Guest Three Lions Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 ...especially if you want to go back to that awful hellhole that is the U.K... ....people who have never even been here and really do, sadly, think that all who come leave their troubles at Heathrow and live in some mythical utopia where you can sit on the beach all day beneath the ever shining sun... Mmm...these two quotes are interesting and worth exploring. The first is a phenomenal generalisation; clearly you say so to express your feelings of dislike for the UK but from a more objective perspective I do wonder what the actual reality is about this whole 'the UK is terrible, you're better off in Aus' philosophy beloved of many expats and of course many, many Aussies. I keep reading references to the terrible behaviour of teenagers and the youth in general in the UK. Well, I live in what is generally considered a good suburb yet it is quite common for the teenagers to vandalise the bus shelters and Australia post boxes nearby on a regular basis. The other weekend, in the middle of the night, a group of them actually kicked-in an Australia Post box and unearthed it, leaving it lying across the road. A few months back youths kicked in all the glass in the bus shelter. I wonder why it is that when this happens in Australia, and my first-hand, eye-witness experience proves it does, nothing much is said about it, yet when it happens in the UK it's loud cries of ''England's gone to the dogs! There's no respect anymore from the youth! Let's leave as soon as possible!'' all round. The papers are full of it and so is the public. Here the media and the public are just full of how wonderful Australia is!!! Similarly, I've worked as a teacher in both countries and found the high-schools in Aus, and the behaviour of pupils, no different at all from the equivalent secondary schools in England. Not worse at all, but likewise certainly no better. Exactly the same in fact in all tangible respects! It's a difference of mindset and attitude and focus, not a difference in reality. As for the second quote, it's certainly amazing how common it is for people to think that life is perfect in Australia. It's probably because that's the way Australia presents itself. People come to Aus thinking it's going to be so so much better to live here. From my experience, the fundamentals of life, such as bills, taxes, youth behaviour and (lack of) courtesy on the roads are no different at all in Australia, but somehow in people's imaginations they are.....and I suspect that will continue, for it has become, somehow, the 'norm' and 'everybody knows that'. ....and that is the weirdest thing of all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Locke Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Mmm...these two quotes are interesting and worth exploring. The first is a phenomenal generalisation; clearly you say so to express your feelings of dislike for the UK but from a more objective perspective I do wonder what the actual reality is about this whole 'the UK is terrible, you're better off in Aus' philosophy beloved of many expats and of course many, many Aussies. lol, you have totally misinterpreted me. I`ve been here seven years and cannot stand the place and am moving back to the U.K. My comment was sarcasm in relation to the bashing that the U.K constantly recieves... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 lol, you have totally misinterpreted me. I`ve been here seven years and cannot stand the place and am moving back to the U.K. My comment was sarcasm in relation to the bashing that the U.K constantly recieves... Fair enough! I see what you mean. I think I make some very valid points in my post nonetheless though!:yes: Why do you personally hate Aus? I'm interested! Btw, I don't like it much either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i need stimulation Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Mmm...these two quotes are interesting and worth exploring. The first is a phenomenal generalisation; clearly you say so to express your feelings of dislike for the UK but from a more objective perspective I do wonder what the actual reality is about this whole 'the UK is terrible, you're better off in Aus' philosophy beloved of many expats and of course many, many Aussies. I keep reading references to the terrible behaviour of teenagers and the youth in general in the UK. Well, I live in what is generally considered a good suburb yet it is quite common for the teenagers to vandalise the bus shelters and Australia post boxes nearby on a regular basis. The other weekend, in the middle of the night, a group of them actually kicked-in an Australia Post box and unearthed it, leaving it lying across the road. A few months back youths kicked in all the glass in the bus shelter. I wonder why it is that when this happens in Australia, and my first-hand, eye-witness experience proves it does, nothing much is said about it, yet when it happens in the UK it's loud cries of ''England's gone to the dogs! There's no respect anymore from the youth! Let's leave as soon as possible!'' all round. The papers are full of it and so is the public. Here the media and the public are just full of how wonderful Australia is!!! Similarly, I've worked as a teacher in both