bondipom

Bloody whinging pommie refos

HiddenPaw

I think it depends on where you lived in the UK and what you are comparing it to in Oz/NZ to determine whether UK is a dump?

(I lived in a little village in Cheshire and had countryside on the doorstep. Here I live 8kms from Melbourne CBD and I have to cycle 30kms to get to the first decent bit of countryside. The big BUT is that there are other places in Oz that are green - Adelaide Hills and Sunshine Coast hinterland are 2 that we have considered. Melbourne was just the wrong choice for us but a good place to find jobs in the short-term.)

I think I know deep down that we need the family support in having the baby....maybe in a couple of years we come back to Oz. It would just be good to know now whether this is the country we want to come back to....but I don't think I can answer that Q until I have been back to the UK.

Thanks again people, your perceptions and comments are proving very enlightening.

HP

jayr

The UK is no dump, granted it has high population density and everything that goes with it, but then Oz density doesn't mean I have 100 sq km to myself either.

The much maligned NHS is a pretty extraordinary service when you get used to taking your credit card to the doctor and worrying about not having health insurance.

The weather is clearly more miserable and the people, though after spending most of the week in Sydney I am not convinced that there's necessarily that much difference there either.

Ceri

I think you're asking the wrong people. You will always have the Brits who are still in Britain (on this moving to Aus site) saying it's Cr*p .. they think Aus does not have the same probs. As you know Aus has heaps of problems, same sh*t different bucket as someone else said.

Personally, I feel that the Uk would be a better place to bring up kids. I haven't got kids, but when I do I want them brought up in the UK.. they are so narrow minded here. Funny how people think the UK is rubbish for kids, well I was brought up in the UK, so was my husband, we haven't done that badly. Now let me look why am I in Aus?? Because the locals did not have any experienced people in the industry.. So much for the Britain is rubbish ..lol
I also do not think the UK is a dump, but I'm not from an inner city, or from a built up area.

Go back and if you do not like it, it's not the end of the world (you do have citizenship here in Aus don't you.. if not take it out before you leave)

when you have children (not that I know) that's when you need your family around you. I know when I get round to having kids.. I want my family around me. I want the child to have it's grandparents near it. I always look back to my own childhood and having my grandparents in my life.
Family are important.

Good luck

dracupg

Weird. This was one of our deciding factors to come to Oz! Our parents are fairly newly retired, and one of the breed of “we’ve done our child rearing, and are off now to spend our retirement enjoying ourselves�.

Nothing wrong with that and good luck to them, but it made us realise that we couldn’t rely on their support, so moving to Oz wouldn’t really make much difference.

Sure, it would be nice if they had been a bit more involved, but it didn’t happen. As a result, we doubted whether our son would have the same relationship with his grandparents as we did with ours, back when it was much more common for grandparents to be actively involved in the upbringing of their grandchildren.

Happy hammer

After reading a few of the last comments of weather to stay in oz to have kids or come back to the uk,i dont think that there is any contest. i have 2 boys aged 7 and 9 and the main reason for coming over to oz is to give them a better start in life. i live in a nice area in middlesex , low unemployment high house prices and good primary schools, but this area has seen changes over the past 10 years and now is the time to get out.....just look at the papers each day ...gun crime,rape,drugs and only just yesterday a 10 month old stabbed to death in the street.....welcome to england...your welcome to it ....:scared:

dotty

Just a question, You say there is no contest, so I assume you have spent quite a bit of time in OZ? If so which part, because many newspapers here would have the same headlines, such as father goes mad and kills baby and two toddlers, high house prices here seem to have been one of the top headlines for a good 2 years now. Just wondering when you came out and where.

Happy hammer

I have spent my time in Adelaide for most of the time over in oz, in the golden grove area. as to high house prices i was pointing out that where i live is quite up market, most house`s go for £300.000 plus. But feel it has gone down hill and no longer offers anything in the area for young and old alike. when was the last time you came back to the uk???

dotty

Went back in Dec 2002 and almost every year, often twice (business included) during my time here.

I can see why Adelaide (second cheapest state in OZ) would seem very cheap to the UK, cant comment on employment but if you have been there I guess you checked it out.

Is 300,000 pound considered expensive to the average UK buyer, that sounds very very reasonable to me, I thought we'd have to spend probably double that there depending where we end up. Suppose like here its all relative to employment.

