That would be our families then

I mean



JTL

Hi Jack the lad
Are you meeting us all next Saturday? Again sorry for interupting thread, just a chance to get to know new people

Hi everyone, I joined a while ago but only now have seen this thread and would like to add a differet take on why some are dissatisfied.

I am british but have lived most of my life in Victoria British Columbia Canada. I am not home sick for Victoria or family I left there, I simply don't pine to go back. But I have found my first year in Aus on the Sunny Coast a bit of an eye opener. For me it as to do with how society acts here. I have met some of the best people I have ever met here. Being able to walk one minute to the beach and have a barbie is increadible... But there is an underbelly of society here that I have never had the missfortune of experiencing before but come across everyday. The rage in people, in what is suppose to be the "laid back" Sunshine Coast, has me really wondering if there is a "safe" place in this country. It doesn't make me want to run back to Canada but reading and listening to others talk about how Australia is heaven in comparison to where they have come from makes me feel I was very fortuneate to have lived there.

Hi Chips n Ale,

Sorry we've got plans next weekend and can't be there. Mrs JTL might send over a newly arrived family though, if/when she gets in touch with them in the next couple of days. I hope you'll all have a great day out. Can you or someone who's going to the meet PM me a mobile number to be passed onto the new family? They haven't got internet access at the moment.

JTL

Some people move to a great part of OZ , buy a nice big house in a good town or suburb, get a good job, good salary makes new friends and therefore settle right in ,while others move to a crap part of OZ into a crap town or suburb into a crap house, can't find work or can only get a crap low paying job and therefore don' t settle in and want to go home.

a fair comment(!) There's a correlation between disgruntled migrants ..and unsettled migrants......

Think a lot of is to do with adaptability and attitude....we came here open-minded, and experienced enough travellers to adapt very easily.
But also have to bear in mind, that WE are the foreigners...the ones that have been blessed with the chance of living here....and going in to situations gun-ho is not the answer, - doing the opposite leading to far more help and kindness. I'm not saying you have to pussy-foot around....just show a bit of respect.

We came here with no allusions.......we have dropped pay dramatically, live in an apartment (ok in a great area) instead of a big house, don't have a pool or a jag - but have a brilliant life here because we have found one that suits us personally.
For others, who have different aspirations...that may not be enough.

- Luck
- Sense of perspective
- Knowledge
- A 'want' to live in Oz (different from a want to leave the UK)
- Preparation
- An ability to know when to listen to Mike Stanton, Arkon et al..
- Determination
- Luck
- Patience
- Adaptability
- Luck
- An ability to know when to ignore Mike Stanton, Arkon et al..
- A plan

And finally...
.... did I mention a heathy dose of 'luck'?

For those planning to come...'Good Luck'

Not always true. I have the house, you can see the ocean from my desk, the area is fine, I'm paid from overseas so have no financial worries. But it all means nothing when you have to spend a large part of your life battling incompetent, lazy people.

Not saying that all Perth residents are such people, but based on two plus years of personal experience, there is a very high rate of incompetent idiots per square kilometer. If you're lucky, you can avoid them. It depends on what you do here.

I'm all for freedom of speech, but some comments are unwittingly sounding xenophobic towards Aussies. Sad given we have been invited into their country

I wonder if people would be upset if immigrants were invited to live in UK and had no respect for British people in this way

C'mon....play fair

Agree with you and Cas. I reckon approach is also as important as attiude.
I've noticed a lot of settled migrants seem to know how to deal with a variety of different problems where others seem to get stuck in a rut.

Another poster observed to me privately a few years ago that you need to come here as a 'migrant', not as an 'expat'.

Cas I agree- you do need a bit of respect too - lots of migrants seem to think they have to go in guns blazing and give 'aussies as good as they get'. Most don't care beyond a bit of banter.

That is how my life has been for two years. That is my experience of dealing with a very high percentage of the local people providing services that I pay for. I'm sure you would say the same if you had been in my shoes for the last two years.

I'm not saying all Aussies are like this. I'm not saying all those causing me problems are Aussies. But I think the laid-back thing is a double-edged sword. It depends if you want to be the one laying back, or the one trying to get things done.

I can't lie just to avoid offending those who are not like this. I have had some excellent service here too, but the crap service hit rate is very high.

If immigrants come into the UK and get ripped off, would you say they have no right to complain as it would amount to being rude to their hosts?

Sorry to rant. Having an extremely bad two years.

We came without a recce trip. Came to validate the visas, but wouldn't have made any difference to us coming. Besides, that was just an excuse for a 4 week holiday lol. Most people (IMHO) who go back quickly have never given it a chance. At the first hurdle, or first hint of homesickness it "oh god this is crap - let's go back to the UK" we came with the intention of giving it a minimum of 3 years, no matter how 'bad' it seemed initially. You can't possibly make a decision on whether you want to spend the rest of your life somewhere in 3 days. (Yes, some people have turned around and gone back that quickly) Fortunately, for us at least, it has turned out to be everything we hoped for and more. We had family and friends in the UK and quite a good social life, both had good jobs etc etc but we gave it all up for a huge leap of faith that we could and would make a go of it here. Neither of us has looked back at what we left and felt homesick for it, life is what you make it, where you make it. We're making some good friends here, both have good jobs, our son is settled into school and basically, we have a good life. I believe we have all this because we came with the right attitude, we aren't afraid to work and we set ourselves objectives. Yes, there has been some luck involved, particularly with us getting the jobs we have, but we were prepared to take on anything to ensure we were self sufficient. We've bought our own house 6 months after getting here and I guess you could say we're 'living the dream' although unlike a dream, it's not going to fade when we wake. Positive attitude, a willingness to accept that you're in a 'foreign' Country and it won't all be like the UK (the amount of people who keep saying 'you can't get this or that here' does my head in - of course you can't - you're not in England any more!!). A lot of people also seem so wrapped up in the 'leaving my family in the UK' thing. Personally, I think if you're feeling that bad about it before you come, you're going to feel just as bad, if not worse, when you're here - sort it out and get over it before you leave.

If you come with a "let's make this work" attitude, it most likely will. If you come with uncertainty, a preconception that you'll miss friends and family really badly and you'll be homesick - you most probably won't settle here (or anywhere for that matter) Be prepared for rough patches - it's not all plain sailing. I might have made our situation sound plain sailing, but there were a few frustrations (mainly around the job hunting area) before we settled. If you're someone who constantly needs the reassurance and support of friends and family, again, you'll most likely suffer.

Come here with the intent of enjoying your new life - look at it like a great adventure, have fun, take risks, grab the opportunity and appreciate that you have it - most never will!

Phew - I need a lie down now!!!

I understand. You sound like you've had a hard time of it

But don't tar everyone with the same brush ......

Hope life starts looking up for you m8

Great post!!