Miserable and bored

[sarahsmum]

Do you not think this part is a worry? You are telling him you don't like living in Aus & are you also telling him be happy in the UK or he is on his own?

 

Maybe he will not like living in the UK any more than you like it in Aus.

 

My thoughts exactly!!!

 

I was reading the post's by Katye21 and was thinking one minute it is "We" and the next it is "I"..

 

Another happy divorce in the making!

[Que Sera Sera]

Hiya

 

No not to live, but to holiday yes, twice. And I went in the dead of winter and the second time I went at the back of winter. I hope I don't sound naieve the way I am writing my posts, but I do understand the economic climate over there, and I am not ignoring issues such as this.

 

Home is where the heart is, and every time I come back to Australia I still leave my heart over in the UK. I think my memories are a mixture of holidays and of living there, however I understand it's not a complete rosy picture, I just want to be where my home is, simple as that.

 

My husband and myself both want our little family unit to be wherever we are happiest - we may not be happiest there and may come back - who knows what the future holds - but I don't want to be a what if person. We are young enough at the moment to make the move and move back without it harming us too deeply and neither of us are afraid to express our views to the other so if we're unhappy there we will return (even if it's just one of us), but I want to be able to say we gave it a try.

 

I know the feeliing of wanting to live somewhere else, and I had never lived or even visited Australia before we moved out here. So I can understand where you are coming from. Good luck in finding that place called home:wubclub:

[Guest famousfive]

Do you not think this part is a worry? You are telling him you don't like living in Aus & are you also telling him be happy in the UK or he is on his own?

 

Maybe he will not like living in the UK any more than you like it in Aus.

I read it as meaning they would return back to Oz if one of them were unhappy

[BrisDubBris]

I read it as meaning they would return back to Oz if one of them were unhappy

 

I thought so initially as well but then she mentioned even if only 1 of us or something like that.

[Guest]

I am only going to be quick.

 

I posted on here about 6 months or so ago, about how I was considering moving back to the UK. Well I think that in the next month or so I shall be flying on the big bird. I have been in Oz over three years now and have been living for the last year in Sydney after moving from Victoria.

 

The only easy way that I can describe how I feel is BORED, MISERABLE and SOULLESS, to the extent of utter depression. I have tried to get to grips with the Aussie way, but I really feel that it is not for me anymore. I am not saying that I am the most intelligent person on the planet, but I know that I am good company, I can hold a conversation, have a great sense of humour, and I am interested to learn all the time, especially when engaged in a great meaningful and enjoyable conversation....but when I say conversation, I mean a two way conversation.

 

Has anybody ever tried to hold an interesting conversation while they are here? Of course they have..........When you talk to someone and ask questions about them, do you expect the same in return to keep the conversation going? Of course you do.........Because that is how conversation works.........You say something, and then in return the other person adds something else, then the discussion/conversation builds up. Hopefully on occasions you may even get a really interesting conversation taking place, have a few bevvies and the night flows along nicely.

 

So why can't Australians do this then? It is probably one of the easiest things a person can do and doesn't even cost any money. So apart from the AFL, NRL and other sports, there are a lot of other topics that can be part of a general discussion. I am at a total loss of the total inability of most people here who struggle to even know what the hell is going on in the world, either politically, historically, culturally, or indeed any other word ending with ally. I am 46 and are quite capable of conversing with people from a wide age range, which comes in very handy, especially as I also perform stand up comedy and have done so in numerous countries in the world.

 

But in all my years I have never felt so frustrated and disengaged. I have had better conversations with folks who cannot even speak English in other parts of the globe, and great laughs to go with it.

 

I am not meaning to be disrespectful, I think Oz is a beautiful country, the people are so friendly, but there is a lack of UMPH. I just wanted to say how I was feeling and to let other people know that they are not alone if they feel the same way as what I do.

 

Yours,

 

Peed off........................

