Positive feedback???
 

Hi Folks,
I've been trawling through this web site for a while now and am finding it difficult to find people/families that actually like the choices they've made in moving to Australia.
Now that could be because they are out there getting on with their life to sit writing about it on this site, unlike those folks that are unhappy, so have nothing better to do but write it all down.
So a quick question, is anyone on this site happy/pleased/content with the choice they made.
I know we aren't talking about the folks that thought they would be loaded and maintain a lavish lifestyle, but those whose quality of life has improved somewhat - i.e family etc.
Regards Sarah x

Re: Positive feedback???
 

Hope your stays are of steel, brace yourself for the Attack of the Killer Poms.

Megalania, you are a sad person.

Nup, Nup, Nup!

Re: Positive feedback???
 

We are actually VERY pleased with the choices we made. We came on a 2 year work contract, decided to stay for 2 years, have now been here for 2 years and as planned we return to UK in a couple of weeks. Its been great, Sydney is a great place to live. Just not forever for us (but forever for so many others).

Herman, i'm glad to hear you've had a good time and experience.
I didn't think it was all bad....or all good. But a bit of both. This web site is very one sided.
Sarah

'Tis the Wailing Wall.

'Tis the the Pom's right of passage...

actually i think you're wrong

this site is very fair and even handed..

sure there are those who don't/didn't like au but we need them here to keep our feet on the ground

I for one welcome their input -don't forget they are the ones actually there not us...

however

everyone i meet seem to love -or at least like- australia.

i know two english blokes who

both lived/worked there for several years
both married australian girls
both got 1+ year old boy's
both came back because their wife wanted to see the world etc
both sets go to the same gym
(getting spooky)

but they don't know eachother...

one couple heading back to the gold coast in august
the other say they will be here for another 2 yrs max then back to their house in brisbane

just enjoy pb's posts and delete them from your mind ..

besides no one here can't say 'why didn't someone tell me the bad things'

cheers

richard

Re: Positive feedback???
 

Hi Sarah
We have been here since January and so far are very happy with the choice we made. I couldn't agree more that the people who spend all day moaning on this site obviously have no life.
Almost all of my husbands immediate family have emigrated over the last 15 yrs and although it's far from Utopia I still firmly believe it's a better place to bring up kids.
So don't despair at what you read here as it most definately is one sided.
Cheers
Susan

Re: Positive feedback???
 

Define quality of life its near impossible , I think you can enjoy anywhere you live but feeling at home is important.
The saying that sums it up for me is "Life is something you live while planning something else" not unlike most on this site.
Australia is no uptopia but neather is the UK its easy to see the down side of both theres no escape by getting on a plane and expecting a change for the better this end .
If people in any country were asked where they would like to live , how many would say where they are living now ,we all dream of more could be its better to settle nowhere and live everywhere.

:D :cool: :beer:

being at the beginning of our journey, I do not have all the answers but when we went to Africa, we came to the conclusion that the grass is not greener on the other side but it is a different shade!! I am presuming hat any problems that we have in the Uk will disappear when we move but only to be replaced by new ones, but this is what gives you fulfillment and challenge.

if any other person says 'the grass isnt greener on the other side' im gonna make sure they see no more grass apart from lying 6 foot under a patch in a lovely church yard

the grass is as green as you make it and as high as you grow it or as low as you cut it

its not problems im leaving in th uk its new challenges im experimenting with

i do not know the correct amount of people who migrate to australia each year, lets say 100,000, and over the last 10 years lets say 1 million. out of this amount there are 4 maybe 5 people on this forum who hate it, work out the percentages, then decide for yourself

whilst spending 12 months in oz i found no ex pats who did not like the change and the country, thats because the ones who dont like it sit at home on their pc whinging about it

lifes not a rehearsal, live it now

So true...I work with several second generation Poms. Asked 'em today if they hankered for the mother country...they are both in their late '40's early 50's...as they arrived many years ago I had guessed the response...but none the less...after the strange stares they answered...NO???

Asked...what about your parents???...did they go back...NO???

