Back from Oz

[Stuju]

Maybe Hello kitty means cause you & i & all us other poms are immigrants in Oz !!!!! ha ha LOL

[THE ROBERTSONS]

Hi,

Yep we moved to melbourne, we brought a house down in Mornington no regrets, hope all goes well for the new addition to your family

 

good luck to you

 

Sean & Caz

 

hi hope all is going well for you and your family

my hubby and i are in the early stages of coming to Australia Melbourne my hubby has a job transfer so that's great but i am still not sure i have 2 children aged 4 and 6 and its such a worring time they are both in school and all they friends are there you no what is like so i am writing to you to ask your advice and some top tips we live in hull in a very nice area . which are the areas that we should look at i don't want to be in the city .

 

take care

 

hope to hear from you soon

 

jo and family x

[Guest nics26]

Phew ... next time someone says their bored i'll tell them to read this tread ... apart from being interesting its only took me 4 LONG hours to read lol.

 

glad i did tho!

[Guest been there before]

Hi,

Just read your thread and yeah could of written that myself to be honest.I was born in the UK and emigrated with my family to Oz in 1970,(I was 9)and returned to the UK 10 years ago.I don't know whether I will return to Oz to live,undecided at present but yeah I get the feeling most people who decide to emigrate don't look at the whole picture do they?For example a girl at work told me she wanted to live in Oz?I asked why?She replied "Its a better standard of life"She has never been there mind you.I spent my lunch break telling her the facts.For example recently my Mum who lives in Adelaide (she is elderly)got a brick thrown in her lounge window!500 young people commit suicide each year in Oz,crime is on the up,10,000 farmers have walked off their farms last week due to the drought,I could go on but I got the impression this girl did'nt really believe me?I spent nearly 30 years in Oz,and never went outside of it.Since I've lived here (10 yrs)I have been to Spain,Crete,Samos,Turkey,India,back to Oz,Paris,Cyprus,Malaysia,Ireland,Corfu and Ibiza!!!!! I think people watch shows on Oz and just go for the sunshine factor myself?You still have to work hard,you still have to pay bills (utility bills are also going up there)petrol is'nt far off what we pay here now and you have further to drive over there to get anywhere!!!If I did go back it would be for family reasons only not because I am deluded thinking its utopia because its far from it.It just makes me angry lately every time I hear someone say they are thinking of moving to Oz when they obviously don't know the facts,true facts not just the wish wash you see on tv.Unless you want skin cancer in summer in oz you are advised to stay out of the sun between 9am-4pm,so whats the point.Instead of being cooped up here by the fire,you are cooped up inside with the air conditioner beating away and most people can't afford to have that going 24/7!!! be proud to be british I say.Lots of great things here,life is what you make it.If you're not happy here then what makes you think you'll be happy in Oz.:cry::unsure:

[MACDONALDO67]

Hi,

Just read your thread and yeah could of written that myself to be honest.I was born in the UK and emigrated with my family to Oz in 1970,(I was 9)and returned to the UK 10 years ago.I don't know whether I will return to Oz to live,undecided at present but yeah I get the feeling most people who decide to emigrate don't look at the whole picture do they?For example a girl at work told me she wanted to live in Oz?I asked why?She replied "Its a better standard of life"She has never been there mind you.I spent my lunch break telling her the facts.For example recently my Mum who lives in Adelaide (she is elderly)got a brick thrown in her lounge window!500 young people commit suicide each year in Oz,crime is on the up,10,000 farmers have walked off their farms last week due to the drought,I could go on but I got the impression this girl did'nt really believe me?I spent nearly 30 years in Oz,and never went outside of it.Since I've lived here (10 yrs)I have been to Spain,Crete,Samos,Turkey,India,back to Oz,Paris,Cyprus,Malaysia,Ireland,Corfu and Ibiza!!!!! I think people watch shows on Oz and just go for the sunshine factor myself?You still have to work hard,you still have to pay bills (utility bills are also going up there)petrol is'nt far off what we pay here now and you have further to drive over there to get anywhere!!!If I did go back it would be for family reasons only not because I am deluded thinking its utopia because its far from it.It just makes me angry lately every time I hear someone say they are thinking of moving to Oz when they obviously don't know the facts,true facts not just the wish wash you see on tv.Unless you want skin cancer in summer in oz you are advised to stay out of the sun between 9am-4pm,so whats the point.Instead of being cooped up here by the fire,you are cooped up inside with the air conditioner beating away and most people can't afford to have that going 24/7!!! be proud to be british I say.Lots of great things here,life is what you make it.If you're not happy here then what makes you think you'll be happy in Oz.:cry::unsure:

 

Good post !

[Guest Aldo]

be proud to be british I say.Lots of great things here,life is what you make it.If you're not happy here then what makes you think you'll be happy in Oz.:cry::unsure:

 

I had always wondered why the "lifes what you make it" brigade didn't apply this mantra to their lives in blighty

 

good post btw

[Guest Aussie girl wanna be]

Dear all,

 

I have been reading this thread over the last couple of days on and off! It has been great reading everyones opinion about moving to Oz. And that there are many families who are moving back to the UK. I think it is very wise to visit the place where you are planning to live for at least a month or so. I am lucky to be doing this soon. It has made me have a really hard think about moving and what is going to be my real reasons for going. My head is spinning at the moment and planning to move late 2009 may be a little hasty.

