Back from Oz

[Guest oldoz]

Hi Gags,

I found your comments about Australia, very very interesting, and there is a lot to agree with, I think its really important for people who are considering going there to have there eyes truly open to all you have said.

My husband and I migrated to Australia (Perth) in 1966, with three young children. We returned to the U.K in 1977, because of my husbands mother dying with cancer, (my mother had died while we were out there, which I took very badly), we could have gone back within three years, but sadly could not afford it. Our oldest son decided to stay there, when we came home, and while we lived there, we had another child.

Since returning, two more of our children have gone back, including the Australian one, (who would never come back here), now the last one is returning in March. Since we returned in 77, we have been back four times. This is what happens to you, you get so torn between the two countries, and while I appreciate all what you have said, we still love Perth, the diverse people and the life style, we are not returning anymore, becuase of health, and finance, but given the chance we would go to-morrow. An awful lot depends of your lifestyle and what you want from life. There are many austrlians who live here just because of the easyness of getting to Europe.

Anyway thanks for all your comments, which I am sure will make others think hard about there discisions. Regards oldoz.

[Guest TheArmChairDetective]

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.

 

I'm sorry to read that things didn't work out for you and from reading in between the lines I'm also sorry for you that homesickness kicked in.

I have family in Melbourne and SA and unfortunately for me they left me behind in the UK to switch the light off and follow. Unfortunately I'm still here despite many attempts to be there.

 

Can I have your visa please, what with you not wanting it and all?

[Guest HelenF]

Well Gags, your post makes very interesting reading and I couldnt wait to read the replies. I found it quite amusing (and annoying) that you decided to basically put down everyone on this site who is just trying to make a change, hopefully for the better, in their lives. Presumably that was what you were doing when you moved to Oz! My brother in law has been in Oz 20 years and has worked really hard building up his own business in which he is now very successful. When he comes back to England he realises that his life is much better there and can't wait to get back. I hope that I feel the same way after living there a while and I think we all realise it's not going to be that easy.

 

There will be some people who come back to England but there will also be people who think its the best move they've ever made. So, I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say I would rather go to Oz and MAYBE regret it than regret never trying.

 

My flights booked for Jan 2008 so BRING IT ON!!

 

Helen

[Guest Graham&kym]

There are no surprises here with the post from Gags.

The comments with regards to the drugs etc are true of any Australian state, also the UK. Same is also true of the lifestyle comments, they relate to both the Australian continent and to the UK. In At the end of the day you experience life, for which there is no second chance...just one go at experiencieng it, so lets all embrace..no rights, no wrongs, just a live till I'm 70 0r 80 or whatever, and then????

[Guest Les & Woz]

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.

 

I live in the S.E. have a good job as does OH. My daughter finished Uni last year, unable to get a decent job at the moment. Son going to Uni in Sep. We built our own house which is worth £550k and have no mortgage. We are going to Rome next weekend for our anniversary. My dad lives in Spain so go there few times a year. Go to France on day trip when I get the urge. However, we are planning to go to Australia. I know I will miss Europe but trips there in a year are few compared to the rest of the year and normal life. I don't have tinted glasses have lived in Australia too for 12 months and visited there twice last year. I still believe it has more to offer than the U.K. and a much better lifestyle for us and we are going to give it a go. Like everyone else says, it is a personal thing and if it turns out to be a mistake, well we just come back and start again but I doubt if we will be coming back.

Thanks for the insight into your life but it sounds like you don't have much fun!

 

Les:no:

[ali]

Another old post resurfaces - don't know whose finding them all

 

Ali

[MACDONALDO67]

Does Gags work for the British Government. I swear reading that was a good attempt to desperately deter people from jumping ship. :biglaugh:

 

 

Good read though and just goes to show that it Australia doesn't work out for everyone or is to everyone's taste.

 

But yes if your mind is set to leave then try Australia and if it doesn't work then come back. 20, 30 years down the lien when it's too late and you just wished you had given it a go. Yes the money is better here in Britain and yes there probably is a drink and drugs problem in Australia. There are fors and againts and it's a case of getting the balance right for what you want to do in your life.

 

My wife and I hate the cold and miserable weather. Money isn't everything to us but it helps and I think me personally I'd rather struggle in Australia and manage than the struggle and managing I'm having to do here in Britain.

 

It's also a new beginning, a challenge, an adventure to Kick start your life. Then again it could make or break you and Gags post has points for all to contemplate.

[Quoll]

Was surprised to find that this was an old post. I think Gags is absolutely spot on the money with it. I am an older generation but one of my boys has gone back to UK where he absolutely loves the lifestyle and has amazing career opportunities which are not available for him here. He would concur 100% with that post too I suspect. I would go back tomorrow if I could for many of the issues are the same for me too - the shallowness and isolation and sheer boredom are taking its toll on me. Most of Aus (not the bling of the GC, obviously) is a sad old country with the drought and the associated decay of country towns.

