So who HAS returned to the UK & been happy?

[Guest barab]

Yep, that put me in a black depression and I am Aussie born. With the exception of going to the movies I have no inclination to do any of those things. I hate the fact that much of the year it is too bloody hot, and that it is often too dry to keep a garden alive. In fact the whole thread has me wanting to go to the UK, and I have never even been.

 

But as an ignorant Aussie what exactly are the exciting things that you get to do in the UK that we are obviously missing out on doing here?

 

Is there a corresponding website for Aussies who want to go to the UK?

 

Most Aussies I spoke to when I was there also wanted to spread their wings and travel.

 

Britain is a great place in my opinion,It's got the lot,the weather is a bit unpredictable,but it's not Siberia like quoll says,It's safe and the houses are nice in most areas,there is loads to do for all ages,and the pub culture is second to none.

 

I came back last November and It's been the best decision we ever made,Aus is good,but not as good as the UK.

 

I don't regret coming back.

[andromeda9]

interesting ,,what part or Spain? thinking if I ever moved from Australia it would be Spain and then spend time in the uk,not Manchester,with campervan and see all UK

[Guest barab]

interesting ,,what part or Spain? thinking if I ever moved from Australia it would be Spain and then spend time in the uk,not Manchester,with campervan and see all UK

 

You've got to go to Scotland,up north to Glencoe then Fort William,Aviemore.

Then take one of the ferries to any of the numerous Islands and you'll see beauty that you've never seen before,I recommend Arran or Mull,but they are all nice.

 

Spain is beautiful too,or Greece or Turkey,you can't go wrong in the Med.

[andromeda9]

did see a little of Scotland last year,had to go back to say a sad good buy to my dad,saw Scotland for the 1st time ever,so absolutely stunning went to Glencoe, Portree ect,was t in the Autumn,beautiful weather,lovely people at all the quest houses we stayed, we go to New Zealand to get ort fix of beauty,but will go back to show my husband Scotland in two years time

[andromeda9]

if we were in your position the only way for us would be to live in a unit in a park as residents,cheap rates then like $120 a week no bills apart from electric,know a good one near mel,next to the train station if you were thinking Melbourne,but every state had them,a brilliant Big 4 has one in NSW

[ezzie]

Consider yourself asked flipflop!....why do you prefer the UK...and interestingly, why does your wife prefer Oz?

 

I was born in Perth Oz in 1974 and came to the UK London in 2005, I must admit I prefer the UK to Oz for many reasons I will outline in the future if asked, wife who is English wants to go back to oz.

[andromeda9]

there is the UK and there is the UK depends what part you live same as Australia both are good but the sun shines in OZ all year round if you follow it, and no need to get messed about at airports,the main thing I really miss about the UK is easy to get to Spain,think I might go back lol NO WAY

[Guest WA WA WARRGH]

All the reasons I've seen for returning to the UK are the usual: family, friends, boredom, heat, isolation etc.

 

Has anyone found the attitudes of poms who have moved off putting at all? I certainly feel that some of the attitudes found over here in WA can be really negative. Poms like all migrants band together and form cliques and if you don't belong then you're an outsider. I have also seen elements of "look what I've got and you haven't."

 

Is this just me or has anyone else experienced this?

[Guest WA WA WARRGH]

As an addendum to my post I would say that a big reason (not the main reason) for me returning would be that I would probably see more of the world if I moved back to the UK. But I have made it clear to the missus that if we do then I want to make sure that we have seen most of what Oz has to offer.

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

I tried to avoid the `poms` when I got here. I wanted to immerse myself in Oz life completely! It works to a point but my best friends are welsh, irish and Yorkshire!! Lol

 

 

(Im still here and not going to return)

[Guest Miz]

The attitude of "look what I've got and you haven't" is one that is not exclusive to any nationality. I know lots of Aussies that have that attitude, I admit they were all on the Gold Coast and not in Tasmania, but I think it is a trait that can be found anywhere. I also think all people tend to form cliques of various sorts, human nature seems to gravitate towards creating an "in group" of people with common interests.

 

Actually, the more I see of people the more I like dogs.

[andromeda9]

if you do that then you will for sure want to stay

[Guest WA WA WARRGH]

Quite agree with you Miz, I just wonder if anyone is affected by it. It just seems 'amplified' over here. I suppose because one is actively looking for kindred souls and is acutely aware of things disliked.

[Guest Miz]

I agree with you there Wa Wa Warrgh, in that it is possibly more noticeable due to needing to try and find your own little place in a new society. I do know a frequent complaint made by a friend of mine, who is an Aussie who moved to Tasmania at the same time as I did, that people (other Aussies) seem to have already formed firm cliques and newcomers are not welcome. Oddly enough I have not noticed as much but that is probably due to my not really trying to break into any group, I have always been the sort of person who is outside all of the "in" groups and it bothers me not at all. Personally I prefer to relate to people on an individual basis and have found enough friendly people to not feel like I am a leper or anything. So it may also be a difference in what your expectations are as to how frustrated you are with the results.

[Guest flipflop]

Consider yourself asked flipflop!....why do you prefer the UK...and interestingly, why does your wife prefer Oz?

Being brought up in Oz I just find London and the UK exiting vibrant and full of life plus I am just discovering Europe...(I have fell in love with France) Perth is very isolated and for someone who likes a weekend away it is not possible to be honest unless you fly, Oz will be my Country of birth and I love it but up to now I am enjoying my life in the UK....The wife was brought up in London and liked the slow pace of life and the sun in perth.

[Guest pegasus 90]

All the reasons I've seen for returning to the UK are the usual: family, friends, boredom, heat, isolation etc.

 

Has anyone found the attitudes of poms who have moved off putting at all? I certainly feel that some of the attitudes found over here in WA can be really negative. Poms like all migrants band together and form cliques and if you don't belong then you're an outsider. I have also seen elements of "look what I've got and you haven't."

 

Is this just me or has anyone else experienced this?

Hi WWW,

Yes we have noticed it also. We've been here nearly 10 years and are planning to go home next year, and we have noticed a distinct difference in people's attitudes when we tell them we are returning to U.K. It's as if you are stepping out of the 'magic circle', into the forbidden zone (LOL). I think for some people it calls into question their own existence here. I get really p***ed off with some people as they all want to be experts on England. I have an Aunt & uncle in Perth who reckon we are mad to go back; they left England in 1969!!!! what would they know about life in modern England?. Some people just can't get their head around the fact that you can dislike this place. I personally don't hate it, I've had nearly ten good years but after analysing our life here now that we have older kids; we believe we would have a more stimulating, rewarding & diverse life in U.K than here. It's not about slagging Oz off, it just can't offer us what we want anymore, personally we are bored of sitting around in people's back gardens for endless bbq's drinking beer. but for some people that is the pinnacle of their social stimulation and feel satisfied.

Don't feel bad about not liking it here, I have met plenty of Aussie's who are not afraid to criticize the U.K .