 

I need a hug.

 

L

[Guest been there before]

I could'nt agree more actually.I lived in Oz for 30 years and if people assume its utopia then they are deluded I'm afraid.I can move back to Oz anytime but want to stay in the UK.Crime is rife in Oz,and people are the same there with kids,open spaces yes but too afraid to let their kids out alone.Yes they also have paedophiles and god knows what else there too you know!!! I reckon the novelty will wear off once all these new immigrants settle in.I could show you some huge council estates in Oz that don't look like the Neighbours set!!!There are also a huge amount of other immigrants living there as well,that also don't assimilate!The only difference between here and there is the sun is hotter!Please everyone think twice about leaving your other family members and so on just to get what you think is a better life.I watched a show on immigration to Oz back in the 50's and 60's,propaganda then,propaganda now I'm afraid!

[Guest grayda]

thats a very good post been there before

[Ellie 2]

Like most things it's a matter of opinion developed by your circumstances. As well as remembering nowhere on this Earth is Utopia. I have live here for almost 42 years and I am very happy. We struggled for the first few years but settled fine. Like everywhere life has its ups and downs. As far as travel is concerned, I have been to Scotland, many times, Bali, Hong Kong, USA, travelled around Australia and in July am going to Europe, USA and New Zealand. So living in Australia does not prevent you from travelling. And before anyone says I must be rich - I'm not. I have 4 sons, now grown, and was widowed at 47. It can be done. It's either for you or it's not.

[Guest joksand]

Wow! Can't believe this thread is still going - it's been almost a year now! Surely this must be a PIO record!!!

 

Wonder whether the original poster is still reading ir or lost interest altogether by now!

 

Bye for now

 

Jo

[ali]

I think the original poster only made about 3 posts - think they lost interest as soon as they'd posted. It went quiet for a while then got ressurected.

 

Ali

[Guest psmdwaiting]

Phew.... i'm new to this site & spent all day reading this thread, very interesting read but i'm even more confused now. I guess life is what you make it & everyone's experience is different so BRING IT ON!!! It's not gonna put me off! We are about to have medicals so finger's crossed!

[Guest earlswood]

I grew up in England and moved to Oz with my Australian girlfriend after I graduated . I lived in Melbourne for the next 3 years and had a great time, but towards the end of the 3 years realised that better weather wasn’t everything in life. I had reached a bit of a dead-end career-wise (due in no small part to Aussie bureaucracy) and decided to move home about a year ago.

Coming back to the UK felt like waking up from a deep sleep. The speed with which things happen was really refreshing and things that I’d taken for granted previously suddenly became really appreciated.

Some of the people on this website (and in general) strike me as incredibly naive with regards to Australia, making comments about the place either without ever being there or having just arrived and blinded by sunshine. They seem to think that moving to Oz will result in one big beach party, one never ending barbeque and talk about the place as if it was the garden of eden. Sorry, it isn’t.

Being realistic, you will do essentially the same things as you do here: commute to work, work, commute to home, eat, watch TV, go out, sleep, repeat, repeat, weekend. Having held several jobs in Oz, I worked with a vast number of different of local people, primarily in a similar age bracket (20-30) and of a similar background (relatively middle-class and mostly degree-educated). This pattern generally holds true.

Unless you live in London you are likely to spend longer on your commute in Australian cities. Many of my friends thought nothing of travelling an hour each way to work, in fact several even had longer journeys combining driving to their local train station, catching a train into the city and then tram to their office. Very concentrated CBDs and virtually unchecked suburban sprawl means that people often live huge distances from their place work. I now live on the edge of Leeds, 5 miles from the city centre. In Melbourne this would be classed as an inner suburb. Where I live now is walking distance from rolling hills, cows, sheep, literally a couple of miles to the Dales.

The unemployment rate is higher in Oz and depending on what industry you work in, you are likely to find more job opportunities in the UK and likely to get paid more for the same work, especially if you are a skilled professional. If you don’t live in the South-East of England, the cost of living is very similar. Coming from the Yorkshire, I actually found Sydney expensive and Melbourne comparable. There are overs and unders, sure, but averaged out across a ‘Basket of Goods’ prices were very close – its certainly not as cheap as the States and not nearly as cheap as smug locals would have you believe.

You seem to get more public holidays in Australia but less annual leave. 4 weeks is standard, where many employers in the UK now offer 5 or even 6 weeks (even if it is salary-sacrificed into flexible benefits packages). The holidays are all bunched up around Christmas – that’s also their summer holiday because of the reversed seasons. Apart from Afl, nothing seems to happen there over winter (actually most of the year round come to think of it).

