ABCDiamond

Actually the "average" prescription is less than $32 in Australia.

The maximum charge is $31.30 http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/...cripts/pbs.jsp

Many prescriptions cost less than that, and I sometimes pay about $8 for anti-biotics. My own average is probably about $25 each.

Withe the PBS safety net, if you were to pay $1,141.80 in a year on prescriptions, the remainder for the year are only $5 each. However you would need at least 3 prescriptions per month to reach that amount.


And of course, because I live in an area were bulk billing is popular, I never pay for a Doctor. In 16 years, I think I have only ever paid once. It does vary though, some areas have very few bulk billing doctors.

MattW82

That's ridiculous. Surely if you'd contracted CJD in those 16 years, symptoms would have manifested themselves by now? Also, could they not just carry out a test on anyone that has lived in the UK during that time period to establish if they are infected or not? Seems a rather stupid ruling to me, and pretty disappointing given that I give blood religiously over here and had hoped to continue to do so in Oz.

ABCDiamond

I actually just looked on the website, and can't find any mention of it now !

Maybe it has changed ?

MattW82

Nope, just did the online quiz to see if I was eligible and the 'have you lived in the UK for more than 6 months between 1980 and 1996' question appeared. As soon as you put yes, you effectively get told to F*** off :-/

Hutch

I couldn't get into North Korea.

AndyR

Our reasons for moving to Oz as a 28/28yrs old couple is this.

Weather - It gets so depressing in the UK with the rubbish weather. I'm not expecting 24/7 glorious sunshine, I know it rains, I just want some level or predictability. Lost count the amount of weekends or plans the weather ruins in the UK.
Housing - We were mortgages up to the hilt in the UK and all we could afford was a shoebox 2 bed terrace. We both earn good money but its just plain hard and I don't like the style of houses over here. Thankfully we are in rented now which is nicer. The whole open plan aspect appeals to me.
Outside - I love the outdoors but feel limited by the weather (see point 1) in the UK.
Break from the norm - I'm only 28 but already having my quarter life crisis. Feel I need to do something different, the UK just doesn't feel like home to me anymore. We've been to the USA A LOT and would love to move there but the whole visa thing there is worse then Oz, so we thought we'd give Oz a go.

Things that are worrying me.

We've never been to Oz before, but I'm willing to give it a try. I don't like the UK anymore, don't like my job, had lots of trouble with youths in my old area, etc and just fancy a change. We've been thinking of this for over a year so its not a rush decision but hopefully Brizzy will be nice
Bugs - I hate spiders but will deal with it. Going to take a shotgun with me.

All in all though we are really looking forward to it! Just wish the visa would come through quick thats all

wanttobedownunder

Hey AndyR

Quote:
"We've been to the USA A LOT and would love to move there but the whole visa thing there is worse then Oz, so we thought we'd give Oz a go.
We've never been to Oz before, but I'm willing to give it a try".

Your in the exact same boat as me!
Love the USA been 7 times but too hard to get in on the right visa go I thought OZ is the next best thing (without sounding patronising).

Roll on Visa!!!

punoo

Our reasons of going to Australia is(rather wanting to go there, as dont have the visa yet!)
Beautiful nature...we love outdoors and australia is so beautiful!
Wheather...nice sunny hot summers n sunny even though cold...winters!!!
I love the idea of having so much space....just take your camper van in the weekends and go for short holidays...
Good to be in a country where i wont have to take language lessons to buy a kilo of oranges :-P(lived in France, Germany, thailand, Netherland, Italy etc etc)
As in an international relationship will be good to live in a neutral place(not Germany nor India)
Love beaches.....rock climbing......barbecuing..idea of fishing(no patience though)
When i went backpacking in Queensland 5 years back i fell in love with the country..and made a point to settel down in Aus(ideally Cape Tribulation but too remote ) So, we are taking the plunge and we are sure we are going to have a great time.....we will make sure that we have a good time.
At the end...its not a dead end.....we will try and if by any chance we wont like it(which is impossible!!) we can always move to some other country....life is too short gotta make best of it!!

Olibeneli

Olibeneli

CDM

- Better [sized] house for the money

compared to an Oz salary Oz houses are not cheap but perhaps you may get more for you buck than your pound...but not in a city. Quality of build leavs a lot to be desired

CDM: I guess that depends on what you mean by 'not in a city'. We're planning on living in a Melbourne suburb. Melbourne is a city but I wouldn't call living in the suburbs living in the city. Size for size, there's a huge disparity between what can be purchased in the South East of the UK compared to Melbourne - no contest here!

- Better weather

can't argue with that but some days its too hot to go out! Melly has shitty greay days too...

CDM: Agreed on both counts but that still leaves a LOT of very nice days to enjoy over the course of a year. Compared to the UK, that's definitely a step in the right direction. Chalk another one up for Oz here.