P90

[Guest Aldo]

Hi WWW,

Yes we have noticed it also. We've been here nearly 10 years and are planning to go home next year, and we have noticed a distinct difference in people's attitudes when we tell them we are returning to U.K. It's as if you are stepping out of the 'magic circle', into the forbidden zone (LOL). I think for some people it calls into question their own existence here. I get really p***ed off with some people as they all want to be experts on England. I have an Aunt & uncle in Perth who reckon we are mad to go back; they left England in 1969!!!! what would they know about life in modern England?. Some people just can't get their head around the fact that you can dislike this place. I personally don't hate it, I've had nearly ten good years but after analysing our life here now that we have older kids; we believe we would have a more stimulating, rewarding & diverse life in U.K than here. It's not about slagging Oz off, it just can't offer us what we want anymore, personally we are bored of sitting around in people's back gardens for endless bbq's drinking beer. but for some people that is the pinnacle of their social stimulation and feel satisfied.

Don't feel bad about not liking it here, I have met plenty of Aussie's who are not afraid to criticize the U.K .

P90

 

I hate it when ppl post "here here" type posts but...

 

here here!!:biglaugh:

[Guest bonefish13]

I have been very fortunate to have travelled extensively throughout the world at many different times, I have had the good fortune to see parts of the world that I thought when younger I would never have the chance to see, I have seen things that would shock, frighten and bemuse many of us, I have also seen things that amaze, surprise and hold memories that will stay with me until my dying day.

As I said, there is no such place on God's green earth that is a nirvana, a paradise if you will, no Country, no matter where we go. Wherever we choose to live our lives it very rarely lives up to all of our expectations, for our expectations are often lofty ideals that can never truly be lived up to.

The majority of the time they are our own ideas of what we expect to see and feel, and it is more often the case that when we arrive with our lofty ideals we find that it can all become somewhat of an anticlimax. Unfortunately that is part of life, and one that we all have to except.

There are very few of us who are in the fortunate position of being able to go to a new country and live a life that bears no resemblance to the one we had previously. Unless we have been extremely fortunate the vast majority of us will have the same concerns and worries that we did when we were in the UK.

We still have to concern ourselves with the everyday necessities of work, schooling for the children, shopping, pensions, in fact all manner of things that are integral to our own day to day lives.

The times I have heard the argument that the weather makes a vast difference to where we might choose to live. Yes, I admit that if the weather is sunny and bright many of us feel better within ourselves, and it seems to bring out the best in us, or at least I hope this is the case. But surely this cannot be the main reason why we choose to live elsewhere. The reasons are to numerous to mention as to why we might, if in this fortunate position, choose to live abroad.

I will do my very best to list a few examples of why people choose to live elsewhere, better lifestyle, better schooling, outdoor living, lovely weather, friendly people, taxes are lower, the list is truly endless, but there is one very key component that is missing from the above reasons.

And before any of you say that I am filtering, and in some way skewing my answers I will just say this. I did my research, I took myself out onto the streets and asked a very broad spectrum of people the reasons as to why they may choose to live overseas, if indeed they were ever in this position.

At no point in time did I influence their answers, I did not have a prerequisite of answers I was expecting, at no point did I try to influence the reasons they wanted to give.

The question was simple, 'Why would you choose to leave the UK and live in Australia? It really was as simple as that.

As I said the answers I received were as different and as varied as you could imagine, but, and here is the big but, when broken down, only 7 per cent of those questioned said that they would move to Australia because they wanted to feel part of somewhere that had a sense of community. Where they felt as if people still cared about one another and realised that it was in all their interests to make sure that as part of that community they acted in a way that kept this feeling a constant.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that very few people said that they wanted to move to a country where there was a deep sense of pride in one's own country, and they would do all they could to ensure that this remained the case.

I first arrived in Australia in 1980, the details are somewhat boring, but I had been in this fortunate position because of my Fathers work, he was employed in the oil and gas industry and was offered a short term contract to work in Perth, Western Australia.

Having left school, I had at this time really no idea of what I wanted to do with my future, I was very very keen on joining the armed forces, but due to the condition of colour blindness this was not an option. So after much discussion it was agreed that I would accompany my family to Australia to try and sort myself out, and decide what my future held.

As with many teenagers at this time, and even in today's society, I really had no idea what I wanted to do, I was confused and needed to sort myself out asap. I got a job in Australia and enjoyed my time immensely, it was truly a life changing experience.

To cut a very long story short, after my Fathers contract expired it was obvious that we would have to come back to the UK, I had at this time fallen in love with Australia.

You must remember that at this time I was a teenager, so I really did not have the worries that concern many adults, all I knew was that the fishing was good, the sun shone, and the people were very, very friendly.

Even at this young age I could see that in some way the people seemed to be happier. I did all I could to try and stay in Australia, I was I dare say a complete pain in the backside to my family, I must have sulked for weeks.

Because of the Australian Governments immigration policy at that time it was obvious the authorities would never allow me to stay in Australia. The policy surrounding immigration was, and is to this day extremely complicated. The whole process revolved around a points scoring system, and to get the chance to emigrate to Australia, if you come anywhere near to fulfilling the criteria, is an opportunity that few of us are afforded.

When I arrived back in the UK I decided that I would do all I could to enable me to emigrate to Australia, this was going to be far from easy, but I was determined to do all I could to enable this to happen.

I therefore decided that I would get myself a trade. So I enrolled in a local building college and went on a three year course to gain four City & Guilds qualifications. It was hard work, but I enjoyed it immensely, all the time I was hoping that the qualifications I gained would enable me to once again return Australia, or rather the country I was determined to make my new 'home'. These qualifications combined with my age and other abilities would I hope, facilitate a return to Australia.

After four years I was successful with my exams, and was what you could call over the moon. I was now in the position where a return to Australia was possible. My life was now, or so I thought, complete in every way.

However, as time went by many things happened to me, the least of which were girls. My plans had at one time been set in concrete, but as is the case with many of us, things change. Suffice to say that my plans went from certainty to uncertainty overnight, with this one caveat, I always, always had the intention of returning to Australia.

As I said, to go into to much detail will only bore you, but I did eventually return to Australia, and have done so on many an occasion. In fact since 1980 I have been backwards and forwards to Australia no less than fifteen times.

Without saying to much, you could say that this constant flitting back to Australia has been the main cause of my relationship failings with those people that I dearly loved or love. For this I accept absolute responsibility, there is no one else to blame but myself for the position I find myself in. I must have been one of the most unreasonable and selfish people you could ever wish to meet.

With that flaw in my character out of the way I would like to say this. When I first arrived in Australia I was young and fairly naive, and in as much only saw Australia as a place of fun and sun, I really did not have a care in the world, the fishing was good, the sun shone and I was as happy as proverbial Larry.

But even then, when I was extremely young and naive there was a sense, or rather a feeling that the Australian people were different, they seemed happier, more outgoing, and they seemed to love and cherish everything about their country.

