Kiwipaul

Meaning they know your game and you cannot con them into buying you round after round any more so your going back to Blighty to try your luck their instead.
Both my parents are dead and being an only child I don't have the strings that make it more difficult for other people to settle here.

pommie bastard

Sorry to hear that you have no parents living , but no worries about my free rounds I have more than I can drink.
My son is an only child and he had became spoilt as well but his Gal is changing him for the better , you should hook up with a good woman might be the making of you.

TrickyTree

Think I will miss the usual things:-

Live football (proper one with a round ball).
The family.
My mates.
Will actually miss winters, waking up xmas morning to scorching heat and a BBQ wont seem right.
The good old English pub.

Sure there are lots more to

TT

gOD

One thing I miss when I am not here is the fact that there is always something to do.. Drive up any main road and look at the car rallies, sports events, fairs in market towns, heritage sites.. that kind of thing... You probably get it all (or most of it) in other places but it just somehow seems a bit less accessable.. I suppose there are other things to do as well, but it is a change none the less.

nosuchluck

what a great post, really thought provoking but i'm not sure that i will miss that much really!

will miss: my immediate family and friends, i have lots of other family that i haven't seen for years, cousins, aunts uncles, even my own father (they all live in the UK).
will miss: girly nights out with closest friends.
will find it strange to have to gain 'knowledge' about things taken for granted in the UK but will learn.


wont miss:the unpredictable weather
wont miss: the rat race of school run and trying to get to work on time
wont miss: my bosses
wont miss: the neighbours being so close and we live in a detached bungalow
wont miss much i don't think but then who knows?
my mum taught me that life is not a dress rehearsal and we should live each day as if its your last, i intend to do just that, i'm going to give it my all (if we ever get to Oz) and then if it doesn't work out (i hope to god it does), at least i can say we tried it!
regards rach

Jaykay

I don't think that I was ever at a loss for something to do when I lived in Oz. Living in Melbourne, we always had something planned for the weekend. A few things that come to mind include:

Going to the Drag Racing at Calder or Heathcote Raceway.
Skiing at Lake Eildon. Camping there for the weekend.
Drag Boat Racing at Lake Eildon.
Hiring a house boat for the weekend at Lake Eildon
Snow Skiing (winter only of course)
Grand Prix when it was in Adelaide
Winery tours
Moomba
Melbourne Show
Camping at Wilsons Promontory
BBQ's at Maroondah Dam, Emerald Lake, Silvan Dam
Puffing Billy

This was when I was child free, so am not too sure of what's available to keep children entertained (although I'm sure there's just as much to do).

Regards

DianeOZ

I'm here and don't miss that much to be honest. I do miss the good old British sense of humour. I think some of the Aussies think I'm slightly mad - why would they think that????????

The beautiful scenery in Uk is missed, but when I get my first glimpse of the ocean on my way home from work it always makes me smile. Didn't smile too much when I went to Quinns beach at the weekend and it was totally covered with seaweed about 12" thick. I thought Alan titchmarsh had been out and poured a load of mulch on it.

Maybe us guys here should think what we would miss in Oz if we were to leave.

pommie bastard

We lived on Quinns Beach Estate and did notice that in Winter Sea weed does get washed ashore but it goes as quick as it comes , the smell clears the lungs.
The things I will miss from Perth are people not the place , a
perfect country would contain only the people we like .

Ceri

This one is easy - I have a shorter list than vice versa of missing the UK.

The nature - ie possums and fluffy little b*ggers
The fishing
My boat
The warm weather (but I also miss the Uk weather too, real seasons - can't have everything now can I)
The "dressing down" - I'm a slob! - I wouldn't wear half the things out that I wear now if I was in the UK (but there again - I have a wardrobe full of "posh" clothes that I have never worn here in Aus - ooh for some dressing up too once in a while)

I'm trying very hard to think what I'd miss in Aus - I can't ... sad isn't it, that is all of it above I'd think I'd miss.

But you do take a little bit of the country with you when you leave - I miss a little bit of everywhere I have lived in past years

And of course I'd miss some of my friends here - but I'd get over it as usual.

Cheers

Herman

We returned from Oz (Sydney) to the UK because we missed many things including - family and life long friends, British culture, British weather (discovered we do not enjoy a consistently hot climate), local knowledge, the fabric of our personal histories, travel and well paid jobs.

We do not regret returning as for us, speaking personally of course, life in the UK is very sweet. But there are certainly things we miss about Australia when we stop and think back (not that often!), including - the great friends we made, swimming in the sea, fantastic food (especially lunch time food courts), enormous national parks which are easily accessible.
Having said that, we came to our own very personal conclusion that we were far better off, and happier, in the UK. (Probably worth mentioning that we did not 'emigrate' to Australia - I was asked by my firm to help out our Sydney office for a few years. So we had not done all the research of most folks here and definitely did not go with the mindset that we were making a life changing move. It was a surprise to us when I was offered a permanent posting and I think a surprise to my Sydney colleagues when we said 'no thanks'!)

dracupg

We haven’t missed much since we got here. Mostly trivial, but here they are:-

1. Cadbury’s chocolate. It doesn’t taste as good here. I am told it is something to do with the use of sugar cane, rather than refined sugar, but who knows.
2. Scot’s Porridge Oats. They have Oats here, but again, they don’t taste the same. Had to get a relative to send some over. Although you can get them over the Internet.
3. Marks & Spencers food halls. We are lazy gits and loved the M&S pre-packed meals. Haven’t found anything equivalent.
4. Vegetarian food. Try getting a vegetarian pizza from a store. More chance of being bitten alive by a Pterodactyl.

