flag of convenience Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Perseverance in all honesty. An absolutely necessary ingredient. And a lot of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 A love of 'water sports'? Coming from a $hit part of Britain? A hatred of cold weather? Being married to an Australian? A hankering for 'the good old days'? A deep sense of self loathing? Being 'anti immigration'? A positive attitude? Being a disaffected tradie? Having eye-wateringly right wing political views? WHICH ONE??! Or have I missed anything? The question is a bit like the meaning of life but I'll have a go, with your questions as prompting. A love of 'water sports'? Helps I'm sure. I used to like swimming, windsurfing and all sorts of sports in the UK and had a feeling that the climate would be better for any kind of water sport. Perth in particular looked a great place to windsurf. I wasn't wrong on that score. Only thing is I've got so much into Surf lifesaving type of sports that the windsurfer I bought sat unused in the shed for years. Didn't have enough time because of all the other sports I had taken up. Eventually went out on bulk collection to clear the shed up. Coming from a $hit part of Britain? Who knows what that is. We lived near Stockport, in a little village, Gee Cross. Quite liked where we lived and we both had decent jobs. Just got sick of the weather really. I have lived and worked in London and didn't like it one bit. I went to Uni in Birmingham and lived in student digs in Sparkhill for a couple of years. That could be classed as a $hit part of Britain in my opinion and it swayed me a little wondering what Britain would be like in say another 30 years. A hatred of cold weather? Neither me or the wife liked cold weather and was one of the main reasons we moved. Love the weather here. Being married to an Australian? Don't think it matters. As long as you both like living here then it's good. A hankering for 'the good old days'? What's those? A deep sense of self loathing? Don't even know what self loathing would feel like. Can't be healthy and I don't think it would make you a successful migrant. If you felt bad about yourself I don't think you are going to be happy anywhere. Being 'anti immigration'? Never gave it any thought when we emigrated what Australia's policies were on immigration. As long as we got in that's all we thought about. A positive attitude? Has to help no matter where you live. Being a disaffected tradie? Don't know what the disaffected bit has to do with it but tradies seem to do well here. I would have got more points from my trade quals. when we emigrated than my degree. Probably would have earned a lot more too but it would also have meant maybe working FIFO. As I've got older I've been glad I did a degree and work in IT, in an office environment. Wouldn't have fancied being in overalls and muck all day as I've gotten older. Having eye-wateringly right wing political views? I'm a Labour (Labor) voter from way back, so don't think this matters at all. I would guess most tradies would be Labour voters too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 The ability to fit in and adaptThe ability to appreciate the good things and take the bad with a pinch of salt To be honest, it's the ability to find happiness wherever you are If you can find happiness wherever you are why bother with the turmoil of leaving in the first place? Adventure can be had in any number of places for a fraction the cost and double the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Agree with most of that although saying that I already enjoyed AFL and Rugby League, so I guess i'm guilty there. Do hate the pretend Aussies who develop an accent within a week I would love to be able to get rid of my Derbyshire accent and sound like an Aussie. Not going to happen though. I met an old couple with strong Scottish accents in Mindarie last week. Got to asking how long we had been here and I thought they must be fairly new arrivals. They had been here since 1952.:laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 No one has asked the question 'WHAT is a successful migrant?' Is it someone who sticks it out to the bitter end, until death? Is it someone who manages at least 5, 10, 20 years? So then, WHAT is a successful migrant? By the same token, WHAT is a 'failed' migrant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I would love to be able to get rid of my Derbyshire accent and sound like an Aussie. Not going to happen though. I met an old couple with strong Scottish accents in Mindarie last week. Got to asking how long we had been here and I thought they must be fairly new arrivals. They had been here since 1952.:laugh: Surely when you go back to the UK they all say "my don't you talk like an Aussie now". The Americans thought I was an Aussie some 10 years before I'd even set foot in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 No one has asked the question 'WHAT is a successful migrant?' Is it someone who sticks it out to the bitter end, until death? Is it someone who manages at least 5, 10, 20 years? So then, WHAT is a successful migrant? By the same token, WHAT is a 'failed' migrant? Beat me to it - that was going to be my next question! I think it has to be until death - there are loads of folk that I know who manage just fine for 