What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Oct 16th 2007, 10:32 am
#46
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Western burbs, Melbourne
Posts: 2,260
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
we have been here an unbelievable 7 years.
Initially came on a 2 year visa and could not wait to go back- somehow Melbourne just felt like home....and the homesickness faded as we are now home.
Changes:
Hubby has huge career change from re-insurance broker to apprentice plumber and is much happier.
I work for same company as in UK, but commute less and spend far fewer hours in the office.
We tended to go out and visit obscure places - Ningaloo reef, Coober Pedy etc.
As new parents, a lot more things have changed, but we like the freedom for our daughter and think kids seem to be kids longer here (although this is just my feeling as we had no kids in UK).
Medical system is great- well I'm a fan despite the bank raid dentistry charges.
Initially came on a 2 year visa and could not wait to go back- somehow Melbourne just felt like home....and the homesickness faded as we are now home.
Changes:
Hubby has huge career change from re-insurance broker to apprentice plumber and is much happier.
I work for same company as in UK, but commute less and spend far fewer hours in the office.
We tended to go out and visit obscure places - Ningaloo reef, Coober Pedy etc.
As new parents, a lot more things have changed, but we like the freedom for our daughter and think kids seem to be kids longer here (although this is just my feeling as we had no kids in UK).
Medical system is great- well I'm a fan despite the bank raid dentistry charges.
Oct 16th 2007, 3:20 pm
#47
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Hillarys, Perth
Posts: 67
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
We have been here nearly a year and have loved (nearly) every moment. It has given me the chance to work for myself (in coaching/corporate wellness) and although it has been slow to get going, it would have been the same in UK starting a new business. My OH works long hours (for Oz) selling cars, but he doesn't have to work Saturday pm or Sunday which he would in UK, and it is surprisingly better paid.
We were lucky to have cousins in Perth so have had a ready made social scene, but we have also made some good friends (through both our work and one great friendship through the Byford quarantine station).
Best bits for me are:
weather - especially now we are in Spring
walking the dogs on the beach nearly every day
great food and much cheaper to eat out
exceptionally friendly people and it has been very easy to make contacts
We have missed family and friends, but nearly everyone close will have visited us by Easter next year (we've got a succession of people coming for Xmas/New Year) so we quite like a bit of time on our own.
Definitely thumbs up for me and we have no intention of going back!
We were lucky to have cousins in Perth so have had a ready made social scene, but we have also made some good friends (through both our work and one great friendship through the Byford quarantine station).
Best bits for me are:
weather - especially now we are in Spring
walking the dogs on the beach nearly every day
great food and much cheaper to eat out
exceptionally friendly people and it has been very easy to make contacts
We have missed family and friends, but nearly everyone close will have visited us by Easter next year (we've got a succession of people coming for Xmas/New Year) so we quite like a bit of time on our own.
Definitely thumbs up for me and we have no intention of going back!
Oct 17th 2007, 10:35 am
#48
A modern day warrior
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Here and there...currently here.
Posts: 344
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Funnily enough we've been talking about this recently. We have been here 3 years in December and don't regret it. However our lives are about to change. We have twins on the way which is changing how we view our lives. When we came kids weren't really on the radar due to genetic problems and the only way round this was using donor eggs. Long story but the quickest way for us is to go to Spain due to very short waiting lists. As part of these visits and other good and bad family events we visited the UK quite often so comaprisions to past & present were frequent. Work is fine for both us. I have more autonomy and responsibilty but feel I work a lot harder, for less pay . House hunting was a nightmare and that is how we spent our first 18months, however we now have a great house, ideal for twins etc. Certainly couldn't afford anything this size in the UK. But due to the work, frequent visits to the UK and the constant house hunting we haven't made "friends". Our actual lifestyle hasn't changed that much, work, TV, shopping, etc. It is a definite bonus having sunshine "every" day, working outside weather was never a factor for me as I just accepted it. But blue skies do seem to make a difference. Now we have some time we do tend go out a bit more. Berry / Southern Highlands and that coastal area is only an hour away and we like it down there so quiet often head that way. Going to Canberra on Sunday for the day as it is only 2 hours away. On the downside to this a there is a certain isolation to the country. Most things seem a long way off, eg Newcastle is about 2.5hrs away, but what to do when you get there? No "culture" as such. Our next major town west is Adelaide and that is over a days drive away!