countries and found the high-schools in Aus, and the behaviour of pupils, no different at all from the equivalent secondary schools in England. Not worse at all, but likewise certainly no better. Exactly the same in fact in all tangible respects! It's a difference of mindset and attitude and focus, not a difference in reality. As for the second quote, it's certainly amazing how common it is for people to think that life is perfect in Australia. It's probably because that's the way Australia presents itself. People come to Aus thinking it's going to be so so much better to live here. From my experience, the fundamentals of life, such as bills, taxes, youth behaviour and (lack of) courtesy on the roads are no different at all in Australia, but somehow in people's imaginations they are.....and I suspect that will continue, for it has become, somehow, the 'norm' and 'everybody knows that'. ....and that is the weirdest thing of all! thats right it's just that the english tend to talk a lot more in general, and you always hear about what goes on creating the illusion that crime is much higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO are ya Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 GDay all, Well honestly what does everyone expect regarding crime.....56 + million people in the size of Victoria...no wonder the crime is higher in the UK. I am an Aussie who is bored with Oz and needs an adventure. Flying 8 hours to get out of the country doesn''d do it for me. OK people say "But you have everything you need in Oz...why want to fly out?" Even then our neighbouring countries are.... similar?....with no offence intended. I like the diversity of Europe. Send me back here when I retire! Oo are ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Locke Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 . Why do you personally hate Aus? I'm interested! Btw, I don't like it much either! I’m more than guilty for using the words ‘hate’ and ‘Australia’ in the same sentence, born from frustration, but I don’t hate it as such, more strongly dislike…if you can adapt and settle here then you can make a good life for yourself…our lives have been fairly comfortable (materialistically), three of our children were born here and it’s their home…I just find it all quite dull, bland, unstimulating and uninspiring, all of which have had a huge effect on my psyche and all of which can be commonly mistaken for ‘laid-back lifestyle’. There`s something lacking and the best word to describe it for me a ‘sharpness’. I think there is a big difference between being homesick (which can sometimes be adapted to and in some sense overcome) and feeling displaced, being out of the environment that made, and makes, you who you are…and that feeling, added to the dullness and the anger I now feel at myself for having stayed here so long has been a nightmare… The people I’ve met (and this is my Pov and in no way a generalization) seem to have an air of self-congratulatory smugness, that this is indeed God’s country and it goes without saying that everyone wants to flock here…the comments I`ve experienced when mentioning returning to the U.K. like, “we know a British couple who went back to England, but they soon came back to Australia…” and “My husband is from Cornwall, he said he would NEVER go back!!” may well be pride in the country but it all seems like scoring points to me…and the reality is...it’s not better. Its just different, and it’s surprising how much you can miss your own culture, your sense of ‘self‘, the things you took for granted and, in a lot of cases, complained about. We came here for the fabled ‘better lifestyle’ but socially and mentally living here has felt like a huge step backwards… And you..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackie Macdonald Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hear, hear!! jxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I’m more than guilty for using the words ‘hate’ and ‘Australia’ in the same sentence, born from frustration, but I don’t hate it as such, more strongly dislike…if you can adapt and settle here then you can make a good life for yourself…our lives have been fairly comfortable (materialistically), three of our children were born here and it’s their home…I just find it all quite dull, bland, unstimulating and uninspiring, all of which have had a huge effect on my psyche and all of which can be commonly mistaken for ‘laid-back lifestyle’. There`s something lacking and the best word to describe it for me a ‘sharpness’.I think there is a big difference between being homesick (which can sometimes be adapted to and in some sense overcome) and feeling displaced, being out of the environment that made, and makes, you who you are…and that feeling, added to the dullness and the anger I now feel at myself for having stayed here so long has been a nightmare… The people I’ve met (and this is my Pov and in no way a generalization) seem to have an air of self-congratulatory smugness, that this is indeed God’s country and it goes without saying that everyone wants to flock here…the comments I`ve experienced when mentioning returning to the U.K. like, “we know a British couple who went back to England, but they soon came back to Australia…” and “My husband is from Cornwall, he