I think he means bean counter...as in accountant.

why the cocky answer? can i not ask questions? isnt this what this website is for?

not a term i konw. number cruncher yes. thank you anyway. no wonder he only has 1 thank you box

It's quite possible he only has 1 karma box because he's given it all away. Or has spent it in the stock market. And the little blue boxes are not just for "thank you", but any message related to a particular post. Lots of people get "you're a wanker" messages through karma too.

Sounds like you should go back to the UK, but I wonder if you go back will it be what you remember? Always a problem when you go back and forth! Good luck either way.

ok fair enough

Yes, but its also for friendly banter - would be a very boring place if there was no humour around

and there was me thinking that the barbie was for humour and this website for serious questions.

sorry if i got that wrong

Its all one website! This discussion itself is called a thread, and that is inside a forum - the Australia forum.

The Australia forum - which your thread is currently in, is for questions/observations about Australia and its lifestyle - they are sometimes serious, sometimes funny. Threads have a life of their own and there is absolutely nothing wrong with humour. With the sort of question you asked initially, you have got off very lightly I think (as you will know if you have been browsing for several weeks.....)
The Barbie is for more off-toppic discussions, some light-hearted, some extremely serious, not necessarily anything to do with Australia. Some of the saddest and most thought-provoking threads turn up in the Barbie, they are "life-related" rather than "Australia-related". This thread really belongs in there, some may feel......and I'm not guaranteeing that another mod won't move it there later.
Then there is the Immigration forum, for serious discussion of visa/migration topics - but even that has its humorous moments.

After all, laughter, even hysterical, is still laughter, and the world would be a worse place without it.

If you are thinking of coming home and working as a carpenter forget it housing market crashing banks wont lend money many builders going bust and others have stopped building and laying off in short dont come back just yey

Lots of people feel the same as you. Unfortunately the UK you left is not the UK you will return to.
As already mentioned, we're about to enter a recession. (part of a worldwide one, if you believe the economists)
The housing market is in a terrible state, nobody can sell their house. Repossessions are on the increase and if you want a mortgage, it is harder and harder to come by. Redundancies are becoming common place... and it appears that many have been living on credit for too long, and now cannot honour the monthly payments.
The price of the weekly shop has increased by 40% and is only going to go up more and more. I heard on Radio 4 that meat is expected to increase by 60% over the next year as the price of livestock feed has increased due to the grain price explosion. (which is predicted to drop again next year... but the meat price will remain high If you are old enough you will remember the price of coffee increasing like this one year and it's stayed high ever since.
Fuel prices are set to increase by 70% in the next 12 months too so the heating bill will be astronomical. It may come to some people having to choose between being warm and being fed this winter
Nothing is perfect, things change, and not always for the better. Please don't return to the UK with a rose coloured image of how life used to be.

I'm not saying that things are any different in Australia, basically everywhere has it's drawbacks and advantages. What you have to decide is which set of pro's and con's is most acceptable to you!

No I wouldn't return if you paid me. I personally find Australia very all its cracked up to be if your expectations are realistic in the first place.

To think that Australia is cheap, the sun always shines and life's problems are confiscated at customs on entry is, I suspect, why many people feel that its not what they expect.

Its what you make it and the reasons that you left the UK are still there too.

OMG,I;m daft,i had never even noticed the blue boxes.
donna

After 6 YRS!!!

Yes,sorry,i'm not very observant.Surely those little blue boxes have not been ther 6 years! Have they?