Holiday update.
Dec 28th 2003, 3:25 pm
#1
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Holiday update.
Lots of comments about lack of posts here, so I shall bore you some more with my holiday rundown.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.
Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely
We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
Dec 28th 2003, 3:58 pm
#2
Y Ddraig Goch
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Body is in Brissie. Heart and soul has long flown home.
Posts: 3,722
Re: Holiday update.
Originally posted by dotty
Lots of comments about lack of posts here, so I shall bore you some more with my holiday rundown.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.
Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
Lots of comments about lack of posts here, so I shall bore you some more with my holiday rundown.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely
We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
welcome back, sounds as if you've enjoyed yourself. You missed a lovely warm Christmas here - today and yesterday is a lot cooler - Christmas and boxing day was "lovely and hot". Hubby went out on boxing day and forked out for an aircon for the whole house , still to be fitted though(we've only got the bedrooms airconditioned) - heat must of got to him for him to part with money
Merry Christmas.. I'm going home to sleep- bl**dy streaming eyes, nose - look like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer - humbug
"what you get colds/flu in Aus??? "
cheers
Dec 28th 2003, 3:58 pm
#3
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Where were you so we can put it in perspective?
I am trying to remember a motorway near a city in Britain that moves at Rush Hour.
What equivalent of a Black are you referring to in Australia?
I am trying to remember a motorway near a city in Britain that moves at Rush Hour.
What equivalent of a Black are you referring to in Australia?
Dec 28th 2003, 4:00 pm
#4
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,861
Hiya Dotty,
Welcome back! I freely admit I am green with envy as I wish I could have spent Christmas in the UK. Not cos I dislike Oz or want to move back or anything, but because I had a pretty lousy time overall and longed to be with my mates. Maybe 2005.......
Anyway, interested to read your experiences - can't wait to see The Office Special - New Years Day here on UKTV. Am currently working my way through 10 hours of Hyacinth taped on Christmas Day. I miss the amount of choice in supermarkets, but I'm learning to accept it. The Move to the Sun docos I always thought were so funny - had to be watched tongue-in-cheek, but I feel sorry for people who have never been to Oz and believe everything they see on them.
in some places they get bonus payments for results! When visiting my dad in bath we have to park in a commuter car park at £2 an hour! Insane!
Brighton and Bath
Brighton - my Bloke was horrified, especially at the way that people (including adults) eat burgers in the street then drop the papers where they stand.
Every time the figures rise, the way of counting the crimes is changed - like some become "non-reportable" or else the definition of an offence changes....sounds suspicious? I used to type up some of the figures, every few months the terms of refernce would change! And no-one worries cos theres nothing they can do about it.
None of their clothes fitted me anyway....though I do miss Evans (where I was one of the slimmer shoppers, that used to do my ego good!!)
Glad you had fun - maybe we can get together now you're back?
Happy New Thingy-bob
Welcome back! I freely admit I am green with envy as I wish I could have spent Christmas in the UK. Not cos I dislike Oz or want to move back or anything, but because I had a pretty lousy time overall and longed to be with my mates. Maybe 2005.......
Anyway, interested to read your experiences - can't wait to see The Office Special - New Years Day here on UKTV. Am currently working my way through 10 hours of Hyacinth taped on Christmas Day. I miss the amount of choice in supermarkets, but I'm learning to accept it. The Move to the Sun docos I always thought were so funny - had to be watched tongue-in-cheek, but I feel sorry for people who have never been to Oz and believe everything they see on them.
Parking meter men
Where the hell have all the beggars gone?
Wheres all the litter
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Next.
Glad you had fun - maybe we can get together now you're back?
Happy New Thingy-bob
Dec 28th 2003, 4:15 pm
#5
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Sydney has caught up with the parking inspectors. I think Waverley council earnt 35 million dollars in parking fines in a year.
Dec 28th 2003, 4:20 pm
#6
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Originally posted by bondipom
Where were you so we can put it in perspective?
I am trying to remember a motorway near a city in Britain that moves at Rush Hour.
What equivalent of a Black are you referring to in Australia?
Where were you so we can put it in perspective?
I am trying to remember a motorway near a city in Britain that moves at Rush Hour.
What equivalent of a Black are you referring to in Australia?
Peak hour traffic would be same anywhere I guess, even on the Sunny Coast! Dont think that could ever be avoided. However most of the considerable time in the car was at 80 mile an hour with most people overtaking us. Usually we were driving early morning tho.
Question 3, OZ mates are from QLD, hanging out with a POM is daring anything more than a suntan attracts stares
I am sure OZ friends will soon recover from us dropping them off at pub in Brixton Only joking.
