ace ventura

my reasons 4 migration is really the same as everybody else plus i cant stand the winters in england

kentcoast

Answered similar threads a few times but just beginning to understand the true answer:

'Because it really is time for a change'

There, simple isn't it?

PW

wengerboy

hi annie are you sure you have`nt just returned from a guest house in dover? just curious

kaleb777

Just a note about bank fees. If you're smart, you can get away without paying any fees. You just have to change your banking habits. You can't expect everything to be the same. First of all, avoid the big banks like Commonwealth, National or Westpac. They charge like wounded bulls. You can get accounts in credit unions that are fee free or give you a set number of transactions free. You need to take out $100 or $200 at a time, then use the cash. That way you keep the number of transactions low. Most people also take out cash when they pay for their groceries at the supermarket, so that counts as one transaction. You just need to be smart. It's the same with phone companies like Telstra. Look for smaller companies that are a better deal.

As far as traffic goes, in the major cities it is bad. Sydney is by far the worst with most traffic forced to use surface streets. Melbourne at least has a great freeway network. BE warned that Sydney's western suburbs experiences world class (?) smog levels.

Creepy crawlies? I guess if you come from the UK this is a big thing but after living here for a while you won't care about the hand-sized huntman spider that crawls over your car bonett as you drive in heavy traffic. Snakes are rarely seen in suburbia. Don't worry about the signs around Brisbane warning of the fire-ant threat - they are thought to be eradicated. These things just add to the excitement of moving somewhere new.

"Dormitory suburbs" are just that, places where people sleep. New suburbs are bland as are the shopping malls which are spotless, sterile and cookie cutter. However if you want to be left alone, these suburbs are the place for you. Inner suburbs have the life, but the houses are older and there is less space.

Sometimes buying your own land then building a house is cheaper than buying in an estate. Estate houses usually have covenants too, which means you can't paint your house a weird colour or build a small home. Look around. Established older suburbs have no convenants and more community spirit.

Just enjoy the differences. Australia won't have the same type of culture that comes from people living very close to each other, but it has other good points.

It's true Aussie is a lot closer to the US as far as user-pays and litigation. Insurance is out of control but there are ways being developed to get around it like pooling premiums between small business. The Liberal government (conservatives!?) are trying to address unfair dismissal laws. Offshore insurance is also gaining popularity. Aussie is capitalism. The market rules. If insurance companies overcharge, eventually a competitor will appear and charge far less. It's what happened with home loans. Don't expect things to stay as they are here for long.

One thing that seems ludicrous is how students must buy their own textbooks every year. Now there's an opportunity for a business.

Meeshmash

I'm actually South African living in freezing Scotland and I simply can't bare the cold weather anymore. After 8 winters it's get a bit boring being cold all the time.

NZ seems to be the place to be, oh and not forgetting that my long lost sister that I've not spent a christmas with in like 8 years lives there too.

It's time for a change. I've done the UK....

Sunlover

Hey Meeshmash !

Hi from a Fellow Saffie interloper on this Brit expat board !

I feel legit though because I have also lived in the UK. We lived in Wiltshire and worked in London (in the City) - try that for a daily commute from hell. But there were many things I loved about England - history, culture, countryside, people.......

Next move was to Canada:scared: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek Horrible horrible place. Makes England look and feel like a tropical green island. Lasted less than a year there and decided to get back to our Southern Hemisphere roots.

Now living and working in Adelaide on 457's while we wait for our PR visas to get issued. Hubby got a new job in Canberra today so may be making another "trek" soon.

I LOVE the lifestyle here but I find the Aussies heavy going. Got along much better with the polite cultured Brits and the gentle Canadians. The Aussies are a brash lot committed to compulsive bragging and one-upmanship.

Also have to work like a slave here. Aussie bosses want their pound of flesh alright. In the UK if you worked a full day and didn't take sick leave every week they were ecstatic and promoted you every six months. In Canada you were the last person in the office if you stayed after 4.30pm. Here you are expected to work nights and weekends.

So I guess nowhere is perfect but the lifestyle here is the closest thing you'll get to SA.

Keelie

Sunlover your life experience's are closest to my own reality .
It's refreshing to see someone who's taken off the rose-coloured glasses and can still appreciate the positives in several cultures.
As a young emigrant from the U.K. many years ago, I worked harder in Aust. than any of the many countries that I had lived in.
I watched as my Australian employer exploited vulnerable 'New Australians' with threats of dismissal if they didn't 'toe the line'

Skilled emigrant office staff were intimidated by this bully-couple into cleaning and washing out their premises on Satuday mornings, work long hours without breaks...or look for other jobs....this at a time when jobs were scarce and Aust. was going through a severe recession.

There are many such stories that long-time emigrants could relate.
Thankfully such exploitation is in the past,and new labour laws protect present-day workers ...also I believe the emigrants of today are much more sophisticated and savvy and wouldn't tolerate these conditions for a minute.
Good Post Sunlover.

pommie bastard

You will live in the great Australian countryside?

POLICE in the West Australian town of Meekatharra are hoping strict liquor restrictions will help ensure the town's children are fed and its alcohol-related anti-social behaviour problems are curbed.

Sergeant Peter Hayes from Meekatharra Police Station, 765km north of Perth, said the new alcohol controls would come into force from July 1.

He said the restrictions were aimed at curbing anti-social behaviour and encouraging residents to spend money on food for their children instead of buying grog for themselves.




http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/c...5E2761,00.html

Ceri

Don't know if you'll be able to read this news article below about snakes here with me (Brisbane):

I've only seen a couple here, depends where you live I suppose - one dead while I was out walking - it looked to be a brown snake, and a python crossing the road one night.

Megalania

Meeka from the air:


Meeka Woolies:


Meeka countryside:

Wilf

What a desolate hole. Imagine actually living there. Jesus.

Megalania

Pom safe?

dotty

Yeah and you can drive for days and see nothing but that sort of garbage. Explains why people are fighting to get a block of land in the Cities or near a bit of beach.

Vee

I was kinda hoping to the great outdoors in Qld not WA. I agree that the countryside in WA doesn't look that great. We stayed a night in a place called Halls Creek and the locals had changed the road sign to say "Hells Crack" which was more appropriate. It wasn't a nice place.

I think that the countryside type places in Qld would be a bit nicer and greener than that in WA. Obviously I won't know about schools, entertainment, locals, Woolies etc until I get there and can explore round. However, having looked at the houses on t'internet (hang my head in shame I know) there are some nice looking places out there. I do know that the suburbs aren't for me. I grew up in one in Toronto, Canada and it just isn't what I want. I live in hope that I can live somewhere nice that isn't in a 'burb or a city.

Megalania

Try Cooktown, no need to worry about finding work, there isn't any. Buy a block big enough not to hear your neighbour fart and with a tin humpy already on it for a couple of thou!