My grandparents came from Glasgow...from the pits to what was then paradise...if they were alive now and I asked that question of them...my ears would be ringing for a week. Hard Scots, who made great Australians, worked hard and died here without regret. They were pioneers. Those days are gone and Glasgow is not what it was...nor is Australia.

I miss 'em...their guts, determination, and spirit. Old fella died working in the sawmill at Malanda at the age of 73, crushed by a log. Went home...no complaint...took his shirt off that night and was black and blue from groin to neck...died 3 days later. The old girl was gutted. Brought into this world 12 boys, 2 twins dead at birth, 2 girls. Went blind and died a few years later...No complaints, no regrets...I miss 'em.

We've been living near Sydney for a year now and still love it. We feel very much at home and have made many friends. Husband has landed a good job and kids are in a good school. I have plenty to do having volunteered for various things at the school and have now taken up horse riding again (fantastic places to ride here). I really feel like we are living our life now rather than planning, but my god the time dun arf go quick when you are living your life!! There are still many things we haven't done around here and we have the rest of our lives now to tour this huge country, really looking foward to discovering it. Haven't really found much to moan about yet but then we are only 'newbies'!! mind you I don't like the amount of Maccies and Kfc's etc there are here, its rediculous some are within a few hundred metres of each other!!

Mandy

if we like it, we like it, if we dont we dont!!!!!! we need to find out for ourselves, i think this site is fair, everyone is entitled to an opinion, good or bad. brissy here we come, :D :D where we shall decide for ourselves if it is the life for us, if we dont try we will never know :confused: :confused:

Here, here !

We are all individuals, you cannot expect to know whether you will like living in Oz, UK or anywhere else in the world until YOU have lived it! Just because someone else has problems with culture, lifestyle etc, does not mean you will too. Likewise, just because someone doesn't have problems, doesn't mean you won't.

We migrated from South Africa to the UK just over 9 years ago. For the first year we battled, longed for home (SA), friends etc., went back on holiday and realised that the same problems we had there were still there and in many cases worse. The funny thing is I wasn't patriotic until I left the place! We came back to the UK after the holiday, and for the first time felt at home. Since then, we feel that the UK has changed and our lives are not going in the direction we want them to go. We will try pastures new, not necessarily greener, but we believe Brisbane has what we are looking for in this stage of our lives. We believe there is more to offer our children and ourselves. We may be wrong, but we are resilient and the world is actually quite a small place.

Only time will tell, but there is no use whinging about it, the only comman denominator in the equation of Your life is YOU! For things to change YOU have to change!

Read the posts, but never forget, no-one else is YOU and you are the only one who can know what is right in your life. Don't let the posts sway your own judgement.

Okay, lesson over ....
Hazel:lecture:

Hi Mandy,

Glad to hear you are happy with your move to Oz
My husband and I are just about to submit our application for PR and are hoping to move near Sydney(if we get accepted!). We also have kids, our eldest is 2 this Friday and our youngest is 7 months.

We've started to investigate areas around Sydney but could you give us some guidance on good areas you have come across since you have been there? Also, am I correct in thinking that children don't start school until they are 5? How have you found the schools and the education system.

Nice to 'talk to you'

TOB




QUOTE]Originally posted by Mandy Bale
We've been living near Sydney for a year now and still love it. We feel very much at home and have made many friends. Husband has landed a good job and kids are in a good school. I have plenty to do having volunteered for various things at the school and have now taken up horse riding again (fantastic places to ride here). I really feel like we are living our life now rather than planning, but my god the time dun arf go quick when you are living your life!! There are still many things we haven't done around here and we have the rest of our lives now to tour this huge country, really looking foward to discovering it. Haven't really found much to moan about yet but then we are only 'newbies'!! mind you I don't like the amount of Maccies and Kfc's etc there are here, its rediculous some are within a few hundred metres of each other!!