 

Perhaps they just found you boring? I hope this isn't a transcript of your stand-up act...Stop picking on Australia!!! and you are being disrespectful .."has anyone ever tried to have a conversation"

 

"But in all my years I have never felt so frustrated and disengaged. I have had better conversations with folks who cannot even speak English in other parts of the globe, and great laughs to go with it"

 

your not funny and I'm not really caring if I'm banned...You're a pig and your painting a completely unfair picture of Australians and generalising the populous..go where you can be appreciated by folk that don't even speak English..they're the only ones who think your funny...Because 'they don't speak English' and don't understand your stupid jokes or criticisms ....BAH

[Guest Guest 47403]

Perth V Amsterdam - no contest.

 

I come from near Bradford, I can get to Bradford, Leeds, York, Sheffield, Manchester, Wakefield, Huddersfield (ok not technically a city) plus manymore interesting towns and villages within 45 minutes

 

Not during rush hour you won't not a chance in hell!!

[Guest]

Our posts just go to show how we are all different. I take it you love the beach life? Personally I find it rather dull and boring, give me a cultured city with history, museums, , art galleries, cafes and good restaurants, beautiful architechture (old and new) theatres, gig venues, vibe and yes decents shops, over a beach anyday of the week. And the thing is in the UK there is easy access to all of the above many times over.

 

As I say it really is each to there own. But one thing that cannot be denied is Perth is very isolated.

 

That's just the vastness of Australia though isn't it. And that such a large part isn't really habitable hence people living along the coast and suburbia being concentrated in the areas that are more suitable for human habitation.

 

The UK has thousands of years of history behind it in terms of what is written, known, recorded. It is a small island nation, so of course getting to places is quicker, well, distances are shorter. And its crowded to almost bursting with people, most of whom live in cities and towns. Getting anywhere can still take hours, even for shorter distances. The culture, the buildings, everything, its just had longer to cement itself and shaped how we view things.

 

Australia is still, to all intents and purposes a young country and one that cannot do what the US did and cover an entire continent with people, industry and homes. The outback won't support that and only a small proportion will ever live there.

 

My husband, an Aussie but living here in the UK often comments about how in the UK people go away for a weekend to see people who maybe live a few hours drive away. But that back home in Australia, those kinds of distances he would just drive for a day trip and not think twice about it. His family members who are also living here currently say and do the same. They think nothing of a 4 hour drive for a day to see friends or family. Its just the way people have adapted to the vastness, the distance and how they simply deal with it as to them, its the norm. Whereas for many Brits in Australia, the sheer scale of distance, the way suburbia sprawls, its a strange new thing and something that can really take some getting used to. I know I found it strange to begin with, driving for over an hour to get out of the suburbs and hit an open road. Whereas in the UK I'd have driven 15-20 minutes, been out of a city and passed a couple of towns or villiages before going much further.

 

I think a lot of the issues people have boil down to perspective and expectations. Brits will usually see Australia with their British perspective, what they have known and are used to. Aussies see it with their Aussie perspective. I feel I only really understand the Aussie perspective thanks to my hubby and his insights into the way of life and how they live it and how what seems strange to us is perfectly normal to them. I don't have expectation of life overall being so very different per se, but realise that the finer points are of course going to be noticeably different, at least till I get used to things, find my feet and adapt as best I can.

 

I don't know if I explained it well. Possibly not.

 

Its only when you are living outside of the UK you realise that the British live very differently from many other nations on this earth. Just how we, me, you view it, perceive those others when living among them and if we really truly bother to understand it or them, the finer nuances, the history of a nation, a people, its forging its way in the world. It takes more than just living in a country to get an understanding of it I feel. I have lived overseas and only ever felt uncomfortable or unhappy with those places when I chose to remain British and not embrace the country I was living in. I know moving to Australia next year I shall do all I can to embrace it and accept its always going to be different to life in the UK, in every sense. Its not little Britain and I don't want it to be.

