bridiej

But what is the point of a free NHS if you have a suspected head injury and have to wait 18 months for an MRI, yet can pay nearly £1K and go private (as has recently happened with a Kent woman).

Personally I'd rather the whole country went the way of the US or Oz and everyone just had their own private insurance, but that's another argument I guess.

Just wanted to make the point that free NHS is all well and good, but pointless if the service isnt up to scratch...

samnrob2

I'm terrible at doing this but again, I haven't read all the thread but I want to make a comment.

One of the earlier posts asked how many ppl travelled more than 10 miles in their day-to-day life and what else, other than the weather made people go to oz.

Our view on all this is that your weekends in Oz are mini holidays. Knowing (at least here in Qld) that you are likely to get great weather at the weekend means you can plan things in advance. Travelling out on a Friday night and staying over somewhere is perfectly normal.

Also, there's load of little things here that just make Oz a miles better country to live in.

Getting paid every fortnight is fantastic - ok you get paid the same as you would if you were paid monthly but you get twice as many 'pay day feelings'!

Australia have suddenly become crap at cricket, so us poms can start taking the pi** out of them for a change!

Loads more 'free'/cheaper things to do for most people.

The list is endless.

R

jugsy

[/QUOTE]

LOL. Quite right Michaela. Sod the sun - give me a weekend in Dublin with my mates where I don't see daylight at all

Merlot

Sorry people, weather is gonna happen everyday in every place you live, just get on with it

I have had a picnic in England in September with a chilly wind - just wore more fleeces. Tried it in October, a little too cold so did the drive out and sat in the car for a yummy cuppa and buttie Still had a lovely day out!

When I get back to Oz to combat the excessive heat this time I will make sure we have air con or plan my life that I do things when cooler and sit in the ocean when hotter.

Weather is only a small part of live, you just need the right clothes (a la Billy Connelly)

M

kath n kim

Waking up to sunshine (nearly) every morning is wonderfully uplifting

Until you start seeing friends having bits cut out/off of them, and you realise that the longer you spend in it, the more you increase your risk (your children's risk) of developing skin cancer later in life....

Sorry, but someone had to mention it!

Megalania

But surely, 'tis so obvious that ignorance can only be due to sloth - and worthy only of humorous chiding?

Click Here

wallabyWannabe

I can not believe this thread. It is almost like that was me writing that! We have been umming and aring for 18 months and have finally sent off the TRA on friday. My hubbie and I both go through this at different times and it is true, there is nothing better that England in the summer. We went strawberry pcking today and then drove back through all the villages with the thatched roofs and the quaint little red telephone boxes and it is bloody hard to tear away from that. But I see this everyday and take no notice, and all of a sudden these things I have been accustomed to for my whole life feel like they are being taken away from me and their beauty is magnified a thousand fold. There is even a Coca Cola advert on the telly at the moment with this bloke giving coke out in London, and I get a pang of guilt/dread/missing you already feeling everytime I see it! But all I am telling myself that it does not have to be forever, and it is better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all.
Our children are 7 and 5 and I keep thinking that they will have such a better quality lifestyle out there, boogie boarding anf horse riding etc, (cant do that here, horse riding too expensive and we live in Kettering so too far away from any water to even want to go boogie boarding in some sewer drenched sea side town!)
You are not the only ones thinking like this and I am sure when I have to tell my family that we are definatley going, I too will be back on here with the same thread started again.
Good luck in what you decide, and if you are anything like us, you will still be wondering up to the day you leave!
From Donna.

worzel

The trouble is that once the question has entered your mind you are left with the choice to either take a risk and go for it or you live your live thinking "what if?"

Personally, I couldn't live with myself if I made the second choice.

janeyray

Definitely not worth moving to Perth just because of the weather. Not worth moving from anywhere 'to' anywhere just because of the weather.

