What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Nov 20th 2007, 12:44 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Posts: 68
What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Well, we've been living on the Sunshine Coast for around 6 months now and I thought I'd share our likes and don't likes with you so far.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
Nov 20th 2007, 12:50 am
#2
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 8,913
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Good post. I won't put down what i think of where i am as it is pretty much the same as what you have said. The good and bad are nearly the same except i'm in Perth.
Only difference is i'm off home next year...i'm all barbequed out
Only difference is i'm off home next year...i'm all barbequed out
Nov 20th 2007, 1:24 am
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 51
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Well, we've been living on the Sunshine Coast for around 6 months now and I thought I'd share our likes and don't likes with you so far.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
Paul
Nov 20th 2007, 2:01 am
#4
Enjoying the good life!
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Bayside, Brisbane
Posts: 886
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Well, we've been living on the Sunshine Coast for around 6 months now and I thought I'd share our likes and don't likes with you so far.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
The weather is sooo much better than UK BUT when it rains it REALLY rains
Public BBQ's are free and there are lots of them BUT people don't always clean them when they've finished cooking, YUK!
We've seen wild kangaroos, possums, parrots and cockatoos and we have geckos living in our garage BUT we have seen HUGE cockroaches, a very big huntsman spider, blue bottle jellyfish and our geckos are really noisy at night.
There are lots of beautiful houses for sale here BUT the prices seem to be going up monthly
I can cycle safely to school with my son (who is 6) along the very wide cycle paths and through the beautiful parkland BUT it's starting to get a bit hot for cycling in the morning and we often get "swooped" by angry magpies when we go under their tree.
My husband and I have found great jobs with family friendly flexibility and we are both home by 3pm and no weekends BUT our pay isn't that good compared to cost of living.
There is so much stuff to do, especially as we live so close to the sea and the river BUT my son still loves playing playstation.
There are a huge number of clubs for the kids to join (my son does Little Athletics and Scouts) BUT the fees can be expensive and there are extras like kit and uniform.
We can get broadband where we live and the connection is excellent BUT it took weeks to get connected and is way more expensive than the UK. (We couldn't live without it though)
Fresh food is fantastic quality, like fish, meat, fruit and veg BUT to get a good price you need to go to the markets or specialist shops as the supermarkets charge quite a bit more and it's not as fresh.
You can get some really good deals on brand new cars BUT secondhand cars seem overpriced AND you have to pay TAX on used cars as well as new ones.
Sunshine coast is really clean and well looked after BUT we still have a big graffiti problem.
The beaches are fantastic and well patrolled and rarely crowded BUT the sea is quite scary unless you've grown up with it and understand it. Thank God for the life guards.
There are some great places to fish and it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon BUT we don't know much about it and have had some humorous comments about our bait and casting technique from the locals. My son caught a Puffa fish a couple of weeks ago.
The local clubs are family orientated and have great food at low prices and many have kids clubs where children can have fun in a supervised environment while you have a couple of drinks at the bar! They also have free buses that come to your house and pick you up and take you home so no arguments about driving. BUT the clubs have alot of adult only gaming machine areas in them and the entertainment can be a bit cheesy.
It's fantastic that you can e-mail, Skype, get an OzCall card, text, use Facebook etc to stay in touch with friends and family BUT it's not a substitute for hugs and kisses and we now realize that not everyone has the time or money to visit us
In a nutshell, there's so much we love about Australia and we won't be going back to the UK anytime soon. We love our life here and feel really lucky to have the opportunity to live here permanently.
Nov 20th 2007, 2:04 am
#5
Enjoying the good life!
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Bayside, Brisbane
Posts: 886
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
I entirely agree with your comments but am surprised that you are staying. I am a Plumbing and Heating engineer in the uk and to do this job in oz I have to re-train completely. to get licenced I would have to do a full weeks course and then do the gas course, which would tak a full 6 weeks! To work for myself here I would have to do a 400 hour business studies course. The wages here are really crap.Twenty five dollars per hour.So we have decided to go back to the uk next year to earn some proper money. We aren't prepared to take a dive in income or our standard of living just for an extra bit of sunshine. I would have to win the lottery to be talked into living here I am afraid!
Paul
Paul
Nov 20th 2007, 2:55 am
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 51
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
So sorry tohear you've had it so bad so far...my OH is a plumbing & Heating engineer in UK but came over and got his provisional licence easy enough and is doing the correspondance course to get his full licence and is being paid approx $60 per hour...have you tried appling for another job/another part of Oz.