Suffice to say, the list of things I don’t miss is very much larger and the benefits of being here far outweigh the negatives!

kaleb777

I know that this is about nostalgia, and we all get nostalgic for things that are familiar or that jerk our memories into thinking about people we love, but I just want to add something (that might upset some people).

My perception (and it is the same with most Aussies) of British people is that when they come to another country they focus on everything that was better in the UK rather than looking for things they like about the new country. This doesn't just relate to this thread because I know it's about things you will miss, but it seems that many British people see difference as bad all the time rather than exiting, different and novel. Instead of getting to know native plants and forgeting about a bowling green lawn, you seem to want to have UK type lawns and gardens, then get angry and frustrated when they fry. You can't have an abundance of sunny days AND lush dark green lawns.

You don't embrace things like Jazz in the Domain or the fact that Aussie homes are geared for outdoor entertainment, but you tend to long for the indoor pub culture which probably evolved because entertaining inside homes attached to neighbours was impractical. I've read people in other threads saying they miss the tweeting English birds yet Australia has some of the most beautiful and in demand bird life in the world. Again it seems like even if Australia has something good to offer (many pet birds worldwide are Australian), the fact that it is different from the UK means it is inferior.

You don't seem to be looking at things like an adventure or a learning experience and it seems like a lot of perspective is lost when looking back at Britain from here. Take the constant complaining about wages here. What is forgotten is the outrageous fuel and food prices in the UK that gobble the Uk wages up.

It's the same as people saying that they will miss the UKs proximity to Europe, but the fact that Australia is close to Asia and the Sth Pacific is ignored. Again, different = bad, or sometimes not even worth mentioning.

Sure there are things about Australia that could be better, but they usually involve government policy. I'm sure there are some things Australia does better than the UK though. Everything else - climate, flora and fauna, culture, leisure activities - are just different, not bad because they are different.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I just think people should focus on how the differences are new experiences. Go with the country, don't try to fight it by attemting to transplant the UK here unless you can see a way of offering something Australia could do with. Get into politics. Buy or build a small English pub. I think you'll find that you would soon have to offer alfresco dining.

It's a long way to come and if you're looking for a Sth Pacific version of England it's a long way to go back when you're disapointed.

ellen1

After a lot of thought............i will miss...............absolutley nothing........Some on this site will say coz i'm not there (oz) it is easy for me to say, but i have lived here (UK) 38 years (apart for a couple of years in Hong Kong when i was kid) and nobody could take away the good and bad images my mind holds. I have been fortunate to see crisp white snow, autumn leaves, spring daffodills and long lazy summers days, i have lived and travelled the bredth of england, scotland and wales. i am now ready to experience all what another country has to offer because at the end of the day life is short and the world is huge!

BRING IT ON OZ!!!

ellen1

southerner

People's feelings are their feelings - and it would be wrong to try to always suppress them. If an Englishman misses something about his homeland that is fine by me, and he should feel free to express his views as appropriate. I hope he also positively talks of the new experiences and good things about his new life in the South Pacific.

Unfortunately the English have a bit of a reputation as whingers when overseas, but in practice I have not found this to be the case (in general). Most English are positive about the move they have made, and are open to experience the new things available to them.

I think Aussies give the poms too hard a time about whinging, and this reflects on their own desire to be 'undoubtedly the best place in the world'. If you disagree with that last bit, your'e just explained away as a whinging pom. Its too easy for them, and any slightly negative comment is explained away like this, rather than being used constructively.

England and Australia are different. Some people will find England more suitable, while others will find Australia more suitable. But whereever you live why should you not be able to compare a with b. That is one of the benefits of being a migrant, you become more aware of the similarities and differences around the world.

Anyway, enough of this serious debate. Can we get back to the projected nostalgia stuff? I think I'll miss going for a family walk on a frosty morning before a plate of scampi and chips and a Brakspears in a nice little country pub.

Southerner


ps. I'm ashamed to say that some Aussies and Kiwis who live in London also complain like hell about English life. You should read the latest TNT magazine. They complain like hell, but still they stay as long as their visas allow (and longer). But I am not going to generalise and say they/we are all whingers.

Amazulu

I agree Southerner, I lot of Aussies, Kiwis & unfortunately South Africans in the UK bring the Southern Hemisphere with them, they only mix with each other, & not the Brits, they live together in the same houses & suburbs (It's spot the pom in Acton !) & go to the same pubs & bars (Redback, The Church, Walkabout etc) & generally bitch about the UK.

In South Africa we have Portugese, German, Greek, Italian etc communities who have their own clubs, churches even schools, basically they have their own identity, but they are all South African. There is nothing wrong with this (I think it makes it a better place). If the poms want to stick together, then cool.

If It's not like this in Australia, then it should be.