said he would NEVER go back!!” may well be pride in the country but it all seems like scoring points to me…and the reality is...it’s not better. Its just different, and it’s surprising how much you can miss your own culture, your sense of ‘self‘, the things you took for granted and, in a lot of cases, complained about. We came here for the fabled ‘better lifestyle’ but socially and mentally living here has felt like a huge step backwards… And you..? This sums up a lot of what I think. I KNOW (before other posters start 'correcting' me) that some people imply that if you like Australia then you're stupid or something, but I believe that it is far far far more common for people to tell those that aren't happy here that they are wrong for missing the UK or whatever. Comments like, ''lots of people go back to the UK and realise they've made a terrible mistake and come straight back again!" are very common. Also, like you say, they'll mention some well-known scenic area of England (such as Cornwall, as you say) and say how they STILL prefer it in Australia! Well, good for them! That doesn't mean that I (or anyone else for that matter) has to agree that Australia is better, does it?! I've been trying to indicate in my posts so far that I think so much of this is to do with established 'norms'; for some reason or other it has become the 'normal' thing to love Australia (and think the UK is no good in comparison) and so when you go against this you get treated like a bit of a nutter, like you are being subversive or something! There is definitely a self-congratulatory smugness here in Australia, and I find it a little disappointing that quite a number of expats adopt the same philosophy of ''this is THE best place in the world! You must be a few sandwiches short of a picnic if you don't think so!'' Perhaps they feel the need to validate and reinforce their decision to come here all the time. It must make them feel better in themselves. I am amazed by how people seem to conform to all the BAMs (Big Aussie Myths). In my job I meet lots of different people all the time and many of them are English like me. I often hear the following: People are friendlier here The weather is so much better England/Scotland is messier/more run-down It's cheaper here People are more relaxed here I wouldn't go back to England/Scotland My kids have a better life here Hospitals/schools are better Now, fair enough if these represent people's ACTUAL opinions. However, I suspect that much of the time people are simply reiterating what they believe they should be thinking and saying, because, after all, everybody knows that! Interestingly, what my English customers perhaps don't realise, is that the friendliest and most relaxed people myself and my (Australian) partner encounter are the Brits!!!!!! Not the Aussies by a country mile!!! The Aussies are WAY more likely to fuss/complain/be rude/be impatient/ than the British, who pretty much always try really really hard to be nice, polite, patient, considerate and reasonable at all times!!! This totally goes against the BAM that Aussies are more friendly and relaxed. I could easily counter ALL of the above assumptions and BAMS just as readily. Why do people do it? Where has all this come from? Is that people are so determined for Australia to solve things for them that they let it do it (in their minds) even when it hasn't actually improved anything for them in real terms? Where are these dirt cheap dream-homes I keep hearing about? Where are these schools and hospitals that so out-class all the British ones? Where are these clean, beautiful streets and shops? I see WAY more rubbish laying around here than I ever did in England. People seem to have quite a slovenly attitude here in fact. It perplexes, bewilders and aggravates me on a daily basis! 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Guest marriedtoanaussie Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I agree with Three Lions on this one. My Aussie husband loved living in the UK for 10 yrs-he was treated like a demi-god in rural Hertfordshire-"you must miss your fantastic country? I bet you hate living here in all the rain, doom etc dont you want to go back to Utopia.?..." (quite insulting when you are the British wife that, by getting pregnant, had dragged him to such a terrible place!!! Its incredible that people cant accept that it isnt paradise on earth for some of us.On returning to the UK I feel completely settled that I have tried it (it was killing me not knowing) and dont want it. Many Brits do settle in Oz and enjoy an enriched life and thats fine, good luck but its not for me. Have you noticed that when telling people you are moving to Oz in UK they slap you on the back and congratulate you and when telling people you are returning to the UK Aussies cant handle it.