[ali]

It would have been nice to know how Gags got on back in the UK - but he only ever posted 3 times.

 

Ali

[Guest Hearne_Family]

Gags, I dont know if you are still checking into this site or not but I just wanted to say a few things. You say that "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." You are obviously talking from experience (a bad one at that I guess?) but in what circumstances did you go to Australia in? I mean had you visited before or did you just go out with your girlfriend? Everyone has to start somewhere and I personally have found this website to be helpful, people tell the truth, both good and bad but your post seems to be totally one sided and the only real post of its kind, all I can assume is that you had a very bad experience, did you split with your girlfriend while you were over there?

 

Another point I have is about children, I take it you don't have children as there was no mention of them? One of the main reasons that we are moving out to Melbourne is because we want more for our kids, I accept that being in a large city crime is more of an issue but the fact that children have things to do after school and more places to see/visit is reassuring compared to the afterschool activities in this country, I am in the same position as you having been raised in a rural location, I live on the Isle of Wight and its stunningly beautiful but there is a whole world out there to see, people can only try and see if its for them, if you have kids like I do then Im sure you will know the fear you have when you think about their prospects here, hanging around the local offy hoping to get someone to buy then some cider, I believe that if kids have other things to do then they are less likely to cause trouble on the streets. Our daughter is a real outdoor person and sadly we can only afford a house with a very small garden and its not always practical to go to a local park so for us a large garden is a very big plus.

 

You made a point about drugs, well I dont know if you have noticed but the UK has the exact same problem. You also said that gambling is socially acceptable, same in this country my friend. It seems that you are using mutual facts to try to paint a bad pic of Australia.

 

I am very happy that you come from a middle class family who could afford for you to holiday at least once a year, in fact I am jelous, I forst travelled abroad in 2000 at the age of 19 after my wife and I saved our wages. I am a skilled worker, I am a panel beater and I work hard for my money which in this country is poor for the work I do, its stressful in the fact that if I don't repair a car correctly and its involved in another accident the conquences could be horrific, and the latest legislation puts this straight onto the panel beater, no one else would be to blame. I travel 3 hours a day to and from work, my journey includes a 1hour boat trip and this costs me £180 a month. The job I have been offered in Australia pays a lot more than in this country, in line with what we should be paid.

 

In our view, and plenty of others will agree and others will not, Australia has a lot to offer, and for your information I like yourself am young, ambitious and cultured!

 

People can only try, don't try to scare people off, tell them the balanced truth, you spent three years out there, if it was that bad why didnt you just come back to the country that you love so much?

 

All I can say to people reading this thread is this, don't be put off by this one thread, read around and make your choice, life is very short, I know from experience, my friend died at 23 and he planned to move to NZ it never happened for him. Weigh up all the pro's and con's make your choice and do what you want, I wish you all the best of luck in what you do with your lives and no one should put you down if things dont work out, put it all down to that great thing life is...experience!

 

Terry.

[Guest cantwait]

Hi

 

All I can say to Gag and JRAJ is that you obviously have no kids are are under the age of 30 so you don't remember when times were good in the UK and we never wanted to leave, before Tony Blair started to let anyone in and engllish is now not the first language spoken in many schools! Before you started to give a load of wages back to government for everything, before goups of kids hung out on street corners in packs of 15+ and scared the life out of you cos they have nothing to do, before houses and cars got constantly broken into.

 

Don't knock things you don't know about, let people experience for themselves what Oz is like, if it's not for them, they can decide what to do themselves. You are looking from a difference perspective than a lot of people who post on this site so as my mum used to say if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!

 

Jackie

 

 

 

Well Said.

[Bod]

It would have been nice to know how Gags got on back in the UK - but he only ever posted 3 times.

 

Ali

 

 

Hello Ali

 

New people are starting the process every day they don't know what you know. they need to ask qeustions and maybe have not time to read 192 past posts on this thread. does it really mater?

 

like you say it's all worked very well for you. I bet that's not just luck but with lots of research as well.

 

John

[calNgary]

Essex ,,Ali isnt disputing people dragging up posts to find out infomation,thats why they are there and not deleted after a few weeks.Anyone moving over here does stacks of research they would be stupid not too,

Cal x

[Guest mandisfam]

Maybe Gags is back in Oz now...........

[Bod]

Another old post resurfaces - don't know whose finding them all

 

Ali

 

sorry I meant that one. I not only talking about this post.

 

John

[ali]

I really would have liked to have known how he got on being so disillusioned with Aus - I wonder if UK lived up to his expectations on his return. Yes It has worked out well for me ... I'm sorry that it didn't for you

 

Ali

[Bod]

I really would have liked to have known how he got on being so disillusioned with Aus - I wonder if UK lived up to his expectations on his return. Yes It has worked out well for me ... I'm sorry that it didn't for you

 

 

Thanks Ali

 

I'm happy to be going home I hope all this experiance if anything makes me a better person. I often think how he got on as I know this will be a issue with us.