With your time off their is infinitely more things to do in the UK, or at least from the UK. Generally 2 hours travelling time is what you want to arrive at your destination of choice. Within 2 hours I could be in Paris. 2 hours from Melbourne and i’d be driving through never-ending nothingness, on the way to Wolf Creek probably.

Having been back in the UK for about 12 months, I have had a much outdoors lifestyle than in Oz. It may be warmer there, but you seem to spend your life in an air-conditioned cocoon. Since being back I have played more golf, gone walking in the dales and the lake district (there is nothing that I saw in Oz that can compare to these in terms of beauty). From where I now live, I can go on day trips to York and Harrogate and go to lovely country pubs for Sunday dinner. I have only been back a year but have already been for weekends away to Prague and Paris, worked in Chicago for a fortnight and am going to Tuscany in June. These sort of opportunities simply do not exist from Australia. Once you are there, it is very long way to anything else.

Don’t get me started on Australian TV (non-stop American reality show imports littered with adverts). The music scene is awful. The food is strictly Greek/Italian or Viet/Thai. Nobody has heard of Tapas. Curries are almost impossible to find. And French food might as well not exist.

A lot of people cite their children as the prime reason for emigrating which I find quite strange. As if a bigger garden and a bit more sunshine is all kids need!

Did i think my friends and colleagues were any happier or more rounded individuals as a result of growing up in Australia? Certainly not. For most of the people I know in Australia, many have rarely been outside the state of Victoria. The vast majority have only been outside of their home country once or twice, generally on a year out working in a bar in London, ‘doing’ all of Europe in a 3 week contiki tour.

Whilst, I count many Australians amongst my best friends, I have to admit that on the whole, the geographic isolation and inward-focused media leaves them relatively uncultured, often quite narrow-minded and occassionally extremely bigotted when compared to people of similar socio-economic backgrounds in the UK. Those that don’t believe me should have been in Oz when the Shappelle Corby case was in the news. The way people I knew (and the country as a whole) reacted to it made me embarrassed to be in the country at the time.

There is massive problems of drug abuse (especially Crystal Meth and Heroin) and gambling is seen as socially acceptable, normal even. People who think that anti-social behaviour is purely a British problem are absolutely deluding themselves. My ‘neighbours’ in Melbourne used to use our stairwell as a urinal. Fights in pubs and on the street are commonplace, often much more violent than in the UK. My girlfriend’s cousin recently had a freind die in her arms from stab wounds inflicted after a fight out in Perth. Another friends of mine has permanent damage to his eyes after a gang jumped him in St Kilda and kicked and scratched and gouged at him, completely unprovoked. Young people get involved in illegal drag-races out in the suburbs every single weekend. If you keep an eye on the local news you may also have heard about the Cronulla race riots, Premier Brack’s daughter recently being taken to A & E after underage binge-drinking and yobs defacing the ANZAC memorial. People who think this stuff doesn’t happen in Australia are, frankly, living in cloud cuckoo land.

Because of the nature of the work I do, most of the people I worked with had been to University. Because of the financial constraints of tertiary education in Australia, the majority of people I knew had both lived at home and worked part time to fund their studies. University was 3 of the best years of my life, mostly as a result of living away from home and being completely immersed in the student way of life. The Australians I know have a massive void in their experience as a result.

I grew up in a small village in a rural area. As a result we had big a massive garden. Did this make my childhood more enjoyable? No. The things I enjoyed most were trips abroad or knowing that I would be able to do what I wanted in life, going away to University and having the world at my feet.

I used to go on holiday at least once a year either with my family or with school. The furthest kids go in Oz is on school camp to Maloooonlongatta or somewhere else completely irrelevant.

 

For people like myself, young, ambitious and cultured, Australia has very little to offer. From England I may not have the time and money to do everything that I want to do. Trapped in Australia, however, there simply weren’t enough things to keep me occupied. The world is an amazing place, I couldn’t be removed that far removed from it again. People contemplating a move to Oz should really look beyond the beaches and shiny office buildings before they decide to sacrifice all the things they take for granted.

 

Hey, there is only room for one miserable ***ard on here.

 

Jeee, and I thought I was negative.:err:

[tracy123]

I grew up in England and moved to Oz with my Australian girlfriend after I graduated . I lived in Melbourne for the next 3 years and had a great time, but towards the end of the 3 years realised that better weather wasn’t everything in life. I had reached a bit of a dead-end career-wise (due in no small part to Aussie bureaucracy) and decided to move home about a year ago.

Coming back to the UK felt like waking up from a deep sleep. The speed with which things happen was really refreshing and things that I’d taken for granted previously suddenly became really appreciated.

Some of the people on this website (and in general) strike me as incredibly naive with regards to Australia, making comments about the place either without ever being there or having just arrived and blinded by sunshine. They seem to think that moving to Oz will result in one big beach party, one never ending barbeque and talk about the place as if it was the garden of eden. Sorry, it isn’t.

Being realistic, you will do essentially the same things as you do here: commute to work, work, commute to home, eat, watch TV, go out, sleep, repeat, repeat, weekend. Having held several jobs in Oz, I worked with a vast number of different of local people, primarily in a similar age bracket (20-30) and of a similar background (relatively middle-class and mostly degree-educated). This pattern generally holds true.

