Has life improved for your children?
Feb 22nd 2007, 6:25 pm
#76
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Somers;Mornington Peninsula
Posts: 241
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Totally agree excellant thread to help with certain worries being that we are due to take 5 of the little guys over there!
Feb 22nd 2007, 7:35 pm
#77
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 14
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Interesting thread to read, it's so refreshing to see so many expats happy with their move and the children benefiting too. As parents we always want the best for our children so it's great to read many success stories
Feb 22nd 2007, 8:41 pm
#78
Banned
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Godzone, utopia, Paradise Island under the sun.
Posts: 1,177
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Last edited by Lord Pom Percy; Feb 22nd 2007 at 8:45 pm.
Feb 22nd 2007, 10:17 pm
#79
Australia's Doorman
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: Has life improved for your children?
) and started big school properly in January. He's at an excellent school with all sorts of cool programs, such as B.U.R.P (buddy-up reading program) in which an old child is buddied up with a kindy kid and the young'uns read to them. He loves his school day, has an excellent teacher and is fitting in just great. On Saturdays he plays in a local junior soccer team, on Sundays we go to the local Surf Life Saving Club for 'nippers' which he loves. We often pick him up from school and head straight to the beach for an hour to splash around in the waves and boogie board. We regularly go to Sydney for days out (he's obsessed with the Centerpoint Sky Tower). We also walk in the national parks here, kayak and swim in the rivers. He rides his bike in the street and regularly has friends round to play. Plus he now has a pool in the back garden and has become a right little water babe. He's still in touch with a couple of his little mates in the UK by Skype webcam. If you think about it, of course, he could have got involved in plenty of activities in the UK (football, cub-scouts etc) - but it's all so much more laid-back here and when asked if he'd like to go back to England he just laughs ...
Feb 22nd 2007, 10:55 pm
#80
Gutter Gob!!
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Perth
Posts: 13,098
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Yea - good shout. In fact, it give me a chance to update things. When we moved out here, Josh did six weeks in big school, then we realised he was too young (class full of six year olds) and he went on to do six months of pre-school (at a time when he'd have been in year 2 in the UK ) and started big school properly in January. He's at an excellent school with all sorts of cool programs, such as B.U.R.P (buddy-up reading program) in which an old child is buddied up with a kindy kid and the young'uns read to them. He loves his school day, has an excellent teacher and is fitting in just great. On Saturdays he plays in a local junior soccer team, on Sundays we go to the local Surf Life Saving Club for 'nippers' which he loves. We often pick him up from school and head straight to the beach for an hour to splash around in the waves and boogie board. We regularly go to Sydney for days out (he's obsessed with the Centerpoint Sky Tower). We also walk in the national parks here, kayak and swim in the rivers. He rides his bike in the street and regularly has friends round to play. Plus he now has a pool in the back garden and has become a right little water babe. He's still in touch with a couple of his little mates in the UK by Skype webcam. If you think about it, of course, he could have got involved in plenty of activities in the UK (football, cub-scouts etc) - but it's all so much more laid-back here and when asked if he'd like to go back to England he just laughs ...
) and started big school properly in January. He's at an excellent school with all sorts of cool programs, such as B.U.R.P (buddy-up reading program) in which an old child is buddied up with a kindy kid and the young'uns read to them. He loves his school day, has an excellent teacher and is fitting in just great. On Saturdays he plays in a local junior soccer team, on Sundays we go to the local Surf Life Saving Club for 'nippers' which he loves. We often pick him up from school and head straight to the beach for an hour to splash around in the waves and boogie board. We regularly go to Sydney for days out (he's obsessed with the Centerpoint Sky Tower). We also walk in the national parks here, kayak and swim in the rivers. He rides his bike in the street and regularly has friends round to play. Plus he now has a pool in the back garden and has become a right little water babe. He's still in touch with a couple of his little mates in the UK by Skype webcam. If you think about it, of course, he could have got involved in plenty of activities in the UK (football, cub-scouts etc) - but it's all so much more laid-back here and when asked if he'd like to go back to England he just laughs ...
Feb 23rd 2007, 1:33 am
#81
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Has life improved for your children?
I didn't have any kids in the UK, but its hard enough as it is - I'm guessing without lack of space (housing and lifestyle), free facilities, only 1 of us having to work, it would be a lot harder in the UK - for us.
Feb 23rd 2007, 7:22 am
#82
Victorian Evangelist
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Has life improved for your children?
However I can imagine that life for them when they are a bit older will be appreciably different in the 2 places.
Buzzy
Feb 23rd 2007, 7:32 am
#83
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Liverpool, UK for now but Melbourne here we come!
Posts: 213
Re: Has life improved for your children?
What a fantastic thread......... reading this has certainly allayed some fears my hubby and I had for our boys (6 and 8). We always believed that moving them at the age they are would be easier than waiting, so were gutted when, initially, our 8 year old told us he wasn't sure he wanted to go because he'd miss all his friends.
Reading posts, looking at photos and doing our own research we now know as a family this is the best decision we will ever make (hope that doesn't come back to bite me on the bum!!) But, if we don't try it we'll never know.
Thanks to everyone who has given their opinions - greatly appreciated.
Reading posts, looking at photos and doing our own research we now know as a family this is the best decision we will ever make (hope that doesn't come back to bite me on the bum!!) But, if we don't try it we'll never know.
Thanks to everyone who has given their opinions - greatly appreciated.
Feb 23rd 2007, 8:23 am
#84
Where traffic lights rule
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Brighton QLD
Posts: 2,460
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Well as this has become a cute baby thread 
Feb 23rd 2007, 8:30 am
#85
Victorian Evangelist
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Oh OK then if you insist.
Buzzy
Buzzy
Feb 23rd 2007, 8:58 am
#87
Victorian Evangelist
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Feb 23rd 2007, 9:15 am
#88
Melbourne Australia
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,169
Re: Has life improved for your children?
I have to go in next week to help - missed this weeks pancakes on Tuesday
Think I'm doing finger painting
Feb 24th 2007, 9:14 pm
#89
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Hell,UK but with a smile now we have our visa's !!
Posts: 303
Re: Has life improved for your children?
Thanks for flagging this up for me Buzzy Bee. I'ts just want i wanted to read about !!
M J
M J
Feb 24th 2007, 11:30 pm
#90
sullysdownunder
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: midlands to townsville
Posts: 157
Re: Has life improved for your children?
sorry to put a damper on things but i am afraid my son 14yrs is having a terrible time
he is so homesick , from the moment he stepped off the plane til now 9 months in ,he has changed from a sporty active popular kid to a shallow negative kid .
He is in a soccer club , goes dirt biking every weekend with his dad and made mates at school but unfortunatly he is very negative and just wants to go home .
We have decided to go back to the uk over easter to try and help him with the homesickness this may be a bad idea but we have to try something before giving in and going home.
so my answer is if he could settle here i know his life would improve but that just is not happening for him at the moment .
he is so homesick , from the moment he stepped off the plane til now 9 months in ,he has changed from a sporty active popular kid to a shallow negative kid .
He is in a soccer club , goes dirt biking every weekend with his dad and made mates at school but unfortunatly he is very negative and just wants to go home .
We have decided to go back to the uk over easter to try and help him with the homesickness this may be a bad idea but we have to try something before giving in and going home.
so my answer is if he could settle here i know his life would improve but that just is not happening for him at the moment .