Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Oct 21st 2012, 10:06 pm
#31
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Hard to believe someone from melbourne would be shocked by loud aggressive shouting and swearing let alone a 'furk off casey' in a park. You would only have to spend 5 mins in the melb CBD to get both of those, and a parking ticket
.
Smoking is interesting, in QLD its banned everywhere, even parks and beaches. So we find melbourne and sydney and london 'orrible for smoke.
Squashy housing wouldn't be a shock for those from melb either, well not in the suburbs where you can build another house in your back yard
But then we live on a huge chunk of bushland acerage just on edge of a village and 10 mins from the beach.
Just about to set off on a 9 week holiday that will take in many smokey cities and small apartment dwellings. Plus 3 days in a 1.7 M Amtrak sleeper. Hope I dont get smokers, shaggers and screamers next door to that
.
. Smoking is interesting, in QLD its banned everywhere, even parks and beaches. So we find melbourne and sydney and london 'orrible for smoke.
Squashy housing wouldn't be a shock for those from melb either, well not in the suburbs where you can build another house in your back yard
But then we live on a huge chunk of bushland acerage just on edge of a village and 10 mins from the beach. Just about to set off on a 9 week holiday that will take in many smokey cities and small apartment dwellings. Plus 3 days in a 1.7 M Amtrak sleeper. Hope I dont get smokers, shaggers and screamers next door to that
.
Oct 21st 2012, 10:34 pm
#32
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Absolutely. Melbourne's Bayside is, IMO, quite a sanitised flavour of life in Australia. Very nice it is too...but you wouldn't have to travel far to experience a lot of the perceived negatives Buzzy mentions...just a few k's further around the bay or in my area for example (Coles Balaclava car park is road rage central...nothing like it!!).
Oct 21st 2012, 10:52 pm
#33
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
I love melbourne's grunge factor, like its grey days its part of the personality of melb.
You would find a 'F off Shazza' in almost every public loo/park, perhaps buzzys girls have only just learnt to read well enough to notice it.
I can remember the boys, early highschool years, campervan trip melb and surrounds, coming out of a roadside loo highly amused in that teenage boy way at some astounding diagrams/writings on the wall. I had to look and can only assume the loos were a meeting place 
for nightime activity. Graphic thats for sure.
You would find a 'F off Shazza' in almost every public loo/park, perhaps buzzys girls have only just learnt to read well enough to notice it.
I can remember the boys, early highschool years, campervan trip melb and surrounds, coming out of a roadside loo highly amused in that teenage boy way
at some astounding diagrams/writings on the wall. I had to look and can only assume the loos were a meeting place for nightime activity. Graphic thats for sure.
Last edited by jad n rich; Oct 21st 2012 at 10:55 pm.
Oct 22nd 2012, 1:21 am
#35
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Oct 22nd 2012, 1:28 am
#36
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
[QUOTE=quoll;10342180]Interesting about the impression of "squashed-ness" both my daughter in law and my niece have commented on their first visits just how much space there is in UK! Both of them had the impression that there would be wall to wall houses and they independently remarked upon the open space green-ness they saw. The niece in particular couldnt believe just how much of the UK there was - they drove all over literally from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Yep all depends where you are in both countries. When i went back to scotland two years ago, i was amazed how quiet everything seemed, even the supermarkets (i know, i know probably due to the recession......as everything is, lol).
One of the things i loved when i was back there was the sound of children playing outside! I loved it, loved it, thought i was one of the loveliest noises in the world. I feel my youngest really, really missed out there :
Yep all depends where you are in both countries. When i went back to scotland two years ago, i was amazed how quiet everything seemed, even the supermarkets (i know, i know probably due to the recession......as everything is, lol).
One of the things i loved when i was back there was the sound of children playing outside! I loved it, loved it, thought i was one of the loveliest noises in the world. I feel my youngest really, really missed out there :
Oct 22nd 2012, 1:35 am
#37
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Thanks mate - an original post!
