How do you succeed in your new life in Australia?

[MARYROSE02]

It's not 'rocket science!' (Apologies for the cliche!) Just do what you do in the UK or any other country. Unless you are a 'whinger' of course, especially that most hated of complainers, a 'Whingeing Pommie!'

 

How do you know when a new plane load of Poms has just arrived in Australia? You can still hear a 'whine' after the engines have turned off. 'Ooh, I don't like it here. It's too hot. The television is crap. They don't know how to drive. Call this beer? Why don't they play 'real' football?" Makes me nauseous just thinking about them!

 

Use me as an example if you like. The least likely person to succeed in his new life in Australia. I'd never lived away from home before, apart from three disastrous and drunken months in Norwich at the age of nineteen. But, I stuck it out, got through the hard times, and there were a few, to be honest.

 

The thing to remember is that 'Aussies' are not different to 'us.' I know that, and most of us know that. We would not have made this insane commitment to uproot our lives and travel to the other end of the world if we didn't.

 

The statistics 'prove' (just like they prove that smoking is bad for you, hence the higher premiums for smokers) that most people from Britain make a success of their move to Australia.

 

The moral of the story is: Don't listen to the whingers and don't become one of them yourself, and worst of all, don't give up and go home! Come to think of it, there is an even 'worst' than that; you spend your life posting on Poms In Oz trying to discourage other 'New Chums' from making a new life in Australia!? Remember. They want you to fail! Don't listen to them!

[Jacaranda]

:laugh:Do you think MR2,that the known whingers on this forum,are really happy with their lives?Generally speaking? I'm not quite sure why someone would leave Australia (and those that whinge left willingly not because of lack of jobs or whatever)return to their beloved UK,and then whinge like hell re Australia?Says a lot about that person I think than the actual country they are whingeing about! I seem to get on with a lot of different races of people from Australians,Indians,Nepalese,Polish,the list goes on.Most people are pretty decent people imho.

Maybe the people that move to Australia,don't do themselves any favours if they are whingeing about Australia to Aussies?You won't get much,if any,respect doing that actually.How would we feel if an Aussie came to live in the UK and kept comparing/complaining?

[Peachy]

Good post. I find the negativity overwhelming. I am delighted with our new life but reading the constant doom mongering / comparisons makes me doubt my enjoyment and that it will all come crashing down. I suppose that most of those that succeed have lots of other things to do with their time. I too will be weaning myself off this site (although there are a couple of PIO I am really looking forward to hearing from when they do complete their journey here).

[ali]

Good post. I find the negativity overwhelming. I am delighted with our new life but reading the constant doom mongering / comparisons makes me doubt my enjoyment and that it will all come crashing down. I suppose that most of those that succeed have lots of other things to do with their time. I too will be weaning myself off this site (although there are a couple of PIO I am really looking forward to hearing from when they do complete their journey here).

 

I think people like yourself have a lot to offer the site having made the move and carving out a new life here.

[Guest]

:laugh:Do you think MR2,that the known whingers on this forum,are really happy with their lives?Generally speaking? I'm not quite sure why someone would leave Australia (and those that whinge left willingly not because of lack of jobs or whatever)return to their beloved UK,and then whinge like hell re Australia?Says a lot about that person I think than the actual country they are whingeing about! I seem to get on with a lot of different races of people from Australians,Indians,Nepalese,Polish,the list goes on.Most people are pretty decent people imho.

Maybe the people that move to Australia,don't do themselves any favours if they are whingeing about Australia to Aussies?You won't get much,if any,respect doing that actually.How would we feel if an Aussie came to live in the UK and kept comparing/complaining?

 

Speaking as someone who doesn't like living in Australia, I'd completely agree with this. This forum represents a fairly safe place for those with criticisms about the place to make them without incurring too much in the way of hostility. I doubt that it would be healthy for some posters (possibly myself included!) to say the things they say online about Australia(ns) out in the real world!

Not unless you like hospital food that is!:wink:

 

I always follow the old adage "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all," and that works pretty well for me. If I'm invited to "say something nice about Australia" then I can normally summon up something vaguely positive to say before shifting the focus of the conversation back to what the other person likes about the place, and that generally works too. And, if I do let slip that I'm seeking to return home to England, I always say that it's because of friends and family there. That way, generally, no offence is caused.:smile:

[Peach]

I think you have to head down and keep moving forward. Looking over your shoulder won't help improve your life here. Accept that things are different and that you are part of it.

 

Is funny, I've always felt that when asked by an Australian about my thoughts of Australia it has been because we've run out of things to say - I'm not a big small talker - and that living in Australia is one of the common bonds we share to talk about.

[JockinTas]

I think you have to head down and keep moving forward. Looking over your shoulder won't help improve your life here. Accept that things are different and that you are part of it.

