Paul2004

Indeed, but we have medical reasons too so it just makes so much sense!

Paul2004

Oh too true! my kids are in an excellent school which was very hard to get them into. I'm sure many ppl around me think we are just crazy as we don't have it too bad here, but if it aint right, it just aint!

remember I'm doing the risky route of Study to PR so may very well HAVE to return after 2 yrs, but a 2 yr holiday in Oz sounds good to me if that's what it all boils down too!

TraceyandPeter

Hi there,
Took the kiddies to the zoo today. Jess is three and Sam 19 months old. Weather was really lovely early this morning so we headed off with a plan. Arrived at Zoo, paid £30 for two adults and weather started to take a turn for the worse. It started to get freezing. Tried to make the most of it along with the other families eating their butties with their woolly hats and fingerless gloves and decided that enough was enough. My little boy had two candlesticks running from his nose and was shaking and I couldn't feel my hands.
We saw three elephants, a lion and some monkeys.
Say's it all really. You just can't plan to do anything here can you? And before anyone has a go, I know it rains in Oz (sometimes)
Tracey

Merlot

One thing me and hubby have noticed in comparision to Australia is the cost of a day out here, even visiting National Trust places, then parking, then eating out if you don't pack a picnic. If you do pack a picnic, find somewhere free to eat it (not a roadside layby).

Downside of going out in Oz, can do it really cheap . . beach, national park, etc BUT this gets a little mundane.

Don't forget the suncream in Oz

M

bondipom

YOUR KIDS WILL BE FINE IN UK. The main advantage in Oz for them is some warmer weather and more swimming. Education and Uni etc are similiar, ie depends on where you live and are educated. Just remember the Oz government needs to bring in 110,000 migrants a year because of the failures of the system to create enough skilled locals.

You then have to ask why 1/20th of the Australian population lives overseas. Most studies have shown it is for career and development opportunites unavailable in Oz.

My gran emigrated to South Africa in the late sixties saying Britain was sinking, immigrants, going to the dogs blah blah. She returned last year.

Those that go on about sinking Britain and who fail to settle in Oz IMO will have the toughest time. In the meantime there are some very successful migrants to Britain.

Paul2004

Exactly!



I think an Aussie I had in the cab not long ago sumed it up well. He said in the 6 months he'd been in the UK (ok, London which isn't the cheepest place to live!) he learnt very fast that to live a DECENT life you HAVE TO have money! in Oz, him and his family COULD live a decent enough life, have plenty of good days out, with a MODEST wage!

I don't wanna be rich, I don't wanna have it all! but a day out like today I had, with a good few hours down at the park, walking along the canal with my lot, the kids grandad, and the dog, well it just cost nowt and WAS a real good day!

WEATHER WAS FINE THO!!! ........ never a guarantee here as we all know!

Storini

I have to say I really like how friendly Ozzies are in general, it makes life so much more agreeable. Try smiling at someone on the London tube - they'll move away as you clearly must be a "tube crazy".

Merlot

Wasn't that Spike Milligan's Dads push for him & his family moving to Oz, seeing a "blackie" driving a bus (sorry not PC, just very 1950s Britain speak)

Paul2004

I've said on here b4, and I know, i sound like a creep!

but!! .......... myself and partner have NEVER fallen out or even had a heated debate with anyone from Oz. I'm a cabbie in london and will have at least 2 or 3 Aussies in the cab throught my night shift. As soon as I hear the Oz accent, I'm off!! ...lol, bending their ear about life in Oz.

NEVER EVER come across a single Aussie who has told me I'd hate it there!

General consensus is I will love it, but not as much as my kids will!

What more can I say!

Merlot

Our personal experience for me & hubby, no kids is that Australia we got more for our money and I could afford to work part time, here I possibly could if we wanted to eat fresh air and have no loo roll

I sincerely agree with the senitment of the UK being nothing but bloody bills.

M

Amazulu

I've said it before, go for the pull of Oz, not the push of the UK. Australia has all of the problems of the UK (apart from the weather), some better, some worse. If you think you are escaping problems in the UK, you might find the same problems down there.

People have been saying the UK is finished for decades. It isn't & probably never will be. UK is a land of massive opportunity, so is Australia.

MrsB

Well, from somebody who is already here: we left for exactly the same reasons. I thought of everything I would NOT miss, like weather, I didn't think about things I would miss. All I would say is to give it a go, it really does depend on your circumstances, but leave a door open incase you want to come back. Because you can't really tell until you are living here. I personally want to go back to England in 2 years when I have my citizenship. I really miss my family, and my kids are being deprived of their grandparents etc. I can't just hop in a car and go and see my mum and dad. Have you read the "homesick" threads ?? We are far worse off here financially than in the uk. Taxes here are high, and you have to pay $54 just to visit the doctor (ok you get about $30 back). My husband is finding their work ethic totally different. Its so samey here, no history, no culture. Think of how many holiday destinations you can do from Europe, and how many from here? Everyone is different, I know people who have been here years, others who stayed a week, and I've heard of someone who got back on the plane after a couple of hours!!!
Well good luck anyway, everyone is different, but don't burn your bridges

Paul2004

ouch!

Mercedes

Reading some of the comments, if you are leaving UK because of immigration, crime, yobs blah blah you will also find it in Australia. If you don't like "foreigners" you are going to be very rudely woken up as your neighbours could be Chinese, Japanese, Vietmese, Italian, Somalian, Indian blah blah. From talking to a friends out there they think the social problems have been come quite bad especially with kids. Police complain about kids roaming and committing crime and some are under 10 and they feel helpless in dealing with some of the problems. Drugs is a big problem out there also, in some places children are illiterate due to poor education. People also forget distances, the nearest cities down south are no less that 9 hours driving, so if you can't get work in one place you literally have to up sticks, unlike UK where you can easily commute. Some people do feel islolated and if you have a family it is expensive to go back home and with exchange rates people have lost a lot of money in going back. If you can't get work or are not multi skilled awhat are you going to do? If you are used to family and friends support you have to remember if the shit hits the fan you are completely on your own. People don't always realise that. Its easy to say hell if it doesn't work out I'll go somewhere else...but if you have no money it isn't always an option and some people do get trapped and it is their reality, moreso if they have a family. Some Australians think Australia also has gone to the dogs hence why they live in other countries.

Stormz

She probably made the wrong choice. My wife`s parents had the choice of the £10 boat trips to either S.A. or Aus in the 60`s, and they chose Aus. Dunno why they went to Perth though... maybe because it was the first stop in Aus from S`ton. Personally I`d have gone east, but maybe I`m just dissilusioned with Perth as I was born there and spent some latter teen years there and found it very boring.

I don`t hate the UK. I hate some parts of living in the UK (anything to do with money really.... taxes are a killer), the Chavs, the seeming open-door immigration policy (which in turn leads to lack of affordable housing and more strain on public resources).... but overall I like living in the UK... the history, the travel opportunities, the beautiful scenery, the entertainment. In Oz the lifestyle is more relaxed and the weather may be better, but it has no history to visit, and I don`t find it beautiful except for the beaches. International class entertainment just doesn`t make it there that often (especially Perth).
I`ll miss the UK, but know my kids will have a better future in most ways in Oz, and they can always come to the UK if they want to once they are old enough.