As I have got older this feeling of pride that the Aussies have has come to the fore more and more over the years. Even now, as a fully grown adult, with the so called weight of the world on my shoulders I can now see what I was blind to in my earlier years. It is simply this, that the everyday Aussie has immense pride in their own country.

As I have previously said, I have been flitting to and fro for many years, whilst this has in its very essence made a lot of peoples lives around me very taxing, and at times very hard, one thing has always remained a constant, and it is this.

That as I get older and wiser I can see what Australia means to its people and how much pride they have in their country.

Australia will never be my birth place, my very own country, but I was, and to this day honoured that on the third of March 2000 I became an Australian citizen. It is to this day one of my greatest achievements, and one that I cannot put into words how very proud I am to be called an Australian.

There were many sacrifices along the way that were made in order for this to come about, both from me, but much more importantly by those around me. Looking back at those times I now realise the sacrifices that these people made. All I can do is thank them for this, and also I send them my heartfelt apologies, for now I realise the sacrifices that they made were vast, and at times there lives must have been hell.

Words will never be able to make up for any of my actions, they will sound very hollow indeed, but that is all I can do, I wish I could turn the clock back, and maybe do things differently, but that is wishful thinking, this can never be achieved, so all I can do is say a heartfelt sorry.

As you will appreciate I can only speak from experience, I dare say that there are many other countries that also have this deeply entrenched feeling of pride in one's own country, but my main experience is that of Australia, and it is only right and proper that I concentrate on this country, as it is the one I know very well indeed.

Before I go any further I will yet again do all I can to explain my reasons for this. I am not for one second saying that Australia and its people are perfect in every respect, far from it. They still have their fair share of troubles and woes.

Their politicians are, I dare say as fallible and at times as weak as our very own, they too, have crime that seems to purvey most echelons of life. Unemployment is still a problem, drinking culture can at times spiral out of control, the credit crunch is alive and well, the list is endless. I am not for one second saying that Australia is perfect, nothing could be further from the truth.

But one thing remains a constant within the Australian psyche, and it is this, that the vast majority of Australians have a very deep set sense of pride in one's own country. It is such a sense of pride in one's own country that it is difficult to ignore. It seems to pervade all aspects of their culture and is evident in all generations. Yes, there are those where this sense of pride is lacking, but they are few and far between, indeed a rarity, and one that you would be hard pushed to find if you went looking.

Most everyday Australians have the mindset that Australia is, and always will be the best country on earth to live in, that Australia is by far and away, without a shadow of a doubt, the best country in the world.

There is in their opinion, no other country that can offer them more, no country, wherever that may be. It is a sense of pride that to the uninitiated can seem somewhat shocking when first seen. Surely you ask yourself no country can surely be this good? Surely there must be some down sides to a country that we have little knowledge of?

It is such a deep set pride that most Australians will do all they can to ensure that it remains so, they have a belief that it is all their responsibility to ensure that this sense of pride in one's own country remains, and they will do all they can to ensure that this is the case.

At times, especially those of us from the UK, this sense of pride in one's own country can come over as arrogance, arrogance in the extreme, there are two main reasons for this.

Firstly because we have lost this sense of pride in our own country, and may I add through our own actions, we view this type of allegiance as a form of arrogance. If this form of pride constitutes arrogance then I am ashamed to say it is our own fault. Could someone out there please tell me since when did having pride in your own country and believing it to be the best country in the world constitute arrogance of any degree.

And secondly, is the fact that somewhere in the deepest recesses of our minds we are ever so slightly jealous of a people that view themselves as the Australian's do. Do we view their attitude as in some way insular, and in some way strange in this modern world of ours?

We do this at our peril, we risk viewing Australia as a poor relation that has little impact on our own lives. If this is the case we have truly lost any sense of community, if we view the Australians pride as strange, does this not say more about us than it does about the normal everyday Aussie.

I think the answer is a resounding yes, because we as a nation of people have chosen to lose a sense of pride in the UK, we view anybody else that still has this immense pride and dignity as strange in some way. A people that should be viewed with some degree of skepticism and intolerance.

I know that I keep banging on about this, but until you have experienced such a feeling of pride it is very very difficult to explain, doubly so if you come from a country that has so willingly given up many years ago in the belief that your own country is, and always will be the best country in the world.

It is a deep sense of pride that is instilled in Australians from a very early age. Just by saying that ideas are conjured up of indoctrination, some form of brain washing, nothing could be further from the truth. It is just a sense that each and every one of them should do all they can to ensure that their country remains the best possible country it can be, and it is each inhabitants duty to make sure that they do all they can to ensure this.

It is in no way a sense of 'My country, right or wrong.' Such ideals were lost many years ago, gone are the days when all of a country's actions were thought to be right and proper, no matter how extreme or objectionable they were, which is only right and proper.

No, to make this assumption would be a catastrophic misinterpretation of the facts. What each and every Australian believes is that no matter what else happens in the world they still have the good fortune to live in a country that will always remain the best in the world.

It would be petty of me to mention how many Australian flags you can see at any point in time, in any street, in any suburb, blowing proudly in the wind from any number of buildings. It would also be petty of me to tell you how many businesses out there proclaim from their hoardings that they are proudly one hundred percent Australian owned, with the Australian flag proudly proclaiming such a thing.

It would be petty of me to mention how many TV adverts for independent businesses proudly proclaim that they are wholly Australian owned. It would be petty for me to mention how much pride and gusto is put into the singing of ‘Advance Australia Fare’. It would be petty of me to mention that the Australians celebrate Australia day as if their lives depended on it. It would be petty of me to mention how much pride is felt by the vast majority on Anzac day. I could go on, the list is endless.

As you would have noticed, I pre-fixed every example I just mentioned with the word ‘petty’. Because to a nation such as ours at the present time I can assure you that the vast majority of us, because of our attitude and complete lack of pride would view such examples as indeed, petty, in someway or another. Because we as a nation have lost this ability to feel proud of our own country we view others who choose to display such feelings as strange. We view this sort of pride as being insular and naive in the extreme.

It is also true that we as a people view the Australians in a negative light at certain times. I have heard all manner of descriptions of the Australian people in the past, culturally devoid, a minnow in the global sense, a backwater, inept, insular, I could go on, but when you consider that we as a nation are the one's saying this, do you not think that it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Since when were we so high and mighty that we dare say these things. Since when did we hold the moral high ground and feel perfectly justified in casting aspersions on another country.

After all, have we not given up our right to criticise purely because we as a people have so willingly let this country spiral out of control. It is true that Australia may not be classed as one of the superpowers, that their history is somewhat limited when compared to other nations, and yes, I would have to agree that to many of us they can seem somewhat insular, but surely this is no bad thing.

If the word, ‘insular’ means that they concern themselves in the first instance with what is good for their own country, for their own people, how they can all make Australia a better place, then who on earth are we to criticise. To misinterpret the word insular is an injustice, and one that should be rectified forthwith.