[Guest Sk1ppy]

I thought this website was for gaining information and a place to find people to talk to in the same situation as you while you wait for ur visa. not somewhere ya can just talk negatively about australia in. if ya hadn't noticed majority of the people here are looking forward to startin theyre new lives in oz so stop putting them off by slagging the place off. I'm born and bred from perth and loved growing up there. If ya don't like it then go home

[Quoll]

I thought this website was for gaining information and a place to find people to talk to in the same situation as you while you wait for ur visa. not somewhere ya can just talk negatively about australia in. if ya hadn't noticed majority of the people here are looking forward to startin theyre new lives in oz so stop putting them off by slagging the place off. I'm born and bred from perth and loved growing up there. If ya don't like it then go home

 

Well, this is the Moving back to UK section of the website so what the hell do you expect. It is quite possible that not everyone thinks Australia is paradise on a stick and so this part of the forum fulfills a very important function and lets quite a lot of people know that they arent Robinson Crusoe and that it is perfectly OK not to find Australia your Utopia.

 

Sadly, for some of us, going home is not an option so stop it with the "if you dont like it go home" garbage.

[Guest Sk1ppy]

Fair enough didnt realise I was in this forum just read it in new posts. Sorry everyone good luck on ur move back

[christopher]

Not during rush hour you won't not a chance in hell!!

 

I think you're slightly missing the point.

[Guest Katye21]

Do you not think this part is a worry? You are telling him you don't like living in Aus & are you also telling him be happy in the UK or he is on his own?

 

Maybe he will not like living in the UK any more than you like it in Aus.

 

If you read my post again, no I was not saying this. I mentioned that if just one of us was unhappy when we went to the UK, then we would come back to Australia.

 

And actually in the 10 years that I have known my husband, not once have I mentioned my desire to return to the UK, not even when on holidays. My husband said that he felt happy there, loved the people, loved the culture, and I was happy when we were there - SHOCK HORROR he was the one who came out with wanting to live there!!!!

 

I really think people on this forum should stop responding to other people's posts with venomous comments without actually asking someone to clarify their post and provide more information. Yes, you didn't know all the info, but really, how did you get this information?

[Guest Katye21]

My thoughts exactly!!!

 

I was reading the post's by Katye21 and was thinking one minute it is "We" and the next it is "I"..

 

Another happy divorce in the making!

 

 

Shame there's so many ignorant people on this forum that have nothing better to do than create their own little theories on other people's lives.

 

I shall contact you in another 10 years to let you know if there was a 'happy divorce in the making' as you so boldly assert. Are you a marriage counsellor are you?

 

Funnily enough, my husband and I were best friends before we even decided to date. We not only love each other, but we like each other and respect each other as individuals.

 

Yes, there is a lot of we and I in my post, I apologise for that, I was quite distracted when I wrote it and did not check it thoroughly to ensure that people wouldn't take another meaning out of it that wasn't there in the first place.

 

If you read what I wrote back to BrisDubBris you will see that you have taken entirely the wrong thing from my post.

[Guest Katye21]

I read it as meaning they would return back to Oz if one of them were unhappy

 

Thank you, praise the lord, someone who reads a post as it is written! Thanks

[eribow]

That's just the vastness of Australia though isn't it. And that such a large part isn't really habitable hence people living along the coast and suburbia being concentrated in the areas that are more suitable for human habitation.

 

The UK has thousands of years of history behind it in terms of what is written, known, recorded. It is a small island nation, so of course getting to places is quicker, well, distances are shorter. And its crowded to almost bursting with people, most of whom live in cities and towns. Getting anywhere can still take hours, even for shorter distances. The culture, the buildings, everything, its just had longer to cement itself and shaped how we view things.

 

Australia is still, to all intents and purposes a young country and one that cannot do what the US did and cover an entire continent with people, industry and homes. The outback won't support that and only a small proportion will ever live there.

