bcworld

It's basically porn for those toying with the idea of emigrating!

To be fair the last time I saw one in the UK there were some home truths in it and I thought maybe it was getting a bit more real.

chris955

Well yes of course if your commute is shorter then obviously you spend more time at home but that has nothing to do with what country you live in It is the absurd belief that coming here magically gives you more quality time with the family, 'you' could actually stay in the UK and just move closer to work

Tr1boy

I moved to Oz in 1989, no internet, no tv reality programs. These programs are entertainment based IMO and are should be in addition to rigorous self guided research and application to your own situation, rather than substituted for it.

(same goes for moving back to the UK, except with that there is usually some frame of reference)

Bloody hell I'll be glad when my spine has healed and I can get back to triathlon training. Never watched so much tv in my life

suzyambrose

People don't assume Oz has a 28 hr clock but the free time that people will have will be spent better. Maybe going to the park or the beach, as opposed to sitting in the house with the rain pouring outside constantly wondering what to do as there is nothing to do in crap weather and we'll just end up spending money going shopping or at a kids play place. That's what happens to us and most people I know anyway.

Tramps_mate

Exactly. I'm sick of the kids being stuck indoors watching tv or playing Xbox. They love their bikes but rarely get to ride. I'd be out every weekend with them if the weather allowed!

chris955

Yeah you would assume kids would be outdoors all the time with the 'better' weather but the reality is very different. Just lately here in Brisbane it has been too hot or too wet and our kids and their friends spend 90% of the time inside.
I grew up both here and in England and it wasn't raining constantly back then and it wasn't raining constantly when we lived in Somerset in recent times.
The point is if you travel for the same time to work and you work the same hours you do not have more free/family time.

PaulandNic

Very true! ... and yeah been a bit hot / wet etc of recent, but my son used to have a permanent tan from just being 'outside' all the time!

I know we've had some funny weather of recent, and I think we're technically in a 'La Lina' still (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/rain.naus.shtml), but you CAN'T fault the weather here, and the 'outside' possibilities it brings with it!

chris955

I think if my kids were outdoors types we probably wouldn't be moving to the UK But having said that I was outside all the time when I lived in England. My wife absolutely hates this weather and I function much better in the colder weather so all in all Australia just isn't for us really. I try to get stuff done outside and I am swimming in sweat in a few minutes. I do like the winter though.

cresta57

I know exactly what you mean, the heat here is so oppressive you find yourself staying indoors in the cool. Cycling today would have been great fun 33°c, U.V @ 15.5 [Extreme] & humidity 70%. "Rugged up" so you don't burn & lathered in Factor 30, sweating like you've done 3 hours in a steam bath after 5 mins.
Oh hang on that's what your looking forward to
I went out fishing in the kayak, arrived at the beach at 04.30 peddled out to the reef, fished for a couple of hours & peddled back in again. By 08.30 the temp was already26°c & U.V was @ 10.8

Grayling

Just like queensland then

suzyambrose

That'll be why I'm not going there then!

Si T

For the sake of clarity, I did four years research before deciding to move to Perth and only applied in June 2011 after weighing up the options in both countries. I was a member of the CPA for 15 months before deciding to apply for my visa so that I had an extended period of membership before we migrated when I applied for new roles. If that's not an example of prior planning I don't know what is.

In terms of finances, the UK housing market means that we have no chance of selling our house and taking any money from the sale so I have been working a second accounting job for the last eight months to enable us to have enough to start out when we get to Perth in March. In terms of day to day living as long as we broke even compared to the UK then I was happy enough to give it a go. But then my reasons for going are not financial or for a better life but more from a sense of adventure and to give my son the opportunity to experience something different.

Regarding getting out and about, yes I agree that it will be too hot to get out at times but there will be parts of the day where it will be possible. The weather where I live has meant that for the whole of the Christmas holidays my son has barely been able to leave the house. I also coach a kids football team and their games have been called off every week since mid-November.

The filming takes a total of seven days between the UK and Oz to be cut down into a 45 minute show to include Nicky Chapmans bits and pieces so its no surprise that a good deal of film will end up on the cutting room floor and only that which the producer wants us to see will get aired. For my part, I got out of the show exactly what I wanted. The opportunity to validate the visa I had just had approved and a chance to take a look around when we had time off from filming (i.e. to meet recruitment consultants to get a real world view of my job prospects, which ironically was exactly the same as the bit filmed for the show) and just generally have a look around. To base my whole decision upon an artificial view from the front end of a camera would be ludicrous.

As has been mentioned previously some of us who are on this new series are members of various migration forums and maybe it should be remembered that that how the people are shown is rarely in their control. I knew this going into it and accepted it. I also have the view that I would rather have the brass ones to get out there and do it than sit at home picking holes in those who do.

Si

Si T

Must have been devastating for you mate. I got up to go to work this morning and it was 3 degrees, belting down with rain and the wind was howling. The hours drive up the M4 was a bit ropey but not as bad as some of the days in the last couple of weeks where the wind has been ready to blow you across the lanes if you aren't switched on and I've lost count of the number of accidents I've driven past due to the conditions. If I have to spend a few of months per year not out in the sun compared to nine months of the year not out in the rain I will take that as a pretty good deal at the moment. I may not be saying that in a few years time but won't know until I try eh?

suzyambrose

Exactly.

Tramps_mate

I agree..

I'd rather stay in due to the weather being too good rather than too bad!!

Bad weather makes it dull dreary dark outside. Makes you miserable!

If its sunny, it's bright and light and generally puts people in a better mood!