Good Luck NKSK2

Ste

Surely it depends on what job you do in the UK? Not everyone will be doing the same job in Australia as what they currently do or dont do in the UK

Reality is new arrivals dont usually walk into goldmines , or well paying jobs/business ops that hundred of locals would be chasing.

More commmon would be a step down in income for immigrants, while you get a foot it the door, or start to build up the contacts and repuation in the shark pool that is a business/trades.

Now I am sure having posted that someone will come along saying they arrived and walked into a job thats paying 20X what they got in the UK but its not usually the norm.

An excellent post.

I'm sure if I'd ended up living in a sterile, new housing estate I'd be packing my bags by now - luckily we found a beautiful hidden gem of a village which is just perfect for families with young children. However, may not be so perfect when they are teenagers - I will always monitor the situation and if we ever need to move on, we will

In fact, I've always had an urge to retire to Italy - so who knows.....

Good luck!

Yes, it's all about choosing the right place to live. One suburb or area can be a totally different experience to another. The suburb I live in Melbourne is totally different experience to what NSKS is describing.

People should think long and hard before going to live in the far flung new estates with no infrastructure and no public transport. They can be very isolating and bland. Yes, you get a bigger house for your buck but is that the most important thing. I live in one of Melbourne's middle suburbs (about 18 kilometres from the CBD) and I feel no sense of isolation, no blandness here, friendly people, great community atmosphere, local shops where everyone knows your name, excellent schools, lots to do, etc.

Good luck NSKS with your next move wherever that may be.

That was a very honest post without a hint of bitterness - thank you for sharing your views.

I don't know your circumstances but you sound like a career expat? Did you envisage that Australia was "it", i.e., forever? Asking with selfish motives here, as we're on our way next week after six years in Sg and people keep asking us the same. We hope it is, but we're childless and mobile and the world is an exciting place - so who knows?

Life is an adventure. Wishing you luck in the next phase of yours.

Thanks for all the positive replies.

I doubt that we'll be leaving soon but the leap of faith towards accepting and wanting a move has been the key.

I accept all the (financial) criticisms of the UK. As said, this is not my first choice destination BUT to give you an idea, the exact equivalent of my job in the UK would be earning at least 15000GBP more (in terms of total package) than what I earn here. This would cover quite a lot of the additional expense of living in the UK.

Comments about the far flung suburbs. I disagree with the setiment of this - we are not in a far flung suburb (unless you consider 15kms from the CBD as far flung) and we are 5 mins from the train and freeway. And there are closer suburbs that are equally devoid of any character. I'm not talking about Ellenbrook (a suburb renowned for infratsructure difficulties) here. But bland, bland, bland. (I realise that aesthetics is always going to be subjective)

Career expat - yes I do wonder about this. We came to Australia with the attitude of it being a "2 year contract". In that time I've wavered between thinking that it could be permanent or that I want to leave tomorrow. It is a bit of a worry though - with regard to pensions and career. I reckon that if I'd stayed in the UK and not done the expat bit I'd be a headteacher by now (assuming of course that I wanted it!) - but what a boring existence - for me and my kids.

I thought that there'd been a mistake when I opened my first pay slip.

Great post. I heard a muslim woman on the radio the other week. She was absolutely fed up the back teeth of all the implied criticism. She was far more intelligent that the talkback host. This guy (Howard Sattler for those of you who know Perth) is constantly making "I just want to know what you think" comments when all he means is "lets stir it up a bit"

But you'll miss Bunnings
Good luck to you and your family in whatever you decide

Everything is "Made in China" and extremely overpriced.No value for your money in Australia and there is no buying power in Australia Dollar as well.

It could be a Perth thing then. It is according to my cousin who just spent 2 years in Perth for work reasons and could not wait to get back to Melbourne. He thought Perth was boring and overpriced but he is a young guy so his needs would be different to those with families. He was so excited to be coming back to Melbourne that when he finallly drove over the border from S.A. to Victoria he got out of the car at the border sign and leapt into the air with excitement. He missed a lot about Melbourne - decent newspapers, shops that open after 5pm, culture, intelligent discussion on radio, good coffee. But not everyone is looking for those things so it just depends on your needs.

Isn't almost everything in the world 'made in China' these days? Whether you are in the U.K., Europe, Aust or U.S. you will find the 'made in China' tag on the majority of things you buy except for food. The Australian Dollar is almost on par with the U.S. dollar now so you can't say it has no buying power.

Not only the tag matters but the quality of these products is crap (Overpriced).We can buy better quality back in India in less money.

Well said Brenda. "Islamaphobia" seems to be spreading all over the western world as fast as the flu!
NKSK - Wishing you all the best with whatever you do.