Paul
Nov 20th 2007, 7:05 am
#7
PENNINE ELECTRICAL
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Was Wakefield, Now Bayside,Capalaba, Brisbane since 2004
Posts: 376
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
I am amazed! I think your OH must be very lucky to have landed such a good job. Is he on wages? or self-employed? We are in WA and all jobs advertise between $25/$30 per hour for wages and $40 for sub-contract. The correspondence course cannot be available here, as no-one at the licencing board has ever mentioned it. The other downside is that many adverts ask for a minimum 5 years WA experience. Perhaps they're just a bit more fussy here. Considering all that I have read on this website and all the people I have spoken to , I didn't think that it was any different anywhere else, but to be honest I would not want to haul my whole family somewhere else in Australia without being sure of a decent income.
Paul
Paul
I work on new houses(sparky) and work with plenty of Plumbers(even uk ones) and they are on at least 60 an hour.(subbies)
A couple of my friends live in Perth and they are Air con Guys and they dont earn half as much as people over here in Brisbane.
It seems much more competetive over there, where as here they are crying out for Tradesmen.
Good luck with whatever you do , but i wouldnt be going back to UK no matter what happened.
Darren
Nov 20th 2007, 9:21 pm
#8
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast
Posts: 1,643
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
I am amazed! I think your OH must be very lucky to have landed such a good job. Is he on wages? or self-employed? We are in WA and all jobs advertise between $25/$30 per hour for wages and $40 for sub-contract. The correspondence course cannot be available here, as no-one at the licencing board has ever mentioned it. The other downside is that many adverts ask for a minimum 5 years WA experience. Perhaps they're just a bit more fussy here. Considering all that I have read on this website and all the people I have spoken to , I didn't think that it was any different anywhere else, but to be honest I would not want to haul my whole family somewhere else in Australia without being sure of a decent income.
Paul
Paul
It amazes me that people move over here and when they have problems they go back to where they came from without a thought of trying somewhere else in Australia.
I suppose it's all to do with comfort zones?
Nov 20th 2007, 9:35 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 52
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Maybe rather than going back to the UK you should move to the Sunshine Coast?
It amazes me that people move over here and when they have problems they go back to where they came from without a thought of trying somewhere else in Australia.
I suppose it's all to do with comfort zones?
It amazes me that people move over here and when they have problems they go back to where they came from without a thought of trying somewhere else in Australia.
I suppose it's all to do with comfort zones?
Nov 20th 2007, 10:02 pm
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Location, Location!
Posts: 1,481
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Had to put my tuppence in.
It depends what you want when you get here, a comparable lifestyle to the Uk in monetary, house, car, terms or if you are willing to let go of all of it. Get less money, but have a better way of life as the beach and free bbq's costs nothing to go too. You may not get comparable over here and you may but researching here before you come for jobs salaries is a wise move.
I have friends over here from the UK and most of them agree that they do no get as much money on the Coast (especially) as they did in the UK. But they are prepared to sacrifice that not for the sunshine, but for the all year outdoor lifestyle, as they dont need to keep up with jones here, in fact they don't even need to wear shoes
When you first arrive you compare everything and in another post I stated this and it can be a doomed situation. People state they cannot get the same money, car etc as they did some get better cars, jobs than they had.
Being here nearly 4 years, life is better, different completely to the UK:-
Loves
Weather (main reason for moving)
Being able to walk on the beach every day
My skills being appreciated by employers
Laid back lifestyle
Having a pool
Hates
Don't hate anything that venomously
But dislike
The driving here and "hello do you know how to use a roundabout"
In shops the assistant will pick up the phone before serving you or while in the middle of serving you -
Not having as many days holidays a year over here, I had 35 in the UK, but do enjoy the public holiday allowance.
C
It depends what you want when you get here, a comparable lifestyle to the Uk in monetary, house, car, terms or if you are willing to let go of all of it. Get less money, but have a better way of life as the beach and free bbq's costs nothing to go too. You may not get comparable over here and you may but researching here before you come for jobs salaries is a wise move.
I have friends over here from the UK and most of them agree that they do no get as much money on the Coast (especially) as they did in the UK. But they are prepared to sacrifice that not for the sunshine, but for the all year outdoor lifestyle, as they dont need to keep up with jones here, in fact they don't even need to wear shoes
When you first arrive you compare everything and in another post I stated this and it can be a doomed situation. People state they cannot get the same money, car etc as they did some get better cars, jobs than they had.
