. we not all lager louts wearing union jack shorts and socks with sandals as you will know..by the way if you really dont like it how come you never left or tried somewhre else Paula Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders clan Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I have a question for earlswood and anyone else experiencing the crime in Oz. How are ther offenders dealt with? On my understanding punishment occurs in Oz, is this right? What powers do the police have? What's the government's view on punishment? Obviously, I had a few questions, not just the one. I have also calmed down greatly from yesterday and would like to inform everyone that actually I am a very placid individual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I have a question for earlswood and anyone else experiencing the crime in Oz. How are ther offenders dealt with? On my understanding punishment occurs in Oz, is this right? What powers do the police have? What's the government's view on punishment? Obviously, I had a few questions, not just the one. I have also calmed down greatly from yesterday and would like to inform everyone that actually I am a very placid individual! OK I know you are not going to like this answer but the general feeling amongst Australians is that offenders are not punished. If anything we are more PC than UK in some situations and magistrates will deliver a gentle tap on the wrist with a wet noodle and excuse offenders because of all sorts of "nasty experiences" in their backgrounds. Take for example a man in our area who was a serial rapist - 18 months but with time served etc is almost out within a few weeks of his trial. Poor man, indigenous, couldnt read, bad background blah blah blah. Or the group of men who gang raped a 10 year old - judge said she "consented" and they just got a warning - "this happens in indigenous communities". Both of those examples were about indigenous people but it doesnt really matter, the same goes for anyone with a half smart defence lawyer. If that is the standard for things like rape you can imagine how lesser crimes get treated. Did I say wet noodle wrist slap? Perhaps wagged limp finger is more like. We did have one NSW magistrate who consigned a group of young men to something like 50 years for racially based gang rape for which the community applauded but the civil libertarians screamed blue murder. So, simple answer is that the general community would consider sentences to be seriously unrepresentative of community expectation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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