Quality of life for kids

[Sandgroper]

15 hours ago, Saurer Pfirsich said:

I was back home that winter and that 4-week period was pretty nippy. In fact we had a white Christmas, which my oldest still fondly reminisces about as it was her first, and so far, only experience of snow. Every Christmas Day since, she expectantly phones her grandad to ask if he's had snow, and every year since she comes off the phone a little disapointed!

I wouldn't have described it as a 'horrendous' winter though. It was a nasty 4 week spell but the rest of the winter was pretty bland as I recall. Being an old-timer I can remember the winters of 81-82 and 78-79 when we had weeks of banked up snow and freezing fog. My Dad's in his 80's and still recalls the winter of '63 when there was no football played between Christrmas and March, or '47 when they had to cut walk-ways in the snow-drifts so that people could cross the roads!. Eee, they were proper winters in those days I tell thee. Folks nowadays are all too soft!  

Being back on holiday is a little different to working and living through it most honest people will admit it pretty horrendous and it lasted longer than 4 weeks you may have been in Hereford or Stratford upon Avon I understand they are less affected by the weather than most areas of the UK  

[Marisawright]

8 minutes ago, Sandgroper said:

We always planned on moving to Perth...but because we had always said we won't move unless one of us secures a good job first... ended up moving to Melbourne ... Hated everything about it, the 4 seasons in one day the horrendous commute to the city, the level of crime, the cost of decent housing in a decent suburb. So when a close family member fell terminally that was the excuse we needed to head home with our tails between our legs feeling sorry for ourselves and blaming everything we felt on Melbourne.

However once back in the UK family member passed away we realised It wasn't Melbourne's fault at all, we'd read about the 4 seasons in one day, read about the commutes if you wanted to live somewhere nice away from the city, knew it was a bloody big city so there was always going to be crime it was our fault we'd messed up it was no good blaming Melbourne which is what we did when ever anyone asked us why we had moved back.

So true.   I did a lot of research before we moved.  The trouble is, when you're looking forward to something, you hear what you want to hear.    I moved in pre-internet days, but i did find a book written by a migrant about Victoria, which highlighted all the pro's and con's (we were going to country Victoria).  I thought I had a clear-eyed picture - but when we arrived, I realised I'd dismissed a lot of the negatives, thinking they were sour grapes - but they were all true!!!   Luckily for me, the pluses outweighed the negatives, but it just goes to show that no matter how much research you do, your own perceptions skew how you perceive it - so it doesn't necessarily prepare you. 

[Sandgroper]

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

So true.   I did a lot of research before we moved.  The trouble is, when you're looking forward to something, you hear what you want to hear.    I moved in pre-internet days, but i did find a book written by a migrant about Victoria, which highlighted all the pro's and con's (we were going to country Victoria).  I thought I had a clear-eyed picture - but when we arrived, I realised I'd dismissed a lot of the negatives, thinking they were sour grapes - but they were all true!!!   Luckily for me, the pluses outweighed the negatives, but it just goes to show that no matter how much research you do, your own perceptions skew how you perceive it - so it doesn't necessarily prepare you. 

Totally understandable in the pre-internet days, but anyone has access to a whole host of resources to research any move these days so there really can't be blame any where than with the individual.

I think you hit the nail on the head with 'The trouble is, when you're looking forward to something, you hear what you want to hear.' folk to often do this for instance why anyone can use the heat as an excuse for not liking Queensland for instance is beyond me................why would someone who perhaps prefers a cooler climate like the UK move to Brisbane say, then come on a migration forum and complain about the bloody heat!

[Sandgroper]

3 hours ago, MelT said:

Actually the main reason for going back is that myself and my son have developed severe allergies to genetically modified food. Banned for human consumption in Europe. Allowed here with no adequate testing for humans to consume in Australia. Mainly all canola, corn and cottonseed derived products. We cannot eat out anywhere and I have to read every supermarket food label (unless made in Europe). It has quite an impact on our daily lives.

The climate does not help I have to say.. Developing skin cancer (even though I have always been careful) and increasing temperatures over the last few years in Qld have made us feel like hermits.. You can do all the research in the world but until you have actually lived it you do not how you will manage. Yes there will be somethings I miss about Australia. But the negatives of living here are now out weighing the positives and it is time to go home.


