Why move from the UK

[Chortlepuss]

The pubs in my home town of Lewes closed well before midnight. But they did have people in them. And no pokies. And really good beer.

[MARYROSE02]

No pokies?! How did they make any money!? That club I used to go to was a snooker club but I think they made their real profit from their 4 fruit machines.

 

To be fair, the pubs in Sydney almost all keep their pokies in separate bars so you hardly know they are there. If craft beers are your passion there are plenty of pubs which carry them, some exclusively, some along with the ubiquitous Tooheys New, VB & Carlton Draught. I don't care that much what they sell. I do like craft beers but I'm happy with Coopers. That club I went to in England had no CAMRA beers, just Fosters and John Smith but the people were great and it was my local. It is the same here and I go to the pubs where my friends go.

[speakeasy]

Everyday I'm thankful to be alive in Australia. I know I've got it good. I never really felt that way in the UK. But it was an experience. All those "cosmopolitan" cities.

 

Hot? Yeah, it's hot here. I've adapted by constructing a hammock outside drapped with a mosquito mesh... So now I get to sleep looking up at the stars.

[MARYROSE02]

That is a strange and wonderful experience swimming after dark and looking up at the stars so I guess it is much the same in a hammock!

[starlight7]

Oh yes- skinny dipping at midnight on the few Melbourne nights when it is so hot you don't want to go to bed. Our backyard is very private, incidentally, wouldn't want to frighten the horses! Love watching the little bats swoop around and listening to the odd owl call.Not to mention the big fat possums rustling around the place.

[ozglenn]

OH currently earns 5 times his previous salary.

 

May i ask what your OH does as i have never met any Brit that has arrived in OZ and earns 5 times the salary that they earned back in the Uk.

[ozglenn]

If we accept English summer temperatures as a definition of summer then summer in Adelaide is about nine months long.

 

LOL...i live in Adelaide and this past year has seen a very average summer and a cold start to Autumn. What you get in the uk is a more enjoyable summer without the extremities and lovely long summer days. Tonight we have the gas heating on in the hills.:huh:

[Cymru am Adelaide]

I am moving because of a few things.

 

1- I've always wanted to live abroad especially Australia

2- I have family in Australia

3- The weather and therefore lifestyle is the big bonus

4- I can earn way more as a nurse in oz than the UK plus the hospitals and work environment is better

5- Poor immigration in the UK which leads to people screwing our services -

6- The UK has nothing but trouble to come. I do not want to bring up any future child in such an environment.

7- Europe as beautiful as it is - its too close to danger

8- The british have become push overs -ozzies say it how it is and the honesty is a breath of fresh air!

9- Did i mention the sun will be shining!!

[ozglenn]

I am moving because of a few things.

 

1- I've always wanted to live abroad especially Australia

2- I have family in Australia

 

good enough reasons

 

3- The weather and therefore lifestyle is the big bonus

Depends on where you live in Oz sydney of late is dire on weather and lifestyle

 

4- I can earn way more as a nurse in oz than the UK plus the hospitals and work environment is better

Perhaps but an A&E nurse works hard here and the extra salary is paid for a reason eg housing and general expenses

 

5- Poor immigration in the UK which leads to people screwing our services -

 

I agree with you there but Australia is also becoming inundated with all and sundry.

 

6- The UK has nothing but trouble to come. I do not want to bring up any future child in such an environment.

Have you considered regional uk though like the SW?

 

7- Europe as beautiful as it is - its too close to danger

 

8- The british have become push overs -ozzies say it how it is and the honesty is a breath of fresh air!

 

Until OZ gets another ten years of Labor. All people are at the behest of big corps and the UN puppet masters and OZ is no different.

 

9- Did i mention the sun will be shining!!

 

Have you been to Melbourne or Sydney in June?

 

Best wishes with your plans.:smile:

[Cymru am Adelaide]

Im aware the sun does not always shine in Oz and a little rain does everyone good, however the weather in the UK can be depressing especially when it seems to rain for weeks on end.

