At last something positive to say about Australia
Sep 10th 2005, 1:09 pm
#61
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 511
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Foster Clan
There's a lot more people out there who do agree (and obviously a lot who disagree) but are too scared to speak up or maybe are just not ready to admit it to themselves yet.
Sep 10th 2005, 1:14 pm
#62
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by kendodd
Yep I fit that criteria too! I've been here 8 months, still can't find this "wow" factor. Don't bother posting because you get slated for it!
badge
Sep 10th 2005, 1:18 pm
#63
Never going back
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: New South Wales!!!!!!!
Posts: 3,656
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Badge
No come on, I don't mind hearing it all.
badge
badge
i think its sometimes how a poster says something in their thread.
Sep 10th 2005, 1:29 pm
#64
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Sleeping Beauty
me too..... i actually enjoyed reading this thread, and i've seen arkon in a new light
i think its sometimes how a poster says something in their thread.
i think its sometimes how a poster says something in their thread.
What gets my goat on this forum is all the constant There's a hole in my bucket dear lisas arguments. I always had Arkon down as a analyst who just couldn't slow down - his background gives credence to his troubles.
Couldn't agree with you more, posters either go on about lovely weather, Uk going down the hole, or I hate Australia because I can't buy x. People naturally jump.
Badge
Sep 10th 2005, 1:31 pm
#65
Never going back
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: New South Wales!!!!!!!
Posts: 3,656
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Badge
to quote Mrs D, "we have a winner!."
What gets my goat on this forum is all the constant There's a hole in my bucket dear lisas arguments. I always had Arkon down as a analyst who just couldn't slow down - his background gives credence to his troubles.
Couldn't agree with you more, posters either go on about lovely weather, Uk going down the hole, or I hate Australia because I can't buy x. People naturally jump.
Badge
What gets my goat on this forum is all the constant There's a hole in my bucket dear lisas arguments. I always had Arkon down as a analyst who just couldn't slow down - his background gives credence to his troubles.
Couldn't agree with you more, posters either go on about lovely weather, Uk going down the hole, or I hate Australia because I can't buy x. People naturally jump.
Badge
nice gaff by the way badge (on the other thread)
Sep 10th 2005, 1:34 pm
#66
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Sleeping Beauty
nice gaff by the way badge (on the other thread)
I like to tell people, honest, it can be good here, I'm not making it up - on the other hand, I do know how bad Australia can be...sums it up nicely I think, there are people on the Returning to UK forum, for example, who refuse to accept that maybe there are nice places here and see 'liking Australia' as being some sort of disease -it annoys me not because I have anything to lose - but because I feel sorry for them - its almost tragic. I could never post ever again, have never found this forum and it would not matter one bit.(!)
cheers
badge
Last edited by Badge; Sep 10th 2005 at 1:44 pm.
Sep 10th 2005, 2:16 pm
#67
Ex BE ***** Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,770
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Badge
on the other hand, I do know how bad Australia can be...sums it up nicely I think,
cheers
badge
cheers
badge
What I’m trying to say is that not everyone has to experience something to know its not right and I for one would not be forever regretting it had I not tried it. I could have been swayed not to come here if a slightly less rosy picture was painted.
Sep 11th 2005, 9:54 am
#68
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 448
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by arkon
Badge, One of the niggles I've got is that we were emigrating for 3 years in total and I spent a lot of that time on this forum lurking. I wanted to go to Australia but not that much, I could have just gave up my career and moved somewhere else in the UK. A few things pissed me off real bad about the UK and its employment laws etc. as they directly soured my employer experiences. So I was maybe fifty fifty as whether I needed to go to Australia at all, maybe just a change would have been enough. The point I want to make is had their been a bit more of the negative aspects of Australia on this forum allowed to mature into a sensible debate I could have been better informed. And in all honesty I could have been swayed to stay in the UK. The money spent getting here could have paid for a 6 month holiday here, maybe more. A few posts I read from 2001 to 2004 did almost put me off but the balance was so much in the pink that I continued with the process. I shrugged off all the things I knew I wouldn’t like about Australia and thought what the heck, I can cope with a little discomfort or strange ways. Take flies for example, I knew they were a problem but as they only come out in batches of time I thought I could live with them. But I can’t, they drive me mad!
What I’m trying to say is that not everyone has to experience something to know its not right and I for one would not be forever regretting it had I not tried it. I could have been swayed not to come here if a slightly less rosy picture was painted.
What I’m trying to say is that not everyone has to experience something to know its not right and I for one would not be forever regretting it had I not tried it. I could have been swayed not to come here if a slightly less rosy picture was painted.
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb
those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
Last edited by TopCat3; Sep 11th 2005 at 10:01 am.
Sep 11th 2005, 10:07 am
#69
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2004
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 1,131
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by arkon
Well something about Australia finaly impressed me today. They are such rare events that I thought I should post it.
We got our childs Birth Certificate today and I must say its all very impressive looking, we had to pay extra of course for a good looking one but it
was worth it. Much better than the tatty things you get in the UK.
Maybe this is something the UK could do.
