Re: What is Oz really like??
 

As someone else said you dont want honeymoon answers.

A few points then.

Can be hard for people who are very close to family overseas, why people move this distance when they have that is beyond me, because it often causes great distress to them once they get here.

Perth - I think there is a limit to what you can do there, others will say its not isolated and defend that point with great gusto, IMO after 6 months many go batty there with boredom, the MBUK forum is full of people who feel that way. If your used to frequent trips to europe or even other diverse bits of UK consider carefully.

Children - parks and beaches are lovely. As they get older there is more to consider, job markets, many aussies move overseas for better opportunities, soaring house prices make home ownership for them hard as/ harder than UK. Simple boredom in some parts of aus makes for a hoon/booze culture you may not wish your kids to be part of, and you might find them planning to go back to where there is more life.

Cost of living. Lack of competition here is a huge problem, airfares, food, books you name it, I would say the only things now we experience that are truly cheaper than the UK are Rates (council tax) and petrol price at the bowser, however if like many you drive a bigger vehicle or as in our case daily commutes petrol bills end up hideous anyway.

Chilldren, allow for big dental, health and education bills that you may not have got in the UK.

Things that grate. There is a very hard to understand mentality here, similar to small town USA, this is the best in the world, pumped down your throat in the media but more annoyingly from the sort of person who has never left australia and has absolutely no idea what the hell goes on in the rest of the world, but chucks out that type of comment at every opportunity.

Climate, UK perception of aus is a nice sunny 24 everyday. Its not. Its often in drought, water restrictions, then flood = food prices up 500%, massive strorms, flies or mozzies that stop all that "al fresco:rofl:" living poms rave about, and the sheer danger of sun that is so strong you constantly need to protect yourself and kids.

Politicians here make RE agents look honest.

House prices have crazy ratios to income.

Many aussies and immigrants find working hours are long and working conditions dont favour the employee.

Violent crime here is rising, in some categories higher than UK and often of a most disturbing/sick nature.

There is a big booze/drug/welfare culture too.

After a few months you life will obviously revert to routine of school, work, bills, normal ups and downs of life.

So then:) Do it simply for the experience of another culture, a few years in a different place, just dont build it up with unrealisic expectations of what is just another westernised country.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

I've been on longer holidays than your "migration". ;)

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Thanks jad n rich and everyone else who has posted some real valuable info for us.

All the views so far are really appreciated.

I have to keep giving people a bit of a reality check, when they find out that we are hopefully going to Oz. "Oh thats fantastic, it will be great, wish we could go, barbies on the beach, nice weather, your own swimming pool etc....." These are the standard lines we get from most people, until I tell them, that we will both probably have to work full-time (just as in the UK), we probably wont have a pool, and we will probably working too long to be able to go the beach, never mind havin a bleedin barbie on one too !!

Anyway, joking apart, what we do know is that we will have a better quality of life in Australia, not just me and the missus, but for our 2 young kids also.

You know why..............because will make sure that we do. We both work bloody hard for what we have got in the UK and know we will have to put even more effort into making this work. But we will make it work, because it is what we want to do, to give us and the kids a better life. We have got an unmissable opportunity to change our lives forever, and we will regret it for the rest of our life if we dont take it. Its now or never and we are not going to fall into the never category.

Thanks again,


Rob

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

AMEN TO THAT !!!!!:thumbsup:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Thanks to the OP for this thread, and for all the insightful answers contained within. Really got me thinking for a bit, why the missus and I would want to make the move to Australia.

At the moment, I'm in a job over in Singapore which makes terrific money (well, if you consider £300,000 p.a 'terrific'), but makes me work 14 hour days, 6 days a week. My missus and I have been married a decade but we've not had time to truly settle down and start thinking about the patter of little feet about the house. Speaking of which, we don't even own a house at the moment - renting's the name of the game, seeing how we're thinking of upping it all and plonking it Down Under.

I'm not sure about the costs of living in Australia or the UK for that matter, but a one-room-hovel with just over 1000 sq feet worth of breathing space would have set me back £450,000 at present market prices. The E200 that ferries me to work cost a handsome £60,000 and premium grade petrol at the moment retails for 70p a litre. A posh dinner at a good restaurant (the missus and I don't fancy 'avantgarde' cuisine all that much) would be in the region of £100 - £150 per person.

I've been told that if I worked very hard at an equivalent job in Australia (I'm a doctor), I could take home post tax approximately £100,000 p.a. That's 1/3 of what I'm comfortably making now - but, here's what I can look forward to:

1. An impressive town house that caught the missus' eye (and admittedly, mine too) in Adelaide (yes, there's where the job offer is) is offered at £250,000. A similarly sized abode in Singapore would have broken my bank account (and my back) at £990,000.

2. The same E200 in Australia retails for £38,000. The price I paid for my E200 here, I could almost afford to zip around the bumpy streets of Adelaide and spin doughnuts in an AMG-powered 500bhp E63 (£102,000)

3. Fresh air, bright, open spaces, beautiful beaches (incredibly, we don't have any of that here in Singapore)

4. Humane working hours - by 'working hard' in Adelaide/South Australia, I was quoted a 'back-breaking' 8 hour day, 5 days a week, with paid leave of 4 - 6 weeks per annum, and perhaps 1 or 2 Saturdays a month. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the Australians' definition of 'hard yakka' ...

5. Loads of time to call our own - and perhaps enough time for some half-serious effort at propagating the family name.

6. Holidays - Australia's so full of beautiful places waiting to be discovered by the missus and myself - we'd be kept busy for those 4 - 6 weeks of paid leave per annum! And, Asia's just at Australia's doorstep - now, that's a real holiday destination for you!

For me, Australia's a no-brainer. I'm just waiting for the right time to head over, and start living all over again, before I'm 40.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

SE Qld - Some say it a Bogan infested, redneck shithole - and I would agree with them.
MBUK is full of bitter whinging Pom losers.
Perth is closer to Europe - so shorter, cheaper flights.

Why are you still living in Australia? You paint such a negative picture of it on here and have virtually nothing good to say about it.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

mate you not in the hotel?

im shocked:ohmy:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Unfortunately not - would love to have the afternoon off but I'm a grabbing contractor. :D
We had a nice lunch at work though. I won f**k all as well. :(

Why are you not down the pub?

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Oh shyte ... wrong button pressed, my whole bloody reply's gone AWOL. Is there anyway I can retrieve it?

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

mate i went but i had my shorts on so i felt a bit out of place,all the ladies were done up nice...so i felt a scruff...

mate dont forget if you ever see me in there come over and say hello..

i often wonder if thats me old mate ama,over there,,,;)

p.s..sorry for going off topic...

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Her hubby's an Aussie.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

You can ask the Mods!!! Reply retrieved (if that's what you wanted...)

Buzzy

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Thanks for giving me my best laugh of the day, the Melbourne Cup hasn't been kind so I love that for a comic reason to move to Perth :thumbup:

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Glad it made you laugh Jack :thumbup:.

Re: What is Oz really like??
 

Thanks! But, I think I managed to get most of it back - nothing a few good taps of the "back" button on the web-browser :) I'm re-posting the composition in the other thread ("cost of living") as opposed to this one, hence the deletion.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
xizzles