 

after living in London for 2 years I would never want to live in a big city again Sydney its too big and busy and expensive although its nice for a visit.

 

A&E nurses work hard everywhere i don't think Ozzie nurses work any harder. It could be argued that nurses who are working in poorly run NHS hospitals with ridiculous staffing pressures and are being paid 12 pound an hour have a harder time.

 

I dont like the attitudes of the young today, the way they act and dress (I'm only 26) I have nephews in the UK and OZ and there is a huge difference in their nature this may have something to do with the age children change to secondary school or the fact they are into their outdoor activities rather than xbox and ipads. Yes it could also be argued that the parenting is a massive influence but both my sisters are very similar.

 

Oz is years behind the UK in many ways and it will take adjusting but thats what I like. Im sure it will eventually catch up. I heard Brisbane has an H&M now

 

Maybe I'm just an old women at heart.

[bristolman]

Im aware the sun does not always shine in Oz and a little rain does everyone good, however the weather in the UK can be depressing especially when it seems to rain for weeks on end.

 

after living in London for 2 years I would never want to live in a big city again Sydney its too big and busy and expensive although its nice for a visit.

 

A&E nurses work hard everywhere i don't think Ozzie nurses work any harder. It could be argued that nurses who are working in poorly run NHS hospitals with ridiculous staffing pressures and are being paid 12 pound an hour have a harder time.

 

I dont like the attitudes of the young today, the way they act and dress (I'm only 26) I have nephews in the UK and OZ and there is a huge difference in their nature this may have something to do with the age children change to secondary school or the fact they are into their outdoor activities rather than xbox and ipads. Yes it could also be argued that the parenting is a massive influence but both my sisters are very similar.

 

Oz is years behind the UK in many ways and it will take adjusting but thats what I like. Im sure it will eventually catch up. I heard Brisbane has an H&M now

 

Maybe I'm just an old women at heart.

 

After close to 30 years in Australia I can tell you that there is absolutely no difference between the youth in either country. Individuals are different of course but generally they are exactly the same. Also don't think for one second they are any less into their xbox and ipads, Aussie kids are just naturally into playing outside, again this is from experience.

[ozglenn]

Im aware the sun does not always shine in Oz and a little rain does everyone good, however the weather in the UK can be depressing especially when it seems to rain for weeks on end.

 

after living in London for 2 years I would never want to live in a big city again Sydney its too big and busy and expensive although its nice for a visit.

 

A&E nurses work hard everywhere i don't think Ozzie nurses work any harder. It could be argued that nurses who are working in poorly run NHS hospitals with ridiculous staffing pressures and are being paid 12 pound an hour have a harder time.

 

I dont like the attitudes of the young today, the way they act and dress (I'm only 26) I have nephews in the UK and OZ and there is a huge difference in their nature this may have something to do with the age children change to secondary school or the fact they are into their outdoor activities rather than xbox and ipads. Yes it could also be argued that the parenting is a massive influence but both my sisters are very similar.

 

Oz is years behind the UK in many ways and it will take adjusting but thats what I like. Im sure it will eventually catch up. I heard Brisbane has an H&M now

 

 

Maybe I'm just an old women at heart.

 

Oz is not really behind these days it's just a different culture as it's a new country. I also have nieces in OZ and they are no different than UK kids. Plenty of Brit kids go do sports and hobbies hence why England did so well in the Olympics.

 

If you don't want any grey days then my advice is to go to qld or Darwin not down south. I was back in England last summer and the weather was great and this winter has not been bad has it?

 

I'm surprised that registered nurses would be on wages in the UK, would have thought they would be salaried and on shift allowances. On another thread i remember somebody mentioned registered nurses were on 35k in the UK.

[bunbury61]

Oz is not really behind these days it's just a different culture as it's a new country. I also have nieces in OZ and they are no different than UK kids. Plenty of Brit kids go do sports and hobbies hence why England did so well in the Olympics.

 

If you don't want any grey days then my advice is to go to qld or Darwin not down south. I was back in England last summer and the weather was great and this winter has not been bad has it?

