fed up with this site slagging off uk
Jun 26th 2002, 2:29 pm
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Rockingham, WA
Posts: 917
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Hi guys
If you want to see more threads on subjects similar to this do a search on 'Dotty'...it will bring up many many more replies to threads earlier on that were posted with a similar theme. I know for certain that one of them was entitled: What do you think will be better? ...it certainly had some er...lively discussions on this subject.
love sophia x
If you want to see more threads on subjects similar to this do a search on 'Dotty'...it will bring up many many more replies to threads earlier on that were posted with a similar theme. I know for certain that one of them was entitled: What do you think will be better? ...it certainly had some er...lively discussions on this subject.
love sophia x
Jun 27th 2002, 9:01 am
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Often the UK is slagged so badly here, but just as often Australia is so glorified by people who have never even had a visit here. I am UK/Aus and spent equal time in each country. I have no illusions about either. Both offer good lives depending on what a person wants.
Laugh at some of the comments, People moving to Sydney for a crime free life? Traffic free Sydney? The constant raving about the perfect climate, and yet we have one of the harshest climates in the world! Is 40 odd degrees really going to be Perfect when you have to function in it, not sit on a beach but work shop school etc. Will your kids find sitting in a 45 degree classroom perfect.
The wonder of converting pounds to dollars completly overlooking what happens when you want to convert back or you are the one earning 36p instead of a pound.
All I am saying is sadly many of the people who slag the Uk have not visited Australia (Scary really, that Australia is so far away you cant even afford to visit before you move there). It would be easy on a cold english night to make up a picture book image of Australia but the fact is we are a real country and yes we have problems, er striking nurses, Doctors unable to practise because of Litigation fears, yes kids do drugs, we get burgled and robbed and if anybody says it here they are slagged off. Australia needs immigrants but they should be prepared for a real country not some storybook image that is sure to disappoint when faced with reality. Australia can be good, but it is OZ not the blooming Wizard of OZ. For each slaggy comment about the Uk there is some silly glossy glorified rubbish about Aus. Lets all get real eh!
Laugh at some of the comments, People moving to Sydney for a crime free life? Traffic free Sydney? The constant raving about the perfect climate, and yet we have one of the harshest climates in the world! Is 40 odd degrees really going to be Perfect when you have to function in it, not sit on a beach but work shop school etc. Will your kids find sitting in a 45 degree classroom perfect.
The wonder of converting pounds to dollars completly overlooking what happens when you want to convert back or you are the one earning 36p instead of a pound.
All I am saying is sadly many of the people who slag the Uk have not visited Australia (Scary really, that Australia is so far away you cant even afford to visit before you move there). It would be easy on a cold english night to make up a picture book image of Australia but the fact is we are a real country and yes we have problems, er striking nurses, Doctors unable to practise because of Litigation fears, yes kids do drugs, we get burgled and robbed and if anybody says it here they are slagged off. Australia needs immigrants but they should be prepared for a real country not some storybook image that is sure to disappoint when faced with reality. Australia can be good, but it is OZ not the blooming Wizard of OZ. For each slaggy comment about the Uk there is some silly glossy glorified rubbish about Aus. Lets all get real eh!
Jun 27th 2002, 9:22 am
#18
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 82
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Hi Dotty
I've noticed from some of your posts in the past that you've had problems with crime in the area you live? If I remember rightly, you are in the Brisbane area, but I wondered where exactly?
Steve
I've noticed from some of your posts in the past that you've had problems with crime in the area you live? If I remember rightly, you are in the Brisbane area, but I wondered where exactly?
Steve
Jun 27th 2002, 9:44 am
#19
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Few suburbs in North Brisbane mostly Clayfield, also lived on the Coasts. Not fingerpointing at any suburb, Clayfield is quite upmarket actually. I guess my point is crime happens everywhere. (Yep even in OZ) shock horror he he!
Jun 27th 2002, 10:41 am
#20
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2002
Location: lancashire
Posts: 236
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Just to clarify a few of my moans/whinges/fears - living very close to Burnley in the North of England racial tensions in this area are at an all time high - there is a general uneasiness about the place - one which is going to get worse in my opinion. A few months ago my brother-in-law's nephew was killed in Oldham by a gang of Asian youths. I'm not a racist and am quite happy to live in harmony with everyone but it is becoming increasingly impossible in this neck-of-the-woods. Added to this is the general decline in the IT business - my partner's business - decent opportunities mean a move South - coming from the North we'd have to win the lottery before we could afford housing there.
