NedKelly

I thought they just used the wheelie bins, especially in Perth. Been quite a few bodies found in them I understand.

Simon.and.Kate

I will confess to being lucky here, and not seeing a problem. As soon as we arrive, we will be 'home', as we will be staying with Kates parents (and thats not as bad as it sounds, in fact - not bad at all!), so we won't have to go through the whole 'rental' process...

We can take our time to get settled with our own place.

Also, there will be more family where we are going, than what we have around us now. We have no family in Sheffield, with the nearest being mine in Leicester...

Having Kates mum near us when we start a family is one of the reasons for the move.

As I have said, I do consider us to be lucky, as we have had the oppurtunity to visit and see a lot of Aus over the past 7 years. Our decission to make the move has been as a result of these trips and the experiences we've had.

"I take my hat off" to those of you diving in feet first. I know people who have moved to Aus without setting foot their before they did.

Another point/comparison to make is that people often make a place what it is. When we we're at uni in Sheffield we would quite happily tell people that we 'loved sheffield'. We then decided to stay and settle after finishing. Although we still think of Sheffield as a great place, what we noticed straight away was that it was different. Most of our friends moved away when we finished, and Sheffield suddenly felt like a very different place.

I hope you can see the point I'm trying to make...

Much love guys! - gotta dash, need to go and get ready for our medicals in under 2 hours time....

Vim Fuego

Now here's a thing, apropos of nothing, I was playing cricket on the outskirts of Brisbane the other day and noticed that the wheelie bins had "City Of Auckland" on them.

And my mind raced, what combination of circumstances could lead to this situation?

I gave me something else to think about after contemplating my usual meagre opening bat tally.

NedKelly

Maybe in Auckland the bins have "City of Brisbane" on them.

Hutch

You've uncovered a vast underground wheelie-bin trafficing scam!!! OH MY GOD!!! It'd never happen in blighty you know mate ...... [principally because they'd get burnt out by hoodies long before they could get nicked...] ... Hold on, mind drifted away for a moment there. Anyway - alert Interpol!

BadgeIsBack

The bins are thicker in Blighty. Sniff. The ones in Australia are out of date and need an annual inspection.

moneypenny20

I'm bitterly disappointed. I've just been to check my bins and they have Gold Coast City Council on them.

Hutch

Mine have got 'Property of H.M. Prison Parkhurst' written on them ...

jond

Just trying to get back on to the original thread a bit


Is there really anything that wrong about retaining a bit of your original culture when you move over here.

I mean the Greeks, Italians, Chinese etc etc are all proud to be called Australians, but they also are very proud of there original heritage.

So what is wrong with us trying to keep our British identity a bit, most of us mix with the aussies and get on fine (well I do)

But after 2 years here I am afraid to say that those people who say that most of your friends will be expats are correct, when we first arrived I was speaking to a pom who has been here for over 20 years and he said that if I look back in 20 years time I will have loads of aussie mates, but my close friends will be poms, I didn't really didn't believe him but it is starting to look like he was right. After all they have their own network of friends and relatives stretching back a lifetime we don't.

I think the expats who come over here and within a week have a ute, drink VB, have a hat with corks on, are AFL mad etc, etc are perhaps the ones who are a bit on the strange side.

John

Hutch

On the face of it, I agree - shouldn't be an issue. But my perception is that the English (and I do mean English, not Scottish or Welsh or whatever) have a very different history with this country and that sticks in the throat of some aussies. Yes, some of it's just Ashes-like 'banter' - but not all. Fly a Union Jack or a St Georges Cross from your flagpole underneath the aussie flag in *some* areas and you're asking for a key down down the side of your car. I guess there are ways and means to celebrate your ethnicity and the secret is to do it in such a way that you don't alienate the born-and-bred aussies. I've not experienced any animosity whatsoever - exactly the opposite - but I put a lot of that down to where I live, and the fact that I'm half-Australian (six generations back on my father's side).

Coming up on 18 months here - all my closest friends are aussies. I know quite a few expats because there's a big naval base near here that attracts lots of servicemen and women - but they do tend to have that 'expat' attitude - only here for a short while and many don't have any intention of integrating. No, my real friends - the sort of people you drop in on unannounced of an evening, put the world to rights with, go on trips with, phone up at the last minute and ask 'em if they'll pick your kids up from school etc - are all aussies.

Totally agree - find it vaguely embarassing to be honest.

bridie

bridie

Good luck with the meds

I look forward to your post in around 2009/2010 when you've been here two years and can give your opinion on whether your post is how you actually do feel.

As for saying a place is how you make it, yes, it can be, we love it here, but it doesnt mean we dont miss friends (and I mean long term good friends) and family.

Whether you've been before or not doesnt make a whole lot of difference to how you will feel once you actually land here to live, forever... I know a couple who'd been here a few times, not just on holiday but backpacking for a year as well, and they have gone back after just over a year as she was very homesick.

I'm not trying to be funny, or argumentative, just point out that we all sit in the UK in our old lives reading posts and thinking "that will not be me" but actually you may find it turns out that it is. As I said previously, took two years, the birth of our baby and DH's job woes to make me question why we came, what was different.

JMHO

BadgeIsBack

Indeed- people love to hear stories about London etc, as many have travelled we swap stories - but it's the people that refuse to integrate at all I find strange or spend half a life fighting their new place of residence with some sort of resentment.

I can honestly say that our closest friends are Aussies. We have more in common - but frankly, that's down to the way we choose to live, not nationality at all. For one thing, I find that Brit blokes want to talk about soccer all the time, and compare what they have, in general, and I just don't do that. Little things like that, whereas our Aussie mates have an interest in the land, bushfire, farming, engineering, semi-rural life etc.

*Noone* I know drinks VB, has a ute AND a hat. That would be like your lotto numbers coming up.

BTW, we know one family, (Aussie) would seem quite eccentric to some, but they are great, and they all wear hats - not the farmer style one but a sort of 19th century pastoral ensemble. I've described it as that, and they like and agree with it. We went to visit them and they all came out wearing them.
At least a hat keeps the sun off your face. A lot of Aussies and Brits wear baseball caps when mowing but I think you can do better that so I use an Akruba for mowing because it makes sense, and my wife would object if I didn't(!)

BadgeIsBack

You also get more variety of colours in Australia.

moneypenny20

Green and gold here.