I'm sure thats not the only reason you are leaving the UK, I had lots of issues, the weather was just one of them. When you move to Perth you may again look at the UK in another light. Make sure your reasons for leaving are long and thought about. Perth too has cold winters, cold enough so that you have to hide under a quilt just to watch TV!!! Most homes have no heating, so a small gas fire is no compensation for the central heating we have here. The summers can also be very long due to the heat. Working and living your life in temps above 35c aren't that pleasent and the locals moan about the heat as we moan about the rain here Some days it can be too hot for the children to play out just as they can't play out here due to the rain.

You have to take hold as to why you want to leave, getting away from issues in the UK will not be solved by moving to OZ.

Good luck though, if its something you long to do then go for it

Sometimes when the immagration ball is rolling it is hard to think about anything else other than leaving the UK. England isn't all bad.

NKSK

I agree. I really relate to all others on here who have doubts - Sackofspuds, Grayling et al - my doubts are huge.

But as I wrote on a thread a few weeks ago, I feel that I owe it to my family to try.

I used to work with a guy who lived in Perth in the late 60s. His parents returned without them ever taking up citizenship.

When he found out that I was going, he was as envious as hell - and he was very frustrated (to put it mildly) that his parents came back and didn't take up citizenship. He's now too old to get in.

When I expressed my doubts to him, he just said "If I could, I'd swap places with you like a shot".

As I said, I have some major concerns about Australia, but I don't want my kids giving me the guilt trip and the look that says "You didn't even have the balls to give it a go..."

I think that on your death bed, you're less likely to regret having tried and failed than not having tried at all.

One other thing, the green fields and the cottages will still be here if you decide to come back after two years. Yes it will cost you (so don't sell your house yet), and yes you may suffer career wise. But you are also a long time dead

NKSK

Thanks - I think I've got it!!

janeyray

Hi Donna,

Before we left the UK to go to Perth in feb 2003 I gave away my horse (long story) and it was one of the worst things I've ever done. We do have to take risks and leave things behind if we want to make a go of a new life somewhere else though so I knew I had to do this.

Learning to ride in OZ is no cheaper than learning to ride here in the UK, honestly. Also many people who own horses have to get up at the crack of dawn to ride as it's too hot. During the summer months it can be awful and there are millions of flies to one horses head

The UK in one of the best places in the world for riding and for children learning to ride.

No boogy boarding though and the local pool isnt quite the same is it!!!

baggie

we (me andthe girls (i am not a single parent see earlier thread))have just got indoors we went to get my wife some birthday prezzies then to our local farm for a picnic then just played with footbal and frisby and just ran about i did all the above with the thought of my god we're having real fun in th uk.
it's true how the sunshine and blue skies lift your mood (even when my 4 year old came into the bedroom at 6 am asking if it was to early for fathers day presents)

in short i can see both sides having the good weather for about 9 months of the year but by 3pm the kids looked fit to drop sweaty and greasy from the suncream the garden now looks like an isle from toys r us we got everything out to play with.

anyway my mind is still not made up so will continue my sunshine and strongbow while they both last.

maybe i've got reverse rose tinted glasses at the moment.....

could still murder a kebab from hilarys tho.

Don

Bollocks. Now is the perfect time to get out of the UK housing mkt.

House prices are going down, down, down...

coxfamuk

Perhaps what you need to do is think about what made you want to go to Australia in the first place. We have had many times when we wondered if we are doing the right thing and then we remember why we made the decision - for us it is because we believe that Australia can offer our children a better way of life. We found that Australia (Melbourne) was more relaxed and friendly and there just didn't seem to be the angst that there is here. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly and helpful (even the doctors who I had to see as an emergency). We believe that the education system provides more for children (not necessarily academically, but taking the child as a whole - they certainly do a lot more than the state schools here), plus there is no denying it, we do like the fact that the weather is better more often throughout the year. We grew up in South africa, where they are not geared for winters and a couple of oil heaters and electric blankets did wonders. We love the fact that entertaining children does not have to cost a bomb (yes, I know that a couple of layers and bracing the elements is fun for some, but it is not our cup of tea - not month in and month out, anyhow)

We had a lovely BBQ yesterday with about 30 of our friends and last night hubby and I did wonder why we were even contemplating it, but for me, the reasons to go just outweigh the reasons to stay.

Good luck with your decision.

Sarah