However with the twins on the way there is a certain guilt about being so far away from the family. On both sides these should be the only grand children and we don't really want to deprive the family of the major event. At the momment we will probably give it 18months and see how we feel. Like I said we don't regret it, it is just that our life is changing. But hey it is all an adventure.
However with the twins on the way there is a certain guilt about being so far away from the family. On both sides these should be the only grand children and we don't really want to deprive the family of the major event. At the momment we will probably give it 18months and see how we feel. Like I said we don't regret it, it is just that our life is changing. But hey it is all an adventure.
Oct 17th 2007, 11:19 am
#49
High in the Dandenongs
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Listening to Puffing Billy
Posts: 9,183
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Oct 17th 2007, 12:43 pm
#50
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,814
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Very interesting read, as I approach the anniversary of four years here.
I never expected to be homesick, but it hit me like a truck after about three months and has never left. So, what's changed after all this time - I've resigned myself to living here, I guess. I'm deeply envious of people like Gedge and Tricky who are planning to go home - and maybe come back later, who knows, I don't have the option, I have an Aussie husband who gets stressed moving down the street, he couldn't cope with moving across the world. One of us will always suffer. So 4 years on, I feel resignation instead of the excitement I had when I first got here. I feel stifled, and melancholy, and when I do get the chance to enjoy myself I really make the most of it as I know it won't last.
A couple of years on I do have a job I enjoy, in a department that is far from perfect, but which suits me, and where I am finally gaining some recognition of my previous experience, a little at a time. But apart from that, I have few friends, and little social life, and I live for my trips home.
A couple of years on my health problems have eased a bit to at last be able to come close to dealing with the Queensland weather, I still dread the heat, but at least for the first time I am healthy at the start of the yucky season, so I've got a better chance of getting through in one piece. This year for the first time since I got here I can actually go swimming.
A couple of years on, I know I still love parts of Aus - I feel so at home in Tassie, but I don't love Queensland, and I don't think I ever will.
And a couple of years on, I guess deep down I know I just swapped a mundane day-to-day life in Brighton for a mundane day-to-day life in Brisbane.
I never expected to be homesick, but it hit me like a truck after about three months and has never left. So, what's changed after all this time - I've resigned myself to living here, I guess. I'm deeply envious of people like Gedge and Tricky who are planning to go home - and maybe come back later, who knows, I don't have the option, I have an Aussie husband who gets stressed moving down the street, he couldn't cope with moving across the world. One of us will always suffer. So 4 years on, I feel resignation instead of the excitement I had when I first got here. I feel stifled, and melancholy, and when I do get the chance to enjoy myself I really make the most of it as I know it won't last.
A couple of years on I do have a job I enjoy, in a department that is far from perfect, but which suits me, and where I am finally gaining some recognition of my previous experience, a little at a time. But apart from that, I have few friends, and little social life, and I live for my trips home.
A couple of years on my health problems have eased a bit to at last be able to come close to dealing with the Queensland weather, I still dread the heat, but at least for the first time I am healthy at the start of the yucky season, so I've got a better chance of getting through in one piece. This year for the first time since I got here I can actually go swimming.
A couple of years on, I know I still love parts of Aus - I feel so at home in Tassie, but I don't love Queensland, and I don't think I ever will.
And a couple of years on, I guess deep down I know I just swapped a mundane day-to-day life in Brighton for a mundane day-to-day life in Brisbane.
Oct 17th 2007, 8:20 pm
#51
Australia's Doorman
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Thanks to all the posters - just the kind of honest responses I was hoping for. So, three pages in and here's my take, 15 months in, at 4:30 in the morning of my 41st birthday, after a nasty acid reflux attack has driven me downstairs to nurse my throat.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
Oct 17th 2007, 8:26 pm
#53
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,918
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Thanks to all the posters - just the kind of honest responses I was hoping for. So, three pages in and here's my take, 15 months in, at 4:30 in the morning of my 41st birthday, after a nasty acid reflux attack has driven me downstairs to nurse my throat.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
Oct 18th 2007, 2:19 am
#54
Go the BNE Roar
Joined: May 2003
Location: Northside
Posts: 1,590
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Chin up Polly you will work somethig out. We have ended up with some weird plan where we will spend approx 5 years in each country. I dont think either of us could spend the rest of our lives in the other country so this is the best we can do and is our current plan of action but its not ideal by any stretch of the imagination.
