6 reasons that you came to live in Australia

[Bulya]

3 hours ago, Toots said:

We  probably came to Australia round about the time you did @Zack.  My sons had a very good education and have good jobs after completing uni.  It sounds as though you have awful neighbours and I sympathise with you there.  Luckily my husband is in the building trade so we are lucky that he has fixed up any house we've lived in and I agree with you that the quality of houses here isn't the best.  I blame councils for that.  They aren't strict enough. 

Obviously Australia has never suited you and I think it's sad you have spent so many years regretting your move from the UK.  That is such a shame.  I have good friends who have moved from NSW to Tasmania (where I live) and they love it.  Another very good friend is moving here with her husband as soon as they sell their house - also in NSW.  I have known them for over 20 years so it will be good to have them much nearer though I've not had any trouble making friends since we moved to the NW coast of Tassie.  I suppose my husband and I have been lucky to feel settled and happy here.  Wish you felt the same. 

I still say people don’t pick the right part of Australia, which really is a franchise.  I spent time in every state & territory before finding the right part.  Picking one out of a hat, and expecting it to be right, is pretty silly. 

[ramot]

6 hours ago, Zack said:

 Six reasons for not  moving to Australia We   immigrated because of Thatcher Closing Down the Industrious North.And put  a estimated 1 million + Brits out of Work.To favour her beloved EU. Glad to see the Brits are getting their country back hopefully. Never Trust a Tory ! Ask any veteran 

As a Immigrant and a Pom ,you will get berated, put down. .The kids will suffer at school, and maybe you at work. You need to have a thick skin.You'll never be a Aussie. Some think they are when they get their citizenship ,some  poms even  say they even feel different . They must be deluded.

Some have a better standard of living .Depending on what you do and who you are. Most workers   today Find it hard to make ends meet. 

More space ?It doesn't matter a great deal as long as you have good Neighbours.We have Lived on acreage for most of our 46 years .here.And you can have Neighbours from hell  the same in the Suburbs. Aussies  thrive on noise,  bad language and bad manners.. And don't care who hears them.Neighborhood disputes have the Courts clogged up

Adventure depends again what the individual does .I went hunting all the time in the UK .Same as  in Australia .Most live a mundane lifestyle  in Australia and have never seen the outback.Or even the Barrier Reef. 

Never Buy a new Build House or apartment . Cowboy Builders ,Shonky workmanship rule in Australia. It's rip off city. And your not even covered . Just  try getting anything done  in the Building industry it takes Years. Try to sue a Car dealerShip. Or a  work contract you may  find yourself in .

Then there's the  the legal rip offs.Everyone has to bear.With out of control Councils. Some end up getting sacked and some actually go to jail. 

Then there is Captain Cook . It it  hadn't been for him we wouldn't be here. And we wouldn't have wasted our lives and our 4 kids lives. My Wife and I  say .There is no place like home ,with all your family and life long friends. Giving up your roots And missing all the weddings ,family get togethers.Even  funerals.  Is the worst thing ever .WE think. Even at  81 we  regret leaving  home. And we have tried to blend in. .And before you know what's happened . Your life has gone. And you only get one chance. We have made a Goode Lfe and have a decent nest egg. But it doesn't replace what we gave up.

Those of us who have been on PIO for a while know from your previous posts how unhappy you are, both in Australia and the UK when you went back. It’s sad thing to be so unhappy about your life

Please start your own thread asking unhappy immigrants to post their reasons for regretting their move, rather high jacking this thread about positive reasons why posters moved here.

Thank you.

Edited August 29, 2019 by ramot

[Nemesis]

2 hours ago, ramot said:

Those of us who have been on PIO for a while know from your previous posts how unhappy you are, both in Australia and the UK when you went back. It’s sad thing to be so unhappy about your life

Please start your own thread asking unhappy immigrants to post their reasons for regretting their move, rather high jacking this thread about positive reasons why posters moved here.