Besides, many of the accusations thrown at Australia and its people are done by those that have little or no actual experience of the country itself. Its all to easy to criticise and castigate from afar, to take the moral high ground and look at Australia as some sort of poor relation. Those of us who have been in the fortunate position to have visited and worked in Australia know better.

It is a country that welcomes, embraces, and holds dear what is truly important in life. The Australian people are some of the kindest and generous I have ever had the privilege to meet, they will do all they can to ensure that a visit to Australia is one that will remain with you until you're dying day. It is a sense of camaraderie, a sense that they are all working toward the same goal, to make sure that Australia remains what it is today, one of the best countries in the world.

All of this comes about purely because of their immense pride in their nation, a pride that has built up over many a year and one that will be built upon for generations to come. They truly believe that there is no other country in the world that can offer them more, that it is in everyones interest to make Australia the best it possibly can be.

I for one will not criticise this thought process. I have to at this stage hold my hands up and admit, that at times in my early visits to Australia this sense of pride I not only found strange, but also extremely annoying. I got sick to the back teeth of hearing how great Australia was, and how it was the greatest country on God's green earth. How nothing was as good anywhere else apart from Australia, that there was nowhere in the world that could hold a torch to Australia.

The times I wanted to fight back, tell the Australians that no, they were wrong, and the UK was the best country in the world. That they could not hope to achieve and attain what the UK had done in the past, and what the UK could achieve in the future.

And to a lesser degree, I got sick and tired off the Pommy bashing, they seemed to take every opportunity to knock all things British, all the time. Particularly may I add when any sporting contest was taking part that meant England and Australia would meet. The Aussies would seem to revel in winding me up at every opportunity.

Having said that, all of this all this took place in my early dealings with Australia, in the early 1980s, I was young and gullible at the time, barely seventeen years old and took everything to heart. It is only through experience and age that you come to realise exactly what was going on. At that time I came from a country that did have some degree of pride and belief in itself, a country that was thought by its inhabitants, to be the best place in the world.

But, with age and experience comes knowledge, and it is only now that I can look back at these times and really see what was going on. I too at that time mistook their belief in their own country as a form of arrogance, after all, how can what they say be true, when it is obvious that I come from the greatest country on earth.

At that time I truly believed that the UK was without a shadow of doubt the best country in the world, that nowhere could compare, at all. But that was nearly thirty years ago and times have changed. We are no longer in this privileged position, because we as a nation have let this feeling of immense pride go voluntarily it is only now that I can look back at those early years and see what was actually going on.

The everyday Australians belief that their country was, and to this day, is the best country in the world is something to be admired and held in high esteem.

And it is still true to this day that a certain degree of Pommy bashing still remains. And there are those that will say it with vitriol and contempt and mean it, they are few and far between, but there are some.

However, again with age and experience you come to realise that the occasional 'Pommy bastard' or 'Whingeing pom' attitude is more often than not said with a form of affection and endearment. I have had many jobs in Australia and lost count of the times the word 'Pommy' was used to get my attention, any communication to me was prefaced with ‘Pommy’.

This happened on many an occasion, but because of the context it was used in I viewed it as a form of acceptance. Now I know that sounds strange, as if a so called detrimental wording can be taken as acceptance, but that is what was meant by it. I felt part of the larger group.

True, I could have reacted and taken it the wrong way, and I know of many people who did so, for this reason they will never be able to feel part of the community as it were, I warn you now if you go to Australia and react each time the word ‘Pommy’ is used you will make your life a misery. The Aussies are like dogs with bones if they realise that they will get a rise out of you.

I worked with a large and diverse group of individuals and each time I would initially be welcomed in the manner outlined, but all I can say is this, I have never met a group of people that were so welcoming and friendly as the every day Australian.

My working life, the majority of the time, was full of laughter and friendly banter, and I have been privileged to meet many people that I know I could call upon at any time and be met with open arms.

I felt, and to this day feel part of a country that will accept you no matter your background, with one proviso, if you are of the same mind as them. That if you try your hardest and work toward a common goal then Australia will remain the best country in the world to live in. You are part of a group of people who will accept and love you, if you too believe that you will do all you can to make Australia what it is today.

As I have said, it was for this reason that on the 3rd March 2000 I became an Australian citizen, it is and will always remain one of the proudest days in my life. The feeling of elation and joy is indescribable, it was a massive achievement.

And the main reasons I am so proud to call myself an Australian is simply this. I am part of a country that believes in itself, part of a country that is not scared to say it is the best country in the world, part of a country that believes if something is wrong they will do all they can to make it better, part of a country that wants Australia to be the best it possibly can be.

But above all these, there is one fact that I hold close to my heart, and it is this, that most Australians are proud to be called 'Australian'. I am proud to be part of a country that still remains so steadfastly proud of itself and its inhabitants. Believes that the people of a nation are the most important factors, and above all else has a social consciousness, is a feeling of complete joy.

There is a saying in Australia, it is one that you will hear time and time again, and it is this, ‘Mate ship’. Basically this means that no matter what the situation, who you are or where you come from, you will be given a fair go. A fair go in all that you do. It is in other words a sense of community, where there is a deep set belief that if you want to make a go of it and try hard enough, then the Australian people will support you if it is at all possible.

They will back you to the hilt, in every sense. It is a sense that whatever you do, if you are prepared to make Australia a better place then good for you. You will be backed to the hilt by its people. It is overwhelming feeling of goodwill and comradeship, a feeling that you have arrived in a place that you can be truly proud of.

Australia is a country that believes in its past, present and future. Unlike us, Australia has not tried to wash its hands of what it has achieved, what it stands for today, and what it can achieve in the future.

It is a country that is so proud of itself and those that call themselves Australian, it is a place where each and everyone one of its inhabitants is proud to call themselves Australian. Where each individual still believes in their country and will do all they can to ensure it remains the best country in the world. For this reason I salute them, I hold them in huge admiration and I in turn am proud to be called an 'Adopted Aussie'.

I may not have been born an Australian, and in the purest form of the word Australian, I may never be classed as a fair dinkum Aussie. I was born an Englishman, my allegiance still remains steadfastly to this country, yes this country, but it saddens me to say this, not its people, its people have chosen to make their birth country one of the most apathetic and selfish nations there is. Where we view our own actions as inconsequential to all those around us, and really do not care what impact we have on all those around us.

All of the above may have come over as a rant, uncontrollable hysteria if you will. To some extent I will agree with you. But it is said with passion at the very least. I make no bones that the UK at the present time holds little for me and millions like me.

This country has lost its sense of pride and passion in all that it does. I would wager that deep, deep within your subconscious you will come to the same conclusion as me, and it is simply this. The UK at the present time can offer me nothing more, it holds little future for me and my family.

