nelly6010 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Yes, Christmas last year in Perth was, for me, one of the flattest and most depressing of my life (and that includes Christmases away from family when I was posted overseas). There just did not seem to be any atmosphere in the lead up to Christmas How I missed the last minute rushing around Tescos and Marks and Spencers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chloew Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Or telling you that prawns and salad are what Christmas lunch is all about. That's just SO wrong! Christmas isn't Christmas without a turkey the size of a toddler in the middle of your table - preferably one that tastes like cardboard and lasts until Lent. Rachel :biggrin: P.S. The very fact that you still wear flip flops and not 'thongs' suggests you don't belong! Imagine trying to explain to someone in the UK that your "thongs" had given you bunions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Woodmill Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Exactly! I'll never complain about M&S foodhall on Christmas Eve again! We actually went to the beach on Christmas day but we'd been so many times before....it just wasn't special. In fact the only special thing we did was eat crayfish and drink champagne! I had a houseful on Christmas day and over 30 on boxing day in the UK. Being here was just awful and there was no way of not thinking about what we'd left behind on those 2 days. Add that to the fact that on just about every channel TV was the same as the other 364 days of the year! It was just so lacking! We have however, had some really good times here, made some good friends and the memory of the adventure will always be with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsindecision Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I've not read the earlier pages of this thread, so I apologise if I'm replying out of context. But, I am always amazed when people think the only holiday they can have from here is the $20k trip back home. Australia is a big country, a continent in fact, about 5 times the size of Europe. There are hundreds of places you could holiday for the same few $K that Greece etc, will cost. The list of options is endless, but to name a few there's the Great Barrier Reef and all it's islands, Broome, Darwin, Kakadu, the Red Centre, the whales in the Bight, wine regions of SA or WA, Flinders Ranges, boating down the Murray, Great Ocean Road, the whole of Tasmania, skiing in the snow fields, numerous Qld resorts and parks, Sydney... and that's before you look at Bali, NZ, Vanuatu, Fiji, Singapore, VietNam, Malaysia, etc. Spending $20K on a trip back to where I came from is the last thing I'd do. You could get the rellies out here and holiday somewhere different every time with them, for less. Cheers, Kazza With all due respect am fully aware of all the places to visit in and around Australia have been to many on holiday and since living here. We live in a holiday area (beautiful) and having been to other holiday areas it's a busman's holiday. Pretty much the same without the gorgeous beach I have down the road so in my opinion very little point. You cant make such broad assumptions about family - our parents are too elderly and infirm to travel all this way and our friends just dont want to give up four weeks and come all this way - which I understand it was our choice not their's to move this far away. So if we are to maintain any meaningful connection with our roots we need to go home now and then. When I left Uk I didnt ever want to leave my connections they are fundamental to my life. So for us going home every two years on top of paying $40k net in uni and school fees limits our options severely. Back in UK we will be free again to travel wherever we like - back to Oz and all the eastern places in between if we want but also closer to home too. By the way a long weekend in Melbourne for family of four cost me 3K so it's not as easy or cheap as you make it sound. I understand why so many ozzies camp!! :cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Julz Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I spent my first (and believe me it will be my last) Christmas in Oz last year and it was awful, never again. To me, I felt there was just no Christmas spirit here. For me Christmas is about friends, families, lights and decorations, cold, snow, christmas movies for the kids, the list could go on. This year I'm heading home for 5 weeks over Christmas and cannot wait.......and roll on 2012 when I can go home for good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelly6010 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 And what made my Christmas so much worse was sitting and watching Kirstie's Homemade Christmas and remembering when I made holly wreathes and had friends and family calling around etc. The fibre optic tree in the sun just cannot compete with a real tree and a blazing inglenook fire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JulieW Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Quite agree on the holiday front. Yes, there are places to go on holiday in Australia - but youre still in Australia with the same shops, same food, same language, same TV. For the same money (or less) and the same flight time from the UK, you can be in a different world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lindseydb Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I've been in Oz for 4 years and married to an Australian. To be honest I struggle with the guilt of being here. My parents are not