Guest Barry7 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 How do everyone. Barry7 is my moniker, almost 62 years old and a happy migrant. I migrated to Australia after completing 5 years in the RAF. I was fortunate enough to get here on the 10 pound scheme in 1969 with my wife and two daughters. We sailed on the old 'Fairstar' and arrived in Sydney on a hot December day in 69. I was terribly homesick for the first 7 years having left my parents, brothers and sisters back in Blighty. To be honest I hated it. I got a Government job that paid fairly well and put up with the strangeness and heat until 1977 when we had a holiday back to England. The first week back I was in paradise, loved everything I saw but something strange happened. In week 2 I started to feel uncomfortable and hemmed in, by week four I was positively yearning for my home outside Sydney. By week 6 I was ready to walk back to Oz without waiting for the Qantas jet. What had changed ? England or me ? In the first 7 years in Oz I had changed without realising it. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but I suddenly realised that it was where I wanted to be. We came back and after a year or so we applied for Aussie citizenship and have been Aussies now for 30 years (although I am still proud of my dual British citizenship as well). My wife and I have four grown up children now, all happily married and with great jobs and their own homes and 10 fantastic Grandchildren. We all thrive in our lifestyle and would not change a thing. I used to feel sorry for those who returned to the UK, I knew what it felt like to be homesick and I know that life in Australia is not to everyones taste, but I can only say that perseverence and commitment are what got me and my family through the dark stages and we have enjoyed a fantastic lif over here. I don't even miss my fish and chips any more.:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 WELCOME TO PIO! That is such a perfect post and sums up everything that we have all gone through or are going through. Good on ya mate! Congrats and well done on your life in Oz. We have been here 4 years almost. I always say that I would go back to visit but never to live! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Working to fish Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Good day ,and what a great post thanking you. eddie:emoticon-signxmas: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 What a wonderful post and I hope that some of the people who are currently struggling over here can relate and learn something from it. I look forward to hearing more about your journey in Australia. Thank you Kate Ps I don't think I could ever learn to forget the Fish and Chips!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Great post - I always love hearing about stories from the folk that have been here a while and how they settled in. I always imagined it to be alot harder than it is today being a 10PP, especially since the rise of the internet and cheaper ways to communicate. I can't imagine the trouble it might have been 20 or 30 years ago if you wanted to speak to frineds and family quickly and cheaply when needed. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaniaColin Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Barry Welcome to PIO, what a lovely post, it sounds like you really did make the right decision, lets hope i will be writing something similiar in a few years You and your family have a great Christmas and all the very best Tania X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WARDStoOZ Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi there and welcome to PomsinOz...!!! What a great post... I'm glad that Australia is where you want to be! Looking forward to more of your posts, Dan :emoticon-signxmas: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest James.S Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 What a brilliant post, it really helps as my wife, son and I are just about to leave the UK and it's all so daunting, we have really been wobbling about is this the right thing to do or not... so thank you for takng the effort to post... James... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Barry7 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 What a brilliant post, it really helps as my wife, son and I are just about to leave the UK and it's all so daunting, we have really been wobbling about is this the right thing to do or not... so thank you for takng the effort to post... James... Thank you all for your welcome. James. A couple of things to keep in the back of your mind when trying to settle. First and foremost, many migrants I have known, and I have known many, have failed to settle because they expect everything here to be like it was in England. It most definitley is not. I laugh when I hear of Brits taking holidays overseas, and Spain is an excellent example, where they demand their fish and chips, Roast beef and Yorkshire Pud and everything else English. My elderly Mother on a stop over to here in Kuala Lumpur demanded Chips with her malaysian feast in a malaysian Restaurant and when they told her that they did not serve chips she refused to eat the rest of 'That muck' without her chips. If you are looking for an England with green rolling meadows with a pub