.....coming on reccie to actually living here???

jan xx

There have been a few posters such as Arkon who loved the place on their reccie, but hated it once they moved.

not sure what you mean but I guess the same as where you are now, imagine going on a holiday to where you live and compare it to living there.

it is hard as I reckon you tend to see things through holiday eyes, good if you can visit people who live there and see everyday life.

VERY different! In a nutshell....It's surreal at first it feels like a holiday, then it's real, then emotions kick in, then as time goes by and you meet people, make friends start work and appreciate where you are then hopefully you settle down. Karen.x

It is very different as a reccie is like being on holiday so be warned it can be a shock to the system at first but many people seem to find their feet relatively quickly and appear to be very happy with their lot.

Sue

The same as the UK but warmer

So is a reccie a waste of time and money? We didn't do one, had never been to Oz before we moved here, but we didn't have kids then and could do stupid thing like that

everyone is different personally I could not move to a country I hadnt visited, if it was just a couple of hours away I may be different but not all that way.

we were lucky cos our first visit was for 6 months and I was in total shock for the first month just nothing how I imagined it would be.

I loved it by the end

but we didn't have kids then and could do stupid thing like that [/QUOTE]

Oi! we have a daughter yet we came over without having been to Australia before! only knew one other family here in Brisbane but have been here over 2 years and have never looked back!
Rach x

6 Months would be worth it, but not many people can do that.

yes I know said I was lucky, OH decided to take a gap year

Seems that most people who have never seen the place love it and stay.

Oi! we have a daughter yet we came over without having been to Australia before! only knew one other family here in Brisbane but have been here over 2 years and have never looked back!
Rach x[/QUOTE]

This is good advice if you can do it.

We went to Perth and Sydney two years ago and many of the myths of cheap, carefree living were culled at that point. We stayed with family and a very vocal, complaining BIL to boot!

I saw and acknowledged all of the elements of Australia that many people have problems with on the forum. Both places visited seemed more sterile than I had imagined, had sprawling suburbia, alcohol was expensive, eating out was not cheap but was better quality and value for money, lots of soul-less food courts, poor driving etc. I came away quite undecided and it has taken a while to come back round to moving.

I know think a reccie with people already living in Australia is probably the best thing we ever did, as it gave us a more of a balanced view of what life was really like there. We did not expect it to be so expensive for example or to have the same whinges with the government or the same drains on society as we complain of here, you do perform the same tasks every day but perhaps in a nicer environment, with some added quality, weekends that can be relied on etc.

The fantastic feeling that you are here to stay and you don't have to count down the days to a flight back to a place you've been meticulously planning to leave for years.