I think 13 years is quite a chapter here. I do not see it as a failure. More so a chapter in our lives we have learnt from and will enable us to appreciate things about the uk we would not have done before.

So have you done your research with these gm foods you talk about once the UK comes out of the EU and is no longer bound by it's legislation and just say they allow these foods will you be upping sticks again?

[MelT]

So have you done your research with these gm foods you talk about once the UK comes out of the EU and is no longer bound by it's legislation and just say they allow these foods will you be upping sticks again?

Yes i have done my research. Perhaps people will listen in the uk and consider why GM is currently banned. I have hope that my experience may enable me to raise awareness and make a difference.

Too late here in Australia.

[ali]

I used to look for the posts of people moving back so that hubby and I could discuss "what if that happened to us", "what if one of us felt like that" .. some things we could dismiss right away - e.g. the infamous going home for Robinsons cordial, or "knowing it wasn't for me on the drive from the airport" ... those things would never be applicable to us .. but the missing family, feeling disconnected etc., were and we did give some thought and discussion to how we would handle those.

For us, the move was very much as a united couple, if we didn't like Perth we had planned to try another state before contemplating going back to the UK.  Migrating can be an isolating experience when you don't know anyone at all, re-establishing yourself both socially and professionally is hard work and things often don't fall into place quickly.

Until you actually experience the move, you really don't know what it's like or how the big move will impact on you.  For us, it's been great, for others not

[Marisawright]

30 minutes ago, Sandgroper said:

Totally understandable in the pre-internet days, but anyone has access to a whole host of resources to research any move these days so there really can't be blame any where than with the individual.... for instance why anyone can use the heat as an excuse for not liking Queensland for instance is beyond me................why would someone who perhaps prefers a cooler climate like the UK move to Brisbane say, then come on a migration forum and complain about the bloody heat!

I still don't agree.  If you're reading about something you've never experienced before, then you probably don't understand it.  Combine that with the desire to look on the bright side (which I think is just human nature), and an awful lot of the negatives don't sink in.

When my oh got a job in Africa, we attended a whole week's orientation course, where we had some excellent lectures and met lots of "old hands" who offered lots of great advice.  It still didn't prepare us for the reality of the place.  We heard all the words, and we thought we understood - but because it was SO far outside our experience, the full meaning didn't sink in until we were actually there.  

The heat in Queensland is a case in point.  Most people in the UK have been on holiday in Spain and they may love the heat there.   But if you look at the equivalent latitude, Seville is about level with Melbourne!   Unless they've been for a holiday in Egypt in the height of summer, they have no idea of what a UV index of 13 or 14 feels like on your skin.  Unless they've spent a holiday in a humid part of Africa, they don't know what that heat + high humidity can feel like.  Someone who loves the heat on the Costas may still find Queensland heat unbearable - but try warning them about it, and they don't get it.  You can describe it till they're blue in the face, but all they think about is how lovely the warmth feels when they're in Benidorm.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Marisawright

[Skani]

13 hours ago, MelT said:

On 3/16/2018 at 10:12, Skani said:

 

I have experienced the hot very dry heat & wind when i lived in Victoria - part of the weather pattern that comes accross from South Australia.

I'm not disputing that it occurs in some places at certain times of the year.  But one particular poster implies in his several rants that it is the normal weather all over Australia.  And that is simply untrue.

[Skani]

4 hours ago, MelT said:

Actually the main reason for going back is that myself and my son have developed severe allergies to genetically modified food. Banned for human consumption in Europe. 

They're not....but they are supposed to be labelled as such...and there are rumblings that restrictions may be lifted in the EU and after Brexit..  However you can download a phone App to shop GMO free in the UK.  The other solution is  eat organic foods only.

http://shopgmofree.co.uk/

 

[Bulya]

11 hours ago, Johndoe said:

Pray tell when any returnee ever holds themselves accountable? It's always Australia/Aussies to blame. No doubt some have bad experiences, but I've yet to hear any of them question why?. Someone going on about dry heat and bushfires on another thread

