jad n rich

Up till the 'dustbin blah..... ' rant I was thinking of offering some positivesand negatives, but seriously have you not researched the total 'garbage' style mess the OZ government currently has We dont even know how much debt we really have. Education is the worse in the OECD and health, how much money to you have...

Besides if your going to continue as social workers and police officers here you will see all the scum OZ has to offer too. There are some seriously WRONG social and criminal aspects to OZ too Why do you think Social work is on the skills list, and where are those jobs not the peachy bits, probably some remote community that would make the brum bull pit look like pardise.

If your moving to OZ cause UK is a dustbin, dont bother.

quoll

Nope, if it aint broke, dont fix it.

The better weather can be just as oppressive as the grey sky and rain - spend a summer lurching from one airconditioned environment to another and not leave the house because your skin would turn to boot leather and you will know what I mean. I find it easier to get outside in a cooler climate because you can always rug up whereas there is no escape from the heat. Add to that the paranoia of never letting your kids out of the house without being slathered in sunscreen and covered head to toe to avoid sunburn.

The better life for the kids is a furphy, it's just another first world country - the schools still have bullies, there are still drugs to be found and Australia still has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world which reflects the really bad state of youth mental health here. It is just as hard for a young person to get on the property ladder and most will end up with a large bill for uni fees - and they will need a degree to make Subways.

It is expensive to live here and it is more expensive to experience any sort of variety of environment, community, activity because you have to travel so darned far to see it.

As for the UK being the dustbin of Europe - dont read the Daily Fail quite so much that may solve the problem.

jad n rich

I never get why the weather is dragged out so often as a 'better reason' in fact its a reason why I would NOT come here, for all the reasons you have listed above.

Its fine from april to september, ( SE qld) but once over that there is really no part of OZ I would wish to be in for the weather.

I note too the aussie partner who 'sold' me on the weather before we moved here, cant stand the summer either.

Its a bit hard to imagine from the UK just how harsh the weather really is. However I will add no doubt some people love it, Ive just yet to meet many.

el_diablo_1983

I totally accept that crime, anti-social behaviour, drugs and the like exsists in australia, else why would you need a routinely armed police force and social services! that bit doesnt bother me so much to be fair.

We are both keen to explore what australia has to offer by way of a different lifestyle, and believe there is nothing to be lost in trying. after all, nothing ventured nothing gained.

I have read a fair bit from people who are quite negative given the current state of play with inflated house prices and global economic conditions.

frightening though to hear that to live comfortably the OH would have to earn 120k?! most social work jobs to be found pay in the region of 70-85k. I would in turn have to look for a regular job til such a time as I could apply for the police, and I dont think many jobs I could get given I dont have any great qualifications to my name would pay 105k?!

All very interesting feedback though, certainly food for thought!

moneypenny20

I don't believe the UK is the dustbin of the world or Europe or anywhere, it's a fantastic place (as is Australia in my world). I see the same problems here as there are in the UK. Unlike five plus years ago, your money goes no further here than it does in the UK. Not convinced on the better quality of life, different country, but you're comparing two first world countries - things are the same. From my perspective your arguments in your second post on here just don't exist.

I love the climate here, others don't. Some people are stuck inside more in hot weather than many are in winter in the UK. You can wrap up warm and still get out in a UK winter, there's a limit to what you can take off and still avoid cancer in some areas of an Australian summer.

One more point, if your wife walks with her mum on a daily basis now, she WILL struggle being away. Whilst she may make the move work, a large part of her will be yearning to be with the ones she loves. Many think they won't have a problem, infact many who have the sort of family relationship you say you have, suddenly find the 12,000 miles too hard to deal with.

I think the hardest thing of all is to have one part of you loving your life in Australia whilst the other part is desperate to have the family close by. Until you try it you'll never know, but after six years on here, I'd say it's a rare poster, close to family, who makes a complete go of it. They struggle with wanting to be in two places at once.

If you're 'running away' from perceived problems in the UK, the move is unlikely to work. If you're 'running to' perceived lifestyle in Australia, the move is unlikely to work. If you're after an adventure, prepared to give it a go, have an experience and see where it takes you and make no pre conceived judgements, it's likely to be successful.

Good luck.

roaringmouse

I find it hard to deal with the distance, and I'm not from a close family by far! For quite a few people that find the distance difficult, it's not necessarily that you see family every day or week - it's more that they're accessible when need be.

I've read quite a few examples where perhaps a move within the UK (or possibly to a close country in the EU) would have been better, and all that was needed to change their lives for the better. 300 miles distance is a whole load better than the other side of the world.

mohogony

Where not you so our advice is useless

Amazulu

No

mr mover

YeaH go for it..............MM

The Flintstones

A mistake we made too. These boards don't do justice to the beauty of living in Australia. The negatives just wash away into a sea of positives, they just aren't a problem anymore. Not everything deserves a 50/50 comparison.

I'd say forget about comparing things financially, in the grand scheme of things its not going to be a big enough difference to affect your quality of life. If your financially stable in the UK, the same will apply here.

Being the outdoors type, your going to think Oz is heaven.

itxrd

{typing holding kid} yeah other half is on good wage of 43k in uk. equiv would be about 120, if she could get 80ish here then financially i'm afraid she would be worse off. sorry!

moneypenny raises good point. she'll miss her mom. we moved and don't miss anyone much but we lived miles from family anyway. you could come and try it. you haven;t got kids (even if u did if they're young would be okay).

take a sabbatical from your jobs for a year. if it doesn;t work you can go back. we can write all we want here but we could be a bunch of nobs for all you know. no substitute for trying it yourself

kate h

el diablo

have been thinking about your situation and on reflection - you should definitely go!!! at your stage, we would - well, we did!

this because you have nothing to lose. we went, loved it, were torn because of the usual family reasons depicted in many of the posts here, and returned - much the richer in experience for it. we will forever be torn, true, but we have learned that we love both places and we had some fantastic experiences in australia and NZ.

DO IT - and you can always come back.

GOOD LUCK

mohogony

Anastasia Beaverhausen

You would live comfortably on a salary of 120k combined here in Oz. Comparing salaries between the UK and Oz is a waste of time. We live on a lot less than that and have 2 and a bit kids, 2 cars and all the other optional expenses and we are comfortable.

Look up threads on cost of living, check out real estate websites and job websites and get a more balanced view on what you would need to live on, the comparison to the UK is misleading.

As far as I can see, you have nothing to loose. You are not uprooting children, the family would cope and you don't have to cut all financial ties with the UK. Keep a hold of the house, rent it out and come over for a while as a test. If you end up back in the UK after a couple of years, at least you have tried.

Good luck with the decision

itxrd

Fair point. i didn't mean to say you need to be on 120k to live well here. I meant that 43k in the UK = about $120 here. So if thats what you're used to.... People live well on 25k in the Uk and likewise can live on $75k or even less here. Most people do so am sure you could.