and a shop on each corner transplanted to a sunny clime forget it. You won't find it here. We had friends migrate from Manchester and they stayed with us for a while. On the first day here my mate was up with the larks and whilst we slept he decided to take our dog for a walk and go to the corner shop for a paper. He was not aware that our nearest 'corner shop' was 12 ks away. We could not locate him for 3 hours, did not know where he had gone, stinking hot outside and we were beginning to panic. I suddenly heard my dog barking and on going outside found my Pommy mate in a state of almost dehydration and almost in a state of collapse. I had to give him a dose of ventylin spray to get him breathing properly again. Accept that it is a different lifestyle, get used to it, absorb it, enjoy it's uniqueness and move on, especially at Christmas where you will more than likely spend it on the beach in searing temperatures, faces pasted with suncream and trying to keep the sand out of your salad. I recall some years ago my Mum & dad spent Christmas with us and being traditionalists they demanded that we have an English Christmas lunch, so there we were, 100 degrees F outside, 108 F inside, 95% humidity all around the table eating Hot turkey, Roast Potatoes, Sprouts, carrots, steaming Chrissy Pud, with paper hats on and the dye from the hats pouring down our faces as we sweated in the heatwave conditions. Ugh. Secondly, I heard someone complain on this site that Aussies were RACIST. Well, quite a few are and you will find that in any country. In the main though, I found them to be completely the opposite from what I thought they would be. When I started my working life I was constantly barraged with jokes about the poor hygiene standards of the Brits, only bathing once per week etc. At first I found this upsetting, I took it to heart and began showering four times a day believing that they were telling me that I smelled. After a while I realised that I was being tested. I found that if you, the target, got upset by these remarks and became sulky and snarly the Aussies just labelled you a whingeing Pom and wiped you, didn't want to know you. If you gave back as good as you got, gave them some back with 'convict' jokes etc and had a good laugh about it they respected you and you got a lot of good mates out of it. Trouble is they still carry on with the 'unwashed Pom' jokes and even though they have heard them all a thousand times they still roll around the floor as though it was a new joke and hillarious. You get used to it. They have a childlike exhuberance about them. Aussies hate whingeing poms but usually have a respect for the UK in general except when it's cricket season and the Ashes are being played for. I have many, many Aussie friends and they are the salt of the earth. I also have quite a few Brit friends and they are also the salt of the earth. basically we are not that different. Funny thing is though, I have found more unpleasent comments about me living in Australia from Brits back home when I have visited than I have had from Aussies here about me being a Pom. Life here is what you make of it, but if you are looking for the land of milk and honey, I hope you are bringing your own because this place is not perfect, nowhere is but it's a 'can do' place where if you want to, you can do. I sincerely hope that you make a success of it in this not so perfect but wonderfull country.:emoticon-signxmas: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pippin Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Barry... just wanted to say welcome and thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.. your words are really encouraging and supportive, particularly to us new arrivals!! Pippin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Barry7 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Barry... just wanted to say welcome and thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.. your words are really encouraging and supportive, particularly to us new arrivals!! Pippin Cheers Pippin. No matter what anyone says, I believe it takes a great ammount of courage to transplant yourself to the other side of the world to make a new life, especially if you have a young family. If you have the guts to make that decision then you have the guts to make a go of it. Homesickness is merely a state of mind. It's always worst for the women though especially if they are leaving their mothers behind in the UK. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackboots Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 hello barry , its great to hear your success story , being a migrant, my aunt and uncle were the same as you , ten pound poms stayed in a commune style living arrangement untill they got jobs and homes and they to did the boomerang thing mainly my aunt, she is fine now took ages to settle, uncle loves it and said he feels like he is allways on holiday! now they have grandchildren , bless him. we have it very easy compared to you guys did , don't we? i hope we are the same as you in 30 years time , god willing , merry xmas and happy new years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow43 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 How do everyone. Barry7 is my moniker, almost 62 years old and a happy migrant. I migrated