Marisawright Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I think most the negative posters are really bemoaning Australia not meeting the lofty expectations they set for it from watching wanted down under or from holidaying in benidorm. Turns out you still have to go to work, inner city living is still expensive etc... There are some negative posters who exaggerate, but equally there are many who are just trying to correct the "lofty expectations" of others. Personally my blood runs cold when I see someone posting here to say, "Me, the wife and the five kids are off to have a wonderful new life in Australia, we're looking forward to a beach lifestyle, more time with the kids, a nicer house, permanent sunshine, yadda yadda...." I'm not going to keep my mouth shut in that situation but will try to inject a bit of reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I was a "ping pong Pom" when my parents were alive, going back very two to four years from anywhere from six weeks to twelve years. My parents made frequent trips to OZ too. Now, I've been back in Sydney for nearly seven years with no trip to England. If you go back to the UK with every intention of returning to Australia, it doesn't count as ping ponging! Ping ponging is when you decide you don't like Australia and go back to the UK, then decide you don't like the UK and migrate to Australia again, then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 There are some negative posters who exaggerate, but equally there are many who are just trying to correct the "lofty expectations" of others. Personally my blood runs cold when I see someone posting here to say, "Me, the wife and the five kids are off to have a wonderful new life in Australia, we're looking forward to a beach lifestyle, more time with the kids, a nicer house, permanent sunshine, yadda yadda...." I'm not going to keep my mouth shut in that situation but will try to inject a bit of reality. "You are five years old now and old enough to know that there is no Father Xmas." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 If you go back to the UK with every intention of returning to Australia, it doesn't count as ping ponging! Ping ponging is when you decide you don't like Australia and go back to the UK, then decide you don't like the UK and migrate to Australia again, then.... I know I was unsettled and unhappy and felt trapped. I did not plan things. They just happened. 12 years is a long time to go back too. At times I wanted to go back and forth but was too scared to get on a plane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Don't set your expectations too "low" either! Britain in the sun? No. "Australia in the sun. It's been chilly and windy the last few days in Sydney though. I got up at 4 am to watch English football, Spurs losing to Arsenal, with the usual mix of "Sterling" and "Currency" i. e. Poms and Aussies. The pub opened up for us at 4 45, laid on doughnuts and croissants, no boozing. I'm not sure if the bar was open for alcohol? I had coffee and after game went to Cafe Foveaux in Foveaux St for brekkie with one of the guys, and then I spent the day in bed .[ATTACH]31340[/ATTACH] You can't beat a good English breakfast on occasions. Not the healthiest of things perhaps but darn good. Although I'd go double, poached egg if possible, with beans as well as sausages, tomatoes and chips. Not forgetting the rashers, preferably English, but Danish also good. This was called a Builders Breakfast in London at the local caf I'd purchase it. Bottomless coffee as well. All for about $6 to $7 Aussie during the 90's. Set you up all day. Place heaving with construction workers in the morning with the odd tourist . Quite liked the atmosphere and banter actually as well as the brekkie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I know I was unsettled and unhappy and felt trapped. I did not plan things. They just happened. 12 years is a long time to go back too. At times I wanted to go back and forth but was too scared to get on a plane I find the opposite if I didn't get on a plane and recharge the batteries at least every eighteen months I'm not sure I could last. My time in Italy and Malta last year saw me pass an option to go to Germany this year. My partner went alone I was happy enough to remain behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I was a "ping pong Pom" when my parents were alive, going back very two to four years from anywhere from six weeks to twelve years. My parents made frequent trips to OZ too. Now, I've been back in Sydney for nearly seven years with no trip to England. I suppose I was in reverse though. Oz and I just weren't made for a happy partnership in previous stays. Too slow. I mean being young and having Europe at your finger tips why would one really bother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 I suppose I was in reverse though. Oz and I just weren't made for a happy partnership in previous stays. Too slow. I mean being young and having Europe at your finger tips why would one really bother? You mean that the southern hemisphere countries are all second rate compared to Europe, though many of them have histories and cultures longer and more diverse than Europe. Further, "newer" does not mean less interesting in the case of OZ and NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 You can't beat a good English breakfast on occasions. Not the healthiest of things perhaps but darn good. Although I'd go double, poached egg if possible, with beans as well as sausages, tomatoes and chips. Not forgetting the rashers, preferably English, but Danish also good. This was called a Builders Breakfast in London at the local caf I'd purchase it. Bottomless coffee as well. All for about $6 to $7 Aussie during the 90's. Set you up all day. Place heaving with construction workers in the morning with the odd tourist . Quite liked the atmosphere and banter actually as well as the brekkie. Before I stopped eating meat I used to enjoy a good English breakfast. In the mid 70's OH and I used to go to a cafe on the edge of Hampstead Heath which did fabulous breakfasts. John Conteh and Frank Bruno the boxers used to train nearby and often had breakfast there. They were lovely blokes and had double portions of brekky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janlo Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Some people are trapped and unable to return. Kids/partners don't want to leave for example. Maybe to whinge is their coping mechanism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Some people are trapped and unable to return. Kids/partners don't want to leave for example. Maybe to whinge is their coping mechanism. Absolutely, much is made about the fact that most remain in Australia so they are 'successful', so many individual stories we never hear about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 "You are five years old now