Goochie Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I guess many people here have a wide and varied selection of reasons they want/wanted to move to Australia. For those of you lucky enough to be there already, I wonder if you'd mind sharing the reasons you left the UK? Did you find what you were looking for in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Julz Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 We wanted to move to Australia for a better life and give our children a better future. 13 months in and we have realised it's not a better life, just a different life and how could it ever be a better life without our family and friends. To be honest, I find it a very expensive place to live with poor education and a high risk of skin cancer. We definately didn't find what we were looking for but it has made us realise what is important in life.....and it's not BBQs, beaches and sunshine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I guess many people here have a wide and varied selection of reasons they want/wanted to move to Australia. For those of you lucky enough to be there already, I wonder if you'd mind sharing the reasons you left the UK? Did you find what you were looking for in Australia? My husband was offered a job and we thought, what the hell. Our family have a far better life than we did back in the UK. We came with no expectations which I believe has helped us. If you have none then you won't be disappointed. If you have a close family and rely on them for help and support then I think you will find it hard, there is an element of selfishness and self-sufficiency required to be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 We wanted to move to Australia for a better life and give our children a better future. 13 months in and we have realised it's not a better life, just a different life and how could it ever be a better life without our family and friends. To be honest, I find it a very expensive place to live with poor education and a high risk of skin cancer. We definately didn't find what we were looking for but it has made us realise what is important in life.....and it's not BBQs, beaches and sunshine!! Same as the above but in our case, 18 years in, we have come to realise our dreams. We feel we have a much better life than we could ever have hoped for in the UK. We have a 4x2 house, near the beach, weather is brilliant, spend more time outdoors doing things we could only have dreamed about before we emigrated. We don't have any family here but have a great circle of friends, all of whom we have met here. Didn't know anyone when we came and had never been on a reccie. It would seem expensive coming from the UK now, I'm sure. It's almost like the two countries swapped their cost of living/setting up house costs since we moved here. Both our kids have been educated here and I can't fault the system. Schools are at least as good as the UK in my opinion and a lot of what they learn depends on the childs attitude to school. If you have kids who do well in school in the UK there is no reason to expect them to be any different here and vice versa. Our eldest was never interested in going to Uni but still did OK in his TEE. He got an offer of two apprenticeships and chose electrical. He has now finished and earns good money, owns a V6 turbo ute which he bought himself, went to Bali a couple of times last year, has a great circle of friends, non of them out of work and seems to be having a ball doing all the things a 21 year old should be. Our youngest is still at school, enjoys it and seems to be doing just fine. BBQ's, beaches and sunshine only add to the joy of living here. We love the weather and it makes us feel a whole lot better just because the sun is shining most days and it's not dull and dreary. We love the beaches and there aren't many days go by without us visiting our local beach. We love sport and make full use of the opportunities here. It doesn't cost anything to go to the beach and have a day out. It's even free parking. If you worry about getting skin cancer you may want to cover up a bit. The statistics for Oz are extremely skewed as a lot of people get sun spots treated (burnt off) sometimes on a yearly basis and it all adds to the statistics. It's sunny here, there is a higher risk but I reckon my wife and I did more damage to our skin when we used to have the two weeks in Portugal, Greece, Spain, France or wherever and, knowing it was probably going to be the only sun we'd see for a year, spend 8 hours a day in it with no sunscreen. I can't remember the last time I got sunburned here as we make sure we have factor 30 sunscreen on us and especially the kids when we go out. We have been lucky I guess but I can't imagine living anywhere else now. My wife had to go back recently as her mother was sick and said how cheap England seemed now. She still couldn't wait to get back though. One of her comments was she couldn't believe how peoples lives revolved around what was on the TV. I'm sorry that the other poster hasn't found what they were looking for, it doesn't suit everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Irvine Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 For us it was a massive midlife crisis!! We felt stuck in a rut in the UK and were lucky enough to leave before house prices took a tumble and the recession hit hard. The first 2 years were hard, homesickness and getting used to a totally different country at our age, but now we wouldn't change what we have