Things you should know before moving down under...
Sep 26th 2009, 10:04 pm
#92
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Northwest
Posts: 41
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Thank you to all regular "question answerers and opinion givers" for the wealth of very useful information I have garnered from BE. It sometimes seems that peeps do not use this facility enough and I for one commend the people who answer what seems to be repetitive questions that could have been answered by a simple search and a bit (or a lot lol), of reading.
Sep 26th 2009, 10:04 pm
#93
Banned
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,855
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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.
Sep 26th 2009, 10:23 pm
#94
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Excellent post from the OP; I heartily agree.
Sep 26th 2009, 10:39 pm
#95
Account Closed
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Posts: 9,316
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Sep 27th 2009, 1:40 am
#96
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Still, we get some mileage out of guests..
Sep 27th 2009, 3:12 am
#97
happy here :)
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW
Posts: 762
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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
If you like to help people with visa or general living questions over and over again well that's lovely, I do the same sometimes. As for the 'conceptions' tho, if it annoys you so much that people see migrating to / living in Australia in a different way than you do, I don't know why you keep posting responses to the repetitive threads and winding yourself up. It's an internet forum, not a way of life! 
Sep 27th 2009, 3:45 am
#98
Banned
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Somewhere dull. That'll be Australia then.
Posts: 648
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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.
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.
Sep 27th 2009, 3:51 am
#99
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
I mean not everyone actually wanted to move to 'Neighbours' - did they? I can't help but feel that people move to a capital city and fall in to a suburb somewhere, and buy a land package. Then the rot sets in.
The people who seem to do the best - outstandingly so - I mean are the people who had a very clear vision of what they wanted to achieve, or what they didn't want. Whether that is living on a beach, or going 4x4 every weekend, getting a boat etc. I've always been impressed with the people who join Lifesavers's clubs, own a boat - and use it, work behind the bar of their local, actually travel this continent, buy a farm, live in the inner city etc.
Sep 27th 2009, 3:55 am
#100
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 15,526
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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.
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.
One point though, I think you'll find the closer into Melbourne you move the less problem you have with Youth. We dont seem to suffer any of those gang related issues in Moreland. Although Reservoir and North of there are really bad. Once you cross the ring road and get into the land of the new estates then the problems escalate.
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.
I'm bloody glad I dont live on the Epping or Dandenong lines. They make the Broadmeadows line look like a bit of a picnic. There is some real interesting feedback on the MVictory forums as to the trouble spots around town.
Your point on Grafitti and tagging is an interesting one. Personally as an Urbanphile I find it quite interesting. Apparently the Grafitti "art" in Melbourne is world class.
Hosier Lane
Hellenic Republic Brunswick
Last edited by ozzieeagle; Sep 27th 2009 at 4:07 am.
Sep 27th 2009, 4:02 am
#101
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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.
So I liken Australia to Led Zeppelin: good, but overrated tremendously.
I think it is an outstanding place compared to many other countries in the world and outstanding for the things I want to do.
I also think that it is over-rated by people who have never been. Much of the whole world has a fairy-tale view of this place - I meet people from South America - much more culturally distant to the US or Europe and yet they are fascinated by it. It's because some of Australia offers a tropical/holiday/slower deal with a western lifestyle.
I think Australia is suffering from being the victim of it's own success - and some of that success was hyped by other people on their behalf - and Australia chose to shrug and allow it. It was convenient to build an entire US tourism industry on the back of Crocodile Dundee - it was convenient for thousands of Europeans to come seeking a newer life in the 60s and 70s. To be fair, in those days, I think it did offer a life that many couldn't get.
Now Australia has to deal with that - choose to go again on the same brand - or paint a different picture. The thing is the Australian brand is too easy.
So Australia continues to do the Laura Bingle stuff even in the mid 2000s...
Sep 27th 2009, 4:11 am
#102
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
I get both. The demographics on the train are completely different to the Tram. The tram attracts affluent, well heeled surbanites, and the trains attract suburban bogans. Houses and suburbs on tram routes are much more expensive than suburbs out on the train network - exception being established pockets of suburbia or semi-rural - Berwick station seems to attact a different demographic to Narre Warren, for example. Generalisation alert - but for the most part it is true(!)
Alight off a tram at Finders or Southern Cross (Spencer St) and descend down to the platform and all of a sudden the world changes.
The El Alamein line which runs through the affluent Inner East is very much an exception. I get it when I have to go and pick up my car from service and the people that use that line are completely different to the people who get many of the other lines.
Sep 27th 2009, 6:17 am
#103
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Sep 27th 2009, 7:57 am
#104
Use time wisely
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: far far away
Posts: 413
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mohogony
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.
the worst ones are the cops with their speed camera and guns,
How much officer,
$350!
are you kidding me!!!!-- Oh nice gun; where do I pay Sir?
Originally Posted by mohogony
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.
the worst ones are the cops with their speed camera and guns,
How much officer,
$350!
are you kidding me!!!!-- Oh nice gun; where do I pay Sir?
Sep 27th 2009, 9:21 am
#105
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Not so sunny Stoke, England
Posts: 45
Re: Things you should know before moving down under...
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.
* 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.
For somebody in the UK, this website is brilliant for ensuring that we truly think through our decisions of where to move etc. Of course its never going to be perfect for everyone and posts like this makes us in the UK aware that there's lots of pitfalls out there.
Therefore, regardless as to whether this post is positive or negative, it makes brilliant reading and thank you all for your time in posting!!! It actually makes me want to come over even more!
ps - it is grey, cold here in the UK, not looking forward to going into my job tomorrow and Stoke lost again! There is some of my reasons to wanting to be in Brisbane