simon2cairns

I have been to cairns!!!! and dont much care for the center but the sea!!! I also like the fact you can grow your own mangos!! Madchester is great and will always be our spiritual home init! but want to feel warm!!

kevin747

Fair play to you

eugene43

I second this uk a very good place to be at prescent

Olibeneli

Please research where you intend to go really well.

I stayed 2 1/2 years......I too was emotionally and financially drained - in Oz. For us, Oz was not a greener place and we now know, from the benefit of experience and having been there, Oz is not a solution to all the UK problems. In fact it has more than enough of its own....starting with, lets see, water.

I also had a well paid job, but I did not feel wealthy.

bigAPE

I think the problem here is that too many people state opinion as fact.

[In my opinion I feel that] the uk is a very good place to be at present
[In my opinion I feel that] its nowhere near as bad here in England

These are all personally qualified statements and can't be the same for everyone. I for example would rather inject acid into the eyes of rats and then put those rats down my pants than go back to the UK and Gordon Brown with his proposed 60% tax rate.

Fact: The current economic troubles around the world are around the world (even China is hit by this), they will effect everyone from the Builder down the street in Melbourne to the Builder down the street in Scunthorp, from the job cuts at Google to the job cuts at the car manufacturers in the UK. It will hit everyone in some way, but it may take time to filter down to your profession and lifestyle.

It is a subject of debate if the current crisis was caused by the media and scaremongering, but I personally feel that that markets are so volatile and jittery as a result of the sub-prime defaults that it's highly plausible that the shock headlines in the major press has caused the economy and investment strategies of countries around the world to change. The one thing you can't dismiss is that the financial troubles are very real and aren't going to disappear.

eugene43

sorry do you perhaps work for a uk news paper if not you should or take a deep breath.

spilko

It isn't that much different in Perth. Guns, brawls in the hospitals, people running through Coles threatening to stab everyone (saw this last week and I had only been here a week), big drug problem, schoolies rampaging.

As for work, I have spoken to several agencies, after thinking getting a job would be easy, and companies are rapidly cutting back in WA too.

Also, how bloody expensive is Perth/Fremantle. Food/drink prices match London. And much less choice.


It isn't all happy days in Australia..

spilko

And all that may be true for a few but all these cuts will just increase the already record debts and massive borrowing allowed by this idiot chancellor/PM. Gordon Brown will go down as the worst of both that the UK has ever seen. He truly is a criminal for whats he has done to the UK economy.

When this is all over and labour are trounced at the next election, the Tories will have as big and as tough a job as they did in the 80s to pull the economy around again. people in the UK will be paying off Blairs/Browns bad debt for 20 years. Sadly, the UK is in the worst position of any Western country to cope with this problem; 10 years ago it would have been in the best position.

spilko

Its done nothing but rain since I've been here lol

eugene43

tories have no hope of been elected now

BadgeIsBack

In my opinion, the UK seems to be unravelling faster AT THE MOMENT, or is further down the track, but the reality is that we do not know what the end state is for both nations.

You can look into as much detail concerning the bits you are interested all you like.

eugene43

house prices have now started to stabilise in uk according to the nationwide building society

BadgeIsBack

I like these games. I like to stick to facts, which come out of fairly credible sources, rather than try to support a case or an argument that suits me. This is my summing up:

This is what I hear - so it not even my opinion. (As I am not a bank, or a RBA chief, or even a financial insider I can only digest what I hear - or read).

Based on reports the whole world will slow. Some (most) will go into recession which, I am led to believe, is contraction over 2 quarters. It's almost a 'bogey word' as even slowdown in growth = job losses - surely - even if the losses come from jobs that were created during growth times..

All I know about Australia:
The only thing reported that is almost benign compared to other places in Eurozone, at the moment, - sort of on a vague scale of 1-10 - is that it is still unclear whether recession will arrive and this changes from week to week. A >0 (even with a contraction) growth of the economy is not a recession - but see my point above. What we do know is, as time goes on, it seems more imminent - go figure.

In the fallout of the recent credit issues, Australia has tighter regulation over some of its banking institutions - witness reports of ratings etc. But suffered from the loss of confidence in interbank lending and govt handlings of the guarantee. The dollar is very weak - which is good and bad depending on from which side you are viewing the problem - generally a bad thing. (Actually I added that last bit just to ensure that you the reader don't think I am running away in optimism).

Australia has industry WA- even at reduced rates when service sector jobs are in decline.

Australia still has a surplus and not a deficit YET ie. as of now. Infact some of the surplus has been used to try to stem recession etc, yet there are reports that surpluses may have been forecasted wrongly. I don't know which part of the cycle we are in, or which loads of surpluses are 'keeps', or just 'guesses' cos I don't know. The days of surpluses may be coming to an end in any case.

People complain about the media being more positive over here, well maybe if confidence is key - it is a good thing.

House prices have fallen in some key areas of note - but a lot of people are keeping stum. But it seems to be, relatively speaking, early days - players are merely waiting. It is the phoney war. People talk about demand and supply issues here, I'm not sure how they differ from any other W nation.

We do know that Australia will be effected by the global economy, even if for different reasons. Even in the days of the global economy, different countries will have different positions.

Based on what I know of the UK and Eurozone - what I have seen reported- is that a fair amount of institutions have physically gone bust. There is recession NOW(I think) - and this is reflected possibly with interest rates being lower now. House prices have definitely fallen. Confidence is low I am quite sure. Both in the public eye, and in the media (no change there then!). I believe they are in deficit - and have been for ages- infact I'm sure it has been the fashion to run one as a matter of course for as long as I can remember.

It seems to be that the UK and Eurozone are further and thus deeper down the track. The US is its own basketcase with a completely stuffed housing market in some areas - but then they had the biggest subprime lending.

But noone knows what will happen next year specifically.

Right NOW I would rather be in Australia - I might change my view next week, or next month or even next year and probably will. I promise you this has no basis in any bias from the fact I also choose to make my home here. If I can't rub any penny together I will go anywhere in the world for a job that will create cashflow to service my liabilities which is all I have to do to get out of this economically more or less intact.

So lets see!

spilko

ha ha

In one year's time Brown will have the worst ratings of any British PM ever. The UK will be deep in recession , in debt and unemployment will hit 3 million.Labour will have no chance.

asprilla

"schoolies rampaging"....wow, that sounds incredibly scary.

Sounds like Perth is really going to the dogs, as you say. How can you go about your day-to-day life in such a dangerous environment?