 

I'm surprised that registered nurses would be on wages in the UK, would have thought they would be salaried and on shift allowances. On another thread i remember somebody mentioned registered nurses were on 35k in the UK.

 

Each to their own cymru ...i respect your opinion ...have to disagree about the weather though ....in the main the u.k weather is becoming very acceptable .....not too hot ....not too cold either.....it may be a temporary pattern ,but I don't think so

[Chortlepuss]

Each to their own cymru ...i respect your opinion ...have to disagree about the weather though ....in the main the u.k weather is becoming very acceptable .....not too hot ....not too cold either.....it may be a temporary pattern ,but I don't think so

It may be because I'm from the south of England but have to agree with you - on all trips home (last one being 5 months long) we had superb weather - ideal for getting out and about - similar to weather experienced in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra without the wild wet days and without the really hot spells... But if you love heat, and can cope with the humidity - Brisbane is worth considering

[Petals]

Its all in our perception. I left UK as a child and lived around the world, returned to live there when I married. I found at the time that the UK was so backward and I could not believe the food and all that stuff. Of course that was a long while ago but its still the same word that comes into play, our perception of what a place is like. I like the UK but I like the Uk I knew and loved and its not like that now. Some like the Aus of old of course they do but its also changed a lot. However I like open space. I live in Melbourne but I love that I can drive for an hour or so and be in open space and not that many people around. I can go up Mount Buffalo etc the high country and there are people there but not the amount of people that are around in Europe and UK. So that is me, and people have to know themselves, knowing oneself is the barometer of whether you will like being a migrant or not. When a migrant we move to another country where people live their lives with their families etc and sometimes its difficult to break into that, just as it is for a migrant going to the UK. No different which way we go.

 

I have said this so many times on here, if you like your life in the UK, the other side of the coin is no better. The weather is different, the people have a different accent, but work is work, homelife is homelife and that is what is important.

[ozglenn]

 

 

Yes work is work and it's all the same and i can vouch for that after working in different lands and cultures. Getting employed is the most important aspect of life in any land lets face it and for most of us that is the crux.

[JockinTas]

I must be one of the few people who didn't move to Australia for the 'better' weather. I really don't care about weather though I suppose weeks of dull wet weather would get me down in the end. I actually like colder weather - like frosty days - but don't much like snow or fog. I also like the sun but don't like hot humid weather for a prolonged period. Nowhere has perfect weather though I lived in San Luis Obispo, California for over 2 years and the weather there was lovely - never too hot and never too cold but for other reasons I didn't want to live there.

[Burnett]

One of ours is considering spending some time in the UK, so I found a site for 2015 with UK food prices for a selection of supermarkets. I'm looking (and exclaiming) at it now

 

We can't believe the low prices in the UK. And the selection !

 

We're roughly converting UK pounds to Aussie dollars by multiplying the UK prices by two

 

Here's one, grabbed at random: Burgen Soya and Linseed bread 800 grams for one pound or two Aussie dollars ! Have you seen the prices of comparable bread in Australia !

 

The milk in the UK (and WHAT a selection of milks there are) seems insanely inexpensive

 

M & Ms .. 165 grams for 98 pence for plain milk OR peanut

 

200 grams chocolate bars for one pound 20 pence (which is around $2.40 or $2.50 Australian -- except 200 grams bars at our local supermarket have gone up to the high 4 dollar mark with some dearer than that )

 

Sainsbury's organic bananas 800 grams for 96 pence or one pound 20pence per kilo. We GROW them here in Australia and our supermarket has had them at $3.99 per kilo for months AND they're invariably green every time I shop. What's going on ?