Being here nearly 4 years, life is better, different completely to the UK:-
Loves
Weather (main reason for moving)
Being able to walk on the beach every day
My skills being appreciated by employers
Laid back lifestyle
Having a pool
Hates
Don't hate anything that venomously
But dislike
The driving here and "hello do you know how to use a roundabout" In shops the assistant will pick up the phone before serving you or while in the middle of serving you - Not having as many days holidays a year over here, I had 35 in the UK, but do enjoy the public holiday allowance.C
Nov 20th 2007, 10:22 pm
#11
Lets Rock !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 599
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
I entirely agree with your comments but am surprised that you are staying. I am a Plumbing and Heating engineer in the uk and to do this job in oz I have to re-train completely. to get licenced I would have to do a full weeks course and then do the gas course, which would tak a full 6 weeks! To work for myself here I would have to do a 400 hour business studies course. The wages here are really crap.Twenty five dollars per hour.So we have decided to go back to the uk next year to earn some proper money. We aren't prepared to take a dive in income or our standard of living just for an extra bit of sunshine. I would have to win the lottery to be talked into living here I am afraid!
Paul
Paul
Nov 20th 2007, 10:43 pm
#12
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,133
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
I entirely agree with your comments but am surprised that you are staying. I am a Plumbing and Heating engineer in the uk and to do this job in oz I have to re-train completely. to get licenced I would have to do a full weeks course and then do the gas course, which would tak a full 6 weeks! To work for myself here I would have to do a 400 hour business studies course. The wages here are really crap.Twenty five dollars per hour.So we have decided to go back to the uk next year to earn some proper money. We aren't prepared to take a dive in income or our standard of living just for an extra bit of sunshine. I would have to win the lottery to be talked into living here I am afraid!
Paul
Paul
Nov 20th 2007, 10:48 pm
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast
Posts: 1,643
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Had to put my tuppence in.
It depends what you want when you get here, a comparable lifestyle to the Uk in monetary, house, car, terms or if you are willing to let go of all of it. Get less money, but have a better way of life as the beach and free bbq's costs nothing to go too. You may not get comparable over here and you may but researching here before you come for jobs salaries is a wise move.
I have friends over here from the UK and most of them agree that they do no get as much money on the Coast (especially) as they did in the UK. But they are prepared to sacrifice that not for the sunshine, but for the all year outdoor lifestyle, as they dont need to keep up with jones here, in fact they don't even need to wear shoes
When you first arrive you compare everything and in another post I stated this and it can be a doomed situation. People state they cannot get the same money, car etc as they did some get better cars, jobs than they had.
Being here nearly 4 years, life is better, different completely to the UK:-
Loves
Weather (main reason for moving)
Being able to walk on the beach every day
My skills being appreciated by employers
Laid back lifestyle
Having a pool
Hates
Don't hate anything that venomously
But dislike
The driving here and "hello do you know how to use a roundabout"
In shops the assistant will pick up the phone before serving you or while in the middle of serving you -
Not having as many days holidays a year over here, I had 35 in the UK, but do enjoy the public holiday allowance.
C
It depends what you want when you get here, a comparable lifestyle to the Uk in monetary, house, car, terms or if you are willing to let go of all of it. Get less money, but have a better way of life as the beach and free bbq's costs nothing to go too. You may not get comparable over here and you may but researching here before you come for jobs salaries is a wise move.
I have friends over here from the UK and most of them agree that they do no get as much money on the Coast (especially) as they did in the UK. But they are prepared to sacrifice that not for the sunshine, but for the all year outdoor lifestyle, as they dont need to keep up with jones here, in fact they don't even need to wear shoes
When you first arrive you compare everything and in another post I stated this and it can be a doomed situation. People state they cannot get the same money, car etc as they did some get better cars, jobs than they had.
Being here nearly 4 years, life is better, different completely to the UK:-
Loves
Weather (main reason for moving)
Being able to walk on the beach every day
My skills being appreciated by employers
Laid back lifestyle
Having a pool
Hates
Don't hate anything that venomously
But dislike
The driving here and "hello do you know how to use a roundabout" In shops the assistant will pick up the phone before serving you or while in the middle of serving you - Not having as many days holidays a year over here, I had 35 in the UK, but do enjoy the public holiday allowance.C
Please come to the front and accept your prize :-)
Nov 20th 2007, 11:36 pm
#14
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 51
Re: What we love about Oz v What we don't like about Oz
Actually, we spent three years applying for visas etc.. and did an awful lot of research into the lifestyle here. We know an expat whos lived here 15 years and were constantly being assurred that Australia was 'crying out for tradesmen', and 'tradesmen make an absolute fortune here'. Maybe I was naive, but this is what you hear all of the time in the UK. Reading many of the posts on this website makes me realise that I am not the only one who has been sucked in by it all. Of course, I wanted this 'lifestyle' for my family as well, but I truly believe now that you can't have everything. I enjoy having the beach on my doorstep, but I'm not prepared to pay the high price for it. Also, may I just say that I knew that I would have to do a migrants course for plumbing when I got here, but I have only discovered since arriving that I would be expected to do more than that at college. No amount of research is a substitute for actually doing something and so I just took the plunge.