paulry

The same as Dot said. Also, Australia must surely be a nicer place to raise children from young. A shame we missed that.

toodlepip

Our children were 6 and 3 when we came here. To be honest our family life changed for the better when I went back to work and we had more money to do things with them. Nothing to do with Australia as such, it was great to go exploring and discover new places but the novelty of it wore off after time. I remember being struck by there being lots of nice playgrounds here for them, but going back to the UK last year and spending time with my nephews & niece I think there have been improvements there.

I wouldn't say they spent more time outdoors than they would in England. In fact less in some ways, going for a bike ride or playing sport in temperatures above 30C doesn't appeal to either of them. My son in particular loves his electronic gadgets and spends most of his leisure time on them.

I think Australia is great for young kids, I don't see much difference for older kids - people are telling me my kids will suffer from being taken back, there's a lot of talk of 'the outdoor life' but like I said, I don't think mine spend anymore time outside here than they would back in England, possibly less given the heat in summer.

Sandra

Nothing at all to do with the country - as others have said same same. What I feel we gained by emigration was a closer family unit, me hubby and two young adults now are closer than I think we would have been - but that is highly subjective to us - because of spending time as a single family unit and having to have the adventure by ourselves as we found our feet and made decisions in a different place. We also went through shit times without the support of family to gain that reliance on each other. My migration was an adventure plan not a lifestyle improvement plan - I could of done that in the UK.

Our children will head back to Europe over time as they see greater advantages there for themselves. I also want to do that but we are riding the wave of some very hard work years so hubby having a bit more of a ball / relax before he would consider a more perm move.

The better climate is only better when you can do things in it (afford it in terms of money and time) as a previous poster said. Seriously the only time I have a tan is when I go overseas on holiday.

sjz

I guess it depends on what you call quality of life and what you want for your kids growing up. The problem is that everyone on this board will answer these questions differently.

If your idea of a great childhood for your kids is that they had more time to kick a ball around outside or swim at the beach then aussie might be the choice – assuming you can afford to live close enough to a beach here. Otherwise I’m not sure if I’ve found any advantages. There is certainly nothing I can do here on the weekend that I couldn’t do in the UK. I got rained on on the golf course in the UK, blown off the course in Wellington and sunburnt and dehydrated on the courses here. My scores haven’t improved…

I’m not sure of your family situation but as an example, due to distance, my 2 year old son has no contact with cousins or grandparents – this may or may not be important to you but IMO shifting a young family to Aus just because the weather is better doesn’t make much sense.

If you’ve identified that there really are better job opportunities for you here then that’s different – that can have a bigger impact on your life than anything else I’ve found.

There are many people on this board with kids older than mine that run down the aussie schooling system. Plus there is the accent they'd be stuck with from their formative years...

Forget the little questions - ask the big questions... Do you have any family in this country or any likely to move here if you do? Do you see Aus as the place you’d want to spend the rest of your days? If you get your kids into the school system here will you want to move them? If not, would you feel like you’re then stuck here for 20 years? Are the job opportunities you refer to here so good that you can afford 5 airline tickets back to the UK every time you want to take a holiday back home?

Best of luck…

Tubbs2Oz

Our lives have changed for the better, but we really needed a change. My husband works the same hours but has a much longer commute so he leaves before 7am and gets back after 7pm during the week, and he absolutely hates the train journey. I don't think it's that bad, but I only do it a couple of times a week to uni. He was really tired (and a bit grumpy!) at first, but has got used to it now and loves the weekends more for it.

We came over when our boys were 4 and 2 and they are doing so well. I love the fact that everyone is so accepting of children over here. If your child is having a tantrum in the supermarket (not that mine have thankfully) people just smile in sympathy. I have caught myself apologising for them when they're climbing railings at the checkout to be told they're just being kids. When we moved into our new house there were four kids screaming in our backyard, again the neighbours said they're just kids and that they liked hearing them play.

In terms of outdoors stuff, my husband does canoe slalom and has just started doing that again, but has to drive over an hour to Penrith for it. He loves it though so that's cool. We have the potential to get out more for walks and trips to the park. I love the way that when people meet at the park, they take a whole picnic of morning tea with flasks of tea/coffee with them and spend hours down there. Things like that happen a lot more than they ever would in England and they are the sort of things that will directly affect you with your young children. People have kids parties at the local park and just throw a few sausages on the free BBQ there, the adults drink beer at the park while the kids run around in a fenced enclosure!

The other non outdoors thing that I love is the schooling. I love the fact that they are flexible enough to let one child do much harder work than the others in one subject so that they don't get bored. Everything feels really relaxed, but it may just be the area we're in.

We basically decided that if we were going to do it, we had to give it a go while the kids were young. We have already said that we will stay at least for the four years to get citizenship so that even if (very unlikely) we decide to return home, not only would we be able to come back to Oz, but the kids could freely move between the two countries when they're older too.

Good luck.

Bix

I often smile to myself when I read advice on the lines of "don't emigrate just for the weather". The climate all over Australia can be harsh in one way or another so the advice is actually borne out of good intentions.

The climate was not the uppermost consideration in our decision to move here and in fact we were a little in trepidation of it. However I have come to realise over the years that it is a very major factor in why we like it so much here.

