Elvira

Aahhh - the irony!

MrsB

Perhaps she's homesick!

Blue Eyed Girl

Eliscolin,

maybe one should count ones own blessings before one starts whinging about the things one hasn't got. remember there are people all over the world that don't even have a roof over their heads to rent never mind owning the roof.
Also I think that if you want to move to south American go for it but don't start calling people who have decided that all the space and swimming pools are not for them. No country is perfect no matter what you have experience or read or seen etc..This is a forum for people who want to go back to Blighty after all. Also you should be grateful for being able to live in the uk coming from SA, some people I know are not able to get out of there likewise in Zimbabwe lets not start moaning about Britain!

dragonfly

I do have to chuckle to my self when Brits complain about immigration if Eliscolin is going to live in South America then you will be an immigrant and who is to say that the native population of that country like immigrants. No counry is perfect I am thankful that I am living in the USA but if I had to I can always return to the UK it may have problems but so has OZ,NZ,Canada and the USA . The OP complains about the state of the NHS there is problems with health care all over the world take off your rose coloured glasses and take a good look at other countries.

dunroving

I understand someone trying to say "Look I live in the UK, and it's not a rose garden", but a lot of what you say loses its effectiveness because of your overuse of hyperbole.

Go back to the 50's and 60's. If you lived in the UK then, you'd probably be harping on about Paki's and other "Darkies" (sorry, just quoting, no offence, anyone) - 40-50 years later, people of Caribbean descent, and from India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, etc., are pillars of the community, and great British people who have assimilated not because they "became British" but because they added their own unique spicy flavor to the culture (literally!), phenomenal work habits, and pleasant personalities - oh, and many of them are not Christians either (tut! tut!).

Go back another 50 years and you'd probably be complaining about the "working class" going on strike for more money, "stealing" what rightfully belongs to the upper-classes.

It's called "change", and nothing is going to stop it. Accepting change is something the typical expat is very good at - regardless of what direction he/she goes in. If you move to Brazil you'd better get used to it.

pdohr

OMG, you had me worried - I thought for a moment that you were talking seriously! The Brazilian population is subject to one of the world´s highest taxations (45%), however, you get almost nothing in return. Crime is exploding. Rio de Janeiro nowadays beats Bogota in violence. I live in one of the nicest areas of Copacabana and even so, I´m scared stiff of walking around after dark (during the day as well). Last week in the suburbs, a gang of thugs stopped a crowded bus, told the driver to lock the doors, poured petrol inside the bus and on the passengers and set them alight. Various passengers were burnt alive, including a 1 year old child and her mother. A couple of days ago, policemen (!) "executed" a bunch of 11 and 12-year old kids. The government is nearly at the end of their mandate and we´re still waiting for the promised "spectacle of growth". Instead, there are ever more beggars and destitutes on the streets. The immediate future looks pretty bleak here. Real estate in the most expensive areas has lost up to 50% of value due to the lack of security. Residential condominios are expanding at a rate of 60% a year, the slum areas at 130%! After 25 years here I´m desperate to leave and will fly to the UK any moment now. 5 years ago, I spent a year in Europe and had a wonderful time - had to return for family reasons. I tried to give it another "go" here. Now, I´m really ready to leave for good. If you want to come to Brazil, you´re welcome, however, if you have children, I´d really give it 2nd and 3rd thoughts! The fact that the stream of Brazilian illegals to Europe and the US has increased 4-fold during the last couple of years should make you think. The level of corruption is amazing! Ok, the UK is no paradise, but, you might find yourself "jumping from the pan into the fire"...

ShozInOz

How long have you spent in Australia, NZ or Canada? Australia compares pretty equally to the UK on all of your criteria except climate, which is generally better here, but summer can be unbearable (I'd prefer a UK summer).

You cannot generalise. Many parts of the UK I would never ever live in. Same goes for Australia (except the good areas of Sydney and Melbourne). I've lived bordering on Toxteth in Liverpool. I've also lived in Bournemouth. They were totally different, much like Macquarrie Fields and Coogee here in Sydney.