 

Sainsbury's red seedless grapes @ 3 pound a kilo -- $12.99 per kilo and occasionally $6.99 per kilo at our Aussie supermarket

 

Sainsbury's one pound for 6 kiwi fruit. That's equivalent approx. of $2.00 Australian and those at our local supermarket are at least double that

 

I look for Birdseye now we've learned most frozen foods are produced in China then New Zealand packages them and adds 'Made in New Zealand'. Birdseye are said to be the only brand available in Australia now which are grown, processed and packaged in Australia

 

I'm looking now at the frozen fish offerings from Sainsbury and can't get OVER the choice, the variety ! I'm seeing Cod and Haddock and all sorts of things which I've never seen in Aussie supermarkets. And here (Sainsbury) I see Birdseye Chicken Burgers, 8 to a pack, for only 2 pounds 70 pence for 400 grams. That's only $5.40 Australian

 

Birdseye Homebake sausage rolls at Sainsbury for only one pound 50pence for 360 grams. That's only $2.10 Australian, isn't it ? Gee, and I pay $5.60 a pack for King Island sausage rolls for less weight, from memory. So Sainsbury's are less than half the price I pay here in Oz

 

I haven't got the hang of the site yet and haven't found fresh seafood or meats. The prices I've cited here are the online site where people can shop online. No doubt everything in UK supermarkets would be cheaper if you shopped in person

 

So yes, wages in Aussie dollars might be a larger looking figure, numbers-wise. But it's what money buys where you live. And it seems to me, based on the above preliminary research, that the UK pound and pence provides far better value in real terms. Plus the distances thus fuel costs there must be far lower than big, spread-out Australia

 

As to the weather comparisons, here in very expensive Sydney, we've had gloom, gloom and more gloom -- occasionally interrupted by brief bits of sun -- for I can't remember how long. But the gloom and cold, rain and showers have gone at least right through from one full moon to the next, so that's a month straight, with lots of the same gloom before that. And NO double glazing, no underfloor heating in our very expensive place here -- and winter proper still to suffer

 

We lived on the Gold Coast in Queensland for decades and there it was unrelenting heat and humidity for much of the year. Electricity bills caused by air-conditioning during that time broke the bank for many - we're talking thousands of dollars. A lot to pay to cower inside away from the heat for months each year, especially those who imagine Queensland summers are a vision from a Tahiti movie. Air-conditioned vehicles then leap out into the air-conditioned house - putting out the washing early in the day or in the late evening, otherwise it fades in no time, not to mention gives you crows-feet, wrinkles, sunburn etc. in just a few minutes. And trips to the beach have to be carefully considered for the same reason. I even took morning walks early and still arrived home red, drenched in perspiration and hit the shower before exhaustion set in. Then it's sitting inside while the blinding sun dominates everything for hours and hours. Fear of the sun and heat keeps a lot indoors for much of the time. A trip to the shops or to work makes a mockery of carefully styled hair because it just ends up limp and bedraggled unless it's cut very short or pulled back in a pony-tail. People all over Australia head to shopping centres, a lot of them, to escape the heat and take advantage of the air-conditioning

 

Anyway, I'm going back to further explore the UK supermarket site for more revelations. And it has been a revelation !

 

What I'd like is an explanation from the Aussie government and supermarkets, not to mention just about everything else that's far more expensive in Oz

 

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/Birds_Eye_The_Food_of_Life_in_Sainsburys.html?Page=2

[VERYSTORMY]

I must be one of the few people who didn't move to Australia for the 'better' weather. I really don't care about weather though I suppose weeks of dull wet weather would get me down in the end. I actually like colder weather - like frosty days - but don't much like snow or fog. I also like the sun but don't like hot humid weather for a prolonged period. Nowhere has perfect weather though I lived in San Luis Obispo, California for over 2 years and the weather there was lovely - never too hot and never too cold but for other reasons I didn't want to live there.

 

No, your not alone. In fact it was the one things that was putting me off. The best climate I have lived in for my personal taste was the arctic.

[want2beaussie]

Burnett,

I don't completely agree with everything for example the below

 

Homebrand Sainsbury's Wholemeal Loaf = 1GBP

Homebrand Coles Wholemeal Loaf = 2AUD

 

Milk

0.44p/l in Sainsbury's

1.00/l in Coles

So pretty much spot on

 

Yes, some other things are more expensive and don't equate to the same in Aus as they do in UK, but either do wages.