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I agree with Three Lions on this one. My Aussie husband loved living in the UK for 10 yrs-he was treated like a demi-god in rural Hertfordshire-"you must miss your fantastic country? I bet you hate living here in all the rain, doom etc dont you want to go back to Utopia.?..." (quite insulting when you are the British wife that, by getting pregnant, had dragged him to such a terrible place!!!Its incredible that people cant accept that it isnt paradise on earth for some of us.On returning to the UK I feel completely settled that I have tried it (it was killing me not knowing) and dont want it. Many Brits do settle in Oz and enjoy an enriched life and thats fine, good luck but its not for me. Have you noticed that when telling people you are moving to Oz in UK they slap you on the back and congratulate you and when telling people you are returning to the UK Aussies cant handle it.? I find an awful lot of Aussies are very defensive about their country. They get their backs up pretty quickly when you voice any criticism about the place, and they naturally take your homesickness for the UK (and your intention to go back there) as a fairly definitive statement against Australia!!! I imagine that this is because criticising Australia is not in their cultural heritage at all. Quite the opposite: the 'done thing' in Australia is to be very proud of your country and talk about ''Aussie battlers'', ''diggers'' and ''being an Aussie''. In the UK, we are very used to slagging off our country. We moan about the weather, we moan about the price of things, we moan about the government, about immigration, about taxes, about most things, really! The Aussies and Brits share one thing; we've both got it wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aldo Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 After I had decided to leave Australia and go back to thr UK/Spain, I dreaded telling my Aussie and Pommie mates there. A lot seemed insulted that I didn't get the "Aussie Dream" thing. The exception was the younger ones (20 somethings) and one bloke who had moved from melbourne to Brisbane who hated the "rednecks" who said go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mark and Sharon Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 We are definatley going back early june , feeling a bitgutted really going back after such a short time but what with the current work situation and other things such as missing family and friends we feel it`s the right thing to do.We feel a bit angry with ourselfs having spent so much time,money and emotional heartbreak getting here and it not being the place for us ,we feel that we`ve let people down because we havn`t fallen in love with it here ,we like it but dont love it.Wejust hope that when we get home we can look back on our time here as a life experience and take the good from that experience the main 1 being that as a family we`ve grown even closer and stronger .Good luck to everyone here and everyone coming i hope it turns out to be what they want ,it`s just not for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Arg Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Well, I live in what is generally considered a good suburb yet it is quite common for the teenagers to vandalise the bus shelters and Australia post boxes nearby on a regular basis. The other weekend, in the middle of the night, a group of them actually kicked-in an Australia Post box and unearthed it, leaving it lying across the road. A few months back youths kicked in all the glass in the bus shelter. I wonder why it is that when this happens in Australia, and my first-hand, eye-witness experience proves it does, nothing much is said about it, yet when it happens in the UK it's loud cries of ''England's gone to the dogs! There's no respect anymore from the youth! Let's leave as soon as possible!'' all round. The papers are full of it and so is the public. Here the media and the public are just full of how wonderful Australia is!!! This is manipulation. Australia must look good, and brain washed people say it "proudly manufactured in australia" proudly owned, managed, etc. See any newspaper, any crime in the UK, first page says it, printed in block capitals, what do u see in Oz? any rubbish informations how little girl loves her puppy, or how happy we are living in so wonderful Oz, in paradise, this is a way of presentation and manipulation. I am not sure crime rates, but worked in a security industry, installing e.g. intruder alarms, cctv, etc. and can say this is very dangerous country, lot of pub fights, armed robberies happen and there is no any info in the newspapers or tv!!! All looks pretty well, and must look pretty well. I try to compare crime rates and found something, in last years in England and Wales there was about 12000 sexual assaults and in NSW probably 4000, tell me how many people live in England and Wales and NSW, and australian datas are manipulated and "reduced". see: lot of gangs in Sydney, shootings, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 This is manipulation. Australia must look good, and brain washed people say it "proudly manufactured in australia" proudly owned, managed, etc. See any newspaper, any crime in the UK, first page says it, printed in block capitals, what do u see in Oz? any rubbish informations how little girl loves her puppy, or how happy we are living in so wonderful Oz, in paradise, this is a way of presentation and manipulation. I am not sure crime rates, but worked in a security industry, installing e.g. intruder alarms, cctv, etc. and can say this is very dangerous country, lot of pub fights, armed robberies happen and there is no any info in the newspapers or tv!!! All