to Australia after completing 5 years in the RAF. I was fortunate enough to get here on the 10 pound scheme in 1969 with my wife and two daughters. We sailed on the old 'Fairstar' and arrived in Sydney on a hot December day in 69. I was terribly homesick for the first 7 years having left my parents, brothers and sisters back in Blighty. To be honest I hated it. I got a Government job that paid fairly well and put up with the strangeness and heat until 1977 when we had a holiday back to England. The first week back I was in paradise, loved everything I saw but something strange happened. In week 2 I started to feel uncomfortable and hemmed in, by week four I was positively yearning for my home outside Sydney. By week 6 I was ready to walk back to Oz without waiting for the Qantas jet. What had changed ? England or me ? In the first 7 years in Oz I had changed without realising it. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but I suddenly realised that it was where I wanted to be. We came back and after a year or so we applied for Aussie citizenship and have been Aussies now for 30 years (although I am still proud of my dual British citizenship as well). My wife and I have four grown up children now, all happily married and with great jobs and their own homes and 10 fantastic Grandchildren. We all thrive in our lifestyle and would not change a thing. I used to feel sorry for those who returned to the UK, I knew what it felt like to be homesick and I know that life in Australia is not to everyones taste, but I can only say that perseverence and commitment are what got me and my family through the dark stages and we have enjoyed a fantastic lif over here. I don't even miss my fish and chips any more.:wink: Barry you are in the same position as me except you came one year earlier. I fully endorse your post, and I don't miss the fish n chips either, as we get them local as good if not better, except they won't let us have the screeds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunseekers Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Barry Welcome to POI , Just wanted to say what a great post - I think its what many of us needed to hear, this is such a nerve wracking experiance and i know if i start missing home when i finally land i will think of your story and it will bring me comfort. You have a wonderful way with words. Ps Super Cute Grandkids. Colette x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Barry7 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Cheers folks. I also used to call England 'Home' for the first 7 years. After that I refered to it as 'The old country' and then I always called Australia 'Home'. Give Aussie a fair go and she will give you a good life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Deb62 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Barry. Great post. It's so encouraging to hear from those who have emigrated and made a go of it. Even more so when it obviously didn't come easy. Gives hope to us all. I'm sure you're right about commitment. Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest whitey25817 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Sir, I dips my lid to ya. Brilliant post. My Dad bought us out here in 65. He only recently passed but his final wish was to have an Australian flag on his coffin. His wish was off course granted, and he left us knowing that he had bought us to a fantastic country full of oppertunity. Every day I think of his courage bringing 4 kids half way round the world. We are all lucky to be here, but always remember, and are proud of where we came from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest James.S Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Thank you all for your welcome. James. A couple of things to keep in the back of your mind when trying to settle. First and foremost, many migrants I have known, and I have known many, have failed to settle because they expect everything here to be like it was in England. It most definitley is not. I laugh when I hear of Brits taking holidays overseas, and Spain is an excellent example, where they demand their fish and chips, Roast beef and Yorkshire Pud and everything else English. My elderly Mother on a stop over to here in Kuala Lumpur demanded Chips with her malaysian feast in a malaysian Restaurant and when they told her that they did not serve chips she refused to eat the rest of 'That muck' without her chips. If you are looking for an England with green rolling meadows with a pub and a shop on each corner transplanted to a sunny clime forget it. You won't find it here. We had friends migrate from Manchester and they stayed with us for a while. On the first day here my mate was up with the larks and whilst we slept he decided to take our dog for a walk and go to the corner shop for a paper. He was not aware that our nearest 'corner shop' was 12 ks away. We could not locate him for 3 hours, did not know where he had gone, stinking hot outside and we were beginning to panic. I suddenly heard my dog barking and on going outside found my Pommy mate in a state of almost dehydration and almost in a state of collapse. I had to give him a dose of ventylin spray to get him breathing properly again. Accept that it is a different lifestyle, get used to it, absorb it, enjoy it's