Mandy [/QUOTE]

Very interested reading, thanks everyone. I aren't going to be swayed, however it is good to hear a balanced story. We are hoping to be out in early June and looking forward to the change,
Cheers,
Sarah

Hi guys

Well we've been here for 8 months now and are still enjoying things. Yes we have had challenges, yes it has been hard at times, but we expected them and have handled them as we thought we would. The people-sickness can be hard, don't underestimate it, but we set out on the adventure of our lives and are actually living it instead of wondering 'what if'.

Those of you who know me and know our story will know we never said it would be forever, but after the challenges that the last couple of years have thrown at us we figured it couldn't be any harder to do this....and we were right!

Forever is a scary concept wherever you live, we don't know how long we'll be here but at this moment in our lives we are very happy with our decision.

And yes, I don't really have that much time to devote to sitting in front of the computer telling people about it....it's the first time I've looked in ages...and guess what, it hasn't changed a bit...

Life is for living so do what feels right for you and your family!!

Good luck and peace and love to everyone ;)

love sophia xxx

Individuals choice
 

For what ever reason those of us that are going through this process know the potential pitfalls we could all face. Most of us realise that if we fail or we hate living in OZ then we can come back. Penniless but we can still come back.

Every person has their own reasons and we should respect those reasons.

Madly hoping to up sticks to Brisbane



footie chick

Re: Positive feedback???
 

Hi Sarah,

Here is my/our experience since arriving in Australia in January 1999.

We've been here in Aus for 4ys and 3 months and are still enjoying it here. Yes, Australia does has it's faults but then so does *every* country. For us, it is still more preferable to live here than in the UK. I was born in Jamaica in the West Indies and preferred to live in the UK than in Jamaica because I felt the UK had more to offer.

We decided to leave the UK partly because we both wanted to try a change of lifestyle from the UK but weren't prepared to try anything too different from the UK. Canada and Australia seems like good choices - both English speaking (I'm terrible at *all* languages) with societies both similar to the UK.

We arrived in Australia in January 1999 initially for a 6-12 month trial period. However, within a month we found out that my wife was expecting our first child, and were then immediately thrown into a great deal of turmoil about whether to stay or return. We decided that because it had taken so long to plan and emigrate we would stay until after the baby was born. During the pregnancy, I booked to have an operation on my nose as an intermediate patient in a public hospital (i.e. I paid to get it done quickly) and was nearly *killed* off by an incompetent junior doctor in the emergency ward. We were not impressed despite the professionalism of the specialist who actually performed the operation, and decided that this was a bad sign - so we'd return to the UK as soon as possible. However, by this time it was already too late for my wife to get on a plane (>6 months). D-day arrived and we booked into a private hospital - we were most impressed by the professionalism, the customer service and the hotel-like surrondings - but the cost, ouch (even if you take out private health cover as soon as you arrive you will not be covered for births for a full 12 months). It made us realise that Australia is a country with a wide range of both incompetents and true professionals - the only problem is it can seem like *pot-luck* finding a professional. After this experiance we decided to stick it out for a few more months until the baby was old enough to travel.

When our son was 6 months old we booked a holiday back in England - what an eye-opener. We flew all the way to Manchester. Before heading off to see the relatives I popped into a chemist in Manchester and was immediately greeted with the scene of 2 shop assistants chasing 3 under 13-year old kids who were hurling amazing foul language and trying to run out of the store with fist-full of stolen goods in full view of everybody. *Welcome to the UK*. The traffic was crazy - most of the people we met in the street seemed sullen and unhappy. One day we went into a local store where all the (female) shop assistants we standing around looking quite scared - apparently 2 local lads had come into the store made lewd and threatening remarks and then left when they were told that the police were coming. On the upside, we had a great time visiting relatives and catching up with old friends.

The weather for the full 4 weeks was fairly consisitently cloudy and raining. By the end of the holiday - we were glad to get on the plane and head for the Brisbane which now felt like home. Whan we got back - we weighed up our experiences and decided that Australia felt like a safer place to live and bring up children

Now I realise some will try and tell me that I'm trying to paint a black picture of England - but these are real experiences we had on a (shortish) holiday. So far we've not come across one similar experience in Australia (Brisbane). Yes I watch the news - and I know that these crimes happen here too - but the seem to be more remote (they happen predominantly in specific suburbs ) and are less of a daily occurance.