OK, I understand their dream is shattered, albeit taken 'em a long time to decide, but for feck's sake, didn't they research?.............and never mind that crap/excuse so oft recycled on PIO about research doesn't equate to actually living here..............of course it does, the research should show, if done properly, (eg a whinge on PIO) in past and future to another past/potential migrant, exactly what that returnee is whinging about,  just as others have whinged similar in the past and those whinges should have been picked up....................it's all there...............on PomsinOz which ranks high in Google................so give me a break................folk who have lived here for 8 or more years and all of a sudden they're saying "I didn't expect this"...................some bugger whinging about "dry heat" and another about humidity........that's just a bail out for some other failure in their lives/expectancy. If you "didn't expect this" then that would have become apparent long before 8 years, or even 30 as some have whinged about. FFS how many millions around the world live in "dry heat" or humidity and yet just go on with their daily lives and live fruitful and satisfying existences? OK, you don't like either, which could be understood, but this constant emphasis/excuse by returnees that Oz should somehow have to apologise for it's climate is ludicrous.

If you're bailing out, have the ball to say simply, "I miss family" or "I miss England's seasons", or "I miss Centreparcs" but puuuuuuuuuuuuurleeze, don't think that after all those years here, that you can blame it on "location" 'cause the truth of the matter is, if that really is the reason, then you're a feckwit for choosing that location and how come it's taken you so long to realise?

Kev most failures simply fail to move around to find the right place here.  You can name the posters that have changed state/territory on one hand.  Then you get the old chestnut “it’s all the same” when it obviously isn’t.  Why don’t they move??

[Saurer Pfirsich]

5 hours ago, Sandgroper said:

Being back on holiday is a little different to working and living through it most honest people will admit it pretty horrendous and it lasted longer than 4 weeks you may have been in Hereford or Stratford upon Avon I understand they are less affected by the weather than most areas of the UK  

Can't say that I've ever been to those places you've referenced, so I can't comment on their micro-climates! I'm sure they're lovely places though!

I meant no offence when I joked about people being too soft nowadays to withstand a UK Winter, especially as I myself struggle to cope with a Melbourne summer! Once the mercury hits 30 I'm sweating like Boris Johnson's public relations manager!. Thankfully cooler, autumn weather will be with us soon.

I am left saddened by reading your posts though. Partly because you so obviously dislike the country of your birth so much, and partly because you choose to lob the word 'failure' in the direction of those seeking to return there. Not knowing you, I don't know what your motives are for this, or how much of it may be tongue in cheek, so I may be rushing to judgement here. Apologies then if I've got you all wrong then and you're secretly an Anglophile who deep down is supportive and understanding of potential returnees!

Edited March 17, 2018 by Saurer Pfirsich

[Sandgroper]

4 hours ago, MelT said:

Yes i have done my research. Perhaps people will listen in the uk and consider why GM is currently banned. I have hope that my experience may enable me to raise awareness and make a difference.

Too late here in Australia.

Ah there is your first mistake you think he UK government will listen to the general population. So you are basing the move back on a perhaps.

[Booma]

9 hours ago, MelT said:

Actually the main reason for going back is that myself and my son have developed severe allergies to genetically modified food. Banned for human consumption in Europe. Allowed here with no adequate testing for humans to consume in Australia. Mainly all canola, corn and cottonseed derived products. We cannot eat out anywhere and I have to read every supermarket food label (unless made in Europe). It has quite an impact on our daily lives.
 

I dont know why you think there is no GM food in the food chain in Europe & UK because there is. If you & your son do have severe allergies you will need to be just as careful with reading labels & eating out once you move. its probably lucky that you didn't already accidentally eat something with GM made in Europe if you arent checking the labels. eating organic food is probably the safest thing to do. i dont have allergies but i only eat organic & its not hard once you work out where to buy things. eating out can be harder because you have to trust what other people are telling you about the food & what its cooked in but vegan websites are usually a reliable source of accurate information about restaurants. im vegan so dont know where you would find reliable information about meat etc but there must be similar organic websites that cover eating out in general.

 

[bristolman]

1 hour ago, Saurer Pfirsich said:

Can't say that I've ever been to those places you've referenced, so I can't comment on their micro-climates! I'm sure they're lovely places though!

I meant no offence when I joked about people being too soft nowadays to withstand a UK Winter, especially as I myself struggle to cope with a Melbourne summer! Once the mercury hits 30 I'm sweating like Boris Johnson's public relations manager!. Thankfully cooler, autumn weather will be with us soon.

I am left saddened by reading your posts though. Partly because you so obviously dislike the country of your birth so much, and partly because you choose to lob the word 'failure' in the direction of those seeking to return there. Not knowing you, I don't know what your motives are for this, or how much of it may be tongue in cheek, so I may be rushing to judgement here. Apologies then if I've got you all wrong then and you're secretly an Anglophile who deep down is supportive and understanding of potential returnees!

Yes they are lovely places, I can't comment so much on Stratford as I've only visited. No microclimate here I'm afraid but I think it's because we only had about a week of snow and it wasn't as bad as up North but then it never is. We are supposed to have a bit more snow this weekend, no sign of it yet though. 

[CJT]

7 hours ago, Sandgroper said:

Totally understandable in the pre-internet days, but anyone has access to a whole host of resources to research any move these days so there really can't be blame any where than with the individual.

I think you hit the nail on the head with 'The trouble is, when you're looking forward to something, you hear what you want to hear.' folk to often do this for instance why anyone can use the heat as an excuse for not liking Queensland for instance is beyond me................why would someone who perhaps prefers a cooler climate like the UK move to Brisbane say, then come on a migration forum and complain about the bloody heat!

People and circumstances change in particular their health.  What might seem like Utopia to someone at 20 might seem like hell on earth when they are 50/60/70.  And that applies to both hot and cold climates.

[Sandgroper]

13 minutes ago, CJT said:

People and circumstances change in particular their health.  What might seem like Utopia to someone at 20 might seem like hell on earth when they are 50/60/70.  And that applies to both hot and cold climates.

I agree totally I'm fairly certain I won't stay in Perth for my retirement but now it absolutely suits our needs.

[bristolman]

10 minutes ago, CJT said:

People and circumstances change in particular their health.  What might seem like Utopia to someone at 20 might seem like hell on earth when they are 50/60/70.  And that applies to both hot and cold climates.

When I was in my 20s I couldn't imagine living anywhere but in Australia, it was never really a thing I considered. Things changed and now I can't imagine living in Australia again. It' not because I hate Australia by any means, people who actually know me know the truth but Australia just doesn't offer me what I want, it's that simple. 

[Quoll]

11 minutes ago, CJT said:

People and circumstances change in particular their health.  What might seem like Utopia to someone at 20 might seem like hell on earth when they are 50/60/70.  And that applies to both hot and cold climates.

I think that’s right. More than just health too, I think a whole load of priorities change with age as well. What’s a jolly adventure in your 20s is not going to be as thrilling when you’re in your 60s. I would definitely struggle to live in PNG again.  I was fine in Aus through from 30s to 50s then it got tough in my 60s. It’ll be interesting to see how my 70s shape up but I’m still a bit of an adventurer.

[Sandgroper]

3 hours ago, Saurer Pfirsich said:

I am left saddened by reading your posts though. Partly because you so obviously dislike the country of your birth so much, and partly because you choose to lob the word 'failure' in the direction of those seeking to return there. Not knowing you, I don't know what your motives are for this, or how much of it may be tongue in cheek, so I may be rushing to judgement here. Apologies then if I've got you all wrong then and you're secretly an Anglophile who deep down is supportive and understanding of potential returnees!

I'm saddened your saddened come on cheer up, it takes a strong person to admit they have failed at something, others just turn to internet forums and become bitter!! 

I think you must have me mixed up with another poster I have no dislike for my country of birth it gave me 30 odd great years I'm proud to be English, I just call BS when I see it, if someone says they are wearing shorts into November and even December I call BS, if someone says they have moved from Logan Central to a 400 year old house in a quaint village where everyone is so much friendlier than anywhere they have ever been in Australia I call BS, If someone says they are living in utopia in a signature  I call BS, If someone tries to tell me garbage about the UK weather which I spent plenty of time living through I call BS. If someone complains they hated the heat but as soon as a blue sky appears.............I could go on but I think you get it.

Similarly if someone tries to write on here Perth/Brisbane/Sydney is utopia I call BS, cleared things up a little I hope 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

On 15/03/2018 at 21:01, MelT said:

Look up the black Saturday fires 2009 and the Queensland floods of 2011/2012/2013 (I lived through all..) if you doubt the extreme harsh Australian climate. That is my experience. No I am not bitter and twisted. Australia has been good to us in some ways but it is not home. Counting down the weeks until we move back to the UK - 23 weeks to go....