uniqueness and move on, especially at Christmas where you will more than likely spend it on the beach in searing temperatures, faces pasted with suncream and trying to keep the sand out of your salad. I recall some years ago my Mum & dad spent Christmas with us and being traditionalists they demanded that we have an English Christmas lunch, so there we were, 100 degrees F outside, 108 F inside, 95% humidity all around the table eating Hot turkey, Roast Potatoes, Sprouts, carrots, steaming Chrissy Pud, with paper hats on and the dye from the hats pouring down our faces as we sweated in the heatwave conditions. Ugh. Secondly, I heard someone complain on this site that Aussies were RACIST. Well, quite a few are and you will find that in any country. In the main though, I found them to be completely the opposite from what I thought they would be. When I started my working life I was constantly barraged with jokes about the poor hygiene standards of the Brits, only bathing once per week etc. At first I found this upsetting, I took it to heart and began showering four times a day believing that they were telling me that I smelled. After a while I realised that I was being tested. I found that if you, the target, got upset by these remarks and became sulky and snarly the Aussies just labelled you a whingeing Pom and wiped you, didn't want to know you. If you gave back as good as you got, gave them some back with 'convict' jokes etc and had a good laugh about it they respected you and you got a lot of good mates out of it. Trouble is they still carry on with the 'unwashed Pom' jokes and even though they have heard them all a thousand times they still roll around the floor as though it was a new joke and hillarious. You get used to it. They have a childlike exhuberance about them. Aussies hate whingeing poms but usually have a respect for the UK in general except when it's cricket season and the Ashes are being played for. I have many, many Aussie friends and they are the salt of the earth. I also have quite a few Brit friends and they are also the salt of the earth. basically we are not that different. Funny thing is though, I have found more unpleasent comments about me living in Australia from Brits back home when I have visited than I have had from Aussies here about me being a Pom. Life here is what you make of it, but if you are looking for the land of milk and honey, I hope you are bringing your own because this place is not perfect, nowhere is but it's a 'can do' place where if you want to, you can do. I sincerely hope that you make a success of it in this not so perfect but wonderfull country.:emoticon-signxmas: Thanks a lot for the reply, a lot of what you said i find very reassuring, we don't expect the grass to be greener, maybe a bit warmer, well a lot warmer i hope! We also don't want or expect it to be a warmer version of england, that would be dissapointing, we expect to find a country with a better climate, cleaner air than london, a greater feeling of space with hopefully more relaxed people, although we do expect there to be a few unfavourable people i'm sure they are everywhere, but i would like to think that people are more positive and less depressed than they are here right now. I would also like to think it's a much nicer enviroment to bring up my so who is 6, where we are in london i can't see what the future would hold for him, most of the kid's near to where we live just hang around on street corners getting up to no good, getting drunk, stoned, robbing or fighting... things have changed a lot from when i grew up.. It's hard to know what to expect in Oz, we are simply going to take it as it comes, and adapt to how it is... we can't wait! All the best, James... :smile: London has got Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Fletchers Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Hi Barry & welcome to PIO. What an inspirational post, it's lovely to hear from someone who has been through it all and who realises they have made the right decision to move half way round the world. We aim to move next summer ( 2nd time around for us! ) and I'm already feeling anxious about going through the whole process again........ wondering if we're doing the right thing etc. I think many PIO members will benefit from your advice and the stories you can tell, so keep posting. Best wishes & Merry Christmas Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I can go along with everything you said Bazza, we arrived in Sept 1970, it took me at least 7 years to settle & 20 years to pluck up courage to get on a plane again to see my beloved Yorkshire, I hate flying, but after only 3 days in the old dart, I knew where my heart belonged & couldn't wait to get back to my family in the Illawarra. All my family have visited us over the years and couldn't understand why I would want to leave this paradise, at least these days people are in touch with loved ones at the flick of a switch etc, not like our day when we had to book a phone call & go to the exchange to make it, or wait weeks for mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Polegate Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Hi Kernow 43 We are hoping to emigrate roundabout 2010 when and if we get our CPV. We want to live near our daughter and her family in North Lakes and