It is true, as I have said that your reasons to emigrate will be as varied and as different as the next persons. For example, better housing, schooling, financially more stable, the list is endless.

But I would wager you this, and be totally honest when you read the next statement. If you were truly happy in the UK at the present time would these factors REALLY matter? Would they seem such a big problem if the country you were presently living in was what it once used to be?

The UK has lost what it once had, a deep sense of compassion and pride. If these factors returned over night I would imagine that there would be fewer migrants to Australia.

I realise that sounds a very simplistic statement to make, but it is true in every aspect. If you felt this country and its people were doing all they could to ensure its future I have an inkling that you may well not even consider emigrating at this point in your life.

But that is not the point we find ourselves at. We find ourselves in the position of being left with little choice about our future plans. We have for all intense purposes resigned ourselves to the fact that we are left with little choice but to consider leaving this country.

Some may accuse you of jumping ship as it were. But if you are anything like me I have over the years done all I can to facilitate a change, and once again get the UK and its people to make this country what it once was.

Unfortunately my efforts have been to little avail, so I know find myself in my present position. Not for one minute do I regret the position I find myself in, far from it. I am enjoying my work immensely.

My work day is now full of speaking to like minded individuals who now find themselves in a position that is untenable in the extreme. Their thoughts and emotions are ones that I have lived and breathed for many a year.

I realise that I will upset an awful lot of PIO members and guests here. Just to reiterate. I am not saying Australia is perfect, far from it. But at the present time it has far more to offer than the UK. I am not speaking of the peripherels of our exsistence, groceries, TV, etc. I am talking of the everyday Aussies extreme pride and joy at being called Australian.

 

Thanks Tony

[bunbury61]

All the reasons I've seen for returning to the UK are the usual: family, friends, boredom, heat, isolation etc.

 

Has anyone found the attitudes of poms who have moved off putting at all? I certainly feel that some of the attitudes found over here in WA can be really negative. Poms like all migrants band together and form cliques and if you don't belong then you're an outsider. I have also seen elements of "look what I've got and you haven't."

 

Is this just me or has anyone else experienced this?

 

As i have stated on many threads,i found the poms strange in Oz ( and iam one ), mixed with the Aussies mostly .....top draw

[bunbury61]

Being brought up in Oz I just find London and the UK exiting vibrant and full of life plus I am just discovering Europe...(I have fell in love with France) Perth is very isolated and for someone who likes a weekend away it is not possible to be honest unless you fly, Oz will be my Country of birth and I love it but up to now I am enjoying my life in the UK....The wife was brought up in London and liked the slow pace of life and the sun in perth.

 

Dear me ......read my previous posts .....in my humble opinion France is the best country in the world ..

BEST CAPITAL CITY

CULTURE

HISTORY

WEATHER

ART

INFASTRUCTURE

 

As a Pom it pains me to say it ,but......

[bunbury61]

Hi WWW,

Yes we have noticed it also. We've been here nearly 10 years and are planning to go home next year, and we have noticed a distinct difference in people's attitudes when we tell them we are returning to U.K. It's as if you are stepping out of the 'magic circle', into the forbidden zone (LOL). I think for some people it calls into question their own existence here. I get really p***ed off with some people as they all want to be experts on England. I have an Aunt & uncle in Perth who reckon we are mad to go back; they left England in 1969!!!! what would they know about life in modern England?. Some people just can't get their head around the fact that you can dislike this place. I personally don't hate it, I've had nearly ten good years but after analysing our life here now that we have older kids; we believe we would have a more stimulating, rewarding & diverse life in U.K than here. It's not about slagging Oz off, it just can't offer us what we want anymore, personally we are bored of sitting around in people's back gardens for endless bbq's drinking beer. but for some people that is the pinnacle of their social stimulation and feel satisfied.

Don't feel bad about not liking it here, I have met plenty of Aussie's who are not afraid to criticize the U.K .

P90

 

Read flipflops post above ......spot on.

One summer evening going down the Seine through Paris convinced me i was in the right place ( europe)

[Guest flipflop]

Dear me ......read my previous posts .....in my humble opinion France is the best country in the world ..

BEST CAPITAL CITY

CULTURE

HISTORY

WEATHER

ART

INFASTRUCTURE

 

As a Pom it pains me to say it ,but......

What a Country France is we have been 10 times now and I am in love with place,,,the people,the culture .the beuty of the place..the food...what a fantastic Country...it must be the best place to live in the world.....Germany is also pulling my donga though as we spent a weekend sailing down the rhine...:jiggy:

[Guest jackie Macdonald]

I have been very fortunate to have travelled extensively throughout the world at many different times, I have had the good fortune to see parts of the world that I thought when younger I would never have the chance to see, I have seen things that would shock, frighten and bemuse many of us, I have also seen things that amaze, surprise and hold memories that will stay with me until my dying day.

As I said, there is no such place on God's green earth that is a nirvana, a paradise if you will, no Country, no matter where we go. Wherever we choose to live our lives it very rarely lives up to all of our expectations, for our expectations are often lofty ideals that can never truly be lived up to.

The majority of the time they are our own ideas of what we expect to see and feel, and it is more often the case that when we arrive with our lofty ideals we find that it can all become somewhat of an anticlimax. Unfortunately that is part of life, and one that we all have to except.

There are very few of us who are in the fortunate position of being able to go to a new country and live a life that bears no resemblance to the one we had previously. Unless we have been extremely fortunate the vast majority of us will have the same concerns and worries that we did when we were in the UK.

We still have to concern ourselves with the everyday necessities of work, schooling for the children, shopping, pensions, in fact all manner of things that are integral to our own day to day lives.

The times I have heard the argument that the weather makes a vast difference to where we might choose to live. Yes, I admit that if the weather is sunny and bright many of us feel better within ourselves, and it seems to bring out the best in us, or at least I hope this is the case. But surely this cannot be the main reason why we choose to live elsewhere. The reasons are to numerous to mention as to why we might, if in this fortunate position, choose to live abroad.

I will do my very best to list a few examples of why people choose to live elsewhere, better lifestyle, better schooling, outdoor living, lovely weather, friendly people, taxes are lower, the list is truly endless, but there is one very key component that is missing from the above reasons.

And before any of you say that I am filtering, and in some way skewing my answers I will just say this. I did my research, I took myself out onto the streets and asked a very broad spectrum of people the reasons as to why they may choose to live overseas, if indeed they were ever in this position.

At no point in time did I influence their answers, I did not have a prerequisite of answers I was expecting, at no point did I try to influence the reasons they wanted to give.

The question was simple, 'Why would you choose to leave the UK and live in Australia? It really was as simple as that.

As I said the answers I received were as different and as varied as you could imagine, but, and here is the big but, when broken down, only 7 per cent of those questioned said that they would move to Australia because they wanted to feel part of somewhere that had a sense of community. Where they felt as if people still cared about one another and realised that it was in all their interests to make sure that as part of that community they acted in a way that kept this feeling a constant.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that very few people said that they wanted to move to a country where there was a deep sense of pride in one's own country, and they would do all they could to ensure that this remained the case.