- More of an outdoor lifestyle

there is a massive lack of culture in oz for anything historical...lots of beaches though

CDM: We spent 7 years in Florida where there's also a distinct lack of anything historical. I'll still miss the castles here in the UK but we have no real beaches here so I think well call that a fairly even swap.

- Better life for the children (currently 2 & 3 - not yet in school). OK, this is more of a wish than an expectation. I'm not terribly impressed with the overall schooling system in the UK. Private schooling in Oz is MUCH cheaper than in the UK.

err.....can't agree here. Private does not equal good and you can't compare private in Oz to private in UK. Standards also incredibly difficult to compare. My opinion is good and bad all over. Don't write off your average UK school....very good IMHO

CDM: You can't agree on Oz being a better life for the children or on the issue of the quality of schooling in general?

- Cheaper overall cost of living

don't agree....food, petrol, clothes, anything for school was all expensive. Can you get a school shirt in Oz for the equivalent of £1...you can at Tesco.

CDM: Are you saying petrol is more expensive in Oz than in the UK? I find that difficult to believe but I stand to be corrected. BE has various threads in which people comment on the good quality fresh fruit/veg to be had - but also that there's less choice in supermarkets. Perhaps we'll call that one a draw.

- Closer to relatives that we like. This is a double-edged sword since we'll be farther away from parents and siblings - the only true downside that I can see so far.

think about this.....major concern when you have been away for any time. I love visiting my dad now he is in the autumn of his life

CDM: I've already spent 18 years living outside of the UK so I'm no stranger to 'being away from family'. Phones and the Internet make the planet smaller anyway.

- Better working conditions

have you experienced Oz trains ?.....Trains in Sydney are FAR worse than the trains I get to London.

CDM: Yes I have. The mainline that runs from Frankston to the CBD in Melbourne is a better quality of train that the Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street - and there's no cramped, hot (or cold) and failing tube network to worry about either. Plus, it's staggeringly cheaper to travel by train in Melbourne than it is in Essex - absolutely no comparison on this one I'm afraid - a clear win for Oz!

I stand to be corrected on any of these issues but these are my own findings based on having spent a few months in Melbourne, discussed with relatives that have lived there for twenty-odd years as well as my own research through sites like this one over the course of the past year or so.

Just for clarity, I've lived in teh UK for 20+ years, Holland for 8 years, Florida for 7 and have also travelled extensively around the world - and then some. I'm quite happy I'm going into this with my eyes wide open.

- CDM

meols12

I think you may need to do a bit more research on the transport system in Melbourne. The trains are notorious for overcrowding, poor punctuality and cancellations, as evidenced by yesterday's fiasco.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...74-661,00.html

CDM

I'll readily concede that it's probably not perfect in Melbourne but I've travelled on the trains there and also my own line here in the UK and I have to say that the Melbourne trains are better.

The UK trains are repeatedly delayed, cancelled or very often run very slowly into town. Sometimes a 12 carriage train is reduced to just 4 carriages too. Getting into work in London late because of problems on the trains is simply an accepted fact of life and no boss will blink an eye (usually because he'she is late in for the same reason too).

They are increadibly overcrowded to the point that it can be very difficult to find a seat (which are also very narrow). The Shoeburyness trains are newer and much nicer but the Southend Victoria rolling stock is old and knackered.

I've repeatedly arrived at Liverpool Street in London in the evening for my commute back home only to find the concourse full of irritated passengers (literally standing room only) with no route home for hours on end.

Oftentimes the entrances to the tube turnstiles are closed because of safetly reasons due to overcrowding. It doesn't seem to take much to cause gridlock on the tube network.

So, despite whatever problems there may be with the train network in Melbourne, they can't possibly be as bad as things all too often are with the network here in the UK.

- CDM

CDM

I'd also point out that, having read through the above quoted article, disruptions such as this are so commonplace on the suburb lines to/from London that they are not even reported as news.

- CDM

ABCDiamond

Interesting thing about things being or not being reported.

Yesterday morning, as we were driving to school, my daughter pointed out that some graffiti had been done on a fence at the bus stop !

Then, in todays paper, on page 2, Headline "Graffiti Spree in Capalaba", and it mentioned the graffiti in Victoria Point as well.

It appears that Graffiti is becoming a problem. I didn't notice it this morning, so maybe the council cleared it of yesterday, or maybe I was watching other traffic/school kids and didn't see it.

Australia_bound?

Personally saw a lot of Graffiti in Melbourne when on Train from Werribee to CBD, every wall & fence was covered in many areas.
All depends on where you live on what you compare it to, is virtually no graffiti anywhere near I live. But having seen comparable big cities in UK it's just the same here. Seems odd that some people miss the bigger picture, some lovely place in Aus and the UK, just as there are bad in both as well.

Do sometimes wonder why people think they can avoid things by moving to another country? Never been anywhere that was without the odd scumbag or government that is perfect.

Wonder why the need to compare and moan about the UK comes from. I have a good life here and enjoy UK for many reasons, hope that we can replicate what we have here but with a better climate in Aus (thought not looking forward to days of over 40 degrees)