like Redcliffe very much. Do you know any over 60s who have emigrated and settled really well? Will it be hard for us to make new friends at our age? Thanks Jackie & David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Barry7 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I can go along with everything you said Bazza, we arrived in Sept 1970, it took me at least 7 years to settle & 20 years to pluck up courage to get on a plane again to see my beloved Yorkshire, I hate flying, but after only 3 days in the old dart, I knew where my heart belonged & couldn't wait to get back to my family in the Illawarra.All my family have visited us over the years and couldn't understand why I would want to leave this paradise, at least these days people are in touch with loved ones at the flick of a switch etc, not like our day when we had to book a phone call & go to the exchange to make it, or wait weeks for mail. Skippy, I live not far from you, I love the Illawarra, especially around Shell Harbour and Kiama so I know how lucky you are. Some years ago on a trip back to the Old dart I visited a nephew outside Manchester. He lived in a mid terrace house, three up/two down with a gasworks and tatty old workingmens club directly opposite him. He was interested in coming to Oz so I invited him out for a holiday to suss the place out. He came out for three weeks and decided that he preferred his cobbled street and terrace house so did not bother to apply. A few weeks later I was visiting a mate down at Vincentia on the fabulous Jervis Bay. I was sitting on his balcony overlooking the white sand and emerald blue water of the bay, sipping on a Tinny of Victoria Bitter and watching the sulphur crested cockatoos cawing, screeching and flying from tree to tree on a warm, balmy summers night and I drifted into deep thought and tried to work out the workings of the human brain that could make a person prefer to look out of his front window and see the gassworks and the drunks spilling out of the workingmens club to the sight I had before me. I was reminded of two old English sayings, ie, "There's nowt as queer as folk", and "Each to his own". I also have coined a saying, "British by birth, Australian by choice". Hope that doesn't offend some but It's how I feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 "British by birth, Australian by choice". So true Baz. I got the shock of my life a few months ago, no sooner do you leave Appin these days and you're in the suburbs of Campbelltown, I worked for Juvenile Justice for over 13 years before getting medically retired in 2001 due to injuries received & did trips to Reiby juvenile centre & the courthouse several times a week, I well remember when the first houses started around where the silo is today, it was a shock to see how that place has grown. We used to go to the pub on Camden Valley Way many years ago too, to try out the Pommie Beers, I assume the pub is still there, that was always a stop off after the Menangle markets. I think a lot of people under estimate how the homesickness virus will affect them once the honeymoon period is over, I know I did, I love being able to go to the beach whenever I want, it's 10 mins away, something that I could only do once a year in the UK, I never tire of that, I often think how fortunate we were to come here when we did and so glad we stuck it out, especially when I see the grandkids enjoying themselves in this wonderful environment. We have some newbies that have come out in the last year or so, they are loving it, there are 2 more families coming next year, then hopefully we are all going to get together at the Wharf Restaurant at Kiama where the son of one family is now the head chef, keep your eyes on the What's the Illawarra Like thread for the date & time, probably 3 to 4 months time, you'll be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow43 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Hi Kernow 43 We are hoping to emigrate roundabout 2010 when and if we get our CPV. We want to live near our daughter and her family in North Lakes and like Redcliffe very much. Do you know any over 60s who have emigrated and settled really well? Will it be hard for us to make new friends at our age? Thanks Jackie & David We have many friends over 60 [in our age group and love Redcliffe. There is so much to do for older folk also young ones. There is a terrific Cultural centre,always things on. All types of clubs to go to. We have a lovely seawater lagoon as many on PIO have visited, and go there at 5 00am any day and you will find plenty of us oldies swimming or doing there water aerobics. Redcliffe is a very friendly community, more like a village atmosphere. We will see our days out here DV. Nowhere else we would live, look forward every day to doing something different, haven't had the time yet to take up fishing. Have you been out for a holiday yet? We have made lots of friends from UK who come out every year to visit there family. Let me know via the group or PM me if you like to know anything specific or any photos sent of the area. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Exactly how I feel and we are so happy to come home after being away overseas now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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