I first arrived in Australia in 1980, the details are somewhat boring, but I had been in this fortunate position because of my Fathers work, he was employed in the oil and gas industry and was offered a short term contract to work in Perth, Western Australia.

Having left school, I had at this time really no idea of what I wanted to do with my future, I was very very keen on joining the armed forces, but due to the condition of colour blindness this was not an option. So after much discussion it was agreed that I would accompany my family to Australia to try and sort myself out, and decide what my future held.

As with many teenagers at this time, and even in today's society, I really had no idea what I wanted to do, I was confused and needed to sort myself out asap. I got a job in Australia and enjoyed my time immensely, it was truly a life changing experience.

To cut a very long story short, after my Fathers contract expired it was obvious that we would have to come back to the UK, I had at this time fallen in love with Australia.

You must remember that at this time I was a teenager, so I really did not have the worries that concern many adults, all I knew was that the fishing was good, the sun shone, and the people were very, very friendly.

Even at this young age I could see that in some way the people seemed to be happier. I did all I could to try and stay in Australia, I was I dare say a complete pain in the backside to my family, I must have sulked for weeks.

Because of the Australian Governments immigration policy at that time it was obvious the authorities would never allow me to stay in Australia. The policy surrounding immigration was, and is to this day extremely complicated. The whole process revolved around a points scoring system, and to get the chance to emigrate to Australia, if you come anywhere near to fulfilling the criteria, is an opportunity that few of us are afforded.

When I arrived back in the UK I decided that I would do all I could to enable me to emigrate to Australia, this was going to be far from easy, but I was determined to do all I could to enable this to happen.

I therefore decided that I would get myself a trade. So I enrolled in a local building college and went on a three year course to gain four City & Guilds qualifications. It was hard work, but I enjoyed it immensely, all the time I was hoping that the qualifications I gained would enable me to once again return Australia, or rather the country I was determined to make my new 'home'. These qualifications combined with my age and other abilities would I hope, facilitate a return to Australia.

After four years I was successful with my exams, and was what you could call over the moon. I was now in the position where a return to Australia was possible. My life was now, or so I thought, complete in every way.

However, as time went by many things happened to me, the least of which were girls. My plans had at one time been set in concrete, but as is the case with many of us, things change. Suffice to say that my plans went from certainty to uncertainty overnight, with this one caveat, I always, always had the intention of returning to Australia.

As I said, to go into to much detail will only bore you, but I did eventually return to Australia, and have done so on many an occasion. In fact since 1980 I have been backwards and forwards to Australia no less than fifteen times.

Without saying to much, you could say that this constant flitting back to Australia has been the main cause of my relationship failings with those people that I dearly loved or love. For this I accept absolute responsibility, there is no one else to blame but myself for the position I find myself in. I must have been one of the most unreasonable and selfish people you could ever wish to meet.

With that flaw in my character out of the way I would like to say this. When I first arrived in Australia I was young and fairly naive, and in as much only saw Australia as a place of fun and sun, I really did not have a care in the world, the fishing was good, the sun shone and I was as happy as proverbial Larry.

But even then, when I was extremely young and naive there was a sense, or rather a feeling that the Australian people were different, they seemed happier, more outgoing, and they seemed to love and cherish everything about their country.

As I have got older this feeling of pride that the Aussies have has come to the fore more and more over the years. Even now, as a fully grown adult, with the so called weight of the world on my shoulders I can now see what I was blind to in my earlier years. It is simply this, that the everyday Aussie has immense pride in their own country.

As I have previously said, I have been flitting to and fro for many years, whilst this has in its very essence made a lot of peoples lives around me very taxing, and at times very hard, one thing has always remained a constant, and it is this.

That as I get older and wiser I can see what Australia means to its people and how much pride they have in their country.

Australia will never be my birth place, my very own country, but I was, and to this day honoured that on the third of March 2000 I became an Australian citizen. It is to this day one of my greatest achievements, and one that I cannot put into words how very proud I am to be called an Australian.

There were many sacrifices along the way that were made in order for this to come about, both from me, but much more importantly by those around me. Looking back at those times I now realise the sacrifices that these people made. All I can do is thank them for this, and also I send them my heartfelt apologies, for now I realise the sacrifices that they made were vast, and at times there lives must have been hell.

Words will never be able to make up for any of my actions, they will sound very hollow indeed, but that is all I can do, I wish I could turn the clock back, and maybe do things differently, but that is wishful thinking, this can never be achieved, so all I can do is say a heartfelt sorry.

As you will appreciate I can only speak from experience, I dare say that there are many other countries that also have this deeply entrenched feeling of pride in one's own country, but my main experience is that of Australia, and it is only right and proper that I concentrate on this country, as it is the one I know very well indeed.

Before I go any further I will yet again do all I can to explain my reasons for this. I am not for one second saying that Australia and its people are perfect in every respect, far from it. They still have their fair share of troubles and woes.

Their politicians are, I dare say as fallible and at times as weak as our very own, they too, have crime that seems to purvey most echelons of life. Unemployment is still a problem, drinking culture can at times spiral out of control, the credit crunch is alive and well, the list is endless. I am not for one second saying that Australia is perfect, nothing could be further from the truth.

But one thing remains a constant within the Australian psyche, and it is this, that the vast majority of Australians have a very deep set sense of pride in one's own country. It is such a sense of pride in one's own country that it is difficult to ignore. It seems to pervade all aspects of their culture and is evident in all generations. Yes, there are those where this sense of pride is lacking, but they are few and far between, indeed a rarity, and one that you would be hard pushed to find if you went looking.

Most everyday Australians have the mindset that Australia is, and always will be the best country on earth to live in, that Australia is by far and away, without a shadow of a doubt, the best country in the world.

There is in their opinion, no other country that can offer them more, no country, wherever that may be. It is a sense of pride that to the uninitiated can seem somewhat shocking when first seen. Surely you ask yourself no country can surely be this good? Surely there must be some down sides to a country that we have little knowledge of?

It is such a deep set pride that most Australians will do all they can to ensure that it remains so, they have a belief that it is all their responsibility to ensure that this sense of pride in one's own country remains, and they will do all they can to ensure that this is the case.

At times, especially those of us from the UK, this sense of pride in one's own country can come over as arrogance, arrogance in the extreme, there are two main reasons for this.

Firstly because we have lost this sense of pride in our own country, and may I add through our own actions, we view this type of allegiance as a form of arrogance. If this form of pride constitutes arrogance then I am ashamed to say it is our own fault. Could someone out there please tell me since when did having pride in your own country and believing it to be the best country in the world constitute arrogance of any degree.

And secondly, is the fact that somewhere in the deepest recesses of our minds we are ever so slightly jealous of a people that view themselves as the Australian's do. Do we view their attitude as in some way insular, and in some way strange in this modern world of ours?

