What is Oz really like??
 

Hi Guys,

We are going through the hole application process now. TRA has been passed, 136 permanent applied for and just waiting for a case officer.

It feels like we have been waiting for ever, even though its only been in since July.

Anyway, been reading a few threads about people having second thoughts and stuff and me and the missus can really relate to that. I feel like all we talk about to each other is Australia, its seems that all we talk to the family about is Australia, it seems that all we talk to our friends about is Australia and its starting to wear me down. Everyone says to us "Oh it will be great and they wish that they had the guts to do what we are doing......etc" But then they tell us that they really dont want us to go and that they will really miss us.

The thing is, I am now thinking "Will it be great? Is it really that much better than the UK? Are we making the right choice? Is it really worth all the hassle?

We went over in March and April this year and loved the place, but we were on holiday and we know that real life is totally different and we are both going to have to work hard to have a decent life out there for our 2 kids.

We are not scared of hard work and both of us know that its not going to be easy, but we are going to give it 110% and make sure that it does work for us, but we have seemed to have forgotten what we liked about it in the first place.

So my question to you guys is...........What is Oz really like??....

We want both good and bad answers please, because at the moment we feel in limbo land living 2 lives. One is the Oz dream and one is the UK reality of trying to keep everything going as normal as possible. We have this life of planning for Oz and this other life of pretending that it doesnt exist. Especially for me and the missus working lives. We both cant tell our bosses or work collegues because we could lose our jobs, which would leave us both up Shit Creek without a paddle.

Sorry to go on for so long, just feeling really mixed up at the moment. We really wanna go..................but we cant remember why.........Does that make sense?

Thanks in advance guys for any reply's. Any advice or experiences would be very welcome.


Rob & Joanne

ps

We are heading to Perth by the way

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Hi to you both
I can understand where your coming fom because we took 3 yrs from first applying for tra to actually getting here. That really did seem forever.
If we had of getting here early on we would have been able to buy outright but as it took so long for us then property prices doubled and so we needed a mortgage.
We were dissapointed about that but came anywy as we thought it would still be better than the UK.
We were right, eventhough we have a bigger mortgage than back in the uk we also have a bigger house with a pool, spa, poolroom ,double garage, theatre room, four bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as our family room come kitchen and breakfast room. Could never have dreampt of that in the uk.
This is, I believe, the land of opportunity and after years of working for other people, after 4 months in oz I was working for myself and other half now has a better job than in the uk and also with more money so, WE WOULDNT SWAP IT FOR THE WORLD.
Life is what you make it and we believe everyone get a good chance to make it and it was our turn. WE done it and love it.
Embrace it with all your heart and Im sure you wont be dissapointed and for thouse who are upset in the uk , remind them that its only a ay away an email away and a phone call away.
Wishing you all the very best of luck
We are also in Perth since Dec 2006 so not quite a year, and have achieved so much
Which part of perth are you heading
Josie

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Its what you make it!

Think of the reasons why you want to leave the UK and that will make your mind up, we have only been here three months and wouldnt change a thing, our two dogs came with us and we both have jobs so this is now our home.

It is hard leaving friends and family but as you said 'would they have the guts to do it' and as my family now say - you did the right thing the UK isnt a place they would be by choice.

Good luck - it will be worth it, but just realise it is different here - but in a nice way!

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

I'd second that................bloody great place!

The one and only thing I miss is watching the football in a decent pub with my mates :(

Other than that its a bloody fantastic place!