 

Is funny, I've always felt that when asked by an Australian about my thoughts of Australia it has been because we've run out of things to say - I'm not a big small talker - and that living in Australia is one of the common bonds we share to talk about.

 

Good post!

[Guest]

Good post. I find the negativity overwhelming. I am delighted with our new life but reading the constant doom mongering / comparisons makes me doubt my enjoyment and that it will all come crashing down. I suppose that most of those that succeed have lots of other things to do with their time. I too will be weaning myself off this site (although there are a couple of PIO I am really looking forward to hearing from when they do complete their journey here).

 

There are plenty that are happy in Aus. Myself included. Its not always easy but then neither was life in England. Its what you make it, if you can secure work and have things fall into place for you over time. It doesn't all happen at once.

 

I honestly never read stuff from the naysayers on here and thought they were speaking the truth for everyone. Their truth yes, but what they think of Aus or say about it was probably not going to be mine. And it wasn't and isn't. You can only find out for yourself. If it turns out Aus is ok for you, great, if it isn't, chalk it up and make the changes needed to be happy in life elsewhere.

 

Those naysayers also shout a little too often and too loud for me to even begin to take them seriously. The migrants I've met since being here (and there have been a few I can tell you), not a one of them is unhappy with their decision to migrate and therefore wanting to move back to their home country. All of them are enjoying life, some have struggles with work on and off but all of them are pretty happy and settled. At least that is what they tell me and given they have bought homes, kids are in schools and so on, they seem pretty content with plans to be here long term. No one has yet said to me they hate it here, it isn't what they wanted and they can't wait to go back to the UK. In fact the opposite. A couple of families I know had trips back to the UK in recent times, they returned and said they were so glad to be home (in Aus). Nice holiday but Aus was home. Everyone has their niggles sure, but most just get on with it.

 

There will always be some that will never like Australia or many aspects of living in Australia. It wasn't for them, so be it. I wish them well should they return to their homeland or move elsewhere.

[Que Sera Sera]

You can spot the people who are going to struggle almost immediately, some even before they leave Australia. ( Should we bring Marmite? Heinz Baked Beans ? ) I also think some people are just never satisfied constantly looking for something better, financially, or in location. Giving a place a year at most then moving somewhere else or back to "home" or back here again. Looking for perfection that's going to come easily without too much effort just like they had it back "home" and constantly referring to the Country they left as "Home"

[Peach]

You can spot the people who are going to struggle almost immediately, some even before they leave Australia. ( Should we bring Marmite? Heinz Baked Beans ? )

 

This is seems to be an accurate marker of potential strugglers. I don't think it is right to pre-plan by spreadsheet every decision you are likely to face, in some cases before you even have a visa :: which is the best bank / washing machine / suburb? Life isn't about always having an answer and when invariably things don't happen in a utopian planned fashion some people start to flap "it wasn't meant to be like this"..

[Bound4Tassie]

Just pack the Robinson's cordial and it will be ok!

[flag of convenience]

Speaking as someone who doesn't like living in Australia, I'd completely agree with this. This forum represents a fairly safe place for those with criticisms about the place to make them without incurring too much in the way of hostility. I doubt that it would be healthy for some posters (possibly myself included!) to say the things they say online about Australia(ns) out in the real world!

Not unless you like hospital food that is!:wink:

 

I always follow the old adage "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all," and that works pretty well for me. If I'm invited to "say something nice about Australia" then I can normally summon up something vaguely positive to say before shifting the focus of the conversation back to what the other person likes about the place, and that generally works too. And, if I do let slip that I'm seeking to return home to England, I always say that it's because of friends and family there. That way, generally, no offence is caused.:smile:

 

I wouldn't be overly concerned. Quite a change in the books as some of the biggest complainers tend to be coming from within the ranks of the Aussies these days.

[Que Sera Sera]

This is seems to be an accurate marker of potential strugglers. I don't think it is right to pre-plan by spreadsheet every decision you are likely to face, in some cases before you even have a visa :: which is the best bank / washing machine / suburb? Life isn't about always having an answer and when invariably things don't happen in a utopian planned fashion some people start to flap "it wasn't meant to be like this"..

 

 

And I'm so great at my job Australia will be lucky to get me, and shall show how thankful they are by offerering me 4 times my UK Salary, a 3 day week and free flights back "home" :laugh:

[flag of convenience]

:laugh:Do you think MR2,that the known whingers on this forum,are really happy with their lives?Generally speaking? I'm not quite sure why someone would leave Australia (and those that whinge left willingly not because of lack of jobs or whatever)return to their beloved UK,and then whinge like hell re Australia?Says a lot about that person I think than the actual country they are whingeing about! I seem to get on with a lot of different races of people from Australians,Indians,Nepalese,Polish,the list goes on.Most people are pretty decent people imho.

