PeteY

I asked my wife what she missed about oz. Gave me a monster of a list, thought i would post one or two highlights.

Weather
Roads (lack of traffic)
Adelaide (her home town.....)
Fishing with me on the end of a deserted jetty (awww)
National parks that ar'nt full of tourists.
Easy access to a clean, warm sea.
The friendlyness of the people.
Coopers Pale.
Counter meals.

There were more....i just can't remember them !

Main thing i miss...... (was only there 8 months).

The fishing

karawara88

Hi Jo, this is Donna, no doubt Chris may post later on this issue himself. Years ago I had thoughts of living in Australia and those were idyllic, escapisms, i guess. I dreamt of getting home from work and walking along the beach in the late afternoon sun and kinda thought that would make life quite perfect. When I met Chris he had already migrated to Oz and had been there three times and wanted to return. It took me 6 months to get my application together, nearly six months to get my skills assessed and then a long 18month wait for the visa to arrive.

So the last three years of my life I have been saying to friends and family I migrating to Australia. Some thought I had just made it up as I had been saying it so long. I never really thought too much about OZ, I am fairly independent and adaptable and knew that we had the financial means to return at any time. I did the research on the net spoke to friends who had been to OZ and those who had relatives living there all resposes were extremely positive.

Another plus was i thought if needed I could continue my career here. I am a social worker with nearly 20 years training and experience. Everyone speaks english and they drive on the same side of the road, the weather is better and new opportuinites and adventures lay ahead.

I was at first shocked by some of the posts I read on here from PB etc they gave me food for thought and Chris and I discussed the realities of the information posted. Nothing I read detered me from wanting to come to OZ, my goodness I had been waiting 3 years why would I change my plans now, but I became more realistic that I might not want to stay there and might not even like it.

We then had problems with the house sale and we ended up buying a house!!(another story) this meant much of our money would continue to be tied up in UK, at this stage we decided not to ship all of our belongings, and these two events have certainly changed my mind about what OZ was about. Instead of drifting into the move, decisions had to be made and in the end it felt right to maintain commitment financially etc in UK. I have never been unhappy living in the UK its home. I have always wanted to live in other places and I am having the opportunity to do that. I think I am very lucky.

I think I have come to OZ with with a critical eye, and I do not mean that I hve come to be negative but if we decide to make a heavy financial and personal commitment to Oz it has to be right. The more we drive around and consider the practicalties of living in certain places, we decide its not for us. For eg we drove to Kalbarri National Park, the beach front is breathtakingly beautiful (to me) and your first thoughts are what a fantastic place to live, and we could live here if we choose, we could even set up a business here, then you walk around and leave, chatting about all the posibilities. We went back the following day and it all felt different and suddenly the initial warm glow, dimmed into the reality that it was not practical for you when you consider all the facts, tourism costs turnover house prices etc.

I have not yet seen the area or the house where I would want to live and we have travelled further North of perth and around most of the Metro area. I don't like the new buildings they are constructing and it is a shame because the older houses have so much character when well maintained. We have not yet found a street that hasn't been effected by development you just don't know what you might be living next to next year.

I think Kings park is great, but I also love the parks at home, I do love it here when you turn into street and there is a lake there, really lovely. Swan river is beautiful and we walk there almost everyday but then we used to walk at home evry day too, not by a beautiful river but for me the walks are more about Chris and I having time on our own out of the need to complete daily tasks just to chat, fresh air etc, it doesn't really matter where we are.

I think I have probably gone on too long, I hope this has come across okay. For me it is not that I don't like OZ or perth, but whether I want to live here for the next 2, 5 10+ years has yet to be decided and a lot of that has to do with what opportunities we can find to financially sustain us. I have an interview today for casual shop work leading up to the christmas rush. I don't know if I'll get it as I have little retail experience, but I am willing to try anything to earn money and find ways of fitting in. We will see how it goes. I know in UK I would not be in the position of having to go for casual shop work to earn a crust because there I would be in demand as a child protection social worker/manager. Funny old world.

Donna

Dawn Adams

Donna: realistic is good. I'm now getting a different picture. All your/his previous posts gave me the impression you were most unhappy, found nothing that pleased you, and you really were in the wrong place, and I couldn't understand why.

Pollyana

Hi Donna,
Sorry things aren't working out quite the way you expected. However, that post of yours is probably one of the best I've read as its a completely balanced view, and appreciates that what is "good" for someone isn't necessarily "good" for someone else.
A lot better than some of the more negative ones round here.

Plenty of food for thought - I know what you mean, that the walk is good because of who you are with, rather than where you are. I'm going to Brissie cos I'm marrying a Brissie guy - but I'd probably be just as happy with him in the UK.

Good luck - I hope things work out for you and that wherever you do decide to settle, both you and Chris are happy.

Pollyana