 

 

My husband, an Aussie but living here in the UK often comments about how in the UK people go away for a weekend to see people who maybe live a few hours drive away. But that back home in Australia, those kinds of distances he would just drive for a day trip and not think twice about it. His family members who are also living here currently say and do the same. They think nothing of a 4 hour drive for a day to see friends or family. Its just the way people have adapted to the vastness, the distance and how they simply deal with it as to them, its the norm. Whereas for many Brits in Australia, the sheer scale of distance, the way suburbia sprawls, its a strange new thing and something that can really take some getting used to. I know I found it strange to begin with, driving for over an hour to get out of the suburbs and hit an open road. Whereas in the UK I'd have driven 15-20 minutes, been out of a city and passed a couple of towns or villiages before going much further.

 

I think a lot of the issues people have boil down to perspective and expectations. Brits will usually see Australia with their British perspective, what they have known and are used to. Aussies see it with their Aussie perspective. I feel I only really understand the Aussie perspective thanks to my hubby and his insights into the way of life and how they live it and how what seems strange to us is perfectly normal to them. I don't have expectation of life overall being so very different per se, but realise that the finer points are of course going to be noticeably different, at least till I get used to things, find my feet and adapt as best I can.

 

I don't know if I explained it well. Possibly not.

 

Its only when you are living outside of the UK you realise that the British live very differently from many other nations on this earth. Just how we, me, you view it, perceive those others when living among them and if we really truly bother to understand it or them, the finer nuances, the history of a nation, a people, its forging its way in the world. It takes more than just living in a country to get an understanding of it I feel. I have lived overseas and only ever felt uncomfortable or unhappy with those places when I chose to remain British and not embrace the country I was living in. I know moving to Australia next year I shall do all I can to embrace it and accept its always going to be different to life in the UK, in every sense. Its not little Britain and I don't want it to be.

 

I have to say that your very balanced post, summed it all up for me.

I think that it has everything to do with expectations, perspective & a willingness to adapt.

In my case, (we are both English) it was my husband's idea to move from the U.K. to Perth. I think my reply was something like: over my dead body!

And, yet here I am, over 18 months on, really enjoying living & working here, as are my husband & children.

On reflection, there are certain things I did that enabled me to settle here.

The first, very conscious decision was not to refer to the U.K. as home.

Perth was now the place I was living, & if I called the U.K. home...well, I can't live in two places at once.

It might not work for everyone, but it has for me.

I didn't bring furniture from the U.K. because I wanted to start afresh. My Aussie home is nothing like my U.K home...nor did I want it to be. But, it is home.

We bought a dog more recently...& all you dog lovers will understand that a dog really

does make a home.

I know I'm probably making it all seem too simplistic, & for the record, I love the U.K.

But, I also love my new life here in Perth.

I'm prepared to accept that in 10 or more years time I might even feel like Quoll.

All I can say, right now, is that I am truly happy with my life here.

I know that Australia is not everyones cup of tea. And that, even if you embrace the Aussie way, & you know that it is not the same as the U.K. but bigger, it still might not be

for you.

I hope that I'm still posting on here in 10 years time saying how happy I still am living here. I might not be. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, I shall look forward to visiting the U.K. & catching up with some very dear family & friends.

All I can say is thank God we're all different. Maybe truly embracing & accepting our differences, choices & opinions (as you seem to, Snifter) would make for a more harmonious forum.

You explained yourself well. It was a great post.

[DannyCoyles]

Hi Danny

 

I don't think Australians are unintelligent, but I do believe the schooling is much better in the UK (I should know, I have had schooling in both places). It was a family choice to move to Australia - I moved here with my parents when I was 11.

 

I don't blame other people for wanting to be here, everybody's idea of paradise is different. My parents love it here and would never move back, because they have found their paradise. I haven't.

 

I find I cannot have a conversation with a lot of Australians, and it is not due to their lack of intelligence, it is due to the fact that usually they'd rather be doing something else than having a chat - possibly surfing or eating a barbeque dinner. Fair enough, but I value conversation and I value family time (which there is a lot of in the UK thanks to the cold weather - winter is not a place to spend outdoors surfing), I value beautiful rolling countryside without thousands of eucalyptus trees (otherwise known as 'the bush') in the way, I value the lifestyle that the UK can povide me with just like my parents value the lifestyle Australia provides them with.