 

Sorry to have a Dig but I like this site it gives people the chance to talk about things even if it rears off the subject or drags on again. The fact that a thread keeps going is because it interests someone. It might be old news to some but not old news to others.

 

John

[ali]

I agree that some of the old posts are worth a read - sometimes it's better to start a new thread as people think they're commenting on something recent - initially this post got quite inflamatory and I did wonder if it had resurfaced in order to 'stir the pot' rather than to be constructive.. I think it's very important for people not to have an idealised view of Australia, people do need to consider 'if this happened to me/us what would we do". If we went back tomorrow we will have had a wonderful experience and a taste of a different way of live.

 

Good luck with the move

 

Ali x

[Bod]

I agree that some of the old posts are worth a read - sometimes it's better to start a new thread as people think they're commenting on something recent - initially this post got quite inflamatory and I did wonder if it had resurfaced in order to 'stir the pot' rather than to be constructive.. I think it's very important for people not to have an idealised view of Australia, people do need to consider 'if this happened to me/us what would we do". If we went back tomorrow we will have had a wonderful experience and a taste of a different way of live.

 

Good luck with the move

 

Ali x

 

 

Thanks Ali

 

Lots of sence spoken. Your going to be in my Movie. so watch out.

 

John X

[calNgary]

John i just read the thread on your movie ,,your tapped!!lol,,

Cal x

[ali]

:shocked: Movie .. Me... No Way Jose :nah:

 

Ali x

[Guest melbourne07]

hi all ...

 

haven't logged in since oct last year (you'll see why) and since then have moved from brighton UK to melbourne and been reading this post to catch up and to gain a bit of insight into people's thoughts on australia versus england.

 

hubby and i got to melbourne in november last year really looking forward to our new life here and melbourne has lived up to our expectations completely. since we've been here we've been able to do so much more than we ever did back home, really enjoying trips to botanical gardens, shrine, st kilda beach, brunswick st coffees and are lucky enough to be living fairly centrally so life is good despite the shock that everything is much more expensive than i remember!

 

however ... the real shock to our system was having our beautiful little baby daughter 3 months early!!! had fantastic medical care for her by Royal Women's hospital and will be forever grateful to them as our bub is fine now and growing stronger by the day ... 4 months old praise be!

 

but ... since having our little one we have really felt the lack of family around us - especially going through that really hard time when she was in hospital for 2 months and we had no family to support us.

 

so, we are considering returning home to UK to be with our family but are absolutely DISTRAUGHT to leave as we love melbourne and feel honestly very worried about the UK media's attitude to young people as 'yobs' and 'antisocial' etc etc, let alone the weather.

 

i'm ranting now so i'll stop but wondered if anyone had any thoughts you could put our way as we have not yet made the decision and feel very torn between two worlds.

 

cheers all.

Caroline

[Guest roantreemj]

:v_SPIN:Why dont you just nip back for a long holiday before you make such a big decision.....if you love your life over in Melbourne then you are gonna miss it once you get back here in cold, dull UK!!!

 

Take a 3 month holiday...............visit all the family - and see which is the better option for your little one. Life can be difficult with a new baby and without family support ----................but it does get easier. Also the best way to make new friends is to have a baby - toddler - children in tow. Going from being a couple and then parents opens up a whole new world - so the new friends who have children will then become your new support network.....................not saying family is then replaced but it does help!

 

I wouldn't make such a decision - because you may find you regret it once you land back here!!!

 

Then you will find yourselves back on PIO and starting all over again................:arghh:

[Bod]

:v_SPIN:Why dont you just nip back for a long holiday before you make such a big decision.....if you love your life over in Melbourne then you are gonna miss it once you get back here in cold, dull UK!!!

 

Take a 3 month holiday...............visit all the family - and see which is the better option for your little one. Life can be difficult with a new baby and without family support ----................but it does get easier. Also the best way to make new friends is to have a baby - toddler - children in tow. Going from being a couple and then parents opens up a whole new world - so the new friends who have children will then become your new support network.....................not saying family is then replaced but it does help!

 

I wouldn't make such a decision - because you may find you regret it once you land back here!!!

 

Then you will find yourselves back on PIO and starting all over again................:arghh:

 

 

I know the Uk does have it's dull days But why is it that the British think sunshine is the be all and end all.

We British use the weather as an excuse. Part of the reason why we are crap at sport. There are plenty of other countrys in this world who suffer equally as bad weather but are not so down on their country.

Aussies wake in thier Air conditioned home open the garage get into the air contidioned car, drive to the air conditioned office. Then reverse, go home to bed then start the proccess again.

 

The weather is not why everyone comes out hear.

 

John

 

John

[Guest roantreemj]

So out of all that I posted you have focused on the word dull.....................mmmmmm! Thanks for your dull reply Essex to Aus.......................:no: