Again, thanks for your comments. Please don't feel that I am nit picking, I am just curious to get a feel of things from your perspective. It does interest me that although you've been there, done that, you are still posting to this forum. Fair play.

cocked that reply up a bit so am re-posting...sorry

Many thanks for your comments. I have taken them on board. I am going through your posts to get a bit more info, but can you clarify EXACTLY why you came home. What exactly was it that made you decide that Oz wasn't for you?

So, same class sizes, comparable education standards and sun. Oh, mainly white kids too.

But here, I HAVE to contribute to a service that I am unable to use. Or if I do get to avail myself of the services, how long did I have to wait for that ambulance? Did I contract MRSA while in the hospital? Did my son die from a rare genetic disorder but we had no information about the disorder, despite the fact that the professor who saw my son was the patron of the charity dealing with that disorder? And there was a room full of info above the ward that he died in!! Don't even go there!!!
Which medicines and for what illnesses, cost a fortune? What is a fortune? What about Medicare? What about private health insurance?

Aussie tax man takes lots of tax too.

See below...

The Aussies are one of the most racist countries I've ever come across, especially to the Brits.

Will cross that bridge as and when.

So no mortgage and no debt means I'm £700 a month better off straight away. I will not have to earn as much which means I will be paying less tax.

How long do you expect to work in the UK? I work like a dog here. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I wouldn't feel right NOT working

Again, thanks for your comments. Please don't feel that I am nit picking, I am just curious to get a feel of things from your perspective. It does interest me that although you've been there, done that, you are still posting to this forum. Fair play.

Me and OH lived in Spain for two years, we lived inland and you never heard an English voice it was HEAVEN ON EARTH. Believe me there are plenty of British live in Spain. I am sure there are plenty of British in Oz you just don't have to live near them. If I wanted to hear English voices I'd stay here !!!!

We wanted to go to OZ for the same reasons (or similar) to most people on here. Better education, better weather, bigger house, more laid back life style and perhaps more money by having less of a mortgage etc etc etc....

This is my story and opinion, I know everyone has a different story/view, this is just mine.

The education system from what we experienced seemed behind compared to what our daughter was use to. She was turning six when we arrived and was put back a year as they don't start school until they are five. She spent her first year cutting, pasting and painting.
Not sure what you mean when you say 'mainly white kids too' as Australia has many nationalities and the classes were very mixed with children from Spain, Greece, Italy and especially China.

The situation regarding your son is tragic and its awful, however things happen like that everywhere. I suffered a miscarraige whilst in Perth and had to drive a 60k round trip (whilst having a miscarriage) to get a vaccination from the Red Cross because the GP's don't keep it on their premises. The injection was needed as I have a different blood group.
Ambulances have to be paid for as we found out when my husband hurt his back whilst we were away in Margaret River. We paid over $200 for a 10 minute drive and were stupid enough to not know that Ambulance insurance was needed!?
Things like nasal sprays (that I take for allergies) aren't always on the PBS list of prescriptions so have to be paid for, my nasal cost $70.
Private Health insurance can be taken out but its expensive, the same as it is in the UK. Medicare covers some things but not everything. Many doctors surgerys aren't bulk billing anymore so you have to pay for each consultation. I think in the end we found a GP that charged just $10 each time we wanted to see him but it does add up.

I expect to work in the UK until I win the lottery (!) no really I expect to work the same as everyone else, retirement age, the same as I would have in Perth had I been able to get a job! I wanted part time work around school hours as I did here. Getting part time work in the UK is peanuts compared to Perth. They are still 20 years behind when it comes to women and working...they either work full time or stay at home.

My hubby worked hard in the UK for the same company for 12 years before we left to go to Perth. He was on a decent'ish' wage and was skilled in his job. On arriving in Perth he excepted the first job that came along (he was a wood machinist/cnc) as you do, and was earning $13 an hour!!!!!!! He was working far longer and with less breaks/holidays than in the UK. Ok it was his first job so he looked around for something else. It was the same in most of the jobs he took (he had 5 whilst we were there), poor wages, no breaks, long hours and hardly any holidays. I think the most he earnt was $16 an hour!

We came home because it wasn't the life we wanted and had gone out there expecting. We loved the cleanliness of the place, the beaches are fabulous and the wildlife is lovely.
But.. we were homesick beyond anything we had imagined. I found the pace of Perth to slow and boring. The weather was opressive during the summer and I longed to be cool and for the rain. My daughter was very unhappy and homesick and as relatives came and went each goodbye got worse.
We found the cost of living high, compared to the income (although eating out is cheap), clothes expensive for good quality or cheap for poor quality. The housing was expensive for something with a pool in a decent area so our 4x2 may have looked large to the average family visitng from the UK but it was only really a basic Aussie home.

I didn't want to have to skrimp and save every penny to live how I'd lived before in the Uk so we came back. We now see our 'expensive' trip as a good experience in life and one we are glad we've done and come out better the other side. Not everyone thinks like us, of course there will be people who love it and live there forever but not for us.

Again the wage was rubbish but

I was wondering if you were posting in the wrong forum, why would the kids be mainly white, unless your an immigrant to australia your skin would be aboriginal, ie black.