Ian

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

g day i know exactly what your going through we emigrated 2 years ago went through all the same thoughts ourselves .

we feel its a lot better lifestyle ,we enjoy the outdoor life and vast open spaces ,we have a beautiful home the type we couldnt afford in the uk ,we both work hard in our jobs and the rewards are there for this.

on a negative side it is along way from home ,some of the aussies can be hard work dealing with in work,but so can some brits .you will miss your friends and families for sure ,but have the guts to do it and find out for yourselves or you will never know if its for you or not .

we go back to the uk for a holiday in 2 weeks for the 1st time so it will be interesting to see how we feel after that .

good luck in your adventure hope all turns out well:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Spend a few hours reading through the forum, look for threads which seem to have mundane day-to-day topics like paying bills or supermarket shopping or rush hour tail backs or lousy broadband service. Those are the ones that we (longer term residents) tend to psot on, and because we are just in an ordinary daily-life situation that's what we tend to post about.
Balance those with the people who give you an overview of the more general scale - "better lifestyle" type posts, and you should get a fair view of Australian life.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Also like to add this, some times certain jobs are hard to find, like my OH is engineer, we were told that south Australia is the next best thing for engineers, well it might have been if there was any jobs going, he couldn’t get job even as waiter, we tried & tried every type of jobs, but once they looked at CV, they thought he’s mad to even want to work on something else.
So 5 months down the line he applied to look for jobs in other state, he got one, now we have to go through the whole moving thing again, at the moment he flies out on Monday & comes home on Friday, but we love it here in SA we have all settle well made really good friends, my children are very happy at school, & don’t really want to move but we have no choice, we like to have income for a change so it’s going to be hard to say goodbye.
Will you be able to do what we had to do, sometimes its very hard, but as we have no plan to go home, we also had enough fund to last us a year, and so if you really want something you can make it work.
Also education wise, your children might not to go to the same year as they were back in UK, but then why should they, you aren’t moving from city to city, your moving to another continent, its different here.
If you chose to go to state school you pay towards their education on top of uniform & other things.
Your children might need to go to dentist if there is no school dentist you have to pay for that too, getting private health insurance when you first arrive, you have 12 months waiting period, before you can make claims on it, if your children need to have braces that would cost you $ 5000, the insurance would give you back up to 60%.
So if you think that all above are the things you cant handle, than really Australia is going to be very hard place to live, most of the time your wages is going to be rubbish, food shopping is expensive, but eating out is cheap.
Otherwise, it’s wonderful to be here the sunshine’s, the sea, having BBQ with your new friends.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

What is it like!!

You asked a long question so brace yourself for a long answer

We have been in WA for 2 years now, we also came on a 136 permanent visa, we have children and we lived south so hopefully that gives a little back ground to who and what we are.

The great things are.
The obvious blue sky,
Not a lot of traffic compared to London anyway but there again where is busier.
Low violent crime.
A lot of English and in my opinion when you arrive it does not matter where you came from in the UK we are all in the same boat and southerners welcome northerners and visa versa, with the exception of the Welsh, only joking !!.

The not so great things are.

Distance from home, a lot of people embrace Oz like home but in my opinion I have lived in the UK for 40 years and that will always be home for me but for the children they will know no different so they call here home.

Leaving friends, that was difficult, possibly more than family, not that I preferred them but friends DO NOT keep in touch, they say they will but once you are out of the picture then they move on like the rest of us, going to the pub, football, weddings, birthdays etc etc. We have been fortunate that we have had visits from family but to expect friends to use up there annual leave as 2 weeks is not enough to get over the flight then that is too much to ask for.

This may sound strange but weddings and funerals, that is something that I feel is almost impossible to attend, I had a Nan that died and to fly 20 hours for a 2 hour service was ridicules, family did understand but the guilt was dreadful, the whole family would be there to comfort each other and laugh at the good times but due to the distance this was not possible.

Working here is harder in my opinion but rewarding when you wake up to a blue sky and come home with the A/C on in the car, I do start early but seem to finish early due to the heat, that is nice but I find I go to bed early as well.

I am not sure where you are going to live but we live near Mandurah and compared to other states WA is a sleepy part of Australia, not that that matters too much as I go to bed early but it would be nice to have a lot more choice of places to eat and go at the weekends.

A lot of people say that they miss the pub, possibly because most socializing is either done at the pub or at the football, they are right that there are no pubs, and socializing is done as a family. Barbeques, beach, walking. This will not seem strange to the children but to us it took a little time to calm down and adapt.