looks pretty well, and must look pretty well. I try to compare crime rates and found something, in last years in England and Wales there was about 12000 sexual assaults and in NSW probably 4000, tell me how many people live in England and Wales and NSW, and australian datas are manipulated and "reduced".see: lot of gangs in Sydney, shootings, etc. It definitely seems to be the case that the media in the UK and the media in Aus have very different agendas. Whereas the media in the UK revels in pointing out just how awful Britain is (crime, immigration, weather etc) the media in Aus is determined to make out that Australia is positively utopian. The general public the world over is basically very gullible and essentially believes and buys-into whatever their media is feeding them. On crime and so on in Aus, my brother-in-law who has done a fair bit of going out in Melbourne, Frankston and Geelong has many stories of viscious assaults being carried out for no reason. Why is it then that the public in both the UK and Aus believes that nasty attacks, viscious thugs and petty violence only really occurs in the former and only very rarely in the latter??????????? This is why so very many Brits come to Aus. They have been duped into a false notion that they will be safer and more prosperous in Australia when the desperately sad reality is that they almost certainly will be neither. I often think that those that come here and make a huge success of it could've done the same anywhere, including the UK if they'd had the desire to stay there; which of course they didn't because they'd been told infinite times that the UK has 'gone to the dogs'. It's not rocket science; tell people something often enough and they start to really believe it. The UK does obviously have its problems, and equally obviously many of these will be ones that Australia doesn't have. The big issue here is that the same can be said in reverse, and that's the part that gets overlooked constantly by almost everyone!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Gee you guys have been on a roll here! I can only say that I do so heartily agree with what you have said. I used to think I was Robinson Crusoe - how come I was the only one who didnt "get" the wonderment which was Australia. It is great to know that I am not bonkers (not that I really ever thought that I was!). In answer to a question about hating Australia - I think I do now. Like JL part of that is the anger with myself that I have let myself get stuck here and while I have little prospect of moving home then the resentment makes me magnify all those little irritants that I used to be able to brush off. Some of them are truly "little" but I dont respond well to being woken up at some godforsaken hour by possums landing on the roof with a BANG! nor by some thousands (OK maybe only hundreds) of SCREECHING cockatoos every morning. The constant sunshine gets me down - sure clear blue skies are a nice novelty for the first 5 or 10 years but soon you begin to hanker for a bit more mellowness and when you scour the bom site for blue patches of rain on a regular basis you know you are living in a sad little world. I think the naivete of people suggesting a move to somewhere else is endearing - amazing that no one ever suggests it to people making the move out here in the first place. Now it would make perfect sense to suggest maybe for someone in Bradford to try out Cornwall before they moved to the other side of the world but no one ever does that, I wonder why not? To suppose that what bugs me about Australia would be solved by moving elsewhere in Australia misses the entire point. I do have to say that even though people slate Canberra something awful, if you have to live in Australia this is actually one of the better places to live and I have been all over. Only other place I would think of living is East Gippsland but the flies are worse (more dairy) and there are no jobs (hmmm small problem). I think Britain needs a media makeover, it needs a British (or even English) Pride movement, it needs to stop apologizing all the time and stand back and see that it has a whole lot going for it. I recently took my daughter in law back for a holiday and even though she is an Aussie mountains kind of girl (miles of bark drop and dusty cars:no:) towards the end of our stay she kept saying "I cant believe there is so much space and it is so beautiful". She impressed my uncle by telling him she could sit outside in his garden all day because it was so "soft". This is a girl who would never sit outside in Aus - the outside is for working in. It's a funny old world huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElizaBee Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Great to read your posts. I must say i truly agree with a lot said. Although i dont hate Australia. Its a fantastic place to live and you would be mad to want to leave wouldn't you?? Guess i am quite insane then, cause after ten years of living here i desperately want to go home!!! Haven't been back since '99, so things may have changed a little in the UK. But i want to start living again. Miss my family so much. Am quite nervous that it would be a big mistake as we are really comfortable here as a family, although my 2 oldest would love to