glittababe

and you still scream at them to 'keep the doors closed' - only its not for letting the cold air in, but to stop the heat from coming in and ruining the air con!

Vash the Stampede

I was down in Devon for Christmas last year; gob-smackingly picturesque, beautifully quiet, and utterly charming. The missus and I stayed at the Greyhound Inn (Feniton) which was built in the 13th Century or something ridiculous.

Tarrif was unjustifiably high, but food was great and service was efficient and friendly.

We also received a discount after complaining about the noise from the antiquated central heating boiler in the room next door.

glittababe

do you have details of the place? we have to see my nanna before we leave and she lives in Axminster Devon.

Cheetah7

Im very proud to be British and love London.

But, it doesnt quite feel like 'home', in fact wherever I have lived, it hasn't felt right.

Australia feels right, thats it for us, no more searching, it feels like it could be our home.

I love hot weather, my husband is from a hot country but it is not our reason for applying to emigrate.

The weather is a bonus not a factor.

Escaping crime is not a factor, criminals come in all shapes, sizes wherever you go and I don't think for one minute it will be different in Australia.

I know we shall have to work our tits off to survive, harder than in the UK.

We are doing it because after visiting twice (me twice, hubby once), we feel that what we have been looking for is there.

We are not escaping anything nor running away from anything in the UK.

I wont compare Australia to England, I know food is different, prices are different and I dont give a shit if I get Marmite or not.

I intend to look for the good in things when we move to Australia and not compare it to the what I thought was good in the UK.

We will do any job to pay our way, two jobs if necessarry - whatever it takes.

As for Rose tint specs, well I gave them back to specsavers long ago.

Im just looking forward to having my shit in a shinier bucket and living my life where I want to live it.

Whatever the problems, I reckon we can deal with them, providing we dont do comparisons in a negative way.

London will always be great to me, will always be there and when we leave Heathrow for Australia, we will take our memories of it with us.

That is our motivation.

Vash the Stampede

OK, so it's in Honiton, not Feniton. My mistake.

I can recommend their full English breakfast.

BTW, Room 4 is the one with the noisy boiler, so make sure you're as far away from it as humanly possible! You will need to be a good distance down the corridor; try rooms 8-10.

sean trethewey

Jad n Rich before i start I'm not looking for an argument, can you just tell me why you try to put people off moving to oz, i know you think people should be aware of the good and bad points about Australia but i feel every time somebody praises Australia you seem to pop up with negative info. Were not naive, we know nowhere is perfect but most of us have spent alot of time and money trying to get to Australia. Sorry if this has come across as argumentative but maybe you could tell us why you moved to Australia and if your going to stay there, I'm not being sarcastic just interested as you must like something about Australia. I will try to send you karma if i can figure out how to do it, to show you that I'm not having a pop.

Wendy

I agree with you.

For me it doesn't make any difference what other people think of Oz, I will make up my own mind when i get there.

Hutch

I probably should have explained the original post better - the photos were designed to highlight the way my son Josh felt when in Oz and when here - look at his face in those photos, compare and contrast - he's four and a half, there's nothing 'staged' about them. Yes, it's partially about the weather, but more than that, it's about the way the place makes us feel.

There's something about this country (England) that saps my will to live - sorry if that bothers you and makes you all defensive towards the old country, but that's honestly the way it makes me feel. I'm no expat rooky, I've lived abroad before (US and Oz for a year or two, as well as a year doing the student backpack thing travelling all over Europe) and I knew I had to get out of the UK when I returned from my first trip to my dad's home country of Australia. The stench of malcontent hits you like a wall of shit as soon as you stroll down that tunnel off the aeroplane at Heathrow. Everything around you is grey, run-down, miserable and depressing - as a nation we're supposed to get by on two weeks of 'summer' when every Briton with a car and some holiday time tries to cram into the few beaches in the country not awash with effluent and we're charged obscene sums of money to stay in pokey apartments and hotel suites.

After I got back from Oz the first time I wondered whether I'd actually been awake for the previous decade - we just seem to 'put up' with things in this country, which is all well and good when there's a war on, but not much cop during peacetime. I thought it was just me, but the first time we travelled to Oz as a family I knew it wasn't - my wife Catherine and son Josh clearly felt the same way. I refuse to live in a country that only truly seems alive for a very short period in the middle of the year and which accepts and glorifies mediocrity in all walks of life. If you're happy in the UK, or you moved to Oz, regretted and are moving back - great, enjoy, you're welcome to it. My days of sitting on the fence are over.

glittababe

TY for that, will check it out as its fairly close to my nanna! Will request not to have room 4 cos of the boiler (that'll freak them out). Or I could request the room, complain and have a price reduction!

Wendy

Nice post hun.

Amazulu

There are basically only 2 reasons why we moved here:
1. The vast majority of kids in the UK are wankers & I don't want my son to grow up like them. There are wankers here, but the majority of kids seem 'normal' to me.
2. The 'rat race' that is life in the SE of England. The M25, crap trains, overcrowded etc.

Apart from that UK is a great place, fantastic opportunities, great wages, stable, strong housing market, good travel options. Australia & UK share all the same social problems. I'm not trying to escape the alleged social problems of the UK. Australia has a great lifestyle, more space, friendly etc but the ability to make money here is not as good as the UK.

Weather is not a big factor for me:
UK is in Western Europe, sticking out into the Atlantic = cold, damp weather,
Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere = warm, dry weather,
Facts of nature really = not important.

That's it really. Simple as. It's all good.

glittababe

Do you believe in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? I think it effects most of us at one point or another and it can lead to feelings of negativity. Just looking out of the window up at grey skies can make you feel a bit down, then that affects the rest of the day.

sean trethewey

Well said, i dont want to upset jad n rich but im gettin a bit bored of seeing people with dreams being given a reality slap every time they praise Australia or fault the UK, let's face it the UK is a shit hole and yes Australia might be to but to me Australia is the place i want to give a go at being truly happy.

Hutch

I strongly suspect that *is* the partially the problem.

Amazulu

This is your experience & that's all that matters really. Doesn't mean you are right. Lot's of other people, including me, would disagree with you, but that doesn't matter. It's what you want to believe that counts.