kath n kim

Just thought I would post this for all of you who are leaving the U.K because of all it's "problems".
A lot of people seem to be talking about the "spongers" who are now there....Sponging off the benefit system, having never worked a day in their lives, never having contributed to National Insurance contributions, expecting child benefit, free dental treatment, free prescriptions, free hospital treatment and numerous other handouts.......The huge influx of foreign immigrants flowing into the country, immediately expecting these same handouts, again having never contributed to the country's econonomy, often ignorant to the country's culture, morals, values, laws, way of life and even sometimes the language.... A lot of people are complaining about the rising crime rates, cost of houses, rising taxes, ridiculous laws, the governments' lax stand on allowing all these foreign immigrants to just walk into the country and almost "take over".....The lack of control that teachers now seem to have over children, in often overcrowded classrooms, with no discipline or morals being taught at the homes of these children, and your children having to be taught alongside them............The decline in the standard of public health care, aged care, mental health care and every other (overstreched and free) national system, probably due to the "spongers"......The widening gap between the wealthy and the poor... The list of the failings of the country is endless.
I know, because a few years ago I was saying exactly the same, then I moved to Australia.

I now realise that you could be saying exactly the same about this country. The only difference is that, I am now that "foreign immigrant"...As you will be in the near future. Expecting free Healthcare, Child benefit etc, etc........Trying desperately to fit-in, make a new/better life and trying to recreate a little bit of what was familiar to you, here in this new adopted country where often everything seems strange and almost unwelcoming. Where the system sometimes seems so unfamiliar, and where a friendly, helpful face is so gratefully appreciated...(even if it is in Centrelink!)

And who can blame many of the Australian people born here for often feeling slightly resentful of the fact that "Pommies" move over here and expect everything for nothing? That they move over here and push their property prices up to unaffordable levels for the average Aussie, because they can afford to pay more, after selling their house in the U.K for an astronomical price......Then, they come over here and expect handouts for free, without ever having contributed to the country's economy............Bringing with them their own thoughts and ideas on how things should be done.......
Sound familiar?
There are still the same injustices, unfairness, crimes and everything else over here, just as they are in the U.K. The only difference is that you see it from a different angle when you are on the outside, looking in.

Living in Australia has taught me many things. One of them is to have a little pride in your own country. Most Australians are very patriotic, and why shouldn't they be - Australia is a wonderful country......But then,
so is Great Britain. It is still one of the most sought after countries in the world, to live - That's why so many foreigners want to live there! So please don't knock it, or the "foreign immigrants" most of whom have moved there trying desperately to forge a better lives for themselves and their families, just as you will be doing in Australia.
People are human, no matter where they were born, and there are good and bad everywhere. I for one, now appreciate all that the U.K does have, rather than what it doesn't.

These are my thoughts and views. You may agree or disagree, that is your prerogative.

renth

Generally agree with the sentiments. Same sh*t, shinier bucket is a good description of life here (but the bucket is really nice and shiny!)

Anyway I take issue about being partiotic for "Great Britain" - who is proud of being British (apart maybe from immigrant to the UK) - ask a Scot of a Welsh person and they'll tell you they are first and foremost proud to be Scotttish or Welsh. Most English these days will tell you the same.

ANA123

Great post.
I have often found it ironic that a reason some people give to leave the uk is to escape mass immigration!
Michaela

renth

Kind of ironic, but at least in Australia the immigrants are "filtered"

ANA123

lol, yes thats the crux, though people bemoaning the visa process should maybe camp in the refugee camps trying to jump onto a passing lorry, I 'm not saying uk should open the doors, but theres desperate and desperate!

sam&molly

I am first and for-most British. When asked where I am from I always reply Britain. I always have done, as do the majority of my friends. I look to the union flag as my national flag, not the St George's flag.

Sam

kath n kim

Again, maybe we should learn something from the Aussie's. Whenever you ask an Aussie abroad "Where are you from?" I doubt you would hear "New South Wales/Queensland/W.A/Northern Territory" etc, The reply I've always had is simply....."Australia"
I too am proud of my ancestry, but I am from the U.K.

renth

Bet you and Sam and Molly are not Scottish, Welsh or from Northern Ireland.

louise4

I am English, and proud of it.

I do have to disagree with the OP though, Just because people moan about the way this country is going doesn't make us any less patriotic. in fact i think it is the people who care most about the country who moan. i can't stand to think of what this place will be like in 20 years time. it is overcrowded now, the law is just a joke. no that doesn't mean i am ashamed to be English. that means that i can remember when i was younger all around me people excepted laws and looked after their own little piece of England (thier homes and family). it is not only immigrants people moan about. the low life that this country is churning out at the moment is shocking.

As for the English/Welsh/Scottich/Irish whoever turning up in australia and expecting everything? don't understand this part at all. No body gets anything. No body is entitled to anything. we have done everything we are asked to those shiney visas, and we have to work bloody hard when there. not everybody takes money with them. if we did a poll to see who could afford to but thier house in oz outright and who would either be renting or with mortgage it would probably suprise you. we may moan about not being able to buy things, that's life, we went to france and i had a small baby at the time. have already had three, ran out of breakfast cereal for her. have always used the same one. moaned when i couldn't get it. that's just the way it is. if you are used to some thing it is a habbit. change it and it will take time for you to not notice anymore.

Louise

sam&molly

No I am from BRITAIN.

Sam

louise4

sorry to bang on but forgot to add. i think sometimes it is the British phycy (spelling?)

when our relatives from Australia came over on February, they were the biggest moaners about the cold. looked like frosty the snowman. yes we laughed, but we didn't take the proverbial. they were used to heat end of.
If a UK person moans about the cold in Australia, because it does get very cold inside, they are blasted.
Makes you think that maybe we just stand back and let people make us look silly. it seems everybody else in the world is allowed an opinion of the UK shores except the people who live here.

renth

That's because NSW, Qld, Vic etc are not separate countries.

kath n kim

louise4, provided that you are in Australia as a P.R, Medicare is subsidised for you, this includes- Doctors appointments, hospital care, hospital treatment, x-rays etc, etc.. If you have children, unless you are earning extremely high wages you will also recieve the equivalent of the U.K Child benefit. There are also other benefits which you can claim, even though you may never have contributed towards the country's economy, so yes, many people are entitled to quite a lot...... Yes, you will probably have to work "bloody hard" when you get here, as we have to, again this is something that Australia and the U.K have in common.

sam&molly

They are separate States all with their own government, taxes and laws who have come together as a Commonwealth. You'll find that the NSW government has more power that the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly. Prior to the Commonwealth each State was totally independent. The fact that in just over 100 years the Australians have developed a sense of nation is something us Brits could and should learn from.

Sam

kath n kim

Is Wales then?