well off and they struggle to visit financially (and are too proud to accept help) so we have to go back every 2 years for my own sanity. I think it will be worse when we have children and I am already thinking of moving back for a few years, just so they can have a chance to get to know their future grandkids. I agree with everyone who says Christmas is the hardest time of the year to be in Australia - I hate it. It not feel christmassy AT ALL, to be christmas shopping in 30 degrees and hearing christmas songs in the shops is just surreal. I miss my family most at this time of year and although I have my husband's family here its not the same. I spent last christmas at home and it was the most amazing christmas, nothing different from all the other christmas' i had spent at home and it was just perfect, snow, christmas eve shopping in high streets (not malls), eastenders christmas specials ahh you can't beat it. Also, those of you that said you can holiday in Australia - we have holidayed in Australia, but it doesn't beat the feeling of the cultural change, the changing of your money, the different languages, the history and architecture of a different country - Europe being on your doorstep in the UK is just so underated. You can holiday in far north WA or Queensland but you will still be in Australia, they will still have australian accents, the architecture and culture will still be the same - the only thing that changes in the scenery - but the scenery is WOW! Other things I miss ......Robinson coridal, nice chocolate, walkers crisps, cold christmas', architecture that pre-dates 100 years, watching proper football in the pub, going to the pub after work midweek!, useful public transport, not having to get in the car for everything, central heating, affordable housing, free healthcare, not having to pay 1000's to get out of the country, not having to travel hours and hours to get out of the country, Sorry for the rant........not sure where that all came from (4 years of pent up angst) Seriously though after all that is said, I like my life here - after 4 years I have made friends, have a nice job, live in a house by the sea, get the occassional visitor from UK and we are happy here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Woodmill Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Another couple of things I won't miss (this isn't an Oz bashing honest!) is the highly restricted shopping hours in WA and the long summer evenings in the UK. We have small children so you can't do too much in the evenings but just an extra couple of hours sunlight to do the garden or wash the car, go for a walk etc....sounds bliss to me right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Les & Woz Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Hi Our experience so far is this: We wanted to come to Australia more than anything to start a better life. We had been here 3 times before and loved what we saw. However, living here is very different. We bought a house quite quickly, something we regret. Definitely rent before buying it gives you a chance to see what the area is actually like and what you are close to. Things like schools, shops, cinemas, entertainment, etc. Yes it does cost quite a bit to rent but you can get over 6% interest on your money here so you can invest what money you have to help towards it. Most things are quite expensive here compared to UK. We are not sure yet if overall we are better off worse off or the same. Petrol is a bit cheaper and some meats are, as is council tax. Apart from that, most things more expensive. For example a tin of baked beans is 99c or more. Depending on what rate of exchange you get (we got $1.66 to the £1) depends on how much. The rate has gone up lately which will go against us yet again if we decide to return to UK. 2nd hand cars are very expensive, cheaper to buy new. Shoes are very expensive and most clothes. There are some cheapy shops and you can find bargains but you really have to look around and shop about. No Tesco, Matalan, Primark or Asdas here. Not enough competition for shops so they can charge what they like. Saw a programme on TV the other week saying lots of Aussies now buying on internet from UK & USA. The main thing we dislike is the distances you have to travel to go anywhere. Make sure you live near your work. Some areas are very expensive to buy properties, some cheaper. The further from the coast you go the cheaper it gets but the further you have to travel to get anywhere. Get used to driving everywhere you can't walk anywhere unless you live right on the High St or opposite a school. My husband has not been able to get work as he is an Electrician and in Victoria you HAVE to have an A Grade Licence. He has over 30 years experience and has had to go back to college and has to sit 3 exams before he can get the Licence. He will not be able to work until mid August and we have been here since Feb 25th. Luckily we anticipated not working for at least 6 months so bought enough money with us to live on. Electrical goods are mostly very expensive. Electrical equipment to rewire a house for example 4 times more expensive than UK. Depending on your trade salaries here seem a bit higher but they need to be. The other downside is making friends all over again, it takes a lot of time and effort and the Australians are nice people but they have their friends and are not necessarily wanting any more! No doubt about it the scenery and weather is gorgeous it is different and maybe we will get used to it and stay but at the moment my husband is very unhappy and wants to return to UK. We will