We were very close to the Black Saturday fires and had houses burn in our suburbs, we have had the flooding as well including the Cat 5 Cyclone Yasi but it would never ever turn me against a place. The UK has had serious flooding so does that mean you will be moving away from there when the next flood hits? 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

On 15/03/2018 at 21:53, bristolman said:

Over the years we have experienced bushfires when living in Geelong and floods in Brisbane. It's partly why I react when some on here carry on about the weather here, I shouldn't react I know lol

Yes but is that every day and everywhere, for goodness sake Chris it’s like saying it’s raining in Manchester so it must be raining in Greece today.

[bristolman]

Just now, The Pom Queen said:

Yes but is that every day and everywhere, for goodness sake Chris it’s like saying it’s raining in Manchester so it must be raining in Greece today.

Of course not, I was replying to something very specific. 

[simmo]

31 minutes ago, Sandgroper said:

I'm saddened your saddened come on cheer up, it takes a strong person to admit they have failed at something, others just turn to internet forums and become bitter!! 

I think you must have me mixed up with another poster I have no dislike for my country of birth it gave me 30 odd great years I'm proud to be English, I just call BS when I see it, if someone says they are wearing shorts into November and even December I call BS, if someone says they have moved from Logan Central to a 400 year old house in a quaint village where everyone is so much friendlier than anywhere they have ever been in Australia I call BS, If someone says they are living in utopia in a signature  I call BS, If someone tries to tell me garbage about the UK weather which I spent plenty of time living through I call BS. If someone complains they hated the heat but as soon as a blue sky appears.............I could go on but I think you get it.

Similarly if someone tries to write on here Perth/Brisbane/Sydney is utopia I call BS, cleared things up a little I hope 

what is this "call BS" stuff.  Is it another americanism?

[Guest The Pom Queen]

15 hours ago, tea4too said:

If someone is posting within the rules of PIO I think they should be able to post about their feelings without risk of ridicule. Thoughts, views and opinions are not always factual, and individual preference can result in two people sharing an identical experience in a completely different manner.

I don’t see PIO as simply a factual reference tool for migrants, it is a community of people with a wide range of experience that is shared, commented on, ignored or explored. Personally I have no doubt that the whole of Australia does not experience ‘hot dry desert air’, any more than the UK has nothing but ‘wall to wall low grey skies’, yet for some people that is their reality. Jumping on them in an attempt to silence their posts may succeed for a while but is unlikely to change their personal view, and ultimately it isn’t difficult to counter dubious ‘facts’ with a few alternative evidenced ones.

Fwiw I doubt many would be migrants (or UK returnees) finalise their decision based on the extreme view of a single poster but, if they do, it could well be for the best in the long run. T x

 

Personally I wouldn’t base my decision to move on a throw away comment but when you have members keep banging the drum about how bad Australia is it makes people question their decision. 

If 99% were happy but 1% were unhappy who shouts the loudest? It’s the same with everything look at company feedback not many people go out of the way to say if they are happy with a service but if they aren’t it’s plastered all over social media.

‘I wish members who were unhappy wouldn’t blame “Australia” instead if they said I lived in Dandenong in SE Melbourne and we experienced etc etc then it would be more credible and helpful for members moving over instead of everyone keep saying Australia is crap, Australia’s weather is crap, the schools are crap etc etc. 

 

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

13 hours ago, Toots said:

Let me get one thing straight.  I've always supported members of this forum who are thinking of returning to the UK or have already returned.  I have 3 good friends who returned to the UK with their young families a number of years ago.  They had their own good reasons for returning.

What gets up my nose is a certain poster who comes on the forum to bleat constantly about how cr@p his/her whole experience of living in Perth was.  He/she never contributes anything else at all just a constant litany of how dire his/her life was and how dreadful Perth is.  He/she will probably pop back sometime soon with the same old same old.  Usually once every few weeks or so.  The same person probably sits back after posting to see how we all react.    The negativity is quite funny though as I did live in Perth myself at one time and actually liked the place and just don't see it the same way that person does.  I understand he/she hates the place but we only need to hear about it once.  We get it.  You didn't like it so you moved back to the UK and you are now happy.  End of story.  No need to repeat your reasons over and over and over again. 

Plus look how much Perth as changed over the years. I think I’ve only visited 3 times but it’s changed so much on every occasion.