DaisyNZ

I also want to go back to the UK now I have small children and another on the way. I feel the same as you HP that I can't answer the questions until I have tried the UK again. Just one point about NZ, I don't know if it is the same in Oz (maybe someone will know) but NZ has the highest youth suicide rate in the western world, especially young men. I have 2 boys so far. This worries me, if it's supposed to be paradise, why aren't people happy. I'm sure statistically NZ has the same crime rates per population as the UK, it's just there's not as many overall because there's not as many people!! NZ also has one of the highest road deaths in the western world. I love NZ so I'm not writing this to say it's not a great place to live, just to point out the reality.

HiddenPaw

And welcome to Australia...."the country that rates top amongst industrialised nations in the number of people affected by serious crime.

More people are affected by serious crime in Oz than in the UK.
The murder rate in Australia is higher than the UK"

(Source: The Bulletin, Oct 21 2003)

I'm under no illusions that the UK is a place of godliness.....but nor is Australia, by a long way!

lynnj

HP

I dont think you can let the fact that you are having a child affect your decision to stay in one country or another, also the family support when you have children is something you can take or leave, i have 2 children5 and 7 and got very little support from family when they came along despite living very close to each other and really didnt miss it, now we live 600 miles away have another baby due in february and are leaving for perth in 5 weeks, we are now getting the guilt trip from the parents about taking the grandchildren away, they see them usually about twice a year and are so out of touch that they still treat them as though they are 2 so i dont feel we are actually changing their relationship with their granchildren.

If you are genuinely unhappy in australia and feel life would be better for you as a family in the uk then do it, but dont use having a baby as an excuse to do it, also remember that things will not be the same as they were before you left, people will have filled the space you left in their lives with other things and although i'm sure they will be glad to welcome you back it will be different, also if you have the great granparental contribution to your childs life but then decide that the uk is not for you leaving again will be a whole different thing.

Good luck with your decision and with the baby.

Lynn

Rosy

One of the reasons we moved to Oz was to give our children a better life. One of the reasons we moved back to the UK was to give our children a better life...

Basically, the bullshit sprouted about Oz sucked us in, and we were shocked to find that the schools were not a patch on those in the UK, that crime was at least as bad in Oz, and that many teenagers (and older) are yobs in Oz as well as the UK.

We've just returned to the UK from Brisbane, and our two children have settled in well at their new school. However, at a parents evening last week, my sons's teacher advised that he is at least a year behind his classmates (my son had achieved straight 3's in his level 1 SATS before leaving for Oz and was in the top 3 in his class for all subjects) - this confirmed my opinion that the 18 months Oz education he received was a complete and utter waste of time.

So far, we've not had any "hoons" tearing up our lawns since we've returned to the UK, which is a huge relief.

Jobs here (Hampshire) are plentiful (but then so is the bloody traffic!!!) and the weather has been simply glorious - we arrived back in August to constant blue skies, September was fabulous too, and now its Autumn, and although a pain in the bum to have to scrape the frost off the windscreen in the mornings, a delight to see all those beautiful autumn colours on the trees and witness the changing landscape once again.

I personally found Australia a very BLAND country - full of bland people and bland scenery. Once you've seen the beaches and done the bush, there's bugger-all else (within reasonable travelling distance for a day out) to see.

The people in the UK have been overwhelmingly friendly, and its so great to be back amongst people who have energy, drive, enthusiasm for life and professionalism in their work.

Give me the UK anytime.

Oh, and by the way, flights to Europe from our local airport - £8.99!!! Can't be bad...

ms fruity

It is interesting reading everyones views on this subject,we are leaving the uk with our three children as we feel that oz will give them different oppurtunities and hopefully a better education, as the education system over here seems a bit hit and miss depending on where you live.You have decided to return and i am sure it is the right decision for you.at least you can say you gave it a go! good luck

Goodpubmisser

I thought that Australia had the highest young male suicide rate in the world with the Northern suburbs of Sydney topping it.

There are a few reasons for this but basically the young males get so bored due to the low population and thus lack of facilities.
That is why they do a lot of road racing.

You try doing a pub crawl in Sydney - impossible unless you start in a couple of areas near to the city. How you get home afterwards is also a big worry.