move to the UK. My daughter is in year 12 and would love to go to Uni in England. If we are going to do move back it has to be in the next few months, cause i dont want to move back if my daughter has established herself at Uni here - too disruptive. She would start a new course here in March. So its now or never! Am feeling quite pathetic! Dont want to make a mistake, as i have been quite alarmed when reading some posts on here regarding life in the UK. Cant be that bad can it? Anyway, this is my first post so thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Eliza, WHy dont u do some online research of your own and talk to people you know in UK before making your decision. Its all too easy to be blinded by other peoples views and opinions and like you say, its a huge decision and you want to make sure you get it right! Get online adn check out UK jobs - see whats out there for your family. Look at unis and see what your kids need to get in. Look at property and see what you will be in a position to get. FOrgot to say at the start, welcome to PIO! We`re a crazy bunch here!!! You`ll get addicted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElizaBee Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Thank you!! Yes been doing that!! Thank God for the internet. My OH parents are happy we are considering going back, but my sister says we would be crazy!! She has never actually lived in Oz but is sure that life is so much better here! Have to have a good talk with her. Am very happy to have found this site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Great to read your posts. I must say i truly agree with a lot said. Although i dont hate Australia. Its a fantastic place to live and you would be mad to want to leave wouldn't you?? Guess i am quite insane then, cause after ten years of living here i desperately want to go home!!! Haven't been back since '99, so things may have changed a little in the UK. But i want to start living again. Miss my family so much. Am quite nervous that it would be a big mistake as we are really comfortable here as a family, although my 2 oldest would love to move to the UK. My daughter is in year 12 and would love to go to Uni in England. If we are going to do move back it has to be in the next few months, cause i dont want to move back if my daughter has established herself at Uni here - too disruptive. She would start a new course here in March. So its now or never! Am feeling quite pathetic! Dont want to make a mistake, as i have been quite alarmed when reading some posts on here regarding life in the UK. Cant be that bad can it? Anyway, this is my first post so thanks for reading. I can relate totally to how you feel. If the circumstances presented themselves by which I could go back to the UK, even though I really miss the green, the football, the pubs, the museums, the galleries, the TV, the shops, the newspapers etc etc, I'd STILL be hesitating. This is for two reasons. Firstly, I am susceptible to the media just like everyone else it, and the fact that you are constantly hearing about how bad the UK is (let's face it, you hear it all the bloody time!) would make me question myself severely in taking my family back there. If it was just me on my own though, I'd be gone tomorrow!!!!! Secondly, when you've made a big decision such as moving overseas and regretted it, it makes you reluctant to make another big decision like that again! Do you see what I mean by that?! My wife thinks that's total s*** and thinks that going back is simply reversing the decision you regret so would be a good thing, but I don't think it's as straightforward as that! After all, when any of us 'poms in oz' goes back to the UK, we are not returning to where we were before we left! We are leaving another life behind us, our life in Australia, which whether we like it or not has been our world for a few years or more. How can you be certain that when you get back you won't miss Australia, or at least aspects of it? That is a question that is always in my mind because whilst I don't expect necessarily to miss Australia I equally thought I wouldn't really miss the UK, and now I definitely do! It is very difficult, and moving overseas brings massive complications into ones life. I wish it had never been an issue in mine. I think it is much easier for those people who come on their own to travel/work or come here as a couple both from the UK. When one of you is pommy, and the other one in Aussie, then you have big issues! What happens when the pommy wants to go home? What does the Aussie do? One thing I know: Aussies (generally speaking of course) tend to want to live in Australia. They are not a nation of people that likes to live abroad. They are proud of their country and seem to find it hard to see the good in anywhere else. So if you marry an Aussie, expect to have to live in Australia!