fific

yes - somewhat but thanks anyway- unfortunately had come to that conclusion some time ago but no jobs where I live that pay anywhere near close to what I need to earn. Loneliness not an issue - homesickness completely different feeling - I am surrounded by lovely people - but they're still not my long standing close friends or family where trust is implicit and everything is natural. I actually just miss being with them and enjoying their company -its all quite simple really when you get down to it. What I have here is not enough to compensate for what I had in UK. And the OP's point is for those considering the move to also consider these issues I guess.

AlliF

You shouldn't presume anything. Actually the little face is just laughing because they keep saying he is a home-grown Australian legend! When he's really just a weegie in disguise..It's very nice of them to adopt him as their own.

hereandthere

OK fine - but he's not home-grown though, is he? He moved to Australia when he was five. He's a product of Australian culture and education.

Pollyana

Just remember there are a lot of Aussies posting on here.....not the best example of how to make friends

hereandthere

The comment is ironic.

oz miller man

never realised

add him to the list of aussie icons born overseas

angus young
malcom young
bon scott
jon butler
ben lee
martin potter

mecheng

Again probably stating the bleeding obvious but why not look elsewhere in Australia so you can be closer to the family. Must be demand for your position somewhere in Australia. In my opinion, the OP's position is that people have expectations that far outweigh the reality of where they're going. I believe that is true of any country someone intends to settle in. I'm not alone in experiencing that researching a place is one thing and being on the ground and experiencing reality can tend to be quite another.

ozzieeagle

Dont forget Aussie Joe Bugner.... very proudly Australian.

Errrm wasn't he an English hero, from Hungary ?

South African - English Cricket hero anyone

How about some English - West Indian footballers

Cap hat kettle black ...... ermm I'll get my coat

oz miller man

fair do

at least the aussie stars were brought up here

sports wise we take anyone we can get in england ....great great grandparents ..you will do

kirstiec

Absolutely spot on comment Sally! - you are absolutely correct about the 'feeling you belong' bit. I lived in the USA for many years, and although I absolutely love the country and the way of life, not to mention how cheap it is to live there, I still missed my family & friends and even though making new friends there, I was not part of their group who had grown up together.
The jury is still out for me here in Oz as have only been here for 3 years so its still all new etc, but fingers crossed we will settle here.

BadgeIsBack

I've often said there is a demographic factor.

I think some Brit migrants DO live amongst ignorant people and the sooner they realise not all Australians are like that the better.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I assume you think of yourself as being higher up "the gradient" and therefore somehow "better" than the people you are, so obviously, looking down on?

Officer Dibble

The 'class' thing comes up a lot even though the ability to mix it properly here means you have to forget any such thing - well, certainly where I live, which isnt Pacific Palisades, Fountain Gates or Secret Gardens or whatever its called.

DBinLondon

Just picked up this thread and would like to comment as an Aussie living in the UK (for the past five years), engaged to a lovely English girl with a young daughter. We have contemplated living in Sydney for some while and have made the decision to do so in a years time.

Let me say from the off that I love the UK. Whilst the UK and Australia are different countries, they still have many similarities, which is more than can be said for other countries (like Canada, the US or South Africa).

However, on balance I think that Australia offers more opportunity and a better quality of life, particularly now that I have a young family. As many of you have said there are lots of pros and cons to both the UK and Oz, which I for one have been carefully weighing up over the past year. We did a recce in June and my other half came back with no hesitation wanting to leave the UK and go to Sydney. I was careful to stress to her, that given the huge effort of moving to Oz, that I did not want to get there and within a year or twos time, decide to throw it all in and come back to the UK.

Here is what I make of it, based on our life in the UK:

- We would earn as similar amount in Oz as in the UK (given the industries we are in)
- On balance, the cost of grocery shopping seems to be the same in both countries (we did up our shopping list, costed it and checked against it here in the UK). True, things like bread were a lot more expensive in Oz! On comparision though, it balances out with some things cheaper and some things more expensive
- Rental housing seems to be cheaper in Oz for a similar sized flat or house in a similar sort of area. We live in outer London so I know this is biased slightly. But again, on balance I think we would save @£200 a month on rent in Sydney each month
- Public transport (the Buses at least) are cheaper in Oz than in the UK but the transport system as a whole is not nearly as good. I would love for Oz cities like Sydney to introduce something like the Oyster Card, different Zones that are easy to understand, as well as weekly/monthly unlimited tickets (like Oyster) etc etc.
- TV - Free to air television in Australia is rubbish (particularly daytime or morning TV) compared to the UK and as a result many people have Pay TV (like Foxtel). I'm not looking forward to going back to ad breaks in each program! I was pleasantly surprised though by the amount of British programming on the commercial networks (7, 9 and 10). When I left Australia in 2003 they were mostly from the US. One mustn't forget either that the ABC does not have the TV Licence Fee revenue to live off like the BBC.
- Newspapers - I will really miss papers like the Financial Times and The Sunday Times. The Sydney Morning Herald seems to be OK though but still is not nearly as good a read.
- Housing affordability is just the same in both the UK and Oz (it is difficult to get on the ladder in both countries without support from family etc)
- Differences in the weather are an interesting one. Being in the UK I have come to love the change of season (i.e actually having one!) and things like snow in the backyard in winter. But I do believe that the better weather in Oz will give us a better lifestyle as we should be outdoors (and active) more often. It was slightly colder in Sydney in June than it was in the UK and that was in winter! Having said that one thing I am not looking forward to, which will take some re-adjustment, is the hot summer and heat of 35-40 degrees.
- Culture - obviously Australia cannot compete with what is on offer in the UK. But people seem to forget where Australia came from in the first place! How can you expect there to be museums like the British Museum in Australia when we were a former colony. Having said that though I think there are some pros. Australia has always had a vibrant local music scene. Whilst many of those acts haven't been able to break into the international market, they have still done well locally.
- Childcare - again we crunched the numbers during our recce in June (and have to take into account the London bias as it is very expensive where we are). With our daughter in nursery 5 days a week it is cheaper in Oz ($1,500AUD compared to £1,200 each month) and the nursery provides things like nappies and wipes (in addition to food) which is not done here in the UK. Also, with the Child Care Rebate we will get over 45% of the cost back as a tax rebate. In the UK we can only save up to 15% on Childcare costs using Childcare Vouchers. Conversely, the Baby Bonus in Australia (worth $5,185 AUD) now faces a family income test, so the UK sitll offers one pro with the Child Benefit paying £20 a week till the child is 16 (which equates to an extra £15,000).

All in all, we are approaching this with an open mind, and I think on reflection in 5-10 years time we will look back having made the right decision for our family. Hopefully, we may convince some of my partners family to make the move as well once we are settled in.

kporte

Good post!