Baby sitters, this is something that was missed, we left all the people we know in the UK and to build up trust in others takes along time, we have not been out as a couple for 6 months which is when we last had family over,

So what is Australia Like?

With all that I have said it is a wonderful place but needs to be looked at through the eyes of a child, as adults we look at the small picture, but the children look at it as a holiday and once you adapt then you also will also see it as a clean, low crime, fresh air environment and will relax and realize that compared to the UK this is paradise with the odd frustrating quirks.

I hope this is of use to you and your partner,

Take care and good luck

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

up shit creek without paddle............ familiar phrase to me! :rofl: I was born in L32, lived in L13. My sister lives in L12!

We're not in Perth but arrived on the east coast (ish!) 2 months ago having never ever been here before! I love liverpool and my family, I also appreciate being here so much at the moment, it's just a lovely change of scenery and the rest of it, it's not to be missed! What's the real risk........ go with it!

Carmel

x

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Thanks for all the reply's guys your views and thoughts are really appreciated.

Carmele, we are actually in L12 ourselves, hence the name................

Rob:thumbup:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

From a born-and-bred Aussie, here's my 2p:

Australia is not for everyone. If you have no compelling reason to go... don't.

Write a list of the things you really want out of life. If you already have them in the UK (or you're already on the way to getting them) then why look elsewhere? Australia won't necessarily change your life for the better; it's not a magic wheel that spins straw into gold.

Like most places, Australia is a land of swings and roundabouts. You have to trade them off against each other. Some things are cheaper - a lot cheaper - than the UK. Other things are more expensive - a lot more expensive - than the UK. Find out what they are, and compare them. Try to estimate their impact on your family budget.

Consider your relationships with family and friends. Are you so close that you can't live without each other? Are you fairly independent? Could you cope effectively without your usual support network for months on end? Do you make friends easily, or are you happy to have "quality over quantity"?

Do you enjoy regular overseas holidays on the continent? Bear in mind that these will be almost unaffordable when you're flying from the southern hemisphere. Driving to Paris is great fun, but the Chunnel doesn't quite reach Australia. If you're the sort of person who would miss the benefits of proximity to Europe, think carefully before making a decision.

Above all, don't move to Australia "just to see what it's like". If that's your primary motivation, just take a holiday - and make it a long one.

:)

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Should be placed in an animated neon ad banner at the top of every "Is Australia for me" thread ... ;)

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Agree with above - you must have a compelling reason to make the move. Sounds obvious but often overlooked. Also, this is a question that people are very polarised on: either you love it or you hate it, and you can only really find out by doing it yourself. This is why many people advise that you should not permanently sever links to the UK when you come out. For example, don't sell your house etc., just in case you want to come back later.

There is a stream of Brits coming to Oz, some liking it and staying, while others hate it and go home. Likewise, there is a stream of Ozzies coming to UK, some liking it and staying, while others hate it and go home! "Horses for courses"...

For me, the planning and the dream has been more exciting than the reality :p I suppose I came out here looking for "something deep and meaningful" to enrich my life. But after 3 weeks I'm counting the days til I go home! (next August) You win some and you lose some, and I'm a better person for the experience nonetheless. Of course, when I go back I'll tell people what a wonderful time I had, and what a cool thing it was to do :rofl:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

After 3 weeks? Surely you need to give yourself more time than that? maybe your 'deep and meaningful' is just around the corner?
Good luck in whatever you choose to do :)

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

It always amazes me to read these "Is Australia for me" posts and the replies from people who have either not moved here yet or have only been here a couple of weeks/months. Basically still in the honeymoon phase. It's like asking a newlywed how's married life? Of course it's still fantastic!

Life here is no different than life in any other western country. You have to get up in the morning and go to work. You have bills to pay just like anywhere else. There is crime and unemployment and poverty and racism abounds in some places. The major difference would have to be the fact that in order to go anywhere other than Australia you have to fly long distance. Well, being in Perth if we want to go anywhere at all it's a long haul flight.