Pollyana

Have a look through some of the online news sites - try ABC - for recent weather in Sydney/NSW - horrific heatwave, huge thunderstorms with hailstones that destroy all in their path, bushfires...... Yes there is what most people term 'nice' weather (as a storm/cyclone watcher my definition is slightly different from most) but Australia is a land of extremes weatherwise and the heat can be more debilitating than the cold.

As for happier people....no, they are just the same. They are just people living their lives with the same issues as people in the UK.

Tanja87

Hmmm, doesn't sound ideal... Over here hubby's commute takes 2h each way (drive to the station and then train to London) so anything less than that would be an improvement I guess! Just if it's worth relocating to the other side of the globe for... lol!
You're really not selling the place hahaha! But I appreciate your responses so much! It's so easy to just think everything will be better out there so it's important to get this info I think! The grass isn't always greener and all that xx

Beoz

Not cheap? They are a bargain compared to the UK.

Beoz

I must have missed those weather events. Don't believe everything you read in the press.

It was hot for a while, the swimming pool in my apartment was packed every day. Normal temps now so the swimming pool is back to normal usage.

Pollyana

I didn't just read it in the press, I was involved in the response to the events. If you somehow missed one of the worst heatwaves in years, managed to avoid all the storms and heard nothing about people losing homes and livelihoods to the recent fires, then good for you. However I think you will find tht many people in this country (and some on the forum) are still reeling from the effects of at please one of those events.

Anyone moving to Aus needs to be aware of the extreme weather and the threat of fire. I am not saying don't come, I am just saying be aware and prepared.

jad n rich

Were in melbourne, but recent article suggested commute times of 20klm from popular residential area all over melbourne, could take up to 2 hours in peak. Thats driving, and Sydney traffic is as bad if not worse. Trains can certainly be a nightmare in peak.

Like you say its easy to think grass is greener, but all of lifes crap here too, as anywhere.

BTW i only know Dallas from a handful of short stays, came across as VERY unlike Australia, so image conscious, the glamour, fashion, the cutely dressed children, are they all in pageants or sports. As for housing, just a slight price difference, from here. Not sure I could live with some of the texas attitudes, had to smile through some very bizarre conversations and point of view down that way.

Beoz

I thought you were talking about Sydney recently?

Geordie George

The hailstorm we had (19th Feb) was pretty bad - hailstones the size of golf balls on the upper north shore. Many of which are still in my freezer. Thanks, children. There are still lots of cars driving around with dented bodywork. And for that to come after temperatures in excess of 40c gives some idea of the extremes we can get here.

Pollyana

I am, and you know it.

Pollyana

Thanks - that's the kind of point I am trying to make! The extremes, and the results of those extremes.
at the hailstones in the freezer!

Beoz

Really? I saw no hail. Darn. It would have been novel. I saw no rain come to think of it, until the past week or so. Its been damn dry and quite hot for the past month or so. Its mild off now, which is a bit crap. One doesn't feel so compelled to a morning ocean swim when its mid 20's

moneypenny20

Not like the UK, the nicer weather is debatable (I love it, I'm healthier for it but many hate it whilst others just cope with it). Happier people? No idea, impossible to judge.

Australia is a first world country just like the UK and US. Every problem they have, we have. If you're after a new experience then go for it. Some people make the move because they think they're escaping a country that's apparently 'going to the dogs', they think there are too many immigrants in the UK so want to leave and become an immigrant in another country not understanding the irony. Those people generally find themselves unhappy.

xizzles

Let's not scare Tanja87 and her hubby off a possible move to Sydney. Weather's crazy all over the world, not just in Sydney. Traffic is gonna be madness everywhere - London, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne. House/property prices will reflect their desirability and location, and you will inevitably pay for the convenience, relative safety and future resale value of any purchase anywhere in the world, not just in Sydney.

I would add my vote to moneypenny20's suggestion to at least visit before you decide for yourself whether or not Sydney's for you and your family

christmasoompa

If you really want Texas, then I would suggest you start a new thread in the US immi section of the forum asking about this. That may be the case if you are on a temp work visa, but some people could apply for an Immigrant Visa ('green card') from the UK, so move out there as LPR's and have that security. Perhaps you might be one of them?

I don't know what your husband does, or what the job offer he had was, but if he has an employer prepared to cut out the temp work visa and just wait for him to get the IV then that could be an option, or he could even 'self sponsor' the IV so no job offer is needed (again, depending on what he does and which category he comes under).

I'm not saying that's necessarily the case for him, perhaps he isn't specialised enough, but it's worth asking the pros in the US immi forum I think, just to double check.

Good luck with the move wherever you end up!

Pollyana

oh for heavens sake I am not trying to scare anyone off. Far from it, the Aussie weather is facinating; i hate the heat and humidity but I love the rest of it. All I am doing is pointing out that it isn't always sunny and 'better weather' here. Australia is a country of extremes weatherwise. Basic fact of life. Its just something else to be aware of when moving here. There are storms. There are instances of large hail - the stuff in Geordie George's freezer came from somewhere after all. And there are bushfires - live in certain areas you need to be aware and make the relevant plans. Many thousands of people do just that. Its just another fact of life and one that deserves as much mention as shops and beaches.