JRB

I am married to an Aussie and agree they are hard work. I think they have superficial social skills - have a nice day etc. I didn't really click with many when I lived over there. It wasn't through lack of trying as I truly went with an open mind and intended to integrate fully with the Aussies and didn't really want to meet Brits.However through contacts most of our friend were Scottish, English, Russian, and from NZ. Actually I have always found NZ'ers to be super friendly and much more genuine. Sometimes my husband was the only Aussie in our social circle in Australia! He found many of the Perthites to be untrustworthy and 'old boys network' types, very corrupt especially in the Government. I used to go out of my way to be friendly to Aussies, and now I can't really be bothered these days. Find people in Suffolk much more genuine and it's lovely.

Pagani-Rennox

I have to jump in on this one cos I get quite frustrated with threads like this. For all you people who make derogatory comments about Australians - is it your impression that all British people are welcoming and friendly to those who come from outside to settle in the UK??. Come on, racism is rife in the UK - including race riots!! British people can be very insular and protective of their culture. I am Scottish and went to University in England and was treated with a lot of contempt and had a lot of derogatory remarks directed at me about being Scottish. However, I have some fantastic, wonderful English friends and would never tar them all with the same brush. There are many Scottish people who resent English people coming to settle in their village communities to take advantage of the lower house-prices and pushing the locals out. But not all Scottish people feel that way. I'm sure there are many Australians who are like that too but hey, do you not get that in every country of the world. I would suggest that if you cannot take this on board then emmigration to another country is not a good idea. As an aside, my husband is not long back from a reccie in Australia and he met exceptionally friendly people there especially in Hervey Bay. The impression I have of the Australian people I have met also is that they are a very friendly race.

Sorry about my rant but get frustrated when people want to go to another country to live there to take advantage of the benefits of that country's lifestyle and culture but can't accept that they may be met with some resistance about that from it's inhabitants too. Not particularly referring to this post but keep coming across threads from British people who make very racist and negative comments about Australians when I don't understand why they made the decision to make their life in OZ in the first place. Hope I didn't offend anyone but this is the reality.

biggy

we have been here for 4 years, have made many good friends and we defo feel that we belong here. Sometimes people will ask where we are from, and laugh when we say just doon the road!!!!!!! Which then leads to, a half hour convo, when we say we are now Aussie Citizens, we have always been congratulated and welcomed. 90% of our friends are Aussies, if I wanted to have loads of Scottish mates I would go back to Scotland

biggy

well said

Vanessa

I can understand people feeling that they don't belong but not, not welcome. Not all Australians are going to welcome you with open arms, the same as not all POMS welcome migrants into the UK. In fact I would rather be a POM moving to Australia than, say a Pole moving to the UK!

PC Pom

Don't hire a Mal mate, it'll seem like you're riding an oil tanker!

Do you make up for it in width? If so, we should get together. We could probably pull off a good Laurel and Hardy!

Margaret3

mmmmmmmmmmmm, I felt like that until i came Now............. well in general i find aussies ok, but sense of humour .....zilch......, i have found settling very, very , very, hard, one of the reasons being i mainly work and live with asians, ok not mainly, but in 10 years time i think i will be saying , mainly, due to geography, now if you find integrating with aussies hard, try this one, i even ended up in couselling with this issue, i am glad to say am coping with this much better now,

Mikeyc

Are you trying to tell me there are actually benefits and lifestyle out here? Sorry, but out here I work harder, longer hours for less pay and more tax, my rent is more expensive, food is more expensive, limited and disgusting, It’s impossible for me to afford a mortgage and I pay a rip off price for Internet that Aussies call “broadband” but doesn’t actually come close, I cannot afford to fly within the country, let alone out of it for a little holiday (oh god I miss Ryanair, never thought I’d say that!), Clothes are more expensive, and has anyone else notices Aussies have no sense of style? And to top it all off the weather is just as bad as it was back in Ireland!

As for Culture, Ha! It doesn’t exist in Australia, that’s what make’s this place so boring and un-special!

Most people fell for “the big con”, Australia is nothing at all like what it is sold as overseas.