Unless you live in London you are likely to spend longer on your commute in Australian cities. Many of my friends thought nothing of travelling an hour each way to work, in fact several even had longer journeys combining driving to their local train station, catching a train into the city and then tram to their office. Very concentrated CBDs and virtually unchecked suburban sprawl means that people often live huge distances from their place work. I now live on the edge of Leeds, 5 miles from the city centre. In Melbourne this would be classed as an inner suburb. Where I live now is walking distance from rolling hills, cows, sheep, literally a couple of miles to the Dales.

The unemployment rate is higher in Oz and depending on what industry you work in, you are likely to find more job opportunities in the UK and likely to get paid more for the same work, especially if you are a skilled professional. If you don’t live in the South-East of England, the cost of living is very similar. Coming from the Yorkshire, I actually found Sydney expensive and Melbourne comparable. There are overs and unders, sure, but averaged out across a ‘Basket of Goods’ prices were very close – its certainly not as cheap as the States and not nearly as cheap as smug locals would have you believe.

You seem to get more public holidays in Australia but less annual leave. 4 weeks is standard, where many employers in the UK now offer 5 or even 6 weeks (even if it is salary-sacrificed into flexible benefits packages). The holidays are all bunched up around Christmas – that’s also their summer holiday because of the reversed seasons. Apart from Afl, nothing seems to happen there over winter (actually most of the year round come to think of it).

With your time off their is infinitely more things to do in the UK, or at least from the UK. Generally 2 hours travelling time is what you want to arrive at your destination of choice. Within 2 hours I could be in Paris. 2 hours from Melbourne and i’d be driving through never-ending nothingness, on the way to Wolf Creek probably.

Having been back in the UK for about 12 months, I have had a much outdoors lifestyle than in Oz. It may be warmer there, but you seem to spend your life in an air-conditioned cocoon. Since being back I have played more golf, gone walking in the dales and the lake district (there is nothing that I saw in Oz that can compare to these in terms of beauty). From where I now live, I can go on day trips to York and Harrogate and go to lovely country pubs for Sunday dinner. I have only been back a year but have already been for weekends away to Prague and Paris, worked in Chicago for a fortnight and am going to Tuscany in June. These sort of opportunities simply do not exist from Australia. Once you are there, it is very long way to anything else.

Don’t get me started on Australian TV (non-stop American reality show imports littered with adverts). The music scene is awful. The food is strictly Greek/Italian or Viet/Thai. Nobody has heard of Tapas. Curries are almost impossible to find. And French food might as well not exist.

A lot of people cite their children as the prime reason for emigrating which I find quite strange. As if a bigger garden and a bit more sunshine is all kids need!

Did i think my friends and colleagues were any happier or more rounded individuals as a result of growing up in Australia? Certainly not. For most of the people I know in Australia, many have rarely been outside the state of Victoria. The vast majority have only been outside of their home country once or twice, generally on a year out working in a bar in London, ‘doing’ all of Europe in a 3 week contiki tour.

Whilst, I count many Australians amongst my best friends, I have to admit that on the whole, the geographic isolation and inward-focused media leaves them relatively uncultured, often quite narrow-minded and occassionally extremely bigotted when compared to people of similar socio-economic backgrounds in the UK. Those that don’t believe me should have been in Oz when the Shappelle Corby case was in the news. The way people I knew (and the country as a whole) reacted to it made me embarrassed to be in the country at the time.

There is massive problems of drug abuse (especially Crystal Meth and Heroin) and gambling is seen as socially acceptable, normal even. People who think that anti-social behaviour is purely a British problem are absolutely deluding themselves. My ‘neighbours’ in Melbourne used to use our stairwell as a urinal. Fights in pubs and on the street are commonplace, often much more violent than in the UK. My girlfriend’s cousin recently had a freind die in her arms from stab wounds inflicted after a fight out in Perth. Another friends of mine has permanent damage to his eyes after a gang jumped him in St Kilda and kicked and scratched and gouged at him, completely unprovoked. Young people get involved in illegal drag-races out in the suburbs every single weekend. If you keep an eye on the local news you may also have heard about the Cronulla race riots, Premier Brack’s daughter recently being taken to A & E after underage binge-drinking and yobs defacing the ANZAC memorial. People who think this stuff doesn’t happen in Australia are, frankly, living in cloud cuckoo land.

Because of the nature of the work I do, most of the people I worked with had been to University. Because of the financial constraints of tertiary education in Australia, the majority of people I knew had both lived at home and worked part time to fund their studies. University was 3 of the best years of my life, mostly as a result of living away from home and being completely immersed in the student way of life. The Australians I know have a massive void in their experience as a result.

I grew up in a small village in a rural area. As a result we had big a massive garden. Did this make my childhood more enjoyable? No. The things I enjoyed most were trips abroad or knowing that I would be able to do what I wanted in life, going away to University and having the world at my feet.