Being able to plan things with 95% certainty that the weather will not hinder it is great and living (almost) all year round in shorts is in itself a very satisfying thing.

Waking up to bright daylight is a tonic and warms the spirit. No room for SAD thank you.

We are oop North and get the monsoon rains but I even find that to be therapeutic. Warm rain? Who ever heard of such a thing.

So on hindsight would I emigrate just for the weather?
Hell no.
But it can and does make a bloomin big difference to life on a daily basis.

TKline

Health has improved a fair bit. Used to suffer from a bit of athsma and bronchitis back in the damp chilly homeland.

barnsleylass

Many thanks for your words of wisdom - they have been extremely helpful.

To answer some of your queries:

- We were after positive responses as we have already read quite a lot of negative ones. We wanted a bit of balance. We know that there will be +'s and -'s but we need to see which way the scales tip for us.

- We have tried to achieve the ultimate active lifestyle in the UK by moving to the Northumberland coast. We spend lots of time as a family taking the kids to the beach, farms, play areas, castles, museums etc but the weather always seems to spoil our enjoyment. We took them to a farm last Sunday. It cost £18 for us all to get in. It started to rain as soon as we got there and didn't stop. We left wet and miserable after an hour. Unfortunately this is fairly typical. It is very frustrating to live in a beautiful place and not to be able to take advantage of it due to cold/rain/winds.

- Family support isn't really an issue as we don't get much help in the UK. 99% of the time it's us and the kids. Our friends are scattered around the country and we are lucky if we get to see them once a year.

- We have already lived in London, Cambridgeshire, South & West Yorkshire before moving to Northumberland and don't want to move back down south. Its just not for us.

- Job prospects/security are much better in Oz for my husbands work (broadcast technology). He will be better paid and there are lots of potential employers in Sydney where we want to live. If he lost his job in the UK we would be forced to relocate down south (see comment above!). My job prospects are also better if I want to work full time. We could afford to live near the beach and take advantage of an active lifestyle.

A lot of you refer to the heat as a deterrent to an active lifestyle and I am very interested in this. We have only lived through one Sydney summer which we found glorious but maybe that wasn't typical or is the heat much more of a factor further north?

I've also heard a few people now refer to the 'blandness' of Australia. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Again many thanks for your replies - we feel that little bit closer to making a decision now!

Sally x

Turban Explorer

Before moving here my OH and I certainly took the European culture for granted. As we did how much we participated in media - watching quality BBC TV and listening to the radio (not regularly but it was nice knowing it was there when you wanted it). We also enjoyed eating out, literature and shopping in a way that cannot be remotely replicated here.

Found this on google and it definitely rings true for me.

'Australia, alot of people believe, is a boring country to live. It is a new country, with a short history, with a strong mono-cultured working class self identity derived from second hand English/European tradition.

The towns and cities are pale American immitations. Long, straight avenues lined with hardware stores. Grid-like bungalow suburbs where you see no one. White SUVs everywhere. The promise of McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jacks on every boulevard. Big business districts are all modelled entirely on American and European ones. Australia feels more like a place than a country sometimes. People are friendly but don't expect a depthy conversation.

The televsion is appalling.

The countryside is very unique indeed, but also perceived by most outsiders as vast and unchanging.'

We've been here about 3 years (in our late 30s/ no kids) , and have certainly enjoyed the natural environment, wildlife and beaches but in terms of living in a vibrant, dynamic culture where you feel stimulated by life I think that's definitely elsewhere. It's also a very expensive place to be and I think alot of Aussies live less than optimum lives as the cost of living is so high. A trip around a supermarket and second hand car yard will give most people heart palpitations.

chris955

As has been said the lifestyle here isnt better, it's just different. I grew up here but also spent about 10 years on and off in England and have come to love and appreciate the country for what it has to offer. The first 7 years here in Brisbane we thought it was forever but over the last few years it has just become bland, predictable and very expensive so we are moving back to the South West at the end of the year.
The sun shines here most days but our kids prefer the TV and indoor games as do their friends, dont be suckered into thinking the weather somehow makes kids outdoorsy because it doesnt unless they are anyway.
For us life is too short to worry about more money or going to the beach or whatever.

Bix

Salt time:

There are no decent pubs, clubs, beer etc.

I can't get real sausages, marmite, stuffing, chocolate etc.

All the nickers, work shirts etc are below my standards and nothing to do with wear and tear of a different climate.

I know a lot of the TV comes from UK and USA but it's all crap and worse than the UK

There are no local EPL football teams.

I find it difficult to feel claustrophobic because of all the wide open spaces and miles of countryside.

The Aussies won't do what I want them to do and change their ways.

I came here because it was different but in fact I wanna live just as I did in Britain.

Buzzy--Bee

So many immigrants complain about Australia being unlike Britain.

I struggle to understand why they even began the emigration process.

BB

Turban Explorer

I don't believe 'blandness' as a description of long term life in Oz equates to 'wanting it to be like the UK' . It is just as it says - a warning that life here is construed by many, as dull.

Wol

>>How has your family life changed for the better since emigrating?<<

Short answer is that it hasn't.

Amazulu

the million dollar question