 

Take a bar tender for example:

The average hourly rate in Aus is $19.24 (as per payscale.com)

The average hourly rate in UK is 6.45 (=12.90) = therefore approx. 50% higher in Aus than in the UK.

 

I for example earn around 33% more than I would in the UK.

 

So I don't think your comparison is a fair call.

[Shellybingobingo]

Maybe not a completely fair call on supermarket re cost of wages , but for me I earn 20 dollars a hr here and buy my own cleaning products and petrol in the UK I earned 6:45 as a carer and I got 20pence a mile also . My son here picks up after tax 1421 a fortnight so for him it's good and his age he's 22 in July but have a family on that u quad never survive well u will but not really . My hubbies wages in UK were high and here too but not doubled or anything so for us with the cost of rent and everything else what's dearer it's not any different here for us really . For my son it's good lol my UK son is a policeman in UK and my 21 yr old here picks up more than him so I see it from that point of view but not from mine and hubbies point of view because I was use to it . Still carny wait get back I'll hit those supermarkets for variety tesco here I come yippee de Doo dah haha

[Burnett]

I think the Sainsbury's bread would be a far tastier slice with superior ingredients than the Coles basic wholemeal for the same price

 

And the UK milk I saw online for next to nothing seems to me to be the same quality as the $4.49 milk I buy here in Oz

 

The cheap milk here in Oz that you mentioned is basically white coloured water. And didn't the Oz media reveal last year that the cheap Aussie milk you mentioned came from overseas and not a 'nice' section of overseas ?

 

Anyway, people can work it out for themselves pretty easily and quickly

 

One of the reasons I was glad to find the UK supermarket site is because so many Poms in Oz can't believe how limited the Aussie offerings are. And having seen the huge choice provided British consumers - I agree with them

[MARYROSE02]

One of ours is considering spending some time in the UK, so I found a site for 2015 with UK food prices for a selection of supermarkets. I'm looking (and exclaiming) at it now

 

We can't believe the low prices in the UK. And the selection !

 

We're roughly converting UK pounds to Aussie dollars by multiplying the UK prices by two

 

Here's one, grabbed at random: Burgen Soya and Linseed bread 800 grams for one pound or two Aussie dollars ! Have you seen the prices of comparable bread in Australia !

 

The milk in the UK (and WHAT a selection of milks there are) seems insanely inexpensive

 

M & Ms .. 165 grams for 98 pence for plain milk OR peanut

 

200 grams chocolate bars for one pound 20 pence (which is around $2.40 or $2.50 Australian -- except 200 grams bars at our local supermarket have gone up to the high 4 dollar mark with some dearer than that )

 

Sainsbury's organic bananas 800 grams for 96 pence or one pound 20pence per kilo. We GROW them here in Australia and our supermarket has had them at $3.99 per kilo for months AND they're invariably green every time I shop. What's going on ?

 

Sainsbury's red seedless grapes @ 3 pound a kilo -- $12.99 per kilo and occasionally $6.99 per kilo at our Aussie supermarket

 

Sainsbury's one pound for 6 kiwi fruit. That's equivalent approx. of $2.00 Australian and those at our local supermarket are at least double that

 

I look for Birdseye now we've learned most frozen foods are produced in China then New Zealand packages them and adds 'Made in New Zealand'. Birdseye are said to be the only brand available in Australia now which are grown, processed and packaged in Australia

 

I'm looking now at the frozen fish offerings from Sainsbury and can't get OVER the choice, the variety ! I'm seeing Cod and Haddock and all sorts of things which I've never seen in Aussie supermarkets. And here (Sainsbury) I see Birdseye Chicken Burgers, 8 to a pack, for only 2 pounds 70 pence for 400 grams. That's only $5.40 Australian

 

Birdseye Homebake sausage rolls at Sainsbury for only one pound 50pence for 360 grams. That's only $2.10 Australian, isn't it ? Gee, and I pay $5.60 a pack for King Island sausage rolls for less weight, from memory. So Sainsbury's are less than half the price I pay here in Oz