Thank you.

He really is outdoing himself now, even blaming Captain Cook! I think thats takng things a wee bit too far!!!

[Toots]

22 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

He really is outdoing himself now, even blaming Captain Cook! I think thats takng things a wee bit too far!!!

I honestly don't know if Zack is taking the p!ss or not.

[ali]

9 hours ago, Zack said:

 Six reasons for not  moving to Australia We   immigrated because of Thatcher Closing Down the Industrious North.And put  a estimated 1 million + Brits out of Work.To favour her beloved EU. Glad to see the Brits are getting their country back hopefully. Never Trust a Tory ! Ask any veteran 

As a Immigrant and a Pom ,you will get berated, put down. .The kids will suffer at school, and maybe you at work. You need to have a thick skin.You'll never be a Aussie. Some think they are when they get their citizenship ,some  poms even  say they even feel different . They must be deluded.

Some have a better standard of living .Depending on what you do and who you are. Most workers   today Find it hard to make ends meet. 

More space ?It doesn't matter a great deal as long as you have good Neighbours.We have Lived on acreage for most of our 46 years .here.And you can have Neighbours from hell  the same in the Suburbs. Aussies  thrive on noise,  bad language and bad manners.. And don't care who hears them.Neighborhood disputes have the Courts clogged up

Adventure depends again what the individual does .I went hunting all the time in the UK .Same as  in Australia .Most live a mundane lifestyle  in Australia and have never seen the outback.Or even the Barrier Reef. 

Never Buy a new Build House or apartment . Cowboy Builders ,Shonky workmanship rule in Australia. It's rip off city. And your not even covered . Just  try getting anything done  in the Building industry it takes Years. Try to sue a Car dealerShip. Or a  work contract you may  find yourself in .

Then there's the  the legal rip offs.Everyone has to bear.With out of control Councils. Some end up getting sacked and some actually go to jail. 

Then there is Captain Cook . It it  hadn't been for him we wouldn't be here. And we wouldn't have wasted our lives and our 4 kids lives. My Wife and I  say .There is no place like home ,with all your family and life long friends. Giving up your roots And missing all the weddings ,family get togethers.Even  funerals.  Is the worst thing ever .WE think. Even at  81 we  regret leaving  home. And we have tried to blend in. .And before you know what's happened . Your life has gone. And you only get one chance. We have made a Goode Lfe and have a decent nest egg. But it doesn't replace what we gave up.

At the risk of going all Monty Python … apart from Margaret Thatcher and Captain Cook - why else did you move to Australia?

I've long realised that we  can't judge others by how we ourselves see or fit into the world around you.  People can experience the exact same scenario yet leave it feeling totally different.  We just have to accept peoples differences rather than saying they're deluded.

[ali]

5 hours ago, Bulya said:

I still say people don’t pick the right part of Australia, which really is a franchise.  I spent time in every state & territory before finding the right part.  Picking one out of a hat, and expecting it to be right, is pretty silly. 

I think you have something there Bulya, we certainly came deciding that if we didn't like Perth we'd try another state/area.  States are so vast and different

[Gbye grey sky]

I didn’t even have 6 reasons.

I wanted to live my remaining years in a place that was warm year round (Queensland yay!) and I had the opportunity given that I had married a citizen.

[MARYROSE02]

I have looked at this thread a couple of times already and each time pondered, uselessly, wondering why I came to Australia. Maybe I just wanted an adventure? I remember applying for a job as a male typist for BAE in Saudi Arabia and to emigrate to South Africa, and being rejected for both, (Thank God!?)

The only Australians I was exposed to were the Aussie cricket team and they were all terrifying figures - Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Ian Chappell (who all seem rather pleasant fellows now!)