Sure we realise that NZ wont be a panacea for all ills but we do want our children to have as many opportunities as we can offer - we want them to live in an area with a good feel to it, with clean air, beautiful scenery, friendly people (on the whole) - not a declining, poverty stricken mill-town where english has become a second language. Yes, President Blair isn't a reason to leave the UK but until there is a credible alternative they are going to be around for quite some time to come .
Sorry to bleat on but I was always told to "walk a mile in another man's shoes" and then you will understand where they are coming from and this is where we are coming from!
Regards
Lizzie
Sure we realise that NZ wont be a panacea for all ills but we do want our children to have as many opportunities as we can offer - we want them to live in an area with a good feel to it, with clean air, beautiful scenery, friendly people (on the whole) - not a declining, poverty stricken mill-town where english has become a second language. Yes, President Blair isn't a reason to leave the UK but until there is a credible alternative they are going to be around for quite some time to come .
Sorry to bleat on but I was always told to "walk a mile in another man's shoes" and then you will understand where they are coming from and this is where we are coming from!
Regards
Lizzie
Jun 27th 2002, 1:03 pm
#21
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Rockingham, WA
Posts: 917
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Nicely put Lizzie! As I said earlier, I love the UK but I am sensible enough to be able to see and comment on the social problems that seem to be escalating out of all control, particularly in my neck of the woods (Yorkshire-which, incidently I absolutely adore).
The Yardies seem to have taken over Leeds, with shootings becoming a far too regular occurence, not to mention the riots we keep having....harehills and hyde park to name but 2 in the last year. The local news the other night had a piece on a pub called the Manston in the crossgates area of leeds (not a known trouble spot by any means), it was chucking out time and some lunatic turned up at the door and opened fire on the crowd leaving the pub....he hit 4 people including the landlord...thankfully noone was killed but it could have been much much worse.
What I'm trying to say is, I don't see why we can't comment on the shape of our neighbourhood without that being seen as 'slagging off the UK'....is it any different from Dotty telling us about her crime ridden area??
love sophia x
The Yardies seem to have taken over Leeds, with shootings becoming a far too regular occurence, not to mention the riots we keep having....harehills and hyde park to name but 2 in the last year. The local news the other night had a piece on a pub called the Manston in the crossgates area of leeds (not a known trouble spot by any means), it was chucking out time and some lunatic turned up at the door and opened fire on the crowd leaving the pub....he hit 4 people including the landlord...thankfully noone was killed but it could have been much much worse.
What I'm trying to say is, I don't see why we can't comment on the shape of our neighbourhood without that being seen as 'slagging off the UK'....is it any different from Dotty telling us about her crime ridden area??
love sophia x
Jun 27th 2002, 8:20 pm
#22
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Let's get off the hysteria track here, kids sitting in a 45 degree classroom is rare
in fact if at all......Traffic in Sydney is awful but depends where you are from,
compared to London its not too bad at all...........Cost of living in Australia
(across the board) is just 70% of that of the UK (across the board)........striking
nurses, well that is not an ongoing problem (as of yet) but is occurring in
Queensland whilst they negotiate higher pay levels (sound familiar?)......There are
NO doctors who are unable to practise due to litigation fears (not yet anyway)
insurance has been guaranteed for an interim period by the Federal
Government......personally I can't "slag off" the UK but if you have a young family
there IS something about the way of life that is attractive, it is great to see your
children actually wanting to use the many sporting facilities.......and going to the
beach is a way of life not an annual excursion........where the variety of high
quality food at affordable prices is commonplace not somewhat of a delicacy........of
course Australia being such a large Country (continent in it's own right) there is a
considerable difference from the North to the South which is a distance of over 4,000
kms.......on it goes, the right attitude will always be most helpful of course as
most of the contributors here seem to have.....If it's right for you DO IT.
