Originally Posted by Bernieboy (Post 7967849)

So will my english headphones work with my oz ipod:confused:

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 7967708)

You think it's repetitive.., you should try posting here for years, on and off, and try answering the same questions and same conceptions over and over again. !

Originally Posted by rinkerdink (Post 7967505)

But then you get people saying they could never go to Oz for fear of the spiders lurking to pounce and kill them or the sharks circling all the beaches waiting for the bathers to deliver themsleves for lunch not to mention the crocodiles and snakes drooling in anticipation of another brit arrival.

Originally Posted by mohogony (Post 7967868)

Yes makes laugh the people who say they are too affraid to go to OZ becasue of spiders and sharks and things, its amazing they have the courage to travel in cars when they are thousands of times more likley to die in a car accident.

Originally Posted by mohogony (Post 7967868)

Yes makes laugh the people who say they are too affraid to go to OZ becasue of spiders and sharks and things, its amazing they have the courage to travel in cars when they are thousands of times more likley to die in a car accident.

Originally Posted by rinkerdink (Post 7967505)

IMO posts like this are only necessary once in a while and there seem to be far too many of them, people need to get over the fact that others have differing experiences of Australia and the UK and stop trying convince everybody else that they know best, how many times do you really need to hear it

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 7967708)

You think it's repetitive.., you should try posting here for years, on and off, and try answering the same questions and same conceptions over and over again. !

Originally Posted by PamE (Post 7968201)

Ditto - of course everyone has different opinions about which place is best and how to best live it, but I just don't get why people get so seriously wound up about other people viewing Australia & migration in a different way than they do.

Originally Posted by willamos (Post 7968234)

The trouble with Australia is that it's a long, long way to go for not much improvement at all. This notion that Australia is ''where it's at'' as far as good quality of life is concerned it bandied around far, far too lightly.

Sure, if you REALLY want your days per year of sun increased, fine, move to the NSW/Queensland coast and you've probably achieved your goal.

But the weather in the UK never bothered me. I would never have left the UK (to live) had I not married an Aussie.

I do not find it cheaper here. I earn the same and can afford the same here. No more.

Nor is it safer for my kids. Last night, a whole load of yobs were busy trashing the nearby railway station and bus shelter. Even in the pouring rain. They've tagged every clear space in sight. What is all this crap people carry on with about crime and youth culture in the UK being out of control as if to say that it's better in Australia? It ain't.

Are my hobbies and interests benefitted by Australia? Not a scrap. In fact, they are hindered.

So I liken Australia to Led Zeppelin: good, but overrated tremendously.

Originally Posted by willamos (Post 7968234)

The trouble with Australia is that it's a long, long way to go for not much improvement at all. This notion that Australia is ''where it's at'' as far as good quality of life is concerned it bandied around far, far too lightly.

So I liken Australia to Led Zeppelin: good, but overrated tremendously.

Originally Posted by ozzieeagle (Post 7968244)

Got to say, I dont like my kids travelling on trains, amongst the kids that live further out. Trams no problem, luckily we are on the Tram network.

Originally Posted by IP-Alarms (Post 7967151)

A couple of things I'd like to add from my four great years in Oz...

1. You WILL get sick of hearing the words "Australia" and "best in the world".

2. It may take 6 months, it may take a few years, but one thing is for certain - and they WILL eventually grind you down :(

Originally Posted by MartinLuther (Post 7967907)

Or be attacked by a magpie :lol:

Originally Posted by willamos (Post 7963407)

These are a few things (cautionary tales) I think Brits should be aware of before embarking on life down under. Please add to them if you can think of more things and/or modifications:

* Moving country does not fix all issues in your life. This should be obvious but I get the impression from reading some stuff on here that a lot of people actually believe it will.

* Australia is NOT devoid of a large, large number of the UK's problems. If you believe that Australia is a crime-free zone, for example, you may be disappointed. Stuff happens here all the time (Quoll recently reported some fairly random shootings/stabbings near where she is in Canberra on another thread) and the idea that these things are unique to Manchester or London is silly. Where I am there was a mugging at knife-point not three minutes from where I live recently and there is a MAJOR vandalism and 'tagging' problem. It's supposed to be a nice area though, so would hate to be in a dodgy area like Broadmeadows, parts of Frankston, Dandenong or Footscray.

* The weather is different in Australia, but not NECESSARILY better. In Melbourne, the climate is surprisingly similar to the UK (unpredictable and often cold and windy) and whilst the summer is longer and warmer than in the UK, the really hot days (40 plus) are very uncomfortable and you cannot really enjoy them as being outside in that heat is unbearable. You have the risk of bush fires at one end of the country and serious flooding at the other. Tasmania can get both. If you are moving for the weather (this seems to be a major life priority for a lot of people, which is quite foreign to me personally) be careful where you go to.

* It is impossible to predict prior to leaving what and who you will miss - and how much. You may find yourself missing things more than you think. It is easy to be in Britain, amidst all the British moaning and complaining, and think that there is nothing you will miss. It is very easy to misjudge this and only see the light, so to speak, once you are 10,000 miles away.

* If you are in a mixed nationality relationship (which may well be the very reason for the move) you can find yourself feeling quite trapped/stifled by being surrounded by your partner's family/friends constantly, especially when you do not have any of your own around.