Do you consider yourself Australian?

[Red Rose]

To those Brits with Australian citizenship, do you consider yourself: Australian; British / Australian; or British (with an Australian passport)?

I have a lot of Australian friends with British passports, but none of them refer to themselves as British, whereas I get the feeling that pomsinoz are more likely to refer to themselves as Australian. 

[Marisawright]

I'm originally Scottish. Came to Australia in my thirties.  If people ask me, I'll say I'm Scottish-Australian but I definitely think of myself as Australian first.  If I didn't, I wouldn't stay in Australia.

[NicF]

I don’t have an Australian passport but I’ve been here nearly 9 years so could have had citizenship for years.  I will get round to it eventually but I’m not in any hurry.  When I do though I will not be any more Australian than I am now, which is not Australian at all. I consider myself to be British and will always be British as I was born and spent the first 37 years of my life there even though I’m not bothered about living in Britain anymore.  My husband was born and bred in Australia and has a British passport but would consider himself Australian.  My kids on the other hand have both British and Australian citizenship and spent the first half of their childhoods in the UK and the second in Australia.  I think their sense of being British or Australian is very different to ours.  Last time we went to the UK (about 3.5 years ago) they both said they felt British in Australia and Australian in Britain.  My 19 year old said the other day she felt more Australian than British now though.  Maybe when I’ve spent another 30 years here I’ll start feeling a bit more Australian.

[Ken]

I've been living in Australia for nearly 9 years and have had citizenship for more than 5 years now, but I lived in the UK for over 4 decades before the first time I even visited Australia and I had only British citizenship for the first 5 decades of my life so it's hard to feel as Australia as I feel British. Which makes sense. I've been Australia citizen for 5 years and a British citizen for 55 years. Of course that overstates the ratio, it's not really 5:55 (1:11), if you compare time living in the country it's closer to 9:43 (1:4.8) and obviously there must be some loading to the more recent years so at some point in the next decade I think it should even out. I'll be very surprised if I still feel more British after another 30 years here!

[HappyHeart]

The longer I stay here the more Australian I feel. I have dual nationality, citizenship 8 years ago, been here 12 plus years.

If I had to define it (which I don't like to do) I'd say I'm British-Australian. I lived in Britain for 3/4 of my life and Australia 1/4. My son who was 2 when we arrived also says British Australian. He's proud of his heritage. It's a small world. We don't need to put labels on ourselves. We're all world citizens in effect. 

[DukeNinja]

Does one need to have a nationality-based identity?

[Parley]

4 minutes ago, DukeNinja said:

Does one need to have a nationality-based identity?

Yes. Of course.

[HappyHeart]

19 minutes ago, Parley said:

Yes. Of course.

Why?

[Red Rose]

21 minutes ago, DukeNinja said:

Does one need to have a nationality-based identity?

It's a tricky one. It's healthy to describe yourself as a world citizen, but you can't put "world" or "N/A" down as your citizenship status when applying for a bank account as I don't think those options are available in the drop down menu. 

[HappyHeart]

36 minutes ago, Red Rose said:

It's a tricky one. It's healthy to describe yourself as a world citizen, but you can't put "world" or "N/A" down as your citizenship status when applying for a bank account as I don't think those options are available in the drop down menu. 

Thats right of course but your question was more about how you 'feel'. At least thats how I took it. 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, DukeNinja said:

Does one need to have a nationality-based identity?

You don't have to, but I don't think it's something you choose.   For me, it's not a jingoistic thing, it's more like an affection.   I feel more affection for Australia than for the UK.  It's a bit like what they say - you can't choose your family but you can choose your friends.  

[Red Rose]

16 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

Thats right of course but your question was more about how you 'feel'. At least thats how I took it. 

You're right, that is what meant, and how your feel about your nationality I guess changes depending on many factors. I'd imagine you could feel Australian in Australia, and return to the UK and feel British again. It's a fluid state of play to an extent. 

[newjez]

2 hours ago, Parley said:

Yes. Of course.

I consider myself to be Australian.

I've spent equal time in both countries, but I grew up in Australia, and I don't share a cultural history with the UK.

But I think English people consider me Australian because of my Australian accent, and I think Australian people consider me English because of my English accent.

You can't win sometimes.