I had zero intention of coming to Sydney, doing all my planning around, first Queensland, and then WA, but Sydney is where I ended up. I was out in a Go Get car today, not very far, Parra Road, Leichhardt, then over to Canterbury Road and left at I think Bexley Road and returning to the city on the Princes Highway - all with vile traffic made viler by the heavy rain, and in the middle of the day too, though Sydney's peak seems to be 0700 to 2200 7 days a week.

Is there a worse city for traffic in Australia, or the UK? I've encountered Londoners who, rather patronisingly in my opinion, told me Sydney is a breeze, compared to London.

The bottom line now, is that I just "live" here and I can't even be bothered to get into those once so enjoyable "yes it is, no it isn't" back and forths on the subject UK v OZ.

[starlight7]

I find it hard to understand people who live here for years and yeas and never feel happy. Truly. Why would you ? It’s a big world and no one forces you to stay and the excuse of not being able to afford anything else is just that - an excuse.

[Quoll]

3 hours ago, starlight7 said:

I find it hard to understand people who live here for years and yeas and never feel happy. Truly. Why would you ? It’s a big world and no one forces you to stay and the excuse of not being able to afford anything else is just that - an excuse.

Marriage

[Fisher1]

I came to live in Australia because I wanted to watch my grandchildren grow. I love living here and am happy and settled but could have been just as happy and settled in several other places including Spain. My daughter and grandchildren were the compelling reasons behind my move.

[Martinbjulieb]

On 20/07/2019 at 02:17, Bulya said:

Don’t mention the Bacon

 

What??

You can only get smoked bacon !! We were dying for a proper bacon sarnie when we came home!!

[Slean Wolfhead]

On 21/07/2019 at 08:24, Eera said:

I had only one reason - I was doing fieldwork in the sleet and my fingers were too frozen to hold my pen - one of those "screw this for a game of soldiers" moments.  I was a citizen, single, had nothing to stop me and got on an aeroplane 6 months later.

For a lot of people it really is that simple.  If it's in the back of your mind that you'd take the opportunity and you know you have the gumption to act, the decision has already been made before you think of the question.

In our case it was 1.) Weather 2.) Continuing decline of the UK's identity, politics and awareness  3.) Inability to improve standards of education and living 4) Lack of reward and increased job insecurity. 5) Lack of national investment in infrastructure across the UK north of Watford.  6) A feeling that it was going to get a lot worse and our potential would be restricted.

One night the wife held up an industry magazine that was advertising for work in Canberra, with a PR VISA and relocation expenses included.  We'd never been to Australia but i remembered the funny Bill Bryson chapter from "In a Sunburned Country".  Even though for him it was a very boring place, he had described very well the positive side, the climate, the wages, the free time, and the environment.   Because we were very streetwise and had lived in busy Cities all our lives, this was the combination lifestyle that did not exist in the UK .

It literally took 30 seconds to decide, if that.  We never wavered, never regretted a second since.  What we didn't know, we've learned.  What we did know, has proven very useful and is far more rewarded in Australia to the point that we were stunned.  The work ethic that was ingrained on us in the UK is much more respected here.  We should have come 10 years earlier. 

If we go back to the UK at some point we'll be able to live in a far better place than we came from, but in all probability we'll probably travel the world, then live by the coast in a warm country, visiting the UK to see family and friends only. The main difference is that we've been able to take control of our own lives and futures.

[Bulya]

2 hours ago, Martinbjulieb said:

You can only get smoked bacon !! We were dying for a proper bacon sarnie when we came home!!

Incorrect.  

[Toots]

2 hours ago, Martinbjulieb said:

You can only get smoked bacon !! We were dying for a proper bacon sarnie when we came home!!

Coles sell this bacon - smoked or unsmoked.  I don't eat it but OH says it's far better than other bacon on offer.  It's also thinly sliced, again he prefers that to the thicker sort.

 

[Slean Wolfhead]

33 minutes ago, Toots said:

Coles sell this bacon - smoked or unsmoked.  I don't eat it but OH says it's far better than other bacon on offer.  It's also thinly sliced, again he prefers that to the thicker sort.