 

I am so happy for my parents and I am happy for others who have found Australia to be their home and their paradise, I just want to return to mine. I apologise if I sound narrowminded but I do believe that Australians and Brits are two different species, yes there are some familiarities, but I, myself, find that I do not in general rub along that well with Aussies (bar my husband, I am in a happy marriage lol) :wink:. They are not nasty, they are not unintelligent, they are not bums (although the latter is quite a widespread perception), but I merely don't find the same comraderie in Aussies, and I do not feel at home here.

 

I wish everyone well though whatever their decision, my opinion is merely an opinion, not the facts and it is coming from me, a single person. Not everyone's views are the same, but everyone deserves to be happy where they live as this is a basis for a true happy life.

 

Hi Katye

 

I agree with the fact that Australians would rather be doing something else, I stated that in my first reply to this thread. It is also widely accepted that the UK education system is better. I fully understand your situation and wish you well with your life in the UK.

 

Danny

[Paul1Perth]

I have to say that your very balanced post, summed it all up for me.

I think that it has everything to do with expectations, perspective & a willingness to adapt.

In my case, (we are both English) it was my husband's idea to move from the U.K. to Perth. I think my reply was something like: over my dead body!

And, yet here I am, over 18 months on, really enjoying living & working here, as are my husband & children.

On reflection, there are certain things I did that enabled me to settle here.

The first, very conscious decision was not to refer to the U.K. as home.

Perth was now the place I was living, & if I called the U.K. home...well, I can't live in two places at once.

It might not work for everyone, but it has for me.

I didn't bring furniture from the U.K. because I wanted to start afresh. My Aussie home is nothing like my U.K home...nor did I want it to be. But, it is home.

We bought a dog more recently...& all you dog lovers will understand that a dog really

does make a home.

I know I'm probably making it all seem too simplistic, & for the record, I love the U.K.

But, I also love my new life here in Perth.

I'm prepared to accept that in 10 or more years time I might even feel like Quoll.

All I can say, right now, is that I am truly happy with my life here.

I know that Australia is not everyones cup of tea. And that, even if you embrace the Aussie way, & you know that it is not the same as the U.K. but bigger, it still might not be

for you.

I hope that I'm still posting on here in 10 years time saying how happy I still am living here. I might not be. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, I shall look forward to visiting the U.K. & catching up with some very dear family & friends.

All I can say is thank God we're all different. Maybe truly embracing & accepting our differences, choices & opinions (as you seem to, Snifter) would make for a more harmonious forum.

You explained yourself well. It was a great post.

 

Well done on a great post eribow,

Simplistic it may be but I think people have a tendency to overanalyse everything these days, listen to every-ones opinion and get confused about their own.

 

It's almost a sense of "maybe I shouldn't feel so happy".

 

The simplistic way certainly worked for us and we feel the same happiness 20 years down the track. Both our families, who are back in the UK, say it's the best thing we could have done.

[BrisDubBris]

If you read my post again, no I was not saying this. I mentioned that if just one of us was unhappy when we went to the UK, then we would come back to Australia.

 

And actually in the 10 years that I have known my husband, not once have I mentioned my desire to return to the UK, not even when on holidays. My husband said that he felt happy there, loved the people, loved the culture, and I was happy when we were there - SHOCK HORROR he was the one who came out with wanting to live there!!!!

 

I really think people on this forum should stop responding to other people's posts with venomous comments without actually asking someone to clarify their post and provide more information. Yes, you didn't know all the info, but really, how did you get this information?

 

I was actually only asking a question. Not making a nasty comment. Sorry if you took it the wrong way.

[Guest Guest 47403]

I think you're slightly missing the point.

 

I must be enlighten me?

[christopher]

I must be enlighten me?

 

I was making the point that in the time he can drive to the city (Perth) I could do the same but have a choice of about 7 cities in that time frame.

 

Now of course if there is a lot of traffic times may vary but this is also true of his journey into Perth. Therefore my point is valid.