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"dotty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
in fact if at all......Traffic in Sydney is awful but depends where you are from,
compared to London its not too bad at all...........Cost of living in Australia
(across the board) is just 70% of that of the UK (across the board)........striking
nurses, well that is not an ongoing problem (as of yet) but is occurring in
Queensland whilst they negotiate higher pay levels (sound familiar?)......There are
NO doctors who are unable to practise due to litigation fears (not yet anyway)
insurance has been guaranteed for an interim period by the Federal
Government......personally I can't "slag off" the UK but if you have a young family
there IS something about the way of life that is attractive, it is great to see your
children actually wanting to use the many sporting facilities.......and going to the
beach is a way of life not an annual excursion........where the variety of high
quality food at affordable prices is commonplace not somewhat of a delicacy........of
course Australia being such a large Country (continent in it's own right) there is a
considerable difference from the North to the South which is a distance of over 4,000
kms.......on it goes, the right attitude will always be most helpful of course as
most of the contributors here seem to have.....If it's right for you DO IT.
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"dotty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Jun 29th 2002, 4:20 am
#23
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:02:46 +1200, "Winnie" <[email protected]> wrote:
[msge snipped]
>
>Er, yes, I had sussed this. Whilst one part of me does have my rosy specs on, it's
>deliberate. Why shouldn't I have a honeymoon with Godzone? I'm
>having a blast. I do have a few issues with NZ, like 1080 spreading and DOC's stance
>on pet dogs, but I'm not going to whinge about them, rather try and be a tiny part
>of the movement to change them.
>Winnie
What don't you like about 1080 spreading? What alternatives do you suggest to the use
of 1080? Should gin traps be used again as an alternative?
What don't you like about DOC's stance on pet dogs? And how would you like to see
their Policies change?
Cath
[msge snipped]
>
>Er, yes, I had sussed this. Whilst one part of me does have my rosy specs on, it's
>deliberate. Why shouldn't I have a honeymoon with Godzone? I'm
>having a blast. I do have a few issues with NZ, like 1080 spreading and DOC's stance
>on pet dogs, but I'm not going to whinge about them, rather try and be a tiny part
>of the movement to change them.
>Winnie
What don't you like about 1080 spreading? What alternatives do you suggest to the use
of 1080? Should gin traps be used again as an alternative?
What don't you like about DOC's stance on pet dogs? And how would you like to see
their Policies change?
Cath
Jun 29th 2002, 10:20 am
#24
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
"Cath" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What don't you like about 1080 spreading? What alternatives do you suggest to the
> use of 1080? Should gin traps be used again as an alternative?
Well obviously I'm no expert yet but it seems to me that it would be better to use
bait traps which allow only possums to take the poison, rather than lobbing it from a
helicopter into water supplies and where native animals and pets can take it. Also,
1080 hangs around - the newer poisons break down in the possum, meaning that even if
another animal or bird eats the corpse it will be OK. As usual it boils down to cost
- the indiscriminate flinging of 1080 is cheaper.
>
> What don't you like about DOC's stance on pet dogs? And how would you like to see
> their Policies change?
I'd like to see properly controlled dogs officially allowed into the national parks.
They do a lot less damage than humans, eg they don't tend to light fires, and on a
lead they'd be hard pressed to do any damage at all apart from slobber on the odd
stick and leave the odd pile of poo, which the humans do anyway.
Cheers Winnie
news:[email protected]...
> What don't you like about 1080 spreading? What alternatives do you suggest to the
> use of 1080? Should gin traps be used again as an alternative?
Well obviously I'm no expert yet but it seems to me that it would be better to use
bait traps which allow only possums to take the poison, rather than lobbing it from a
helicopter into water supplies and where native animals and pets can take it. Also,
1080 hangs around - the newer poisons break down in the possum, meaning that even if
another animal or bird eats the corpse it will be OK. As usual it boils down to cost
- the indiscriminate flinging of 1080 is cheaper.
>
> What don't you like about DOC's stance on pet dogs? And how would you like to see
> their Policies change?
I'd like to see properly controlled dogs officially allowed into the national parks.
They do a lot less damage than humans, eg they don't tend to light fires, and on a
lead they'd be hard pressed to do any damage at all apart from slobber on the odd
stick and leave the odd pile of poo, which the humans do anyway.
Cheers Winnie
Jun 29th 2002, 10:42 am
#25
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 82
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Dotty
At the end of the day, every country has it's problems areas and luckily where we live in the UK has a pretty low crime rate, so I'm sure we can find a nice suburb in Aus with a similarly low crime rate. Most people are aware that crime does and will happen, even in Aus(!!) but I think if you do your research and pick a decent area you are going to come across less of it. Unfortunately in the UK, picking a decent area all comes down to money, and people haven't got so many choices here which is whay a lot of us are heading for pastures new.