Got to say, there's lots of unsmoked bacon around.  I only buy that British stuff when it's on offer, it seems to have a high water content and you get all that white fat on it.  The Piallio Irish bacon is really good, that's won awards in the UK.

https://www.pialligofarm.com.au/collections/bacon-1/products/traditional-dry-cured-and-smoked-bacon

[Bulya]

6 hours ago, Slean Wolfhead said:

Got to say, there's lots of unsmoked bacon around.  I only buy that British stuff when it's on offer, it seems to have a high water content and you get all that white fat on it.  The Piallio Irish bacon is really good, that's won awards in the UK.

https://www.pialligofarm.com.au/collections/bacon-1/products/traditional-dry-cured-and-smoked-bacon

Pommy (Danish) bacon is full of water. And yes Pialligo Farm is good, as are lots of the others from specialty butchers like Griffith Butchery.  

[starlight7]

Of course you can get unsmoked bacon here, what do you think? Until recently you couldn’t get gammon like you can get up in the north of England but recently I have seen it around. Same with good cheeses . It has taken a while but they’re here now.

[Bulya]

17 hours ago, starlight7 said:

Of course you can get unsmoked bacon here, what do you think? Until recently you couldn’t get gammon like you can get up in the north of England but recently I have seen it around. Same with good cheeses . It has taken a while but they’re here now.

Gammon has been available here for a decade or two.  

[Zack]

Why Are these Posts still  on here ,they are so old? They are all  Meaningless in 2019;

[Nemesis]

32 minutes ago, Zack said:

Why Are these Posts still  on here ,they are so old? They are all  Meaningless in 2019;

You get weirder by the day, the previous posts are only from last month!

[ramot]

Just now, Nemesis said:

You get weirder by the day, the previous posts are only from last month!

You beat me too it. Very odd!!! Think someone has lost the plot.

[Bulya]

19 hours ago, ramot said:

You beat me too it. Very odd!!! Think someone has lost the plot.

First you need to have ‘the plot’ 

[Toots]

22 hours ago, Zack said:

Why Are these Posts still  on here ,they are so old? They are all  Meaningless in 2019;

Didn't stop you looking at the thread though did it Zack.  

[Bound4Tassie]

1) I grew up in the 80’s when everyone was obsessed with Australia eg Crocodile Dundee, Neighbours etc.!Later Billy Connolly’s Tour of Aus and Bill Bryson’s Down Under kept the Aus fire alight.

2) During Uni I had the opportunity to come to Perth for a couple of months. Loved it. Wanted to emigrate/return ASAP.

3) After saving up for a couple of years I came out as a backpacker. Loved Aus all the more. Met a local bloke in Tassie. Took  him home as a souvenir! ( First mistake .... not meeting him.... but should have stayed In Aus then and got a visa via work)

4) Retuned to Aus 2 yrs ago as husband hated living in the UK. Had intended to move many years before but housing crash stopped us followed by children / struggling to save up despite both being professionals.

5)Jobs/earnings/house buying prospects all better for us both here. 

6) Weather .... sort of anyway. I love seasons so Tassie suits me. I couldn’t cope with mainland heat. But on the whole Tassie has milder winters/less greyness/ more daylight in winter. Summer is usually slightly warmer/ more predictable than a UK summer but anything over 25 I don’t like anyway! 
 

7) Kids enjoying the outdoors more. They joined surf club which definitely wasn’t happening on the North Sea! Out on bikes more. Looking at SUPs/kayaks when they get a bit older as we’re only 5 mins to the coast. 
Obviously skin cancer risk is higher so we are careful/ sun smart. 

8 ) Love the Aussie wildlife in our garden. The space we have. Have neighbours but we’re not squished in. Room to breathe and enjoy the birdsong, bandicoots, wallabies and our resident echidna. 
 

Sorry I went over the 6!

Edited October 28, 2019 by Bound4Tassie