This is also my life which is very strange as I had great life long friends back home. No social life, no mates dropping round to watch the footy with a 4 pack, no ad-hoc trips to the horses or pub etc, life is just to stale and predictable.
I guess. I'm deeply envious of people like Gedge and Tricky who are planning to go home - and maybe come back later, who knows, I don't have the option, I have an Aussie husband who gets stressed moving down the street, he couldn't cope with moving across the world. One of us will always suffer. So 4 years on, I feel resignation instead of the excitement I had when I first got here. I feel stifled, and melancholy, and when I do get the chance to enjoy myself I really make the most of it as I know it won't last.
Oct 18th 2007, 3:39 am
#55
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,133
Re: What - if anything has changed - a year or two on ...
Thanks to all the posters - just the kind of honest responses I was hoping for. So, three pages in and here's my take, 15 months in, at 4:30 in the morning of my 41st birthday, after a nasty acid reflux attack has driven me downstairs to nurse my throat.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
I'd moved around the UK a fair bit, sampling life in city, town and village but (to quote the song) never seemed to find what I was looking for. I was brought up in North Hertfordshire, but have lived in many places in the UK and also abroad. Our last move in the UK was to Nailsworth on the southern edge of the Cotswolds - we moved to the country to eat a lot of peaches (to quote the song) and find some respite from the traffic, the prices and the tourists in Bath. It was a partial success, but our new town turned out to be like a microcosm of Bath. I've been self-employed for 15 years now and my missus has been running her own web design company for a decade, so we had more freedom than most to live wherever the hell we wanted. After several financial nightmares, the arrival of our son in 2001, my on-going hassles with low-end bipolar and a general sense of 'is this all there is' ... we moved to South Coast NSW.
Like many of us, our son was a prime motivation for the move, so it makes sense to talk about what's changed for him. In the UK he attended what would be most middle-class British parents idea of a wet dream - a picturesque village school, on the edge of beautiful national trust common land, ranked 7th best primary in the country. I've ranted about the place before so I won't do it here, suffice to say we strongly disagreed with the whole attitude of the school. He now attends another nice little village school, 12000 miles away in Berry. He has wider circle of friends, more interests, more post-school activities. He catches the bus to and from school most days. The fundamental change for him though, is that he's at a school that lets kids be kids, rather than a statistic in an Ofsted league table. We asked him a few days ago, after a particularly spectacular hissy fit (on his part), if he wanted to move back to England and he looked at us like we were mad. He's a much more confident kid now, one that's far more willing to try new things.
The missus transplanted her business from England to here without any major dramas. She had a few solid friendships in the UK, the old dependable mates and she's kind of replicated that here. She has a far wider social circle, but only two or three women that she'd categorically call a friend. The big change for her is that she has now formed a business partnership with a highly successful local design company. She's very happy with this since she can get out of the house and has a team of employees to push through her projects. She has passed her driving test here (having tried and failed in the UK) - a reflection not on more relaxed testing standards, but on a more relaxed environment. She was very active in the UK, running often, she hasn't done much running at all since we've got here, but regularly walks the pooch on our local beach. She hopes to get back into fitness now that she doesn't have to work into the wee hours and has just signed up with a touch footy team. She's also an age manager for the under 7s 'nippers' at our local surf club.
As for me, well, I was a freelance writer in the UK. I still do a little bit of writing, but I've just started my own tech support business here. It's off to a great start and I have high hopes for it. I made a pledge with myself to get involved in things over here and I have. I'm on the committee at the surf club and passed my bronze medallion surf life saving over the winter, meaning I now help patrol the beach here. They're a great bunch of people at the surf club and I'm proud to be part of the organisation. I've got some good mates who I can head off to the pub with. Despite the surf lifesaving I'm fatter than I was in the UK (enjoyed the good life a bit *too* much) and that's something I plan to address this summer. I came off my medication the day I arrived in Australia and I haven't been back on it. Yes, life's routine again, but it's a fundamentally better routine on every level.
And talking of health issues it reminded me of a couple of things that I had somehow forgotten in the madness of the last couple of years ...
I no longer need earplugs to sleep, despite there being just as much noise here and I no longer get the acidic stomach issues that I got in the UK.
I would like to credit the wife for a healthier diet and my daughter for knackering me out so I will sleep no matter what though ...
I am also getting back into cycling after a long lay-off, a better way of connecting with a (still new) environment rather than driving through it I'd say.