We do this at our peril, we risk viewing Australia as a poor relation that has little impact on our own lives. If this is the case we have truly lost any sense of community, if we view the Australians pride as strange, does this not say more about us than it does about the normal everyday Aussie.

I think the answer is a resounding yes, because we as a nation of people have chosen to lose a sense of pride in the UK, we view anybody else that still has this immense pride and dignity as strange in some way. A people that should be viewed with some degree of skepticism and intolerance.

I know that I keep banging on about this, but until you have experienced such a feeling of pride it is very very difficult to explain, doubly so if you come from a country that has so willingly given up many years ago in the belief that your own country is, and always will be the best country in the world.

It is a deep sense of pride that is instilled in Australians from a very early age. Just by saying that ideas are conjured up of indoctrination, some form of brain washing, nothing could be further from the truth. It is just a sense that each and every one of them should do all they can to ensure that their country remains the best possible country it can be, and it is each inhabitants duty to make sure that they do all they can to ensure this.

It is in no way a sense of 'My country, right or wrong.' Such ideals were lost many years ago, gone are the days when all of a country's actions were thought to be right and proper, no matter how extreme or objectionable they were, which is only right and proper.

No, to make this assumption would be a catastrophic misinterpretation of the facts. What each and every Australian believes is that no matter what else happens in the world they still have the good fortune to live in a country that will always remain the best in the world.

It would be petty of me to mention how many Australian flags you can see at any point in time, in any street, in any suburb, blowing proudly in the wind from any number of buildings. It would also be petty of me to tell you how many businesses out there proclaim from their hoardings that they are proudly one hundred percent Australian owned, with the Australian flag proudly proclaiming such a thing.

It would be petty of me to mention how many TV adverts for independent businesses proudly proclaim that they are wholly Australian owned. It would be petty for me to mention how much pride and gusto is put into the singing of ‘Advance Australia Fare’. It would be petty of me to mention that the Australians celebrate Australia day as if their lives depended on it. It would be petty of me to mention how much pride is felt by the vast majority on Anzac day. I could go on, the list is endless.

As you would have noticed, I pre-fixed every example I just mentioned with the word ‘petty’. Because to a nation such as ours at the present time I can assure you that the vast majority of us, because of our attitude and complete lack of pride would view such examples as indeed, petty, in someway or another. Because we as a nation have lost this ability to feel proud of our own country we view others who choose to display such feelings as strange. We view this sort of pride as being insular and naive in the extreme.

It is also true that we as a people view the Australians in a negative light at certain times. I have heard all manner of descriptions of the Australian people in the past, culturally devoid, a minnow in the global sense, a backwater, inept, insular, I could go on, but when you consider that we as a nation are the one's saying this, do you not think that it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Since when were we so high and mighty that we dare say these things. Since when did we hold the moral high ground and feel perfectly justified in casting aspersions on another country.

After all, have we not given up our right to criticise purely because we as a people have so willingly let this country spiral out of control. It is true that Australia may not be classed as one of the superpowers, that their history is somewhat limited when compared to other nations, and yes, I would have to agree that to many of us they can seem somewhat insular, but surely this is no bad thing.

If the word, ‘insular’ means that they concern themselves in the first instance with what is good for their own country, for their own people, how they can all make Australia a better place, then who on earth are we to criticise. To misinterpret the word insular is an injustice, and one that should be rectified forthwith.

Besides, many of the accusations thrown at Australia and its people are done by those that have little or no actual experience of the country itself. Its all to easy to criticise and castigate from afar, to take the moral high ground and look at Australia as some sort of poor relation. Those of us who have been in the fortunate position to have visited and worked in Australia know better.

It is a country that welcomes, embraces, and holds dear what is truly important in life. The Australian people are some of the kindest and generous I have ever had the privilege to meet, they will do all they can to ensure that a visit to Australia is one that will remain with you until you're dying day. It is a sense of camaraderie, a sense that they are all working toward the same goal, to make sure that Australia remains what it is today, one of the best countries in the world.

All of this comes about purely because of their immense pride in their nation, a pride that has built up over many a year and one that will be built upon for generations to come. They truly believe that there is no other country in the world that can offer them more, that it is in everyones interest to make Australia the best it possibly can be.

I for one will not criticise this thought process. I have to at this stage hold my hands up and admit, that at times in my early visits to Australia this sense of pride I not only found strange, but also extremely annoying. I got sick to the back teeth of hearing how great Australia was, and how it was the greatest country on God's green earth. How nothing was as good anywhere else apart from Australia, that there was nowhere in the world that could hold a torch to Australia.

The times I wanted to fight back, tell the Australians that no, they were wrong, and the UK was the best country in the world. That they could not hope to achieve and attain what the UK had done in the past, and what the UK could achieve in the future.

And to a lesser degree, I got sick and tired off the Pommy bashing, they seemed to take every opportunity to knock all things British, all the time. Particularly may I add when any sporting contest was taking part that meant England and Australia would meet. The Aussies would seem to revel in winding me up at every opportunity.

Having said that, all of this all this took place in my early dealings with Australia, in the early 1980s, I was young and gullible at the time, barely seventeen years old and took everything to heart. It is only through experience and age that you come to realise exactly what was going on. At that time I came from a country that did have some degree of pride and belief in itself, a country that was thought by its inhabitants, to be the best place in the world.

But, with age and experience comes knowledge, and it is only now that I can look back at these times and really see what was going on. I too at that time mistook their belief in their own country as a form of arrogance, after all, how can what they say be true, when it is obvious that I come from the greatest country on earth.

At that time I truly believed that the UK was without a shadow of doubt the best country in the world, that nowhere could compare, at all. But that was nearly thirty years ago and times have changed. We are no longer in this privileged position, because we as a nation have let this feeling of immense pride go voluntarily it is only now that I can look back at those early years and see what was actually going on.

The everyday Australians belief that their country was, and to this day, is the best country in the world is something to be admired and held in high esteem.

And it is still true to this day that a certain degree of Pommy bashing still remains. And there are those that will say it with vitriol and contempt and mean it, they are few and far between, but there are some.

However, again with age and experience you come to realise that the occasional 'Pommy bastard' or 'Whingeing pom' attitude is more often than not said with a form of affection and endearment. I have had many jobs in Australia and lost count of the times the word 'Pommy' was used to get my attention, any communication to me was prefaced with ‘Pommy’.

This happened on many an occasion, but because of the context it was used in I viewed it as a form of acceptance. Now I know that sounds strange, as if a so called detrimental wording can be taken as acceptance, but that is what was meant by it. I felt part of the larger group.

True, I could have reacted and taken it the wrong way, and I know of many people who did so, for this reason they will never be able to feel part of the community as it were, I warn you now if you go to Australia and react each time the word ‘Pommy’ is used you will make your life a misery. The Aussies are like dogs with bones if they realise that they will get a rise out of you.