30-40 yrs then whammo they are desperate to move on. I don't think it makes them any less "successful". There is no such thing as a "failed" migrant just pragmatists who move on to somewhere that meets their needs better. Migration isn't an exam it's just another step in a life adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Hey Quoll, If you don't mind a personal question I was wondering. What happens if say you want to be buried in one country and your husband wants to be buried in another country ? It would be a problem wouldn't it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I agree-there is no such thing as a failed migrant. The experience of migration itself is a valuable one even if you only last 6 months. The disaffected tradie comment was a funny one though I do think that tradies probably thrive more than most over here. Lucky ducks. As to water sports- wouldn't know what to do if you held me at gunpoint though I do like a leisurely swim in the Summer. I came from London via Kenilworth in Warwickshire- not **** parts of the uk then, probably not now either. Self loathing? I imagine that says a bit about the OP really. Always voted Labour until the last shower got in and now I am waiting, waiting, waiting for some improvement and meanwhile I have jumped ship- like the majority of Aussies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 No one has asked the question 'WHAT is a successful migrant?' Is it someone who sticks it out to the bitter end, until death? Is it someone who manages at least 5, 10, 20 years? So then, WHAT is a successful migrant? By the same token, WHAT is a 'failed' migrant? If you go to the trouble of applying for and getting a permanent residency visa then I guess you must be thinking of becoming a successful migrant and staying in Australia. If, for some reason, you end up going back after a year or so of constantly moaning about Aus, the climate, the people, the politics then you could be called a failed migrant by a lot of people. Successful migrant is people like us I guess. We like it here, don't intend going back, call this home, in preference to the UK, kids seem to like it. Living the dream you could say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I would say someone who has become an Australian citizen, settled here and no intention of going back. You haven't qualified yet Harpo I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 No one has asked the question 'WHAT is a successful migrant?' Is it someone who sticks it out to the bitter end, until death? Is it someone who manages at least 5, 10, 20 years? So then, WHAT is a successful migrant? By the same token, WHAT is a 'failed' migrant? I would have thought this is simple. Successful means that overall you are happier with your new life than you ever were in your previous life. An unsuccessful migration would be if, overall, the opposite applied and you end up wishing you had stayed where you were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 I would say someone who has become an Australian citizen, settled here and no intention of going back. You haven't qualified yet Harpo I'm afraid. What a pile a stinking horse $hit parley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 A passion for pies - I believe that the Gold Coast will shortly have a pie-related theme park called Pie-Land. Heaven! I've had it on good authority that the Chicken and Mushroom Traveller Ride simply pisses all over anything that Alton Towers has got. Owning large numbers of vehicles which can stow or drag stuff. The more the better in my opinion. Something which makes use of the awesomely cheap petrol prices in Australia and can fit in a family of four, a dog, a beer fridge, a Hills Hoist, and a BBQ the size of Mount Martha and enough food to last a nuclear winter, for that perfect weekend away at Bonnydoon. A loathing for environmentalists. Seriously, this is our country. Well it is now we've moved here, and we don't want to hear any more of that greeny **** that you get from Sarah Hanson-Young when we're burning old plasma tellys in our back yards because they're a year old. We're right, she's wrong, and if she happens to be right, then we'll have carked it anyway by the time that Perth becomes the Venice of the Southern Hemisphere. She should just get herself a bloke and have some babies and leave the thinking to us. A poster that has the unusual and uncanny ability to look deep into the Australian psychic and come up with the meaning to life. Down Under style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Why ask then if that is the way you treat people who respond ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I would have thought this is simple. Successful means that overall you are happier with your new life than you ever were in your previous life. An unsuccessful migration would be if, overall, the opposite applied and you end up wishing you had stayed where you were. If only the reality of life was really that simple. It can equate the pull of two lovers with the inability to decide on either until something breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest66881 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Anything that's opposite to my thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 No one has asked the question 'WHAT is a