At the end of the day, every country has it's problems areas and luckily where we live in the UK has a pretty low crime rate, so I'm sure we can find a nice suburb in Aus with a similarly low crime rate. Most people are aware that crime does and will happen, even in Aus(!!) but I think if you do your research and pick a decent area you are going to come across less of it. Unfortunately in the UK, picking a decent area all comes down to money, and people haven't got so many choices here which is whay a lot of us are heading for pastures new.
Jun 29th 2002, 1:41 pm
#26
Gone Senile Member
Joined: Sep 2001
Location: Sydney
Posts: 3,014
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Sorry - Stevebecks - it comes down to money! You stated it in your mail, do your research and afford the right areas even in Aus- If you can well done. Things here are same same - no wonderland. Make your choices because of making a new start or taking a different tack in life, comparisions are very difficult, but not because everything here is going to be wonderfully better than the UK cause it ain't so. We are happy with our choice but we did have a more affluent life in the UK. Taxes included!!!
Jun 29th 2002, 4:48 pm
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 82
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Sandra
I understand what you are saying, but a 3 bed semi where we live in Surrey is over £260,00 now - we have done our research and can buy a house outright in Brisbane in a nice area with no mortgage, and much bigger! With the way the property market is going up in Surrey at the moment, we would be looking at having a huge mortgage next time. The wage drop is worth it when we will have no mortgage in Aus. That is one of the reasons for our move. We have spent some time in Aus and do have relations there so we have done our research.
I understand what you are saying, but a 3 bed semi where we live in Surrey is over £260,00 now - we have done our research and can buy a house outright in Brisbane in a nice area with no mortgage, and much bigger! With the way the property market is going up in Surrey at the moment, we would be looking at having a huge mortgage next time. The wage drop is worth it when we will have no mortgage in Aus. That is one of the reasons for our move. We have spent some time in Aus and do have relations there so we have done our research.
Jun 29th 2002, 10:20 pm
#28
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
I am sorry Sandra.are you saying for the same relative cost you had a more affluent
life in the UK??? even given the VAT/GST is far in excess of what is paid here (Aust)
and although some personal tax rates are higher here the relative cost of living in
Australia is only 70% of that in the UK...
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"Sandra" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sorry - Stevebecks -
life in the UK??? even given the VAT/GST is far in excess of what is paid here (Aust)
and although some personal tax rates are higher here the relative cost of living in
Australia is only 70% of that in the UK...
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"Sandra" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sorry - Stevebecks -
Jun 29th 2002, 10:20 pm
#29
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Just for general info...I live on The Gold Coast ..about 70 kms sth of
Brisbane.......where very nice NEW 4 bedroom full ensuited, double garage, nice land,
many with study and rumpus etc go for between $190,000 and $220,000 AUD, you can of
course pay more but these are everyday prices........downside is of course employment
is limited to mainly tourist type em,employment (there are numerous fun parks etc )
though many people I know do the shuttle in the express train to Brisbane to
work...when you get into the large cities such as Sydney (I couldn't possibly live
there myself and Melbourne) the price goes up dramatically.
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"Stevebecks" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Brisbane.......where very nice NEW 4 bedroom full ensuited, double garage, nice land,
many with study and rumpus etc go for between $190,000 and $220,000 AUD, you can of
course pay more but these are everyday prices........downside is of course employment
is limited to mainly tourist type em,employment (there are numerous fun parks etc )
though many people I know do the shuttle in the express train to Brisbane to
work...when you get into the large cities such as Sydney (I couldn't possibly live
there myself and Melbourne) the price goes up dramatically.
Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com
"Stevebecks" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Jun 30th 2002, 11:27 pm
#30
Gone Senile Member
Joined: Sep 2001
Location: Sydney
Posts: 3,014
Re: fed up with this site slagging off uk
Yes it is more expensive for me here - but I know and understand why, we have moved from Wokingham in Berkshire to North Sydney! House prices here are comparable 700,000 dollars for four bed and much much higher!! - depending on the area you want to live, with back in the UK area I lived 280 - 350 pounds, and I have had to take a 25% cut in salary on a transfer because the cost of living differences. I do get a lot more out of the lifestyle, we spent this weekend at the Beach etc so I am not whinging, but I also find it amusing that the Australian assume I am better off with my UK pound, I have to explain I am earning Aus dollars here - the usual comeback is oh you poor thing the Aussie Peso! Cars here seem expensive when earning Aus too, because there is no conversion when you are earning the currancy direct.