[MacGyver]

Scottish - Australian, although I’m not sure I completely fit in either place. I feel a deep connection to Scottish places/scenery/landscapes, but less and less to the way of life. I feel less of a connection to Australian places/scenery/landscapes but more and more a connection to the way of life here. 

I don't perceive there to be a cohesive 'British’ identity anymore. I’m not sure there ever was outside certain areas, the BBC and biscuit tins.

[Bulya]

Australian of course. 

[Parley]

10 hours ago, Red Rose said:

You're right, that is what meant, and how your feel about your nationality I guess changes depending on many factors. I'd imagine you could feel Australian in Australia, and return to the UK and feel British again. It's a fluid state of play to an extent. 

Not really. It would take at least 10 years to switch allegiances for most people.

[Melbpom]

Australian, I felt like a tourist when I went back recently. I find the accent gives me away, it's Australian in the UK and British in Australia.

[Toots]

I've never really thought about what I consider myself to be.  Scottish-Australian I suppose.  I love Scotland and still have very good friends and a sister living there.  I have never lost my Scottish accent after very nearly 40 years in Australia.  My husband is Australian and our two sons were born here.  The three of them also have British passports.  My husband has a very soft spot for the UK.  Parts of Tasmania remind me of where I grew up in Scotland .....................  rivers, lakes (lochs) forests, rolling hills and the sea.  

 

[Blue Flu]

Even though born in Australia don't feel some overwhelming sense of being Australian. What does that even mean? I take on aspects of all countries I've lived in. Many not even consciously. Just a preference for a particular thing in this country and that in another. Nowhere will provide all requirements. 

I suppose if one lives most of their life in a particular country it may prove more clear cut, this question of nationality. I don't see it matters beyond the legal aspects of residency and all that entails. A bit like watching the World Cup  in Germany in 06. I followed several countries in support watching them play and felt the intensity equally among that support. 

[Parley]

13 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

Even though born in Australia don't feel some overwhelming sense of being Australian. What does that even mean? I take on aspects of all countries I've lived in. Many not even consciously. Just a preference for a particular thing in this country and that in another. Nowhere will provide all requirements. 

I suppose if one lives most of their life in a particular country it may prove more clear cut, this question of nationality. I don't see it matters beyond the legal aspects of residency and all that entails. A bit like watching the World Cup  in Germany in 06. I followed several countries in support watching them play and felt the intensity equally among that support. 

That is very sad to me if you don't have that sense of belonging anywhere.

[JetBlast]

I have had this conversation with a few people. It seems to be people identify their nationality with the country they grew up in. I think the psychology of an accent also plays a lot into this.

[Bulya]

4 minutes ago, JetBlast said:

I have had this conversation with a few people. It seems to be people identify their nationality with the country they grew up in. I think the psychology of an accent also plays a lot into this.

Disagree. 

[Blue Flu]

1 hour ago, Parley said:

That is very sad to me if you don't have that sense of belonging anywhere.

Actually rather liberating. Home can be in many places minus the excess baggage being overly    attached to any one place. . For example I could quite comfortably live many years in a city like London or Paris and not think myself as English or French. That doesn't play out in anywhere close to the same way in say Adelaide or Perth for example .

Edited May 2, 2021 by Blue Flu

[Marisawright]

14 hours ago, Red Rose said:

You're right, that is what meant, and how your feel about your nationality I guess changes depending on many factors. I'd imagine you could feel Australian in Australia, and return to the UK and feel British again. It's a fluid state of play to an extent. 

I returned to the UK and felt more Australian than usual!

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, JetBlast said:

I have had this conversation with a few people. It seems to be people identify their nationality with the country they grew up in. I think the psychology of an accent also plays a lot into this.

Maybe that's my issue.   I was sent to a speech therapist when I was three to cure a speech impediment.  Unfortunately she didn't just fix the problem, she taught me how to speak "properly".  By the time I started school, I was speaking like the Queen and got teased mercilessly.  The strange thing was that I really wanted to speak like the other kids, but it was always hard work.  I felt I was always 'putting on" the Scottish accent, and even then I didn't do a good job of it - people often thought I was English, though in fact I only crossed the border once in all my childhood/teenage years, to go to a wedding. 

At 18, when I went to London for a working holiday during college, it was a relief to be able to speak in my normal voice!

Edited May 2, 2021 by Marisawright