Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

Hi Claire

We were in the same position as you up until a few months ago when we finally made the ' big' decision. (It's actually taken us 6 years)
We have two boys (12 & 10) and we want the best possible future for them but we also want a life for ourselves once they have left home.

I remember my dear old nan telling me that we are only given once chance at life so never regret anything that you do and if you get the chance to do something different give it a go.
Nothing in life is set in stone and if you don't like anything or anywhere you can always change it!

We have so far lived in three different areas of this country and have never regretted any of our moves (the boys always manage to see the moves as an adventutre), but have now decided that a new life in a new country is for us.

We have never been to Oz but have decided that this is the place we would like the boys to grow up and the place that we will eventually retire.

Take all the advice and information you can from anywhere you can get it but ultimately you have to make your own decision, just remember once the kids are old they can move to anywhere in the world. It doesn't seem as big as it used to be!

Amanda xxx :rolleyes:

better for the kids ?!?!
 

Right then....its always being stated that people move to give the kids a better life.Although this may seem an obvious question but why is Aussie better than the UK for kids to grow up ?I have 2 small children and i often use this as a reason for moving and i have my own thoughts on what aus will be like for them but i would appreciate other peoples views/opinions :)
Any replies greatly appreciated :beer:

Lee

Re: better for the kids ?!?!
 

Hi Lee,
my kids are 8 and 10 and they just love it here.
From my point of view they have so much more freedeom. They were active kids in the UK (No play station in this house) but here they have doubled what they do. They attend some activity every night after school and at weekends so the missus is a full time taxi driver.
school is so much more relaxed and they can learn and be children as well.
Kids are kids here no value placed on what they have and what they must wear etc. my kids live and die in boardies and rashies in the summer.
Our garden is about 10 times bigger and we go to social events with the kids and live a full and fullfulling family life.
Life isn't regimentent here as much, we try to keep to bedtimes in the week(as much as possible) but when a neighbour pops round and you end up having a beer ot two and the kids are all playing with each other its easy to forget the time!!
Our Life was full on in the uk but here it seems even more enriched and we have more time as a family. All good points in my book.
The top thing is that kids are kids and they can develop naturally over the years with no hard sell as to what they wear and how much make up they have on(girls).
At least I will see my girls develop from little girls to young adults without having to think I missed something in the middle.

Nick

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

Your reasons echo mine and my partners reasons for wanting to emigrate. We have a daughter who is 3 & half and a baby due early December and feel the same way about the way the country is heading. As i've said a few times on here - i love England and my partner does too - and is very proud to be English - however, we look at our local area's - where we have lived for so many years and they're going downhill fast - teenagers hanging around of a night with nothing to do - public service buildings& lovely old houses on big plots of land being turned into flats and apartments and wonder what the place will be like in 15 years time! We too want our children to have the kind of lifestyle that we experienced when we were young - ie, playing out with friends, nice clean parks with unvandalised play areas etc....i could go on with a list forever. I personally could not get my daughter into pre-school at what will be her local school (where she starts next September if we're still here) because the places were all taken up - by i know an influx of europeans in the area. This makes me very cross. I dont blame these people - after all i am going to be an immigrant myself soon - but i blame the government for allowing so many in - when this country needs to sort out it's own residents first.
Although i'm panicking about leaving friends and family when the time comes - i too dont want to think "what if". I'd rather go - and if need be come back -but would hate myself for jeopardising what could be the best thing me and my partner could ever do for our family.

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

Hi,

Althought it will be difficult i think its better to do it now while the kids are young, Like you, there isn't anything that we are particularly unhappy about with our lives here in the uk, its just that there is a 'but...'.
have you applied yet? have you visited oz? We need to pull our finger out and crack on, my hubby has just turned 40 so thats 5 points knocked off, debating whether or not to use an agent or do it ourselves and save us some money.
Good luck with the baby and what ever decisions you make
Claire
x

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

This is so effing true. In the old days, long before I was around, proper GCE and selection policies ensured that only the cream went to Uni - the same people best suited for it, in my opinion. Many GCE teenagers were rejected as not being suitable for university.

What has happened since then and I noticed it from 1992 onwards in the Uk is that 'everyone' goes to Higher education and can choose a degree in basket weaving. They then think they will hit the ground running and be wining and dining with executives on Amex accounts by the year after they graduate. In the mid 90s employees were only picking certain unis and grades for their grad programmes - a good a yardstick as any.

By the same token, I knew graduates who were also very bright - and got great grades - better than the ones I whacked out but they were very limited in all-round skills, even communication and polish which an old fashioned grauate was expected to have. They were the ones very disillusioned.

That's not to say you can't go to Uni to develop yourself but don't expect a whizz-bang salary and package to follow automatically.