Maybe the people that move to Australia,don't do themselves any favours if they are whingeing about Australia to Aussies?You won't get much,if any,respect doing that actually.How would we feel if an Aussie came to live in the UK and kept comparing/complaining?

 

I doubt it has anything to do with personal lives in general, at least for the most. Just as I don' t think people come to Oz with the intent to whinge. Believe me Aussies do the same in UK. (unless it has changed radically) If you live in London, you will likely tire rather quickly of having it rammed down your throat how good Australia is and what is lacking in England. I suppose complaining can be a way of coping for some and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

 

Genuine critique is vastly different and if it somehow spikes the bubble some appear to prefer so be it. It only becomes an issue when it becomes all consuming for the specific individual to the degree it impacts on everyday life.

[MARYROSE02]

I doubt it has anything to do with personal lives in general, at least for the most. Just as I don' t think people come to Oz with the intent to whinge. Believe me Aussies do the same in UK. (unless it has changed radically) If you live in London, you will likely tire rather quickly of having it rammed down your throat how good Australia is and what is lacking in England. I suppose complaining can be a way of coping for some and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

 

Genuine critique is vastly different and if it somehow spikes the bubble some appear to prefer so be it. It only becomes an issue when it becomes all consuming for the specific individual to the degree it impacts on everyday life.

I guess the young Aussie backpackers in London get homesick like the Pommie ones here, but if they stay in the UK to live, as some do, they gradually "become" a local, as we do here.

 

Most Aussies I meet don't even notice I'm English, unless I joke about cricket or Pommie beer, as I sometimes do.

 

I don't notice they are Aussie either.

[LKC]

I think that we are successful migrants, we've been here for almost seven years and are pretty happy. Having said that, I think we'd be pretty happy in the UK too. We always had the attitude that it didn't have to be forever and that there would be no shame in admitting defeat and returning to the UK if things went down the pan here. I wonder if the people who whinge about their experience in Australia do so in order to justify their decision to return to the UK? Some people pin so many hopes and dreams on Australia, that maybe they feel like they have failed and so need to blame something definite, rather than admit that it just didn't work out. Maybe we were successful migrants because we had already decided that it didn't really matter either way.

[Johndoe]

Genuine critique is vastly different and if it somehow spikes the bubble some appear to prefer so be it. It only becomes an issue when it becomes all consuming for the specific individual to the degree it impacts on everyday life.

 

For certain posters' date=' it appears that it [b']Is [/b]their everyday life which begs the question then, "is it genuine?"

[Johndoe]

As others have said, I like them, have never yet met a Pom (here) who didn't think that they'd made the right decision and that this was now their home. Likewise, I've never yet met an Aussie who wasn't friendly towards me or who even hinted at me being a whingeing pom.

 

I've hosted quite a few new migrants in my home, and their attitudes and remarks are far removed from the usual suspects on PIO that are forever knocking Oz and only one of them visits PIO but rarely, as they are now just getting on with their lives here. I guess that says a lot about those who are forever "crtitiqueing" on the forum and as most of that critique is based on very limited experience, if any, it begs the question just what is going on in their heads and why they just can't chalk it down to experience, spend more time indulging in the wonderful life they constantly state that they have, and move on. Those very same people offer little in the way of practical advice and their posts seem to be aimed purely at denigrating Aussies and Australians. If they performed like that here, no wonder that they found Aussies unfriendly and that they're now "back home", that wonderful home seeming to be one room, with a keyboard and computer.

[MARYROSE02]

:laugh:Do you think MR2,that the known whingers on this forum,are really happy with their lives?Generally speaking? I'm not quite sure why someone would leave Australia (and those that whinge left willingly not because of lack of jobs or whatever)return to their beloved UK,and then whinge like hell re Australia?Says a lot about that person I think than the actual country they are whingeing about! I seem to get on with a lot of different races of people from Australians,Indians,Nepalese,Polish,the list goes on.Most people are pretty decent people imho.

Maybe the people that move to Australia,don't do themselves any favours if they are whingeing about Australia to Aussies?You won't get much,if any,respect doing that actually.How would we feel if an Aussie came to live in the UK and kept comparing/complaining?

 

Mea culpa. I started this thread when I was tipsy. I was actually replying to other posts today, thinking I was on another thread, probably the 'anti-Perth' one. Then again, if someone can start an obvious 'stirring' thread like that, why shouldn't I do the same!?

 

I mix with so many people from around the world that I don't even know why I distinguish between 'Aussies' and 'Pommies?' It's probably only on this forum that I make that distinction. The cheerful young lady from South Korea who works in the cafe outside my flat is typical of most migrants to Australia. She came here with her husband years ago, speaking little English, probably suffered homesickness at first, but now loves living here.