I'm quite open to all the good things about the UK - especially the country - which is not London - but I reckon I've long forgotten all the little 'hard' things that can get to you, especially in London. Melbourne is very liveable.
I find it does have many of the issues, but it is more laid back and there is an intensity about everyday life and people in the UK, even outside London which makes even a Bogan seem harmless. I'd forgotten about the sheer volume of people, especially in supermarkets.
The trick is to stay away from the built-up areas in the UK. But then even the picturesque Cotswolds can get traffic!
Buzzy - are house is not so big - as you know, we have to move the occasional piece of furniture!
I'm quite open to all the good things about the UK - especially the country - which is not London - but I reckon I've long forgotten all the little 'hard' things that can get to you, especially in London. Melbourne is very liveable.
I find it does have many of the issues, but it is more laid back and there is an intensity about everyday life and people in the UK, even outside London which makes even a Bogan seem harmless. I'd forgotten about the sheer volume of people, especially in supermarkets.
The trick is to stay away from the built-up areas in the UK. But then even the picturesque Cotswolds can get traffic!
Buzzy - are house is not so big - as you know, we have to move the occasional piece of furniture!
Oct 22nd 2012, 1:39 am
#38
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Don't you hate the noise on acreage too?
Oct 22nd 2012, 1:45 am
#39
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
OK, I appreciate that this post is in danger of becoming an Australia vs UK debate, however I would like to post my impressions of my first visit back to the UK since I emigrated from West London to Melbourne with my wife and twin 2 year old daughters over 5 years ago.
We just came back from 3 weeks visiting England and there was quite a lot that surprised me.
My very first impression was that I was astounded how many people smoke in England. Young, old, middle aged, rich, poor, so many people smoke it is really noticeable. And while the advertising in Australia is along the lines of “don’t smoke, it will cause death by cancer”, advertising in England is all about making sure you put your fag out so you don’t cause a house fire. One follow-on from all this smoking is the massive amount of fag butt litter.
I had forgotten the visual impact of every house having white plastic windows.
I was surprised how clean and nice the kids playpark was near where we were staying. There was no broken glass and no outwardly visible graffiti. Unfortunately this was spoiled by one of my daughters stating she was upset by some writing she had found on the playpark. I asked her what it said and she replied “it says – Casey you are a ****ing bitch”. My daughter has never used this word before and we have never seen such explicit graffiti in Melbourne, just meaningless tags. Very disappointing.
Supermarkets in England, as we all know, are way cheaper and have far more choice. Or do they? They have far more choice in prepared and processed foods certainly, I didn’t see more choice in fresh food though, I think Australia definitely has the edge there. But supermarket shopping in England is hell on earth. You are bumped and jostled and banged by the sheer number of shoppers, people bashing you with trolleys, queueing for ages, wait for people to get out the way before you can choose something off the shelf, driving round and round to try and spot someone just coming out of a parking space. I would not choose to shop in an English supermarket again in my life.
Shopping for clothes is phenomenally cheap in England when you are converting from AU$, we did a lot of clothes shopping. Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush is incredible.
The cost of Transport is an art, not a science. We were given prices by National Rail Inquiries, TFL, the ticket machine and the man behind the counter of 60, 40, 18 and 12 pounds respectively for the same journey so we took the cheapest offer! Then we had to pay over 7 pounds to go a couple of miles on a bus! The trains are much faster, quieter and smoother in England, they swoosh instead of “clackety clack”.
Driving in the UK – 100kph does not feel as fast in England as it does in Australia, and we did go much faster at times, but we were very aware of how many more fixed speed cameras there are now than there used to be, and how people seem to be obeying the speed limits much more in England than they used to.
My kids were very surprised when I had to “pay and display” – “but why do you have to PAY to park the car Dad????”
Weather – mainly OK, although I never had that much of a problem with London weather, it was the winter early dark that used to depress me. But what was weird was the finding that 15 degrees in London didn’t feel as cold as 15 degrees in Melbourne. And people in England wear shorts and short skirts in 15 degrees. Nutters!
It was funny having to teach the kids not to touch stinging nettles, and seeing how enamoured they were with squirrels.