I used to go on holiday at least once a year either with my family or with school. The furthest kids go in Oz is on school camp to Maloooonlongatta or somewhere else completely irrelevant.

 

For people like myself, young, ambitious and cultured, Australia has very little to offer. From England I may not have the time and money to do everything that I want to do. Trapped in Australia, however, there simply weren’t enough things to keep me occupied. The world is an amazing place, I couldn’t be removed that far removed from it again. People contemplating a move to Oz should really look beyond the beaches and shiny office buildings before they decide to sacrifice all the things they take for granted.

 

 

Hi All, not read every post on this thread but I am annoyed by this persons one sided view of Australia and the culture. I think he does make a few good points the UK is great place for a single person if you enjoy the pub culture and the single life as you are closer to Europe.

 

To a certain point people are very niave when going to Australia and do have stars in their eyes, but I dont think anyone at all, particularly the one's I have come across would not make the decision to uproot their family without undertaking some sort of research about the country they intend to make their home.

 

He talks about Australians travelling an hour plus to work and yet he only lives 5 mins away from Leeds this is his choice as it is theirs and if you choose to you can also live 5 mins away from your work. Personally, I live in Blackburn and travel to St Helens, Stockport etc to get to work which can take anywhere up to two hours - my choice not an enforcement.

 

He says that the unemployment rate is higher in Oz depending on what industry you work in the same can be said for England. He also talks about Sydney being expensive in comparison with England but lets face it Sydney is a capital and has the highest population and compared to London it is not that expensive.

 

He then goes on to talk about a basket of goods costing the same price but the quality far outweighs the price. He talks about holidays bunched at Christmas - as a family you tend to always book your holidays when the children are off school as we have to do in England during the traditional summer holidays so what the issue is there I am not sure?.

 

He makes a statement that there are more things to do in the UK yet then states that in 2 hours he can be in Europe! and talks about Wolf Creek -hate to say it but its more than 2 hours from Melbourne try 2 or 3 days!! Lets face it in the UK in 2 hours you can be as far as 2 junctions down the motorway (if your lucky!!)

 

He then goes onto talk about sunday lunch in country pubs in the UK- many of which get their 'home cooked meals' cook-chilled from 3663!! (sorry to any of you out there who do offer good home cooked food- but in my experience the 'home cooked' is in the minority!!

 

He then goes onto talk about being more to a childs life than a bigger garden - how true, but the freedom gained from sunny days and cheap days out can only add value to child/family life surely?! I also have to say that as aparent I take some offence at the thought that my decision on a better life for my child is purely based on the size of the garden - thankyou but I have a very ample garden in the UK and that is most definately not on my list of things I want from a new life in Oz!!

 

Drug abuse is world over not just Australia.

 

In relation to Premier Bracks' daughter, what about Tony Blairs son? and the Queens grandchildren?

 

To my last point - uni students living at home - how many nurses, school teachers etc (professionals) cannot get on the property ladder in the UK?

 

I agree that everyone has the right to their opinion but feel compelled to try and make a balanced view of what is happening in realtion to some of the points made both in the UK and Australia.

 

 

Regards

 

Geoffrey

[Guest TheBrowningFamily]

thanks for your post gags - very interesting to read. one downside of this forum i find is that it is for poms looking to move to oz so not many poms who have been in oz for years write on it - would be very interesting to hear from lots of poms who have been in oz long term. youhave definitely given me lots to think about. i agree i too have rose tinted glasses on - but a lot of that to do with wanting it to be better! i try not to think about the deadly snakes, spiders, termites that literally eat homes, the drought that is very very serious and lots of other potentially negative things. i just need to go and see what its like - the one thing your post has made us do though is we are going to put our stuff into storage in the uk and wait until we are there and then make a decision whether or not to ship stuff across or come back - so thank you again for your post - good to hear real experiences in oz.

 

What I fab idea, wish we had been so sensible! As for gangs etc, do you think we don't have them here or something? There is one operating in Mooloolaba at the moment luring people into car parks then beating the crap out of them! There was a 2 year old a couple of weeks ago who was beaten and sexually assulted during broad daylight, and an attempted abduction here ijn Beerwah a week ago!

Far more crime than we EVER had near us in Devon!!

[Quoll]

Hi All, not read every post on this thread but I am annoyed by this persons one sided view of Australia and the culture. I think he does make a few good points the UK is great place for a single person if you enjoy the pub culture and the single life as you are closer to Europe.

 

To a certain point people are very niave when going to Australia and do have stars in their eyes, but I dont think anyone at all, particularly the one's I have come across would not make the decision to uproot their family without undertaking some sort of research about the country they intend to make their home.

 

He talks about Australians travelling an hour plus to work and yet he only lives 5 mins away from Leeds this is his choice as it is theirs and if you choose to you can also live 5 mins away from your work. Personally, I live in Blackburn and travel to St Helens, Stockport etc to get to work which can take anywhere up to two hours - my choice not an enforcement.

 

He says that the unemployment rate is higher in Oz depending on what industry you work in the same can be said for England. He also talks about Sydney being expensive in comparison with England but lets face it Sydney is a capital and has the highest population and compared to London it is not that expensive.

