lostpom

I have to say, this was one of the things I really looked forward to in Aus - being self sufficient, sort of like The Good Life Down Under. I did the research, and worked out you could survive on rainwater year in-year out from an average size house and garage/workshop, with 30,000L fresh and grey water tanks - like you say, bath/shower water being re-used for things like toilets. I was also thinking about solar power with a diesel genny running on vegatable oil as a backup ! Still, no-one believes this works, but theres far too much evidence on the web to contradict this. I keep promising myself that I'll try it out on the diesel ute.

Honestly, anything grows here - I have friends on a lovely 5 acre block in Cooroy, QLD, and they grow just about anything - chillies, lime & lemon trees, grape vines, more veggies than you can shake a stick at.

If you want to be self sufficient, Australia really is a great place to try it out.

Breezey

Its all what you are used to-as an Australian-I hate the Pubs in the UK-dirty, old, boring-really small. I love the pubs in Sydney -big fun and full of pokies.

Breezey

Funny-the thing that strikes me in the UK is the lack of shops in small towns-how many small English towns have an independant baker in the centre.

Breezey

I dont think anyone has the heart to tell him that Gympie really is reknown as an absolute dump and the redneck capital of Oz.

iPom

I'm going to be up in the Blue Mountains, near the top, so it will get pretty cold up there in the winter nights... I'm hoping with the cooler climate I can try fruit trees. They grow apples up there so that, plus lemons and limes, oranges ... my MIL has all these things in her garden. I don't know about the rest, but thinking I'll prob have to do some sort of polytunnel setup with raised beds to escape the possums eating everything. I nearly bought a macadamia farm just north of Sydney a bit. Someone beat me to it. I'd like to see what will work out there... It's going to be a big experiment.

I like what you say about water.... I think it's possible using rain water for basic necessities. I also want a small wind turbine because even when it gets hot, you can still get a breeze up there.

iPom

Shhhhhhhh!

Breezey

Actually from Leura myself-and thats one thing I notice here in the UK, look at the pleasant and charming shops in the main street of both Leura and Katoomba (Blackheath too).
Was in Castlecombe in the Cotswolds yesterday, nice as a town can be but not a single shop other than a greasy pub and a spar-the towns here have no shops-nothing. The quality of cafes in the UK is horrible(outside of london) if they exist at all. Its seems that decent retail ends in london.
There isnt a single town in the Uk with the kind of eclectic mix of retail as one has in say, blackheath(Blue Mounts).

iPom

Thinking about Leura... or Blackheath.... Prob Blackheath as the houses are much cheaper there ...

Leura's lovely but I don't know how long it is since you've been in Katoomba but last time I was there it was divey. It's crying out for a really good bistro style cafe... (which is an option I'm looking at) But I agree you don't really have so much community shopping any more... I think that maybe due to the big supermarkets destroying the smaller businesses.
Leura's lovely. They were thinking about closing Blackheath public pool last time I was there. I'm hoping it's still open when we arrive.

Hutch

I've been told that it's bad to state your own personal experience as some greater global (or nationwide in this case) fact. Castle Combe barely qualifies as the Cotswolds, but if you'd travelled 20Km up the A46 from there, you'd have arrived in Nailsworth , the town I currenly live in, and which fulfils all the criteria you mention. It has two independent bakeries, including a multi award winning one. It also has three excellent cafes, two independent butchers, an award winning deli, two independent hardware shops (one of which has been open for 150 years), myriad knick-knacky shops, the fancy dress shop from which Prince Harry hired his nazi uniform, about 10 hairdressers, three independent pubs, five sit down restaurants (including a top-30 rated Indian) plenty of independent clothes shops, two small supermarkets (Co-op and Somerfield), two post offices, a garage, two banks, a building society and myriad other mainly independent shops. If you can bear to rub shoulders with a population of insufferably smug middle-class tossers, then you'll love the place.

iPom

I loved living there. Is that Deli still going? They had divine sarnies!
It's a busy little place.

Where I live now, in a village, has 3 pubs, two with restaurants, one Indian, one Thai, one large shop, post office, a hairdresser and a barber ...

I'm surrounded by larger towns so I think that helps.
More isolated places aren't so good. I seem to recall that Minchinhampton wasn't such a hotbed of shopping activity ...

But yeah, all places are not the same.

Breezey

i have been in the UK for years and have literally been to every corner of the place-though not every town(who has).
Never found a place like you described nailsworth to be-but believe me I will make point of going there.
Kilkenny in Ireland is an example of a town with good shops.
In the Uk the shops are all boring and follow a formula-and as for the multicultural dining experience-also boring and formulated-all Bangledeshi run indian joints , a sprinking of identical italian places and the odd tapas bar-all with the exact same menus.

Pollyana

Hmmmm.......Chermside/Brookside/Stafford/Toombul/Carindale/North Lakes/Strathpine/Lutwyche (to use Brisbane as an example) - I think you'll find Australia is even more formulaic than the Uk high street.......

Breezey

Like many Australians-to me there is a simple formula

Australia=Sydney(and maybe melbourne)-what goes elsewhere I couldnt give a toss.

iPom

Amazulu

Sydney? Sydney is the Australian hole of holes. It's like London with sunshine.