still give it another 12-18 months before we make any decision but it is looking like we will go back. Not everyone feels like this, for some people things just fall into place and they are very happy so don't be put off. You need to give it a chance you could be one of the families who love it. Our kids are in UK too so that hasn't helped us. They are 20 and 23 so old enough to make their own decision and didn't want to come, that has been hard on us. Make sure you bring everything with you you can, it will be expensive to go out and buy new things. Hope that wasn't too depressing just wanted to be honest. Lesley xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lifeinmono Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 HiOur experience so far is this: We wanted to come to Australia more than anything to start a better life. We had been here 3 times before and loved what we saw. However, living here is very different. We bought a house quite quickly, something we regret. Definitely rent before buying it gives you a chance to see what the area is actually like and what you are close to. Things like schools, shops, cinemas, entertainment, etc. Yes it does cost quite a bit to rent but you can get over 6% interest on your money here so you can invest what money you have to help towards it. Most things are quite expensive here compared to UK. We are not sure yet if overall we are better off worse off or the same. Petrol is a bit cheaper and some meats are, as is council tax. Apart from that, most things more expensive. For example a tin of baked beans is 99c or more. Depending on what rate of exchange you get (we got $1.66 to the £1) depends on how much. The rate has gone up lately which will go against us yet again if we decide to return to UK. 2nd hand cars are very expensive, cheaper to buy new. Shoes are very expensive and most clothes. There are some cheapy shops and you can find bargains but you really have to look around and shop about. No Tesco, Matalan, Primark or Asdas here. Not enough competition for shops so they can charge what they like. Saw a programme on TV the other week saying lots of Aussies now buying on internet from UK & USA. The main thing we dislike is the distances you have to travel to go anywhere. Make sure you live near your work. Some areas are very expensive to buy properties, some cheaper. The further from the coast you go the cheaper it gets but the further you have to travel to get anywhere. Get used to driving everywhere you can't walk anywhere unless you live right on the High St or opposite a school. My husband has not been able to get work as he is an Electrician and in Victoria you HAVE to have an A Grade Licence. He has over 30 years experience and has had to go back to college and has to sit 3 exams before he can get the Licence. He will not be able to work until mid August and we have been here since Feb 25th. Luckily we anticipated not working for at least 6 months so bought enough money with us to live on. Electrical goods are mostly very expensive. Electrical equipment to rewire a house for example 4 times more expensive than UK. Depending on your trade salaries here seem a bit higher but they need to be. The other downside is making friends all over again, it takes a lot of time and effort and the Australians are nice people but they have their friends and are not necessarily wanting any more! No doubt about it the scenery and weather is gorgeous it is different and maybe we will get used to it and stay but at the moment my husband is very unhappy and wants to return to UK. We will still give it another 12-18 months before we make any decision but it is looking like we will go back. Not everyone feels like this, for some people things just fall into place and they are very happy so don't be put off. You need to give it a chance you could be one of the families who love it. Our kids are in UK too so that hasn't helped us. They are 20 and 23 so old enough to make their own decision and didn't want to come, that has been hard on us. Make sure you bring everything with you you can, it will be expensive to go out and buy new things. Hope that wasn't too depressing just wanted to be honest. Lesley xx There are two sides to every coin and for some reason people tend to only want to promote the 'positive' side of the 'moving down under' coin. You do not have nearly so much on your doorstep in quick easy access in Australia as you do in the UK. There is a much smaller range here. It's like a set menu compared to the full menu. If you come here and have a huge house compared to what you had in the UK and love the sunshine then you might not care about that and love it here anyway. If however you love going to see plays, exhibitions and having a wide range of shops etc then you will find Australia limiting in comparison. Nowhere has as much on offer as the UK in all honesty and Australia is certainly nowhere close in this respect. Lots of stuff IS more expensive here - you are right. That gets overlooked a lot for some reason. People haven't shifted their mindsets into 2010 on that one - they are still thinking it's 1988. YES, it USED to be cheap down under compared to the UK but it really ain't any longer. People need to be wise to that before they make the plunge to come here thinking that they are going to get a huge upgrade in everything affordability wise. I find Aussies pleasant enough but I disagree that they are any friendlier than Brits. They are either the same or if anything less friendly. They are often quite introverted and focussed on their own lives. A little dismissive. They are not friendlier - they