 

He then goes on to talk about a basket of goods costing the same price but the quality far outweighs the price. He talks about holidays bunched at Christmas - as a family you tend to always book your holidays when the children are off school as we have to do in England during the traditional summer holidays so what the issue is there I am not sure?.

 

He makes a statement that there are more things to do in the UK yet then states that in 2 hours he can be in Europe! and talks about Wolf Creek -hate to say it but its more than 2 hours from Melbourne try 2 or 3 days!! Lets face it in the UK in 2 hours you can be as far as 2 junctions down the motorway (if your lucky!!)

 

He then goes onto talk about sunday lunch in country pubs in the UK- many of which get their 'home cooked meals' cook-chilled from 3663!! (sorry to any of you out there who do offer good home cooked food- but in my experience the 'home cooked' is in the minority!!

 

He then goes onto talk about being more to a childs life than a bigger garden - how true, but the freedom gained from sunny days and cheap days out can only add value to child/family life surely?! I also have to say that as aparent I take some offence at the thought that my decision on a better life for my child is purely based on the size of the garden - thankyou but I have a very ample garden in the UK and that is most definately not on my list of things I want from a new life in Oz!!

 

Drug abuse is world over not just Australia.

 

In relation to Premier Bracks' daughter, what about Tony Blairs son? and the Queens grandchildren?

 

To my last point - uni students living at home - how many nurses, school teachers etc (professionals) cannot get on the property ladder in the UK?

 

I agree that everyone has the right to their opinion but feel compelled to try and make a balanced view of what is happening in realtion to some of the points made both in the UK and Australia.

 

 

Regards

 

Geoffrey

 

Dont worry, there are 17 pages of people telling him how wrong his opinions are!

 

I think that actually you two are closer than you may think - he is basically saying that Aus is just another place to live your life in and some things that you may think will disappear with a 24 hour flight are going to be just the same.

 

I showed this post to my eldest - he pretty much said he could have written it himself (he didnt, he was out enjoying all that UK has to offer, having made the choice, quite unexpectedly, to move to UK having grown up here) and I agree with so much of what the OP has said (of course, not allowed to say that for fear of being construed as negative) but I have 29 years of it under my belt and believe he is not far off the mark. No one is saying that these things dont happen elsewhere, of course they do, we live in a big world. He was just making the point that they do happen here too and he is right.

[ali]

Phew.... i'm new to this site & spent all day reading this thread, very interesting read but i'm even more confused now. I guess life is what you make it & everyone's experience is different so BRING IT ON!!! It's not gonna put me off! We are about to have medicals so finger's crossed!

 

You probably deserve a prize for reading it all lol. I think you're right, everyone will see things differently and handle the same set of circumstances in totally opposite ways. If you like it or not - you can only be richer for the experience.

 

Ali

[Guest jaq]

Before this thread takes a turn for the worse, or should that be any worse:smile:

 

Willy Eckaslike should be read as Will He Heck As Like. John is having a joke here.

 

I'm just pulling a bit on the reins on this one now before the thread descends into misundertood and unwanted sexual innuendo or starts to get nasty and we have people taking further offence.

 

I thank you for your support in keeping our threads clean and on topic.

 

THIS IS WHY I NEED TO GET BACK TO UK YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE TO EXPLAIN A JOKE!!:no:

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

Hey, there is only room for one miserable ***ard on here.

 

Jeee, and I thought I was negative.

 

:biglaugh::biglaugh:Earlswood, you crack me up!:biglaugh::biglaugh:

[Guest smileygrandma's son in Oz]

I too am from yorkshire, and have been living in Melbourne for 3 years, My husband and I have 2 young children, we love it here, having a great time, would never move back to England, Its depends what you want from it, never be put off by one persons view point, there are lot of negative feed back on here about Australia, I have kind of worked it out why,( I think ) there seems to be two types of people on here people who are applying to get here and people who are already here,generally and forgive me if Im wrong it seems the people who are on here that are living already In Australia, are not happy because they can't settle, im not calling those people this is a great site to get helpfull advise, but I think the people who are havng a great time like me are getting on with things loving life here,and not so much using this site (im on here because my mum is moving here so its been helpful)So I don't think there is an even balance between those who like it here and those who don't. So no one be put off in coming find out for yourselves. All the best.

[kellyjamie]

Hi guys this is some thread!!! below is an essay i wrote a couple of months ago for uni and although it states mainly the good points of going to oz we are well aware of the bad points my OH was there for a year so he seen first hand the bad points but he still thinks our kids will have a better future there and thats good enough for me, the UK maybe greatish just now Gags but what about in 15 years when my kids are competing for jobs and trying to buy property? Yes the immigrant issue into Britain is a problem and i also understand we will be immigrants to oz but the issue begins when this country is already so over populated that the government continue to let people in, oz is still a large country with so much livable area yet to be consumed. I believe that people should live wherever in the world they want who are we to say no but not when it begins to infringe on those already there?