 

The young Pommie and Irish guys I know are in various stages of 'transition' in their new lives here. I saw a post the other day condemning people who 'hang on' for an Aussie passport, then leave, but so what? One of those guys became a citizen this year and he's proud of it. I have a feeling he will stay in Australia now he has a permanent job, but talking to the others, they don't know what they want to do. Move interstate? Go back to England. Try another country like Canada. Taking out Aussie citizenship means they have the 'insurance' if you like of knowing if they do leave they can come back. I didn't know I would be moving back to England for twelve years when I took out my Aussie citizenship. It was just a natural progression in my life here, but being a citizen was certainly handy when I did go back to England.

 

No, you won't endear yourself to Aussies if you complain about their country, but then why do it anyway? I was talking to three young barmen in the pub last night, all Aussies. They are no different to those young Pommies and Irishmen I mentioned above.

 

Time for me to concentrate on my uni for the rest of the day!

[Que Sera Sera]

Mea culpa. I started this thread when I was tipsy. I was actually replying to other posts today, thinking I was on another thread, probably the 'anti-Perth' one. Then again, if someone can start an obvious 'stirring' thread like that, why shouldn't I do the same!?

 

I mix with so many people from around the world that I don't even know why I distinguish between 'Aussies' and 'Pommies?' It's probably only on this forum that I make that distinction. The cheerful young lady from South Korea who works in the cafe outside my flat is typical of most migrants to Australia. She came here with her husband years ago, speaking little English, probably suffered homesickness at first, but now loves living here.

 

The young Pommie and Irish guys I know are in various stages of 'transition' in their new lives here. I saw a post the other day condemning people who 'hang on' for an Aussie passport, then leave, but so what? One of those guys became a citizen this year and he's proud of it. I have a feeling he will stay in Australia now he has a permanent job, but talking to the others, they don't know what they want to do. Move interstate? Go back to England. Try another country like Canada. Taking out Aussie citizenship means they have the 'insurance' if you like of knowing if they do leave they can come back. I didn't know I would be moving back to England for twelve years when I took out my Aussie citizenship. It was just a natural progression in my life here, but being a citizen was certainly handy when I did go back to England.

 

No, you won't endear yourself to Aussies if you complain about their country, but then why do it anyway? I was talking to three young barmen in the pub last night, all Aussies. They are no different to those young Pommies and Irishmen I mentioned above.

 

Time for me to concentrate on my uni for the rest of the day!

 

I don't think any of us were deriding people who take out Citizenship then return home for whatever reason, I certainly didn't mean that as none of us knows what the future holds for us, we may have to go make at some point who knows. The point was, so well put by Freckleface that some get it on the way to the airport with no intention of ever coming back whilst slagging off all things Australian and even laughing at the whole process of Citizenship at the same time.

[northernbird]

I think a successful migrant keeps an open mind to new things. Someone who does the correct research prior to moving to a new country and I don't just mean about housing, schooling and cost of living. There are many wonderful things about the UK that cannot be replicated to the same degree in Australia. Expecting Australia to be like UK with sun just because it's an English speaking country makes someone a bit naive IMO. I still do not know to this day what makes a family who lives around the corner from close family members, people who have an active social life and good quality of life just decide to emigrate. To say it's unlikely to work in the long term is an understatement IMO.

[Que Sera Sera]

That's so true NB, you cannot expect friends you have made in your new country to immediately be the same as those that you have known decades in the UK. Nor can you expect not to miss family if you have left very close ones behind. Many manage to, but coming out here without actually thinking about what it's going to feel like without them close by is reckless.

[Shellybingobingo]

Well I wanted nice weather for starters ! Niaeve I may of been but hey we all human ! And also jobs yes research we did on the job front ! ! It's that things to a down turn as we arrived ! my oh has the skills they need here that is not my issue my issue is how it's been ! So when u spent thousands of dollars pig arsing around for a job when I know it was good in UK I'm thinking what the hell have I done wouldn't anybody ! He's earned a lot of money but we've not seen it for the cost of moving around just for a job ! ! Even the ozzies know if FEED isn't busy then it's going create a knock on effect ! My oh can work in Australia at skill level one has all the desired skills ! So what research didn't we do what is the problem tell me because I'm gob smacked this has happened ! You work so hard in UK get where u wanna be fancy a change nothing wrong with that ! And it's **** from the minute u arrive basically ! Although coming through it now but 3 sodding yrs of ploughing money in it to make it work ! I'm not the bank of pigging England

[Shellybingobingo]

And of course I miss my family son grandson friends that goes without saying

[Que Sera Sera]

I am actually going to put a disclaimer after every post I make in future. ( This post is not in anyway pointed or geared to anyone in particular, any similarity to anyone's personal situation is in their head not mine ) This is getting frikin tedious.