just have more mouth and more attitude. Everyone seems to feel the need to drive a huge 4 wheel drive here - even in the cities and suburbs. They want more more more and big big big it seems. Materialistic. Just my thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stovies Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I have just returned from a 5 week trip to Scotland and after over 12 years of existing in Australia, we have decided to return home! Woo hoo! Cannot wait to get back to where I belong. The reasons are very similiar to previous posters. We didn't settle and don't want to waste any more time here. We have 10 acres of land, a large house and pool here but we are happy to give that all away for being back with family in our own country. Someone said that the hole in your gut never goes away and that is very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conniebygaslight Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Good for you- good luck- we go back end of aug after only 8 months of just existing-can't see the point of delaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charnels Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I have just returned from a 5 week trip to Scotland and after over 12 years of existing in Australia, we have decided to return home! Woo hoo! Cannot wait to get back to where I belong. The reasons are very similiar to previous posters. We didn't settle and don't want to waste any more time here. We have 10 acres of land, a large house and pool here but we are happy to give that all away for being back with family in our own country. Someone said that the hole in your gut never goes away and that is very true. Back to Stovies like yer maw used to make, tattie scones, haggis suppers, smoked sausage suppers..... I'm dead jealous. The take-away food in Scotland is brilliant. I hope it all works out. I spent a lot of time back in Scotland last 5 years. My parents and grandparents are from there. Unfortunately the weather is reekin, but so much else is fabulous. Good Luck, SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stovies Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Thanks! Aye, all that and more! Apparently the weather has been scorching for the past few weeks over there and I even came back from Edinburgh to South Australia with a tan! We given ourselves a rough 6 month time frame and hope to be back in Auld Reekie at the end of the year/beginning of next year... woo hoo! (Still mega excited that we are really doing it!!!) : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sossijchops Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 So whats wrong with Oz then.. why hasn't it turned out to to be thr dream you expected. There's nothing right or wrong with Oz, just like anywhere - it's what goes on in your head and you'll never know unless you go. We came 11 years ago but are about to move back to London and all its beautiful madness. It has been both good and bad for us but the overwhelming feeling is that we do not belong here. Home is where the heart is as they say, however, I'm glad we came because if we hadn't we would have always wondered what it was like and what we may have missed out on. We have other English friend who are absolutely convinced that they will never return to the UK ... we are all different I guess. If you are young then why not give it a go - that was what we decided under the premise that we could always return home when we were ready. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gail.crease Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Yeah I have to agree also, the Brits working at my places of employment were asked for 2 references from their last jobs, regardless of country of origin. I work as an accountant. To get my job here they personally contacted my previous employers in the UK for references. It wasn't a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CAMCAL Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I have lived in OZ now for nearly 4 years now and wish I had never of came. I have been sooo homesick and I know as the family keep telling me there is nothing at home for us, but I beg to differ because they are all at home. A few things I wish I had done differently before I came out here like rent the house out instead of selling and returned so my eldest was still young enough to return to Comp school for his education. As things are I am staying put until I get citizenship ( next February we can apply for it ) and my eldest leaves high school here another 3 years to go. But me and the youngest might return before the eldest and his dad so I can get the ball rolling at home ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CAMCAL Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 with you on that one there is absolutely nothing wrong with OZ it is so good for some but my homesickness has got worse not better with the years I have been here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lifeinmono Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 with you on that one there is absolutely nothing wrong with OZ it is so good for some but my homesickness has got worse not better with the years I have been here. I know I am being frozen out on this website by the powers that be so I doubt I'll get a response but I just wanted to say that I sympathise with you. Been here nearly 5 years and often wish I'd never set foot in Australia. My homesickness comes and goes by the day, by the week and by the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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