Lois1

I know no one can make the decision for me but i am stuck between and rock and a hard place as to what to do. I have found this site so helpful and have to be honest spent ALOT of the weekend on it, gathering information.

Originally wanted to go to Vancouver Island, but although it sounds petty, i wanted to escape the wind, cold and rain, and i understand that it has more rain than London! So then thought of OZ - is that a good enough reason to travel to the other side of the world tho?!

Probably like most, i want a better quality of life for my family, but will i get that there?

The "Great" in "Great Britain" has seemed to disappear and its a case of deserting the sinking ship before its too late.

My dilemma (one of them) is that my HO and i are both 41 this year so age is not on our side (when it comes to the application forms!) with 2 kids coming up for 3 and 6 years. I am not concerned as such with leaving family and friends what with the interent these days. But i do have an elderly father and am an only child. Do i sacrifice my kids future for my dad, or do i leave him in his later life?

The things i am disliking about the UK now (apart from the weather) is just the way society is going, the news is constantly depressing, stabbings, muggings, rapes etc etc. Silly question but are things better there?

Here we dont hear the every day news in Oz, am i looking for the perfect place which doenst exisit?

By the way, we would hope to go to Mandurah, WA if we were successful.

Anyone with any advise, tips and home truths would be greatly appreciated before i sign on the dotted line!

Thanks!

moneypenny20

Not trying to be negative or rain on your parade but Australia is a first world country with first world problems, no different from the UK. Some things are better, some are no different and depending on where you come from and where you go to somethings are worse.

First off you need to find out if you are able to get a visa, so check out the DIAC site and then ask lots of questions and search for loads of information on the Immigration Forum.

di90

agree with moneypen.

People paint australia for being such a wonderful country and in many ways it is. Its not till you live here that you see it for all its worth and all its own problems - just like the uk.

Sunshine yes - well not that much in melbourne, friendly yes, safer yes, but with all the problems the uk has, just to a much lesser extent. Would i go back to the uk - hell NO!

good luck with your decision.

Sally Simpson

Leaving your aging father when you are an only child is a real toughie!
You really need to think very seriously how you might feel to be (realistically) 48hrs away, should he fall seriously ill. Also, as he becomes more frail & dependent, will you be okay with being on the other side of the world & not in a position to be of any practical help or support?
I'm not saying you should be there or here, just give it some serious consideration & don't underestimate the pull of family ties!

stm1971

Moneypenny said most of what I would say.

I can't comment on whether you should leave your eldery father but it is something that needs careful consideration if you think he may need some form of care in the future.

Also, don't think that you will be sacrificing your childrens future if you stay in the UK. Thousands of UK kids grow up every year to be fine adults despite what The Sun and The Daily Mail would have you believe.

Try not to be seduced too much by the weather as well, the heat can keep you and your kids indoors in WA as much as the cold and rain can in the UK.

IMO Australia doesn't offer better opportunites for kids, just different ones. Your kids could have a great life here if you are able to settle OK. Your kids can also have just as a fulfilling life in the UK, you just have to show them how to open the doors.

Good luck with your decision.

Dorothy

Only one thing to add to Moneypen's comments. If you're looking to get away from wind and rain you're going to hate WA in the winter.

dave99

Not sure what you mean by that its winter now and sunny everyday, hasnt rained for quiet some time, last year I remeber about a week of rain at its height but nothing like the UK.

To the main post, weather is not really a good enough reason to move here unless its for a medical reason. This isnt a better utopia place, there are just as many problems here as in the UK but you will also be dealing with being unfamilier with everything, having feelings of being the outsider and of course being away from friends and family.
It will take about a year to get get over the unfamilier/not belonging feelings, a lot of people dont make it past that.
So to sum up if its something you really want to do, the chance to experience something new and different then come over

gloveman

...... Originally wanted to go to Vancouver Island, but although it sounds petty, i wanted to escape the wind, cold and rain, and i understand that it has more rain than London! ......


We have lived on the Island for 2 years now and don't know where people get the impression that it is such a wet and windy place from. True, it is raining today and really pouring but we have had wonderful weather for the past couple of weeks - up into the 70's. The experts are even forecasting a water shortage for the summer.

Of course it rains but it does in most places. We came from the south west of Engand and I'm sure it rained far more there. And when it rains here it rains - not that miserable drizzle that gets everywhere. I've the sort of hair that with go like a poodle with its paw in an electric socket at the first hint of moisture in the air - no frizz for the past 2 years.

I was given an umbrella for Christmas and have yet to use it!

scamp1976

Leave the UK, whether you go to Australia is the only choice you really have, so many places to go to, but definately leave UK : Like you say it's a sinking ship full of old people who will not get a pension and die of hunger in 30 years from now after the UK as a country has gone bust...

Australia_bound?

Nice post there scamp
Wasn't aware the country had gone bust? When did that happen as not on the news as yet?

scamp1976

Don't worry , it's been bankrupt for a few years now.
You see, when debt transcends GDP it means that there's a problem.
And UK has had this problem for quite a while now. The fact that everyone tries to hide this fact won't just make it disappear. In the last few years this problem has only gotten worse. UK is already bankrupt ( but don't tell anyone *ssssht* )

Dorothy

It's not winter yet. It's still autumn. Wait until July/August when there are weeks on end of torrential rains then tell me you only remember 1 week of rain. It's also the winds and the fact that the houses are built crap here so it's cold inside as well as out.

verystormy

Well it depends on what you believe Oz is like. It certainly has it fair shar of problems many of which are the same as the uk. Some are better some are worse and some are going to get a lot worse.

As for the weather - that is a perfectly good reason, in fact one of the main reasons we are here. We too considered Canada as my career would be good in either and personaly i would have gone to Canada, but my OH couldnt face the cold.

We also live (near) Mandurah and love the place - far more than Perth which is where i work.

Is it everything i hoped, probably not, though i am still glad we came, though i know we wont spend the rest of our lives here.

idymash

Can't see what your main problem seems to be. Don't choose someplace to relocate just because of weather. I have lived in many countries and the one thing common everywhere is that they all have problems. someplace will have kids doing drugs, someother will have many AIDS cases. schools aren't great in a few places while wages are low somewhere. Yet inspite of all this there are very successful people and very rich ones as well, in most regions. What you need to remain happy is your own sense of wellbeing and no country can give you that....only you can. the rich and the poor, the great and the scum, good and bad weather, none of these can be got away from. The most important thing I feel is don't try to run away from yourself or your troubles, you'll only keep running in circles.
Love.

Zambia

To the OP have you ever been here?