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElizaBee Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Yes i agree. We are all manipulated by the media, why are the British press so negative? What do they get out of that? I used to wish that i'd never even thought of emigrating, it certainly does make you wonder about the reliability of your decisions, but guess it is all life experience and has made us better people in the end! What was a great decision years ago for you and your family, wouldn't necessarily be what you would choose for yourselves right now. You made the best choices then, and your lives have been made richer for that. Why is it a failure if you move from a place you no longer want to live? The true failure would be living somewhere that makes you unhappy. Guess it is our fate to be in this position. Always wondering what if... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Nothing would be a failure! BEtter to live with the knowledge that you had a go rather than think "i wish i had:" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElizaBee Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Yes certainly.We shouldn't be so hard on ourselves for making the best decision at the time with the knowledge we had at our disposal. I dont regret coming here. Sure that we all would miss aspects of Australia if we moved back. Must be terribly hard if your spouse is Australian. I think that we will always be torn between the two countries, especially as we have Australian children, even if they do want to live in the UK. My concern is doing what is best for my children's future. Cant afford to make a mistake with that! Without a crystal ball it will be a gamble. I think that we have to rely on the fact that if our family units are strong, we will be fine in either country. Have to say that we are very lucky to have a choice where we live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 One thing I know: Aussies (generally speaking of course) tend to want to live in Australia. They are not a nation of people that likes to live abroad. They are proud of their country Of course we want to live in Australia,and obviously we are proud of our country,but we are not alone in that,citizens of the US love their country and want to live there,it's natural to love your country. I'm not saying everyone has to love Australia but just because some people don't like it that doesn't mean it's wrong for others to do so. You don't like Australia-fine.I do,and so do many others. Maybe if more people in the UK took a bit more pride in their own country then there wouldn't be such a large number of people wanting to move away from it,and not just to Australia either. I'm a dual UK-Australian citizen and proud of being born in Britain,but I've lived in Australia for 44 years and I'm proud of Australia too,but I think if some Brits made more of an effort to support their country I might be even more proud of the UK than I am of Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I think it is much easier for those people who come on their own to travel/work or come here as a couple both from the UK. When one of you is pommy, and the other one in Aussie, then you have big issues! What happens when the pommy wants to go home? What does the Aussie do? One thing I know: Aussies (generally speaking of course) tend to want to live in Australia. They are not a nation of people that likes to live abroad. They are proud of their country and seem to find it hard to see the good in anywhere else. So if you marry an Aussie, expect to have to live in Australia!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink: Oh so true - mixed marriages can be the very devil but you dont realize it in the throes of love! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Three Lions Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Oh so true - mixed marriages can be the very devil but you dont realize it in the throes of love! It's interesting though isn't it how the Aussie in the relationship seems to be that little bit more determined to be in Australia than the Brit in the relationship does to be in the UK!!! Aussies and Australia are magnetically attached. I meet so many UK/Aus couples in my job and it seems as though the Aussie basically expected that they would come and live in Australia. They are not tremendously prepared to go and live in the UK, though they expect that us Brits should be perfectly content to live in Aus!!! It's very very much like the Americans; they always live in America, don't they?! Those from England, Scotland, Germany, Italy etc seem much more prepared to live abroad. It's got absolutely nothing to do with America or Australia being 'better' places to live; it's all to do with the fact that Americans and Australians have very strong national pride and they totally assume (without even thinking it through at all) that their country is the best place on Earth. It's the way they are brought-up. At my son's kinder and subsequently school they sing Advance Australia Fair regularly, and there are frequent references made to 'being an Aussie' etc etc etc. This kind of thing simply does not happen in Portsmouth or Norwich or Guildford. There, no reference would be made to 'being British' and singing God Save The Queen before every assembly!!!!! It's a totally different culture in that respect. In a sense, it's a sort of brainwashing because when these little Aussie kids grow up they are indoctrinated with this whole ''isn't it great to be an Aussie'' thing. Then they insist that their British spouse moves to Australia!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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