[Guest]

Ok ..firstly I am Australian born and breed...I have often made it clear that I adore the UK, and think it's the best place on the planet...I may joke just to josh folk, but it's just that joshing!

 

Sad fact, and it is very sad, and there are lots of threads on the site to back this up, and I do not dwell on folks personal relationships dilemma's (had a few myself)....But if you have a problem in life in the UK, going off to the other side of the planet won't solve it. a problem is a problem in any country. it travels with you, and after a 'honeymoon' period is likely to re-emerge. Unfortunately many seeking a new life thinking a change will save a relationship head out to get away, and find new surroundings in Australia thinking sun, sea, lifestyle will solve the problem...Then not realising the stresses involved in making a complete break..crumble....Australia tends to get the blame for the break-up which was always probably 'on the cards'..But nope..We (Aus) take it right up the tail pipe...Some should think about it..wind back the clock a bit ...You were alone in Australia...I have friends here and in the UK and family in Aus who I can count on to tell me I'm acting an arse, I'm tense, I'm not myself, I need to relax....I didn't realise it myself! I needed a friend to tell me ..Tough love - positive-negetive what ever you want to call it. It takes a friend to guide you 'gently' through that....It's tough when you don't have 'life' friends anymore, friends yes, but not the ones you went to school with, you shared your most treasured secrets with, That's something that most miss, as did I when I first came to the UK as a 22 year old fresh from Uni, scared witless, with a backpack and two books, freezing in the middle of winter without a coat and my backpack lost walking backwards and forwards in the snow between the Heathrow terminals...Heading to London in the middle of the night and my lodgings had closed then walking the streets till 6 am till it opened ........Did I give up..no WHY ..I had always wanted to live in England and I was going to give her my very best shot...I put my head down, bum up and got on with it, I didn't expect all of England in all it's pageantry To fall before me, I worked hard at relationships and eventually won folk over, it took time, It took a lot more than a few years to be truly accepted in the UK...WHY because I discovered something!!! To live as English, you've got to forget all the things you had, and look at what's on offer and make your way in England as an Englishman!. We're not the most wanted race in the UK, folk find our ways a little different, we talk straight, and folk here found that offensive, I stopped doing it, We don't do small talk, I started doing small talk, We brag a little, I stopped doing that! Why because I truly wanted to be part of my society, my new society, my new life!

 

I'm sorry but you cannot stand on the sidelines in Australia waving the Union Jack or Georges Cross and expect everyone to believe you are seriously looking for a new life! It doesn't work that way. My partner has made a self vow to keep well away from Ex-pat functions and meetings, not that there is anything wrong with that, but he wants to fully immerse himself and become a fully functioning understanding Australian Citizen and never look back at old blighty!

 

This has probably bored the life out of all of you, But I'm just getting a little fed-up with the constant swipes at my home country, by folk that set out there for the wrong purpose or reasons and got smacked in the face by life...So blamed Australia..I'm done

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

I knew it.................. Aussies take it up the tail pipe. lol :wink:

 

good post.

[Guest]

Yep hoff, and it's getting so bad I've had a twin exhaust fitted!

[Guest]

I have to say that your very balanced post, summed it all up for me.

I think that it has everything to do with expectations, perspective & a willingness to adapt.

In my case, (we are both English) it was my husband's idea to move from the U.K. to Perth. I think my reply was something like: over my dead body!

And, yet here I am, over 18 months on, really enjoying living & working here, as are my husband & children.

On reflection, there are certain things I did that enabled me to settle here.

The first, very conscious decision was not to refer to the U.K. as home.

Perth was now the place I was living, & if I called the U.K. home...well, I can't live in two places at once.

It might not work for everyone, but it has for me.

 

 

All I can say is thank God we're all different. Maybe truly embracing & accepting our differences, choices & opinions (as you seem to, Snifter) would make for a more harmonious forum.

You explained yourself well. It was a great post.