I worked with a large and diverse group of individuals and each time I would initially be welcomed in the manner outlined, but all I can say is this, I have never met a group of people that were so welcoming and friendly as the every day Australian.

My working life, the majority of the time, was full of laughter and friendly banter, and I have been privileged to meet many people that I know I could call upon at any time and be met with open arms.

I felt, and to this day feel part of a country that will accept you no matter your background, with one proviso, if you are of the same mind as them. That if you try your hardest and work toward a common goal then Australia will remain the best country in the world to live in. You are part of a group of people who will accept and love you, if you too believe that you will do all you can to make Australia what it is today.

As I have said, it was for this reason that on the 3rd March 2000 I became an Australian citizen, it is and will always remain one of the proudest days in my life. The feeling of elation and joy is indescribable, it was a massive achievement.

And the main reasons I am so proud to call myself an Australian is simply this. I am part of a country that believes in itself, part of a country that is not scared to say it is the best country in the world, part of a country that believes if something is wrong they will do all they can to make it better, part of a country that wants Australia to be the best it possibly can be.

But above all these, there is one fact that I hold close to my heart, and it is this, that most Australians are proud to be called 'Australian'. I am proud to be part of a country that still remains so steadfastly proud of itself and its inhabitants. Believes that the people of a nation are the most important factors, and above all else has a social consciousness, is a feeling of complete joy.

There is a saying in Australia, it is one that you will hear time and time again, and it is this, ‘Mate ship’. Basically this means that no matter what the situation, who you are or where you come from, you will be given a fair go. A fair go in all that you do. It is in other words a sense of community, where there is a deep set belief that if you want to make a go of it and try hard enough, then the Australian people will support you if it is at all possible.

They will back you to the hilt, in every sense. It is a sense that whatever you do, if you are prepared to make Australia a better place then good for you. You will be backed to the hilt by its people. It is overwhelming feeling of goodwill and comradeship, a feeling that you have arrived in a place that you can be truly proud of.

Australia is a country that believes in its past, present and future. Unlike us, Australia has not tried to wash its hands of what it has achieved, what it stands for today, and what it can achieve in the future.

It is a country that is so proud of itself and those that call themselves Australian, it is a place where each and everyone one of its inhabitants is proud to call themselves Australian. Where each individual still believes in their country and will do all they can to ensure it remains the best country in the world. For this reason I salute them, I hold them in huge admiration and I in turn am proud to be called an 'Adopted Aussie'.

I may not have been born an Australian, and in the purest form of the word Australian, I may never be classed as a fair dinkum Aussie. I was born an Englishman, my allegiance still remains steadfastly to this country, yes this country, but it saddens me to say this, not its people, its people have chosen to make their birth country one of the most apathetic and selfish nations there is. Where we view our own actions as inconsequential to all those around us, and really do not care what impact we have on all those around us.

All of the above may have come over as a rant, uncontrollable hysteria if you will. To some extent I will agree with you. But it is said with passion at the very least. I make no bones that the UK at the present time holds little for me and millions like me.

This country has lost its sense of pride and passion in all that it does. I would wager that deep, deep within your subconscious you will come to the same conclusion as me, and it is simply this. The UK at the present time can offer me nothing more, it holds little future for me and my family.

It is true, as I have said that your reasons to emigrate will be as varied and as different as the next persons. For example, better housing, schooling, financially more stable, the list is endless.

But I would wager you this, and be totally honest when you read the next statement. If you were truly happy in the UK at the present time would these factors REALLY matter? Would they seem such a big problem if the country you were presently living in was what it once used to be?

The UK has lost what it once had, a deep sense of compassion and pride. If these factors returned over night I would imagine that there would be fewer migrants to Australia.

I realise that sounds a very simplistic statement to make, but it is true in every aspect. If you felt this country and its people were doing all they could to ensure its future I have an inkling that you may well not even consider emigrating at this point in your life.

But that is not the point we find ourselves at. We find ourselves in the position of being left with little choice about our future plans. We have for all intense purposes resigned ourselves to the fact that we are left with little choice but to consider leaving this country.

Some may accuse you of jumping ship as it were. But if you are anything like me I have over the years done all I can to facilitate a change, and once again get the UK and its people to make this country what it once was.

Unfortunately my efforts have been to little avail, so I know find myself in my present position. Not for one minute do I regret the position I find myself in, far from it. I am enjoying my work immensely.

My work day is now full of speaking to like minded individuals who now find themselves in a position that is untenable in the extreme. Their thoughts and emotions are ones that I have lived and breathed for many a year.

I realise that I will upset an awful lot of PIO members and guests here. Just to reiterate. I am not saying Australia is perfect, far from it. But at the present time it has far more to offer than the UK. I am not speaking of the peripherels of our exsistence, groceries, TV, etc. I am talking of the everyday Aussies extreme pride and joy at being called Australian.

 

Thanks Tony

 

Bloody hell!! you are a man of many words.... but what I would say is that I get the feeling that you are still predominantly english and that due to your early experiences at such a vunerable age, you have been unfortunately torn between your own country and Australia. I feel slightly disturbed at your long post as it somehow screams desperation and a great need to justify your decision to remain a staunch citizen of your chosen country!

 

jackie xx

[Guest WA WA WARRGH]

I agree with you there Wa Wa Warrgh, in that it is possibly more noticeable due to needing to try and find your own little place in a new society. I do know a frequent complaint made by a friend of mine, who is an Aussie who moved to Tasmania at the same time as I did, that people (other Aussies) seem to have already formed firm cliques and newcomers are not welcome. Oddly enough I have not noticed as much but that is probably due to my not really trying to break into any group, I have always been the sort of person who is outside all of the "in" groups and it bothers me not at all. Personally I prefer to relate to people on an individual basis and have found enough friendly people to not feel like I am a leper or anything. So it may also be a difference in what your expectations are as to how frustrated you are with the results.

 

I much prefer to do my own thing than attempt to fit in with a group just because were in a similar situation. I just find that the few I have spoken to come across with the wrong attittude. Which is why I don't and am unlikely to attend any social gatherings where each is thrown together. Yes, good friends can be made but I'd rather meet people of my own volition not because 'we have to.'

[kelmart]

I was in Brum Nov-Jan this year and loved it! OK, not the inner city areas which are dire and need a bloody good clean-up, but the rest is looking brill!

 

I noticed that the traffic had really increased and it was pretty sluggish getting out of the city in rush hour. But the people were (mostly) as friendly and funny as ever. Make the most of it as you'll not get that in Oz.

 

We even got to have afternoon tea with the Mayor and his wife!

 

I definately won't miss the traffic !!! I am trying to see most of the local sites before we leave, Aston Hall, cadburyworld, motorcycle museum etc before we leave.

 

When are your plans to move back ???

 

I have seen the Mayor and his wife last year at an event but I'm not as "in" with them as you are !!! You can bring the Mayor and his wife along to our meets too !!!