We got our childs Birth Certificate today and I must say its all very impressive looking, we had to pay extra of course for a good looking one but it
was worth it. Much better than the tatty things you get in the UK.
Maybe this is something the UK could do.
Sep 11th 2005, 10:37 am
#70
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by TopCat3
I am so glad this thread has developed into a sensible, honest discussion without any brickbats being thrown around.It's also brought some other folk out of the woodwork who had previously felt"what's the point in posting". Thanks to Arkon for not giving up, and for being disarmingly honest and open, others feel freer to be so, too.
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.
I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb
those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
nice..I think sometimes you have to look at which side your bread is buttered...to make a final call...interesting that Sydney is not as 'European' as it once was, do you mean that it is more American now? If anything, Australian is just becoming more multi-cultural.
Badge
Sep 11th 2005, 10:54 am
#71
Galaxy 1: Cadbury's 0
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,606
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by arkon
Why did I give up such a good life in the UK? Top question, and one that I've thought about a lot over the last 10 months or so. Partly doing the same job for 20 years meant I was desperate for a change. Yes the new live down under programmes played their part and an excellent holiday here in 2001 helped. Also I have a fatal character flaw, No I’m not negative like some on here would have you believe, but once I spend an significant amount of money I always see it through to the end rather than waste money! I know daft it might sound, but the agents fees and Australian and dog fees all added up to a ‘I have to go now’ figure. The wife also wanted to go and you men out there will know how much this will figure in any decision. Then that was compounded by a series of can’t turn back now events. Company sold (can’t go back now), House sold (can’t go back now), etc. So here I am. I think I picked and was hasty in buying here on the mid north coast but the wife found out she was pregnant within a week of landing so we panicked a bit and made a few rash decisions that will make it 10 times harder to go home anytime soon.
I have only read a few of your posts so don't know whether you are just a bit upset at everything you left behind in the UK, or whether you really hate your life in Australia, and whether this is temporary or not.
Either way, life is too short for being seriously unhappy and the hole is never too deep to get out of. Not sure what committments you have in Aus, but the money spent in getting there is now a sunk cost and the rest of your life is starting right now, so if you ultimately know it was a big mistake moving, then why not sell up and go back asap.
You can then find a new business/house etc etc.
But just remember that if there were things that you didn't like about the UK or your particular life, they will still be here upon your return!
Good luck. Enjoy your little one, they grow up soooo fast! My youngest was 4 yesterday - I don't know where the time has gone!
Sep 11th 2005, 11:09 am
#72
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Epping NSW
Posts: 606
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Badge
wow....
...interesting that Sydney is not as 'European' as it once was, do you mean that it is more American now? If anything, Australian is just becoming more multi-cultural.
Badge
...interesting that Sydney is not as 'European' as it once was, do you mean that it is more American now? If anything, Australian is just becoming more multi-cultural.
Badge
When you tire of the sparkling waters and the didge players at Circular Quay on any weekend, catch a CityRail inter urban to Hawkesbury River and walk part of the Great North Road to the top of the hill behind the township of Brooklyn. For level walking by the water, go a little further to Woy Woy, home of Spike Milligan's mum and feed the Pelicans. Is there a similar trip on the Tube? Just wait for a sunny day, it will arrive before the train.
Sep 11th 2005, 11:13 am
#73
Galaxy 1: Cadbury's 0
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,606
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by TopCat3
I am so glad this thread has developed into a sensible, honest discussion without any brickbats being thrown around.It's also brought some other folk out of the woodwork who had previously felt"what's the point in posting". Thanks to Arkon for not giving up, and for being disarmingly honest and open, others feel freer to be so, too.
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.
I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb
those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
I think we are all lucky to live in great places - the UK, Aus, US, NZ etc are all great for different reasons, and we just need to focus on what's important to us and what we love about our life, as opposed to what we don't like, to enjoy life and be happy. I strongly think it's all about the right attitude and not so much about location. Personal opinion only.
Sep 11th 2005, 11:19 am
#74
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 448
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by Banksia
May be not as European, the Hungarians don't gather at Double Bay or the post war refugees at the Pavilion at Bondi to play chess as they used to, but make a trip to Eastwood, Burwood, Chatswood or Cabramatta for an Asian Experience or Auburn for a Middle Eastern or Sudanese one.
When you tire of the sparkling waters and the didge players at Circular Quay on any weekend, catch a CityRail inter urban to Hawkesbury River and walk part of the Great North Road to the top of the hill behind the township of Brooklyn. For level walking by the water, go a little further to Woy Woy, home of Spike Milligan's mum and feed the Pelicans. Is there a similar trip on the Tube? Just wait for a sunny day, it will arrive before the train.
When you tire of the sparkling waters and the didge players at Circular Quay on any weekend, catch a CityRail inter urban to Hawkesbury River and walk part of the Great North Road to the top of the hill behind the township of Brooklyn. For level walking by the water, go a little further to Woy Woy, home of Spike Milligan's mum and feed the Pelicans. Is there a similar trip on the Tube? Just wait for a sunny day, it will arrive before the train.