 

Thank you for your reply. Very well said. I think we must be along similar lines in our approach to moving to Australia It works for us anyways :cute: I just accept that anyone living anywhere overseas is going to find things different, wherever they go.

 

I am maybe lucky in that I've spent time in Australia in the past, am married to an Aussie and have had chance to get a better understanding of the place through him. When hubby moved to the UK with me 6 years ago he did the same as I do when moving overseas. Got on with life in the UK, embraced it and didn't leave one foot behind back in Australia. OK his first port of call was to join the local villiage cricket team and he was their 'overseas player' and took some good natured stick from them over the Ashes but he understands and didn't let it bother him.

 

And now, years later he is ready to return to Australia. He loves the UK, imperfections and problems alongside the good things, but he wants to return. And luckily I am more than happy to make that journey with him. We knew going into our marriage one of us would have to live outside of their home country so its no surprise to me to be doing this next year. I am more than ready to jump in with both feet and find my way out there. And like you, I'll be calling Australia, Adelaide home, not the UK. I won't let myself linger in thought back here as I find it doesn't help any. Sure I'll have wobbly days but don't we all. End of the day, we'll work at it the both of us, even hubby is going to find it strange to be back. Most Aussies last trip back, who didn't know him thought he was British! His Aussie accent is long gone :laugh: He tries to do an Aussie accent now and simply can't. He sounds terrible and it cracks me up. So he is looking forward to being back there to get it back :tongue:

[olly]

That's just the vastness of Australia though isn't it. And that such a large part isn't really habitable hence people living along the coast and suburbia being concentrated in the areas that are more suitable for human habitation.

 

The UK has thousands of years of history behind it in terms of what is written, known, recorded. It is a small island nation, so of course getting to places is quicker, well, distances are shorter. And its crowded to almost bursting with people, most of whom live in cities and towns. Getting anywhere can still take hours, even for shorter distances. The culture, the buildings, everything, its just had longer to cement itself and shaped how we view things.

 

Australia is still, to all intents and purposes a young country and one that cannot do what the US did and cover an entire continent with people, industry and homes. The outback won't support that and only a small proportion will ever live there.

 

My husband, an Aussie but living here in the UK often comments about how in the UK people go away for a weekend to see people who maybe live a few hours drive away. But that back home in Australia, those kinds of distances he would just drive for a day trip and not think twice about it. His family members who are also living here currently say and do the same. They think nothing of a 4 hour drive for a day to see friends or family. Its just the way people have adapted to the vastness, the distance and how they simply deal with it as to them, its the norm. Whereas for many Brits in Australia, the sheer scale of distance, the way suburbia sprawls, its a strange new thing and something that can really take some getting used to. I know I found it strange to begin with, driving for over an hour to get out of the suburbs and hit an open road. Whereas in the UK I'd have driven 15-20 minutes, been out of a city and passed a couple of towns or villiages before going much further.

 

I think a lot of the issues people have boil down to perspective and expectations. Brits will usually see Australia with their British perspective, what they have known and are used to. Aussies see it with their Aussie perspective. I feel I only really understand the Aussie perspective thanks to my hubby and his insights into the way of life and how they live it and how what seems strange to us is perfectly normal to them. I don't have expectation of life overall being so very different per se, but realise that the finer points are of course going to be noticeably different, at least till I get used to things, find my feet and adapt as best I can.

 

I don't know if I explained it well. Possibly not.

 

Its only when you are living outside of the UK you realise that the British live very differently from many other nations on this earth. Just how we, me, you view it, perceive those others when living among them and if we really truly bother to understand it or them, the finer nuances, the history of a nation, a people, its forging its way in the world. It takes more than just living in a country to get an understanding of it I feel. I have lived overseas and only ever felt uncomfortable or unhappy with those places when I chose to remain British and not embrace the country I was living in. I know moving to Australia next year I shall do all I can to embrace it and accept its always going to be different to life in the UK, in every sense. Its not little Britain and I don't want it to be.

 

Very well said Snifter, sounds like you have 'got the picture' already !