After I qualify as a nurse , I have chosen to emigrate to Australia, Brisbane to be exact. Australia provides the lifestyle the UK did 20 years ago, but with the added bonus of fantastic weather. It is a place where people speak to one another when they pass on the street, they are friendly enough to help a tourist, and you can still go out and leave your windows open and backdoor unlocked. (cheers theme tune will start!) The crime rate is significantly lower than the UK due mainly to the population to land comparison. With a land mass of 2,966,136 sq miles and a population of only 20,000,000. When you compare that to Britain’s population of 60.600,000 and land mass of 634,248 sq miles it is easy to see how Britain is so very overcrowded and with such a high crime rate.

 

Australia has some of the most wonderful and varied wildlife and fauna on earth, a booming economy, good international relations worldwide, and its excellent world renowned health service is ranked 11th by WHO compared to Britain’s ranking of 18th. Australians are proud of their country and even more proud that so many people are choosing it as their top destination to emigrate to. With a booming economy and growing population it is little wonder there is a huge market for migrants with in demand skills, nurses, hairdressers, chefs any trade, they are all in high demand. It boasts the famous Great Barrier Reef one of the natural wonders of the world, along with snowy mountains, rainforests and vast desolate deserts, it has it all.

 

Now some may argue why I would want to uproot my family and move thousands of miles to the other side of the world, where we know no one and where they have 6 of the worlds top 10 most deadliest snakes, great white sharks and box jellyfish in the oceans and sits under a hole in the ozone layer! It may be argued that certainly the healthcare system is better but you have to pay for it. It could also easily be argued that Australia is experiencing such a huge economic boom right now it has put its interest rates up for a fifth time in a year, and the average rate on a mortgage is 7.9%!! I give you that is enough to make me stop and think, but for only for a split second. It does a terrible curry, doesn’t do fish and chips, the driving is atrocious, it seriously lacks decent pubs, the mortgage rates astronomical, the ozzy sense of humour is as dry and sarcastic as you will ever come across, they have spiders the size of your palm, they are extremely competitive at the national sports, they are in the middle of one of the worst droughts in their history and cant even water their plants.

 

We have no family there or friends only those we have met on a forum site known as Poms in Oz. The site is for those migrating to Australia and those already there, it allows you to meet people in your situation and those lucky enough to have already achieved it, and you can discuss your progress and ask advice and information. People are only too happy to help. We have been invited by 4 families to have a typical oz Barbie when we arrive for our holidays this year that just does not happen here in the UK. The sun seems to make people happy, friendlier.

 

So in conclusion, I feel that moving to the other side of the world is absolutely the right choice for me and my family. Certainly I am petrified of coming across a deadly snake or spider, and am somewhat dismayed at the lack of curry chefs, and I am definitely not looking forward to driving on either the dusty sand roads or 4 lane carriageways, but what I am looking forward to is my children being able to play outside in the warm weather (covered in sun cream and a hat!) most of the year, socialise more with new friends, live a more stress free life, get up in the mornings with kookaburras in the trees. I am looking forward to feeling more healthy than I do here, eating better fresher food, fresh fish and salads because its warm outside instead of thick stodgy food because its cold and pouring with rain and I’m feeling miserable. I want my kids to feel safe with out the huge threat of terrorism that comes with living under the British government and the shadow of the US. I also look forward to the cultures my kids will grow up in and experience, without the same amount of racism we have here, and in less crowded conditions.

 

I do not think Australia is some kind of Shangri-la nor am I naive enough to think that it doesn’t have its bad points or run down areas. It will rain some times and people will still commit crimes, its government is far from perfect and im aware terrorism is global, but what I am absolutely certain of is that compared to the mother land of so called ‘Great Britain’ it is going to provide me and my family with a life far better than that we could ever hope of here, and as I keep telling my parents the world is a far smaller place now a days, Australia is only a day away!

Let it be stated for the record this is only my opinion and everyones opinions and experiences are different but let us all find that out for ourselves

__________________

[Guest earlswood]

Hi guys this is some thread!!! below is an essay i wrote a couple of months ago for uni and although it states mainly the good points of going to oz we are well aware of the bad points my OH was there for a year so he seen first hand the bad points but he still thinks our kids will have a better future there and thats good enough for me, the UK maybe greatish just now Gags but what about in 15 years when my kids are competing for jobs and trying to buy property? Yes the immigrant issue into Britain is a problem and i also understand we will be immigrants to oz but the issue begins when this country is already so over populated that the government continue to let people in, oz is still a large country with so much livable area yet to be consumed. I believe that people should live wherever in the world they want who are we to say no but not when it begins to infringe on those already there?

After I qualify as a nurse , I have chosen to emigrate to Australia, Brisbane to be exact. Australia provides the lifestyle the UK did 20 years ago, but with the added bonus of fantastic weather. It is a place where people speak to one another when they pass on the street, they are friendly enough to help a tourist, and you can still go out and leave your windows open and backdoor unlocked. (cheers theme tune will start!) The crime rate is significantly lower than the UK due mainly to the population to land comparison. With a land mass of 2,966,136 sq miles and a population of only 20,000,000. When you compare that to Britain’s population of 60.600,000 and land mass of 634,248 sq miles it is easy to see how Britain is so very overcrowded and with such a high crime rate.