Mikey

donovandenese

at the risk of being confrontational (playing devils advocate here) - given that the majority of Aussies are immigrants themselves - why are so many of them so intolerant of new immigrants?

my experience was a total mixed bag - plenty of friendly welcoming people, but lots of "not welcome/not belonging" feelings too. I did definitely find tho that most aussies (my husband and his family included) seem to be of the opinion that everyone everywhere else in the world is desperate to move to Oz and should be grateful to be allowed in. There is no comprehension that other places in the world can be great places to live too, and that most migrants who go to Oz go there with mixed feeling because of how much they will miss the place and the people they are leaving behind - even though they are determined to fully involve themselves in their new way of life.

Has anyone noticed the even more annoying people - the "fake aussies" - recent migrants who act more local than the locals? I'm all for making the most of your new life but how false is it to act like your old life never existed?

northernbird

The first parts I have highlighted in your post are all about YOU and how life here affects YOU. I don't have the same issues and have the lifestyle I want.

As for your last sentence it isn't a big con. I saw the same programmes, adverts, websites as you but you hate and I like it. So what is the difference? Why the need to blame and slate the place. The fault is with you not with the country because if it was the country everyone would feel the same. Stop trying to find a scapegoat, book your tickets home and move on. Be grateful you can because there are plenty that can't

Mikeyc

Not my fault the average wage is lower than Europe
Not my fault the rent is so overpriced
Not my fault the mortage prices are so unaffordable so many people are loosing their homes.
Not my fault the food is expensive and bland
Not my fault domestic and international flights are so expensive
Not my fault the government would not allow “real” broadband cable to be laid

Have you looked at this forum? Seems a lot of people feel the same, all happy getting ready for the move, once they are out here it is a different story. Have you actually looked into the statistics of how many people are leaving Australia permanently?

Read my location! I’d be home sooner, only with the low wages, high taxes and cost of living, bad exchange rate, it takes a bit longer to get out!

It’s good you like Perth and Australia, if your happy to settle for what Australia has to offer then that’s great and if it’s the life you want then good for you, just don’t get all snappy when other people don’t like it, or want more in life than to just settle for what’s out here.


Mikey

northernbird

I am not getting snappy at all. I can understand that it isn't for everyone. However I do get cross when people pass off their own experiences (which can't be argued with) as that is how it is for everyone. Lots of people come over and CAN afford the things you can't. My husbands wages aren't lower here, our rent was lower here, my other bills are cheaper here and my shopping, although still higher priced than when I arrived, is still cheaper than it would be in the UK. There are plenty of folk on this board that want to go home I know that but there are twice as many who are happy and settled.

Possums

why did you choose to live in Sydney where its obvious properties are more expensive? why did you choose a life where you work longer for less money?

Mikeyc

Oh I know some people love it, My family live over in Perth (I grew up there) and they are happy, but I personally hate the place, and know a lot of other people do too.

Each to their own, I just don’t like when someone get’s angry because I say I don’t like the place and that it’s much worse here, because for me it is.

Mikey

Mikeyc

I moved to Sydney 4 years ago because Perth wasn’t for me and I didn’t want to give up on Australia. It was great and loved it, wages good and cost of living low. I then moved to Ireland in 2006 with my Partner, and it was great also.

My Partner works for the Australia government, and was only on leave while living in Ireland, so end of last year had to come back, so we worked it out and agreed on it (I mean we had a good life in Sydney before, so there was no real reason not to come back).

Come back and realise what mistake we made, the wages are the same but cost of living shot up, I work in the Banking industry, which all my experience is in, so naturally I went for a job in that. Which pays a lot less than the banking industry in Ireland does, so hence, have to work longer hours just to have enough.

Property is more expensive in most places in Australia now, in 2006 it was easy to live in Sydney, now only 2 years later it’s much harder, I choose to live in Sydney because it’s the closet thing Australia has to an international city, there are more jobs with better wages compared to the rest of Oz, and I personally like the city.

I know rent goes up, but here it’s just ridiculous, let me show you how ridiculous it is, in 2006 my rent was $350 a week, that was for a 2 bed 3 bath penthouse apartment, 5 min from the CBD, with all the usual, Pool, Gym etc etc. My rent now is $450 a week for a studio. That for me is too much of a jump in just 2 years, also considering the wage has hardly gone up.

For me, life was easier in Europe, much easier.

Mikey