done for anything. We have grown as people, learnt so much and now have a much better quality of life, enjoy spectacular scenery just a short drive away and of course the beautiful weather is a huge bonus! People just seem generally happier and friendlier here and we have made some great friends. I never thought I would hear myself say that I wouldn't want to live in the U.K. again, but that definitely is the case now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 We came because my husband is an aussie and we wanted to give the kids a taste of what oz life is like,they were very young when we left here 7yrs ago.It was also an opportunity for them to get to know their aussie relatives. We do not plan on staying beyond next winter and would probably return home sooner if we had jobs to go to.The australian way of life is not for us,we earn a pittance and find it has set us back a lot financially.We cannot see our standard of living or lifestyle being on par with what we had back home for a long,long time.Weather is of no importance to us and we spent plenty of time outdoors in Ireland too.We have given it a good go here,moved areas,changed jobs,downsized our rental,started our own little venture and much more,yet each month it gets no better,we get no further ahead.Time to stop banging our heads against the wall and go bac to the decent lives we left 2yrs ago.Kids will be happy then,as will we.Oz is a great place for many and a step back for many others.C'est la vie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Didnt follow a dream but an opportunity and from that point of view it was a good move, however with the OH being an Aussie and refusing to move on now it isnt a move that I would have made if I had known how it would turn out. Beyond boring for me with my interests and plans for retirement. One kid has emigrated back to UK with far better career prospects than if he had stayed in Aus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Hi Goochie, Met and married a great Australian and have absolutely no regrets apart from I wished I had done it many years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BadSeed Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Wow, vive la différence :biggrin: We came over in 1999, I had always wanted to move here but never mentioned it to anyone. One night we were sitting in the local and I happened to say to my girlfriend "I have always wanted to live in Australia" "Me too" she replied. So we did, I started enquries the next day and 18 mnths later we were here. Since then we have got married and had 2 children. Life is good, in fact it's better than good it is everything I ever hoped it would be. We live near the beach, 2 beautiful children, in a 4x2 with a pool/spa. Have cars a boat , good careers and a lifestyle that most people would dream of . For us, it has been a fantastic move and we love it here. But it wasn't always like that and we went through a few lean years and it was hard. The first year was like a holiday, going to the beach everyday etc then the novelty wore off a bit. My wife was stuck at home with our first child, feeling isolated and not having much contact with friends. I had a sh**y job which paid bills but not much else. I suppose a lot of people go through those dark times once the honeymoon/holiday period wears off. We stuck it out, I never once considered 'going home' but I know my wife did. Now we really are living the dream, but it took a while to get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Escaped the MIL Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Think my username says it all really!! :laugh: Putting that to one side (was on the list of reasons to move), but we came as we wanted more of an outdoor lifestyle for our children. We came here with under no illusion that the grass is greener, cos its not. You have the same problems..but with sun!!! I had never set foot in Oz until the day we moved here and I have absolutely no desire after 3 years to go back to the UK. Saying that though, my family are scattered round the globe anyway so leaving the UK wasnt as hard as it is for some people. But life is short, you have to try it. For some of us, its the best thing we could ever have done. For others its not like that, but even if it hasnt worked for you, you cant say you didnt give it a go. You would kick yourself later on in life if you hadnt. My life hasnt been enhanced, just changed in that our social life in the UK was very much geared around corporate events, Balls and parties. Here everyone includes and caters for families, and being able to share it with my children is second to none and I am so glad we did it. So for me its a thumbs up for the move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 We came for the promise of a 'better life'....simple as that. 2 years in I believe we found it, quite simply I find it easier to really 'live' my life here as opposed to 'exisiting' but then I suppose it's all down to how hard you try to lead a fulfilling life. It's easier to have fun here...the place is a natural paradise and the weather certainly helps. Blue skies a plenty, sand and sea, beach to bush...does it for me, it's what I was searching for and its all here. Like anything though you have to be careful not to get complacent and take it for granted, when you see the same sights day in day out it's easy to lose sight of their magnificence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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