Dec 28th 2003, 4:30 pm
#7
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Polly, had to laugh at your comments on the Parking mens bonus. We arrived from OZ, parked at me parents, had no UK change, mum had to run in to get the jam jar she collects coins in to rescue visitors, by then, parking man is onto us and our car, saying you have just arrived from OZ is no excuse it seems, mum dives in with the jam jar just in time!! She reckons, they have bonus schemes like a free telly for every so hundred tickets!! Fines were starting at 70 quid or something mad. Anyway the parking man then warned us to be gone in 2 hours or he'd have us booked. Next day we see the same guy being severly hassled by 3 removal van men, looked like a punch up was about to start, no way was he going to let them unload. Talk about keen!
Dec 28th 2003, 5:01 pm
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by dotty
I am sure OZ friends will soon recover from us dropping them off at pub in Brixton Only joking.
I am sure OZ friends will soon recover from us dropping them off at pub in Brixton
Only joking.
Dec 28th 2003, 5:02 pm
#9
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,861
Sounds like Brighton! When the council first took over the parking from the police, about 4 years ago, the wardens put tickets on everything, even if it was parked legally. Theory being that so many people were tourists they would pay up cos they just didn't know the law in Brighton. It worked, the council made thousands till someone leaked it to the papers.
They also have this cock-eyed voucher system across half the town - buy a voucher from a shop, and you can park in a bay for £1 an hour. Trouble is that in order to find the tiny minority of shops that sell the vouchers, you have to park somewhere.... catch 22! And none of the shops are in the areas where the vouchers are valid.......
They also have this cock-eyed voucher system across half the town - buy a voucher from a shop, and you can park in a bay for £1 an hour. Trouble is that in order to find the tiny minority of shops that sell the vouchers, you have to park somewhere.... catch 22! And none of the shops are in the areas where the vouchers are valid.......
Dec 28th 2003, 8:12 pm
#10
We arrived november 2004
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Meadows (Adelaide)
Posts: 408
Originally posted by Pollyana
They also have this cock-eyed voucher system across half the town - buy a voucher from a shop, and you can park in a bay for £1 an hour. Trouble is that in order to find the tiny minority of shops that sell the vouchers, you have to park somewhere.... catch 22! And none of the shops are in the areas where the vouchers are valid.......
They also have this cock-eyed voucher system across half the town - buy a voucher from a shop, and you can park in a bay for £1 an hour. Trouble is that in order to find the tiny minority of shops that sell the vouchers, you have to park somewhere.... catch 22! And none of the shops are in the areas where the vouchers are valid.......
Sounds just like Canterbury. Work have also cottoned on as well charge you for parking you can then rearly find a space. Never park in the graved parking area it might say 4hrs but you get a parking ticket within an hour. You have to ask do they want you to work.
Sarah
Dec 29th 2003, 8:00 am
#11
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 102
re holiday update
Dotty
Glad to see you back,when are you going for good.
You didn,t miss much while you were away,the heat and humidity nearly killed us ,have to get air conditioning.
Houses and land gone up in price in Gympie,so should get a good price for our one acre blocks,busy cleaning them up then we will renovate the house,its got 30 beautiful acres.
Getting the animals done in March,have to take them to vet in Nambour.
I do hope we will be going next year,does anyone know if its easy to rent with animals,2 dogs,3 cats,going to Beautiful Devon
Glad to see you back,when are you going for good.
You didn,t miss much while you were away,the heat and humidity nearly killed us ,have to get air conditioning.
Houses and land gone up in price in Gympie,so should get a good price for our one acre blocks,busy cleaning them up then we will renovate the house,its got 30 beautiful acres.
Getting the animals done in March,have to take them to vet in Nambour.
I do hope we will be going next year,does anyone know if its easy to rent with animals,2 dogs,3 cats,going to Beautiful Devon
Dec 29th 2003, 8:33 am
#12
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Dream life UK....
Posts: 2,912
Re: re holiday update
Originally posted by pomijean
Dotty
Glad to see you back,when are you going for good.
You didn,t miss much while you were away,the heat and humidity nearly killed us ,have to get air conditioning.
Houses and land gone up in price in Gympie,so should get a good price for our one acre blocks,busy cleaning them up then we will renovate the house,its got 30 beautiful acres.
Getting the animals done in March,have to take them to vet in Nambour.
I do hope we will be going next year,does anyone know if its easy to rent with animals,2 dogs,3 cats,going to Beautiful Devon
Dotty
Glad to see you back,when are you going for good.