London was looking surprisingly clean and done-up. Our English friends said that this was just for the Olympics, even so, it was looking pretty good. And people were friendlier than I remember, people offered us seats on trains, talked to our kids, were generally very good-humoured.
But I did notice a lot more shouting and swearing in public. My children were upset by overhearing a man on the bus shouting into his mobile phone that he was going to “smash someones ****ing face in.” I heard several other instances of people shouting aggressively in the street.
Weekends - in Aussie we might take the kids to the beach, or to the park. In the UK people seem to take their kids to expensive theme parks of various sizes, pay a lot of money to get in, a lot of money for food/drinks etc and then come home and moan about the cost of it.
But I felt the only massive downside to life in England, one of the reasons we emigrated, and the biggest item to stop me wanting to live in England again, was the lack of space. There is just not enough room in English houses to live the lifestyles people live now. If you bang your elbow when you turn round in the shower, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. If you have to move the dining room table to eat a meal, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. if you have to sit on the toilet diagonally this means there is not enough room for you in your house. You have to squeeze your car in between others – I found I had forgotten how to parallel park with any degree of accuracy! People in the UK seem to put in an enormous amount of effort to build an extension that actually gains them a very few square feet more of space, like a porch or something.
One of my daughters summed it up well when I asked her if she thought she would like to live in England. She said “I don’t think so Dad, it’s too squashy!”
BB
We just came back from 3 weeks visiting England and there was quite a lot that surprised me.
My very first impression was that I was astounded how many people smoke in England. Young, old, middle aged, rich, poor, so many people smoke it is really noticeable. And while the advertising in Australia is along the lines of “don’t smoke, it will cause death by cancer”, advertising in England is all about making sure you put your fag out so you don’t cause a house fire. One follow-on from all this smoking is the massive amount of fag butt litter.
I had forgotten the visual impact of every house having white plastic windows.
I was surprised how clean and nice the kids playpark was near where we were staying. There was no broken glass and no outwardly visible graffiti. Unfortunately this was spoiled by one of my daughters stating she was upset by some writing she had found on the playpark. I asked her what it said and she replied “it says – Casey you are a ****ing bitch”. My daughter has never used this word before and we have never seen such explicit graffiti in Melbourne, just meaningless tags. Very disappointing.
Supermarkets in England, as we all know, are way cheaper and have far more choice. Or do they? They have far more choice in prepared and processed foods certainly, I didn’t see more choice in fresh food though, I think Australia definitely has the edge there. But supermarket shopping in England is hell on earth. You are bumped and jostled and banged by the sheer number of shoppers, people bashing you with trolleys, queueing for ages, wait for people to get out the way before you can choose something off the shelf, driving round and round to try and spot someone just coming out of a parking space. I would not choose to shop in an English supermarket again in my life.
Shopping for clothes is phenomenally cheap in England when you are converting from AU$, we did a lot of clothes shopping. Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush is incredible.
The cost of Transport is an art, not a science. We were given prices by National Rail Inquiries, TFL, the ticket machine and the man behind the counter of 60, 40, 18 and 12 pounds respectively for the same journey so we took the cheapest offer! Then we had to pay over 7 pounds to go a couple of miles on a bus! The trains are much faster, quieter and smoother in England, they swoosh instead of “clackety clack”.
Driving in the UK – 100kph does not feel as fast in England as it does in Australia, and we did go much faster at times, but we were very aware of how many more fixed speed cameras there are now than there used to be, and how people seem to be obeying the speed limits much more in England than they used to.
My kids were very surprised when I had to “pay and display” – “but why do you have to PAY to park the car Dad????”
Weather – mainly OK, although I never had that much of a problem with London weather, it was the winter early dark that used to depress me. But what was weird was the finding that 15 degrees in London didn’t feel as cold as 15 degrees in Melbourne. And people in England wear shorts and short skirts in 15 degrees. Nutters!
It was funny having to teach the kids not to touch stinging nettles, and seeing how enamoured they were with squirrels.