and old enough to know that there is no Father Xmas." Well yes, that's exactly what I try to tell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Some people are trapped and unable to return. Kids/partners don't want to leave for example. Maybe to whinge is their coping mechanism. Yes I think it's a coping mechanism and it applies to Aussies in the UK as much as Brits in Oz. It's the same mechanism that operates after a divorce - you have to convince yourself that you really are better off in your new life, so you choose to remember all the bad points about your old life, and conveniently forget the positives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Although much less than years ago I have had people say to me 'it must be better over there (in Australia)' when pressed and asked in what way do they think it would be 'better' it usually ends up coming down the the weather but they also assume that you miraculously have more free time to spend with your family. As I say this is much less frequent than it was say 20 years ago when we were here but some still have this preconceived image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 ...they also assume that you miraculously have more free time to spend with your family. I've seen that statement coming up on the forums here recently, I can only assume they've been watching too much Neighbours or Home & Away, where everyone seems to spend half the week on the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I've seen that statement coming up on the forums here recently, I can only assume they've been watching too much Neighbours or Home & Away, where everyone seems to spend half the week on the beach. Haha, yes work for an hour a day then down the beach lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Maybe some of us just like it for what it is in the here and now... The majority of poms I know are like me having a ball, that may be an age thing, we had our kids youngish, mortgage by 20 years old. Kinda of done a lot of the hard graft. yes we still have to do it here, but we realise what's Important to us and immediate family time and time with friends just enjoying life, is what its all about now. We can have that lifestyle here, but we couldn't in the UK. I think you can have as much leisure time as you are willing to make time for. We can do ours in the evenings or weekends, if you work Fiifo you do it when home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 You mean that the southern hemisphere countries are all second rate compared to Europe, though many of them have histories and cultures longer and more diverse than Europe. Further, "newer" does not mean less interesting in the case of OZ and NZ. I mean London and Europe was the place to be from I guess the fifties through to well hard to say, the eighties. I mean anyone interested in the arts, culture, music and a sense of freedom prevailed not immediately apparent in Australia. No doubt these points wouldn't matter to many, to others having that escape route was close to life saving. At some point Australia became a 'safe' country to return to as the repressive atmosphere diluted over time and it became far more interesting here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Some people are trapped and unable to return. Kids/partners don't want to leave for example. Maybe to whinge is their coping mechanism. Yes that is a big one. People don't realise that their kids often have little feeling for Britain and no desire to live there if parents want to bail. Although I have known the opposite with kids coming out here at a younger age and preferring life in Britain or another country and parents left beached in Oz. It is normal to miss things especially when aging. Not unheard of by far for people wanting to see out their autumn in country of childhood. Migrating can indeed be a poison chalice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 You can't beat a good English breakfast on occasions. Not the healthiest of things perhaps but darn good. Although I'd go double, poached egg if possible, with beans as well as sausages, tomatoes and chips. Not forgetting the rashers, preferably English, but Danish also good. This was called a Builders Breakfast in London at the local caf I'd purchase it. Bottomless coffee as well. All for about $6 to $7 Aussie during the 90's. Set you up all day. Place heaving with construction workers in the morning with the odd tourist . Quite liked the atmosphere and banter actually as well as the brekkie. $10 for the meal and $3.50 for coffee.I prefer porridge and a banana but once in a while.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 One little Aussie Grandchild and another one on the way. To me it cements us here even more. Happy Husband, Happy Children, Happy Grandchildren = Happy me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 $10 for the meal and $3.50 for coffee.I prefer porridge and a banana but once in a while.... I used to breakfast out most Sundays during the late 90s/early00's. Somewhere along the line they lost me when a breakfast starting approaching the $20 mark. In fact places in Perth I know charge $26 and coffee not included. Something no better than I would pay less than half for in London during 2010. I've never had a banana porridge in Oz for breakfast (outside) but brings to mind a very famous eating house on Penang Island in Malaysia, famous for such a breakfast. They were full every morning with appreciative western travellers. (not back packers in those days)Best I ever tasted. Many moons ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 I used to breakfast out most Sundays during the late 90s/early00's. Somewhere along the line they lost me when a breakfast starting approaching the $20 mark. In fact places in Perth I know charge $26 and coffee not included. Something no better than I would pay less than half for in London during 2010. I've never had a banana porridge in Oz for breakfast (outside) but brings to mind a very famous eating house on Penang Island in Malaysia, famous for such a breakfast. They were full every morning with appreciative western travellers. (not back packers in those days)Best I ever tasted. Many moons ago. I would but call it "banana porridge"', more porridge with a banana mashed into it. I'm trying to economise more now, but I like to see people in the Cafe and read the papers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Would NOT not BUT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I would but call it "banana porridge"', more porridge with a banana mashed into it. I'm trying to economise more now, but I like to see people in the Cafe and read the papers I always check that a range of papers are available if going alone. Need to get further value than just paying close to $5 for a coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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