You didn,t miss much while you were away,the heat and humidity nearly killed us ,have to get air conditioning.
Houses and land gone up in price in Gympie,so should get a good price for our one acre blocks,busy cleaning them up then we will renovate the house,its got 30 beautiful acres.
Getting the animals done in March,have to take them to vet in Nambour.
I do hope we will be going next year,does anyone know if its easy to rent with animals,2 dogs,3 cats,going to Beautiful Devon
If we can handle the rest of summer (urgh) we will stay for one last winter which is lovely here then off we go if all goes to plan. Good news for you that your land has gone up, sounds like you should end up affording a nice place in the UK. We have been back twice in 12 months now and I have little doubt that its the best place for us, think you will be pleasantly surprised jean. Good luck
Dec 30th 2003, 1:44 am
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Going home at last-now we know where that is !
Posts: 1,040
Re: Holiday update.
Dotty,
Glad you had a good holiday,
When are you going back?
Tell me-where are these houses with acerage for good money-would be intersted to know!
What are your reasons for going back?
Glad you had a good holiday,
When are you going back?
Tell me-where are these houses with acerage for good money-would be intersted to know!
What are your reasons for going back?
Originally posted by dotty
Lots of comments about lack of posts here, so I shall bore you some more with my holiday rundown.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.
Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
Lots of comments about lack of posts here, so I shall bore you some more with my holiday rundown.
Likes and dislikes in no particular order from 30 days in UKers.
Petrol prices, mental, however obviously far less klms driven given the Oz and UK averages and the option of partners and kids using public transport instead of the need for 4 cars like us here!
Driving in the cities, lunacy.
Parking meter men, they chase you down the road literally
we had to pay to park to visit my parents, seemed really weird.
Ready meals, sorry I didnt take to such silly prices to avoid a bit of cooking.
Paying for local phone calls by the minute not a flat rate.
London house prices a bit too silly now, probably no worse than Sydney tho I suppose.
Good bits.
Nowhere near as expensive as it used to be, think it may well be a case of OZ getting more expensive tho, plus all the open competition in the UK takes the edge off prices, eg, food stores, so many supermarket chains not like the monopoly of two here.
Things to do, sorry but as a Londoner I really could find hundreds of options for a rainy day.
Not finding a Macdonalds/KFC etc on every corner, seems to be less of a junk food lifestyle.
Dream airfares, travelholics dream.
Shops so much choice of everything.
People, I really did expect to find them cold and unfriendly (from comments on here) however we must have been lucky, people really helpful not in that fake Yanky way, but just genuinely helpful.
Racial acceptance, imagine the look of our two aussie mates travelling with us when I went up to a big black londoner fella and asked him for directions, their faces showed that would not happen here.
Jobs, (almost total employment was what we read) certainly seemed to be masses of work there.
The motorways, cars that move, makes me feel like people are driving electric wheelchairs trying to get anywhere here.
Bits I am confused about.
Where the hell have all the beggars gone? My mum seemed to think there was a law now to stop them, we never saw one in the whole month??
Wheres all the litter, take Oxford street, you need to dodge the road sweepers that seem to go up and down continually, London seems much cleaner these days?
Crime?, down 25% according to the papers nobody we met seemed to be that worried about it at all.
Funny bits.
The weather, cause everyone on here moans about it, I really tried to take some notice instead of just enjoying my huge appreciation of not being boiling hot for eight months of the year. Anyway out of 30 days we only had 4 days of rain! Plus we had some ice, but it was so beautiful as we were out in the country I could not have cared less. Sorry folks but most of the time it was lovely
We must have been very lucky or is it just that england does not really have uncomfortable extremes.Move to the sun docos. OMG what a laugh, I should do a post on these alone!! Look as someone who has lived in OZ may I say there really is some bullshit on them, we saw 4 on OZ. One showed beautiful cheap houses, destination Queensland, however it hilariously missed that the location Port Douglas is about 22 hours drive from Brisbane!!!!!! Or that the only work there is basically seasonal tourism. Another boasted of OZes sparse population giving us 6 miles per aussie. Great shit as long as you dont mind taking up a spot in a 55 degree desert with no water or electricity?? Population density map anyone?
Anyway I am sure your getting the piccy.
Bit I was most impressed with.
Freedom of information, or ease of getting it. Stuff we just dont get published here, School performance, hospital infection rates, how many cars get nicked in your area etc etc, so much more open on the info side of stuff.
Houses just 10/15 mile outside of major cities, Poms think this is a long way out, we think its nothing, houses on acerage in these areas seem very reasonable.
The office christmas special.
Curry.
Next.