London was looking surprisingly clean and done-up. Our English friends said that this was just for the Olympics, even so, it was looking pretty good. And people were friendlier than I remember, people offered us seats on trains, talked to our kids, were generally very good-humoured.
But I did notice a lot more shouting and swearing in public. My children were upset by overhearing a man on the bus shouting into his mobile phone that he was going to “smash someones ****ing face in.” I heard several other instances of people shouting aggressively in the street.
Weekends - in Aussie we might take the kids to the beach, or to the park. In the UK people seem to take their kids to expensive theme parks of various sizes, pay a lot of money to get in, a lot of money for food/drinks etc and then come home and moan about the cost of it.
But I felt the only massive downside to life in England, one of the reasons we emigrated, and the biggest item to stop me wanting to live in England again, was the lack of space. There is just not enough room in English houses to live the lifestyles people live now. If you bang your elbow when you turn round in the shower, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. If you have to move the dining room table to eat a meal, this is an indication your house is not big enough for your lifestyle. if you have to sit on the toilet diagonally this means there is not enough room for you in your house. You have to squeeze your car in between others – I found I had forgotten how to parallel park with any degree of accuracy! People in the UK seem to put in an enormous amount of effort to build an extension that actually gains them a very few square feet more of space, like a porch or something.
One of my daughters summed it up well when I asked her if she thought she would like to live in England. She said “I don’t think so Dad, it’s too squashy!”
BB
Oct 22nd 2012, 2:10 am
#40
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
That thing about people talking to you on trains.
We found that too. If you are in tourist mode and relaxed, (and even have kids with accents), people will.
We found that too. If you are in tourist mode and relaxed, (and even have kids with accents), people will.
Oct 22nd 2012, 2:35 am
#41
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
) Nuneaton. It will be interesting to get her to compare the Midlands and North with your South.I think your daughter is very perceptive - England is too crowded and it's getting worse. We take space for granted here. Look at the width of the pavements in the CBD versus London. And free parking, and lots of it! Lack of space and the accompanying social problems was a big part of my decision.
Oct 22nd 2012, 2:53 am
#42
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
6 of 1, half a dozen of the other.
I love my life here, but I miss the UK. Both for different reasons.
Graffiti and foul language in public exist in both countries and is my biggest wind up, I just can't comprehend why idiots have to resort to foul and abusive language in public.,...then I look at them and they are usually pikey types (in UK) or Bogans/Islanders (in Oz). Racist comment? No, just a general observation and yes I'm sure not all are like that...but a bloody lot of them!
Space is a premium in any large city so I take that with a pinch of salt. friendliness is a two way street, if you look friendly and approachable then most decent people will be friendly and approachable to you too.
The comment about 'my daughter had never seen that type of language before' made me laugh...it won't be long fella, it won't be long!!
I love my life here, but I miss the UK. Both for different reasons.
Graffiti and foul language in public exist in both countries and is my biggest wind up, I just can't comprehend why idiots have to resort to foul and abusive language in public.,...then I look at them and they are usually pikey types (in UK) or Bogans/Islanders (in Oz). Racist comment? No, just a general observation and yes I'm sure not all are like that...but a bloody lot of them!
Space is a premium in any large city so I take that with a pinch of salt. friendliness is a two way street, if you look friendly and approachable then most decent people will be friendly and approachable to you too.
The comment about 'my daughter had never seen that type of language before' made me laugh...it won't be long fella, it won't be long!!
Oct 22nd 2012, 3:02 am
#43
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Oct 22nd 2012, 4:39 am
#44
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago
Certainly houses in the UK are smaller than the equivalent type of property in Australia. The house I sold in 1982 before emigrating was a three-bedroom mid-terrace in a housing development west of Reading - the third bedroom was 6'6"x6' which gave just enough room to jam in a single divan and still be able to open the door! I can't see any estate agent over here getting away with describing that as a bedroom!
Oct 22nd 2012, 5:17 am
#45
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Re: Impressions of a visit to England – from someone who emigrated over 5 years ago