Over the following 3 years since coming back we've had another child - and the birth went very smoothly. After a slow start we've made some good Australian friends here. With 2 small kids we find the range of childrens activites both stimulating and fun (for the kids - not us). We like the quiet, relaxed (i.e. less hectic - less aggresive) lifestyle with the constant warmth and sunshine. The Sunshine and Gold Coasts are close - beaches are in easy reach and are of a very high standard - you have to be pretty lucky in the UK to live near a half-decent beach (and even luckier to go there on a weekend when it's not raining). The driving style is less hectic but more erratic. The range of shops and services and is more limited and you really 'pay-for-what-you-get'. Usually if things are priced cheaply there is a very good reason - they are of cheap quality. Simple uncomplicated oudoors activities seem better here (in Brisbane) - sports, reserves, parks, picnics, sailing, fishing, eating outdoors, swimming, beaches, etc. 'Sophisticated' activites are much more limited but do exist - plays, concerts, ballet, 'fancy' eating. Visiting sophisticated Europe is obviously out of the question. We'd like to visit 'interesting' Asia when the kids are old enough.

The 2 main things that bug us most are family and travel. The distance and cost back to the UK to visit relatives and/or friends is too high for us to travel regularly. Especially as the salaries for a professional (I'm an I.T. Consultant) are lower than in the UK - approx. 2/3! Worst of all being so far from family can seem very hard - especially for the children. Also with advancing age of the grandparents this is still the greatest reason we would have for going back. We have obtained our citizenship and so would be able to return to Australia at a later stage if we wanted too.

Our feelings for staying and returning have ebbed and flowed -and it was during one of my more negative periods that I first visited the misc.immigration.australia+nz usenet group when the british expats forum was 'linked' to the usenet group. At first I found some comfort that other 'expats' had had their own problems but as the times moved and things got better for me I have found that I now share very little with those who come on here and regularly complain about any little gripe they have about Australia. I personally know quite a few expats who are all are happy - and not one (apart from me) comes onto this forum. They're not ignoring it - they are just not interested in contributing - they just want to get on becoming more Australian and less British.

Australia is not just a UK in the sun - it's a way of life. It doesn't suit everybody, and the vocal few can't accept that they made a go and couldn't/didn't want to adapt.

AndyH
Brisbane

N.B. I will be ignoring all flame and troll posts.

I have to say, whilst still adjusting ( I think this puts me in the more negative than postive position??), it's got a lot of nice things about it too. I would expect that on my first visit to the UK it will likely confirm that I am quite happy with life over here - we shall see. I reserve my right, however, to post 'negative' (otherwise known as 'please wake up to the reality') comments. If you take such postings in this light you will find there's actually a lot of well thought balance in the postings of many of the so-called negative posters. A lot of us find it amusing (or often infuriating) that there's so much running down of the UK and talking up of Oz by potential expats, as I have said elsewhere, it's not one long holiday.

AndyH - you forgot to say how good South Bank is!

Well, funnily enough I don't much like Southbank. I find it too *touristy* for my tastes!

I have no problem with balanced posts with both positives and negatives - indeed my post contained both good things I like about Aus and some things I don't like. I'm just happy to be living here (at the moment at least). And I'm fully aware that could change - and I'm lucky to be able to get on a plane and return to UK if we wish. At the very least this will have been a great adventure.

AndyH.
Brisbane

Exactly.
Many may find, like us, that they actually do not want to stay in Australia long enough that they miss their families back home less. We know of course that over time we would become desensitised to being so far from our families, but our choice is not let that happen to us. We do not want our distance from our parents, brothers, sisters and life long friends to matter less and less to us. We choose to share our lives and the lives of our kids with our families. A pretty basic human instict, and quite a strong one, that for us outweighs such trifling issues as the weather and little grains of sand under foot.