 

I haven't got the hang of the site yet and haven't found fresh seafood or meats. The prices I've cited here are the online site where people can shop online. No doubt everything in UK supermarkets would be cheaper if you shopped in person

 

So yes, wages in Aussie dollars might be a larger looking figure, numbers-wise. But it's what money buys where you live. And it seems to me, based on the above preliminary research, that the UK pound and pence provides far better value in real terms. Plus the distances thus fuel costs there must be far lower than big, spread-out Australia

 

As to the weather comparisons, here in very expensive Sydney, we've had gloom, gloom and more gloom -- occasionally interrupted by brief bits of sun -- for I can't remember how long. But the gloom and cold, rain and showers have gone at least right through from one full moon to the next, so that's a month straight, with lots of the same gloom before that. And NO double glazing, no underfloor heating in our very expensive place here -- and winter proper still to suffer

 

We lived on the Gold Coast in Queensland for decades and there it was unrelenting heat and humidity for much of the year. Electricity bills caused by air-conditioning during that time broke the bank for many - we're talking thousands of dollars. A lot to pay to cower inside away from the heat for months each year, especially those who imagine Queensland summers are a vision from a Tahiti movie. Air-conditioned vehicles then leap out into the air-conditioned house - putting out the washing early in the day or in the late evening, otherwise it fades in no time, not to mention gives you crows-feet, wrinkles, sunburn etc. in just a few minutes. And trips to the beach have to be carefully considered for the same reason. I even took morning walks early and still arrived home red, drenched in perspiration and hit the shower before exhaustion set in. Then it's sitting inside while the blinding sun dominates everything for hours and hours. Fear of the sun and heat keeps a lot indoors for much of the time. A trip to the shops or to work makes a mockery of carefully styled hair because it just ends up limp and bedraggled unless it's cut very short or pulled back in a pony-tail. People all over Australia head to shopping centres, a lot of them, to escape the heat and take advantage of the air-conditioning

 

Anyway, I'm going back to further explore the UK supermarket site for more revelations. And it has been a revelation !

 

What I'd like is an explanation from the Aussie government and supermarkets, not to mention just about everything else that's far more expensive in Oz

 

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/Birds_Eye_The_Food_of_Life_in_Sainsburys.html?Page=2

 

So, to sum up your argument.

 

1 British supermarkets are better value than Australian supermarkets.

2 Sydney is an expensive city to live in.

3 Sydney has had an unpleasant April with almost incessant rain.

4 Sydney homes have no double-glazing or underfoot heating.

Conclusion. Stay in the UK.

[HappyHeart]

I think the Sainsbury's bread would be a far tastier slice with superior ingredients than the Coles basic wholemeal for the same price

 

And the UK milk I saw online for next to nothing seems to me to be the same quality as the $4.49 milk I buy here in Oz

 

The cheap milk here in Oz that you mentioned is basically white coloured water. And didn't the Oz media reveal last year that the cheap Aussie milk you mentioned came from overseas and not a 'nice' section of overseas ?

 

Anyway, people can work it out for themselves pretty easily and quickly

 

One of the reasons I was glad to find the UK supermarket site is because so many Poms in Oz can't believe how limited the Aussie offerings are. And having seen the huge choice provided British consumers - I agree with them

 

Milk is milk. You can't alter a product like milk. $2 milk here is same as 1 pound milk in UK. I can't believe we are still having these conversations on PIO. My shopping bills crippled us when we lived in UK. Could never afford what I wanted.

[MARYROSE02]

Milk is milk. You can't alter a product like milk. $2 milk here is same as 1 pound milk in UK. I can't believe we are still having these conversations on PIO. My shopping bills crippled us when we lived in UK. Could never afford what I wanted.

 

I'm very nostalgic for ASDA, partly because my late parents loved shopping there, and I liked the 'George' range of clothing, but I don't spend my time dreaming of shopping there again. Perhaps, it's just another 'symptom' of homesickness. I imagine there are homesick Aussies living in the UK who feel the same way about Coles!?