successful migrant?' Is it someone who sticks it out to the bitter end, until death? Is it someone who manages at least 5, 10, 20 years? So then, WHAT is a successful migrant? By the same token, WHAT is a 'failed' migrant? ..........success as I migrant doesn't have a time frame.....! .........ones three year experience could be happier/more successful than a lifetimer.....ime/IMO ..........parts could be successful/happier....... ..........then things change...... ..........so then just because it no longer suits..... ...........does it become a failure....? ..........I don't think so..... ..........each experience is of value.....it shapes you..... .........if you look at things as successes...... ...........not failures..... ...........if you tried it...... ...........looked for the good bits.... ...........if it doesn't work out...... ...........you've at least achieved something...... ...........cured your curiosity?/tried somewhere new/experienced something that will have an impact on your life...... ...........it's up to the individual how they react to it...... ...........failure / success is in the eye of the individual....... ............a choice...... .............time frames are irrelevant IMO......tink X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Hey Quoll,If you don't mind a personal question I was wondering. What happens if say you want to be buried in one country and your husband wants to be buried in another country ? It would be a problem wouldn't it ? Neither of us wants to be buried but I envisage a mingling of ashes and chucking in both places unless we can give our corpses for science which is what we'd both prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Good idea for ashes. Not so good if it was burial - head here feet there wouldn't work. Must be a point of contention for some I imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I would have thought this is simple. Successful means that overall you are happier with your new life than you ever were in your previous life. An unsuccessful migration would be if, overall, the opposite applied and you end up wishing you had stayed where you were. But things change with time! At 10 yrs, even 20 yrs I would have been the epitome of successful migrant - never had a day's homesickness in my life (well, apart from being newly married and isolated in the Highlands of PNG with a man I'd had a long distance relationship with - there were a couple of days there when I might have scurried off home!). At 30 yrs I don't know if it was the stars, my hormones or my astrological sign but it was just the Wrong Place and I couldn't bear to be there any more. So I guess I was successful for 20+ yrs and a failure for the last 10. I know this isn't unusual BTW there are others on here who have a similar profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Good idea for ashes.Not so good if it was burial - head here feet there wouldn't work. Must be a point of contention for some I imagine. Bit of cryogenics then when both are ready to be planted we could be cut in half sagittaly and one half in each box and planted one here one there. Be a bureaucratic nightmare though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 If you can find happiness wherever you are why bother with the turmoil of leaving in the first place? Adventure can be had in any number of places for a fraction the cost and double the experience. Because my family are in Australia and I want to be with them. Because I love life there and feel so much more relaxed Because I've already made friends there even though I've only been for long holidays so far Because I feel at peace there and can see myself living there comfortably to the end of my days Because simply I love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapri Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Well speaking from someone who has not been a successful migrant and comparing myself to my 2 sisters who have been I would say that they both possess more selfishness (not in a nasty sense of the word) complete disinterest in social issues or world issues, more materialistic, and big desire to have the 'perfect' home with the big backyard - the Aussie dream! Also they both married Australians so that probably sealed the deal too. I'm a mental health nurse and have a huge interest in social issues, as do the majority of my colleagues, so I'm not sure I understand your logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 But things change with time! At 10 yrs, even 20 yrs I would have been the epitome of successful migrant - never had a day's homesickness in my life (well, apart from being newly married and isolated in the Highlands of PNG with a man I'd had a long distance relationship with - there were a couple of days there when I might have scurried off home!). At 30 yrs I don't know if it was the stars, my hormones or my astrological sign but it was just the Wrong Place and I couldn't bear to be there any more. So I guess I was successful for 20+ yrs and a failure for the last 10. I know this isn't unusual BTW there are others on here who have a similar profile. I would count you as a successful migrant twice over given that both times you migrated you have found more happiness than where you were before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.