 

Australia has some of the most wonderful and varied wildlife and fauna on earth, a booming economy, good international relations worldwide, and its excellent world renowned health service is ranked 11th by WHO compared to Britain’s ranking of 18th. Australians are proud of their country and even more proud that so many people are choosing it as their top destination to emigrate to. With a booming economy and growing population it is little wonder there is a huge market for migrants with in demand skills, nurses, hairdressers, chefs any trade, they are all in high demand. It boasts the famous Great Barrier Reef one of the natural wonders of the world, along with snowy mountains, rainforests and vast desolate deserts, it has it all.

 

Now some may argue why I would want to uproot my family and move thousands of miles to the other side of the world, where we know no one and where they have 6 of the worlds top 10 most deadliest snakes, great white sharks and box jellyfish in the oceans and sits under a hole in the ozone layer! It may be argued that certainly the healthcare system is better but you have to pay for it. It could also easily be argued that Australia is experiencing such a huge economic boom right now it has put its interest rates up for a fifth time in a year, and the average rate on a mortgage is 7.9%!! I give you that is enough to make me stop and think, but for only for a split second. It does a terrible curry, doesn’t do fish and chips, the driving is atrocious, it seriously lacks decent pubs, the mortgage rates astronomical, the ozzy sense of humour is as dry and sarcastic as you will ever come across, they have spiders the size of your palm, they are extremely competitive at the national sports, they are in the middle of one of the worst droughts in their history and cant even water their plants.

 

We have no family there or friends only those we have met on a forum site known as Poms in Oz. The site is for those migrating to Australia and those already there, it allows you to meet people in your situation and those lucky enough to have already achieved it, and you can discuss your progress and ask advice and information. People are only too happy to help. We have been invited by 4 families to have a typical oz Barbie when we arrive for our holidays this year that just does not happen here in the UK. The sun seems to make people happy, friendlier.

 

So in conclusion, I feel that moving to the other side of the world is absolutely the right choice for me and my family. Certainly I am petrified of coming across a deadly snake or spider, and am somewhat dismayed at the lack of curry chefs, and I am definitely not looking forward to driving on either the dusty sand roads or 4 lane carriageways, but what I am looking forward to is my children being able to play outside in the warm weather (covered in sun cream and a hat!) most of the year, socialise more with new friends, live a more stress free life, get up in the mornings with kookaburras in the trees. I am looking forward to feeling more healthy than I do here, eating better fresher food, fresh fish and salads because its warm outside instead of thick stodgy food because its cold and pouring with rain and I’m feeling miserable. I want my kids to feel safe with out the huge threat of terrorism that comes with living under the British government and the shadow of the US. I also look forward to the cultures my kids will grow up in and experience, without the same amount of racism we have here, and in less crowded conditions.

 

I do not think Australia is some kind of Shangri-la nor am I naive enough to think that it doesn’t have its bad points or run down areas. It will rain some times and people will still commit crimes, its government is far from perfect and im aware terrorism is global, but what I am absolutely certain of is that compared to the mother land of so called ‘Great Britain’ it is going to provide me and my family with a life far better than that we could ever hope of here, and as I keep telling my parents the world is a far smaller place now a days, Australia is only a day away!

 

Let it be stated for the record this is only my opinion and everyones opinions and experiences are different but let us all find that out for ourselves

__________________

 

Nice post...but have you ever been over here:err: because it ain't the Australia I am living in.

I am trying to help you here....come over here with the thoughts it has the same crime anti-social crap high prices etc..and you will settle much easier.

[Quoll]

Nice post...but have you ever been over here:err: because it ain't the Australia I am living in.

I am trying to help you here....come over here with the thoughts it has the same crime anti-social crap high prices etc..and you will settle much easier.

 

LOL Earlswood, you do hit the nail on the head sometimes!

[kellyjamie]

no doubt earlswood and with you being there youve obviously a better perspective that anyone here in the UK and its good finding out the bits of info thats folk like yourself give but i think that it probably all depends on where people are moving from and where their moving to? and also your life chances, the chap that began the thread has obviously got a fairly good standard of living but some folk as they have expressed are leaving areas of high crime and anti social behaviour etc etc and are hoping to settle in an area with less of that kind of stuff. Now no doubt it is in Australia as it is everywhere but it cant possibly be everywhere as its not everywhere here either. My essay was very very lighthearted as i mentioned if youd read i mainly picked the good points which i have gathered from people on this site already in oz. I really enjoy reading points that people like yourself make as their constructive and helpful tho if not a little nerve racking sometimes but i find that they make me think more and thats good because it makes me more certain of the decision im making. i reckon that if we (those still in UK) take note of all the good and constructive bits of info we can gather and go with our eyes open not expecting it to be better than here then surely it cant be any worse? anyhow im off on hols sn so im in the excited lighthearted mood at present sorry!