Incidentally, Banksia, I live in the Inner West and I work at Circular Quay one or two evenings and most Saturdays. I never tire of arriving on the train and I always pick the front seat by the window so I can see "my harbour" as the train pulls in. The older Italian men still play boules and chess down by the water near Five Dock, which is nice to see, too.
Sep 11th 2005, 11:48 am
#75
Ex BE ***** Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,770
Re: At last something positive to say about Australia
Originally Posted by TopCat3
I am so glad this thread has developed into a sensible, honest discussion without any brickbats being thrown around.It's also brought some other folk out of the woodwork who had previously felt"what's the point in posting". Thanks to Arkon for not giving up, and for being disarmingly honest and open, others feel freer to be so, too.
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.
I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
When I first came to Australia, I had no intention of settling here. For various reasons, I wanted to be in the USA (now glad I'm not, BTW). I came here as part of a round-the-world trip in 1985 and spent several months in Sydney and did some travelling. Going up through the outback, through the opal fields at Coober Pedy, the old gold town of Tennant Creek, to Alice and Uluru, then on up to Darwin via Katherine and the Kakadu National Park, really showed me another side of Australia. The brooding, red land of the outback seems to have a vibration in the air, a life of its own, I always felt it was watching me. The sombre grey scrubby areas, then suddenly out of nowhere an amazing tapestry of wildflowers, the lunar landscape and underground dwellings of the opal fields, it all insidiously, against my will, forced itself into my heart, so that after I left and went to America, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was like one of those short but intense holiday romances you can't just let go of. And I realised, while living in San Francisco, I didn't have to. I could go back and live there.
I forgot about the interminable sport on TV and the beer and club culture with its tomato sauce bottles on formica tables. All I could remember was the scent of frangipanis, the vibrant colours of the clothes the ladies were wearing then (1980's - the old black!), that reflected the gaudy flowers, the view of the harbour, the bridge and opera house from Blues Point where I lived, the constant chirrup of insects all night and the laugh of the kookaburras every morning, and that big upturned bowl of blue sky that we live under,the unique animals with long eyelashes and POCKETS for goodness' sake! Then one day in SFO, with not much else to do, I bought a ticket and took the train called the BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transport system, and rode the length and breadth of it. At one point we were out of the city in the countryside and I could see gum trees, their leaves twisting and twinkling in the sunlight. For some reason the train stopped and we were all asked to get out and wait on the platform for a while, while they fixed it. It was very hot, very blue, the heat and the scent of the gums hit me as I alighted...and I burst into tears of longing. That was April 1986.
By July 1986 I had arrived home, processed my application for permanent residency, August I had my interview, September my medical, October my passport came back with my visa, and I was back here in the November.
For the first 10 - 12 years or so, I love love loved it - all of it. I never looked back. My life opened up to new horizons I never knew existed, let alone thought possible. It's only recently that some things have started to grate on me, some things seem tedious, pedestrian, parochial, so much effort. And at times I am swamped by waves of nostalgia that are more painful than I care to admit even to myself, let alone my family. I am beginning to miss certain things about England, and the "tyranny of distance" phrase has at last come to mean something to me.
Yet I think that if I left here, within six months I would be pining and realise I didn't know what I'd had till it was taken away. Sunshine for one thing, it does happen to figure large in the equation for me. Sydney itself. When I lived in Arkon's area for that year, I was almost chewing the carpet with boredom and longing for the buzz and the beauty of what is now my home city. One day during that year, when I was visiting Sydney, I took the Manly ferry over to visit a friend. As I looked back at the sparkling blue of the harbour, the arch of the harbour bridge and the sails of the opera house glinting in the afternoon sunshine - I burst into tears. Well, I've learned to trust this bursting into tears stuff, so I packed up and came back.
Has anyone seen the sails of the opera house in the evening as the sun is setting? In winter they glow pink and you can see the shadow of the harbour bridge cast on the sails by the setting sun.
Sydney has changed much in those years. It isn't so easy to live here now - traffic, pollution, overcrowding, it isn't as "European" as it was - OK, that could sound racist, yet I make no apology - if I wanted to live with people from a vastly different culture I would have moved to the appropriate part of the world, but I didn't , I came here, and now it's been thrust upon me and I am not entirely comfortable about it. But I'm not under the illusion it would be
any different in England or anywhere else, we really are a global village now, like it or not. And I'm entitled not to like it if that is my inclination.
So, Arkon, and everyone who's stayed with me through this long blurb
those are the things I like about Australia, those are the things that,whenever I get itchy feet or start to feel crabby, I remind myself of. I have also established my (very modest) "wealth base" here and in my early fifties now, so I have to be realistic about my later years and the feasibility of starting afresh anywhere else. Retirement and "where-to-die" - assuming fate gives me that choice, are another matter. But for now, I know which side my bread is buttered and I think it makes sense to stay here, count my blessings, and make the best of what life has to offer.I'd like to see a bluebell wood and hear a cuckoo though, sometimes...
't. If it was believe me I'd be gone by now and not an expat anymore.