Australia has changed since you were 16:
- House prices...yes you can get a good place out in Broken Hill and have it smashed up by petrol sniffers. Otherwise in Sydney/Melbourne/Canberra you need a good GBP 200K for a starter home. Oh, and you do know that Australia is the most overpriced real-estate economy in the world don't you (48% overvalued) according to the OECD. The good news is that UK comes second (35% overvalued). And we're not talking double skinned, double glazed, centrally heated (yup, you do need it) houses here - we're talking 'fibro', wood or even brick veneer...class! That'll be $550,000 please.
- Open space...yes there is lots of open space in Australia, most of it unpopulated for good reasonm.
- Overpopulation...Sydney is 4 million, Melbounre nearly the same. Not much oppen space available in between.
- Swimming pools...the legendary Aussie swimming pool! I love mine, it's about 5 ft long, 2 ft wide, and it's in my bathroom. Trouble is, it's hard to find people who can afford a house with a pool in the cities. You might in Broken Hill though...
- 'Immigrants'...check out Cronulla - a lovely, expensive beachside suburb, but watch for the regular gang clashes between white Australians and Middle-eastern gangs. http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.a...001022,00.html Not to worry too much, there will be 60 riot police on duty on Sunday. Or perhaps you could live among the regular clashese between Vietnamese and Lebanese in Wetern Suburbs.
- Government...John Howard. Enough said.
- Education...I work in it (H.E.). The quality of Australian Universities is nowhere near that of UK Universities. Many university teachers here are first and foremost English teachers - both because of poor secondary education and huge number of overseas students due to university underfunding.
- Kulture... Well I suppose each to their own. Outside of the expensive suburbs, you'd better gen up on your Fords or Holdens if you want to be kultured.
- Faiths...Australia has lots of faiths - after all we're all immigrants (except the Aboriginals). There even a Ba'hai temple in North Sydney and a big Buddhist one South. Plenty of Mosques too. You'd love it.

Here's the thing - very similar problems appear in both countries. Yup, Australia has problems! I know, I know, the tourist boards tell the Poms that we all sail to work past the great barrier reef on our way to work in our glass-bottomed yachts looking our at Ulluru in the distance, but the reality is we get a crap train to work and read the etched-into-the-windows graffiti in between the train line graffiti. Both have pros and cons, and in many ways they can't be compared because the advantages are very different.

Someone who has been here for 20 years (and a regular tripper back to the UK) summed it up for me - the main difference is weather. Australia wins on that one. Yup, that's it! Other things cancel out. Except for access to Europe/the world, and UK probably wins there (apart from all the immigrant dodging in the Chunnel, obviously). You know, I like both countries.

The trouble is, people who leave UK because of hatred often transfer that to their new country. It is a state of mind. Doing a geographical may not work. And the hatred becomes very hard to resolve if you do return to the UK after a few months/years disillusioned with the 'new life'. But you have to move to find out.

PS Leave the 'murder' bit off your application forms. It may go against you.
PPS My wife's family (half of) are Chilean. I don't have time to recite their list of reasons on why they left, or of why they migrated to the USA, or of how much better their quality of life is in the USA (despite a big drop in career status).

blairdoesntcare

Very good point and I agree with everything you say about ! We moved to Oz in August, We realised that many of the people who settle in Oz are financial refugees who cant afford to live in the UK anymore. We were quite well off and had a great life in Hampshire. We will stay for a couple of years maximum - its been a great life experience and challenge one which we will never regret and the children have enjoyed it, but we now realise why England is so special - particularly the Test Valley in Hampshire.

Mike

MrsB

But does it win on that one?

I think that even the weather has it's downsides. Not least the fact that there is no ozone left over this side and hence one gets burnt very easily, and don't forget skin cancer. Suncream is full of goodness knows what sort of chemicals - and is it really a good idea to slap that on your children for 4 or 5 or 6 months of the year?? What are the long term effects of that? And it only stops you burning - it doesn't prevent skin cancer.

In the Sydney Morning Herald today, this article appeared and it suggests you put suncream on UNDER your clothes because the UV is so strong it goes through clothing!!!

http://smh.com.au/news/National/Wear...086790891.html

Most of the time when it's hot, my kids hibernate inside in the a/c!!

A true-to-life post!

Pants

[QUOTE=eliscolin]Brazil is a vast country....

and incredibly corrupt....they all have there own personal paypacket don't they??the police, the judges,...I know people who have been there and I am just going with what they have said many times.!!Doesn't sound like the place many would want to live!! lets just hope your face fits..!!and if not that you have deep pockets..!!
Good luck I think you will need it...

Desire

I have say to say, i actually agree with a lot of what Eliscolin has said.
I left the uk for a lot of reasons that he spoke about. And admit it didn't most of you uk expats?.
I have been in OZ for only 6 months and i am really struggling with the (homesickness) But i have to keep reminding myself of reason why we (my husband and i ) chose to come here. We still feel the Uk is a melting pot.
And although we have taken the children away from Grandparents and friends that love us dearly. I still feel it was the right thing to do for their future.
I could still be wrong. But the fact that we were given the chance, we just couldn't afford to say no!

ShozInOz

You are making rather a large assumption thinking other people wanted to 'escape the uk' - many of us just wanted an adventure, to try something new, to try a new career, to get another citizenship for the future (Australia may be a good retirement option for us...if there is any ozone left). All of these apply to us.

The UK is a melting pot...and Australia isn't?

Desire

I do apologize, didn't mean to offend anyone.
I was wrong.
I just have to be careful and remember what my personal views/reasons for leaving the Uk. Before the homesickness gets too much!!

MrsB

No, we left simply to have an adventure whilst the kids were still young, and whilst we could! No country is perfect!

Desire

I just wish that i had come for the adventure before we had the children.
So i would just have myself and hubbys feelings to think about