I would also encourage the trades as well as uni. That's partly why I am skilling up in furniture making so I can pass on some skills in what is essentially an all-academic family.

Australia - from what I've seen of the kids in my village, most do very well in Australia and I would have killed to have a lifestyle like theirs. But then I see their parents and can see they are the product of that not just a system.

On the ageold non A vs A debate : I can see that some kids will feel the urge to go overseas to further some careers at some point on a working holiday (that might become permanent and that is something I am prepared to see happen - even encourage - after all - I am giving my children triple nationality as birth-right privilege).

I believe all 20 somethings should go and work overseas for at least a year or two - work properly I mean - not just bum around pulling pints.

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

We brought our kids when they were young enough to adapt and while we were still more important than their friends. I think teenagers can find it terribly hard to make the move as they're so dependent on other kids who understand them better than we do. I'm only speaking of people I've met who struggled to settle more than younger children.

Anyway, I was supposed to be answering what is better for our kids here:

Public speaking: In class as young as 5 they'll do "show and tell" or be "VIP" for a week, standing up and speaking in front of the class about something important to them, it may be an accident or a MacDonalds toy but they're taught the confidence to speak and the courtesy to listen.

Tolerance: so many of the population are immigrants or descended from immigrants - our friends are of Indian, Greek, Italian, Polish, convict, Scottish, English, Turkish, etc. descent and the kids don't know any different. OK the adults may have had language difficulties or cultural disagreements when they arrived but the kids.... They learn a language (may be Italian, Indonesian, anything in primary school) and do projects on their heritage.

Play: no it's not all sports. Believe it or not some kids here don't like sports either but they are encouraged to succeed. My daughter hates all formal sports but she's still learned to cross the monkey bars, races along park paths on her scooter and can't wait to get in the pool.

Pride: at the age of 5 my kid knew the Australian anthem and will joyfully sing it at any opportunity. They care about Aussie rules when they don't know the rules and everyone supports some team in a conversational way - Fraser and others complain that the atmosphere at sporting events is spoiled by the grannies and the kids but I prefer the friendly banter than the aggression that can occur otherwise.

Safety: kids are occasionally abducted here too. It's truly dreadful to read/hear about but while bringing my British anxieties here, I can let my kids play in the playgrounds here without following them everywhere physically or with my eyes. Something could still happen but there's a greater feeling of confidence.

I regularly find myself smiling just because I'm here which is probably hard to bear for those who struggle to settle - I guess you have to decide your priorities. I still scream at the kids to get ready in the morning and forget to make lunch till we're already late for school and we still struggle for money but we have space to breathe, lattes to sip, a car that goes, we've found the greatest welcome. I suppose one day I may hanker for a trip to Europe or want to see my parents just for lunch but Australia works for our kids and us.

Good luck in your decision.

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

I really like some of the points you make. Liked the bit about AFL, that's it not all sports, and show and tell. Show and tell extends to adults too(!)

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

You don't have to go to the otherside of the world for a better future for your kids....England has the best educational system there is....moving to OZ will not make them any more inteligent....If you are unsure of were you live move towns!

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

I am seriously puzzled by your list. Apart from being taught to sing the National Anthem, my kids experienced exactly the same in London...

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

Guess you were lucky? We didn't leave UK because we were unhappy there but in the school where I taught (outskirts of London) courtesy was certainly not prevalent, children were not trusted to play with limited supervision except in a locked playground and respect was not a familiar concept. "You're avin a larf miss" will always stay with me as one of the darling's responses to discipline. Cars were deliberately scratched, missiles were deliberately thrown at teachers or pupils, well it just wasn't for me.

My kids had a good life in the UK and in their schools in Wolverhampton. I didn't find the same positive experiences I've found in Australia while I was there though.

Re: better for the kids ?!?!
 

As the mother of a (soon to be) 10 year old girl, the above really struck a chord with me.

Here's to a less materialistic and judgmental environment !

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

Hi there - we have applied for our visa already - but need to wait for the baby to be born before we can get medicals/police checks done as we need the new babies birthcertificate/passport etc sent off to DIMA. We are using an agent (Go Matilda) although sometimes we've wondered whether we should have just filled in the forms ourselves to save money they were very helpful during the TRA process.
I have never been to OZ myself but my partner has been several times to several locations. His sister actually lives in Perth but we're not thinking of locating there as i think it would be too hot there for me in the summer. We've been thinking of Tasmania or possibly Melbourne area.
If you fancy a more in depth chat about it all - PM me and i'd be happy to compare our reasons/situations in more depth!
thanks for your well wishes for the baby too!

Re: better for the kids ?!?!
 

Dito.....
Hopefully it will have a positive effect on our 13 yr old son too....... C x :rolleyes:

Re: better future??- thinking about the children.
 

We done the paper work for ourselves and 3 kids, saved some money which we can now use for flights.