glittababe

Well said! We love the outdoors and really made the most of living in the uk. Our daily routine doesn't change, school runs, work, ironing, washing. We do the same things as we did in the uk; we go camping, walking, 4wd'ing. The landscape is obviously different and we make the most of the beach and some of the spectacular scenery around here. Problem is Monday comes around quickly and you've got to go back to work ah well can't have it all!

glittababe

have resized them! the secluded rock pool!

iPom

In UK:

Get up, make pack lunches, find PE kits, send girls off to school
Get son dressed
Try to do washing (laundry in shed) and pick up emails/check on here
Despair the house was too small and messy
Do kitchen stuff
Lunch
Speculate about going to park if weather got better
Weather not better so no park
Walk in driving rain with grey skies to ..
Pick up girls from school
Walk home
kids Tea
Our Dinner
Bed

Bit bloody dull really.

Australia:

Up at 7 to walk dog to beautiful lookout (see my pics 'My Back Yard) which is an hours walk - never the same view day to day due to different weather.
Back home, sort lunches, get girls off to school (hub takes them in car - 5 min drive)
Get shower
Get son dressed
Hang washing out in garden even though it's middle of winter
Check BE if I have time
Clean kitchen
Play with son and dog outside....
Meet business partner for lunch in lovely deli nearby
Home to work on business stuff
Pick up girls
Play at park/lake for an hour or
Play in back garden
Take dog out for other walk, maybe to see aboriginal cave paintings on other side of road
Get chicken from chicken shop if it's Friday, plus chips - yum!
All eat together
Bit of ironing whilst watching CSI or a video
Plus lots of wine
Squash spider on floor
Kids to bed
Me to bed exhausted...

Different every day apart from the dog walking.

iPom

You don't have children. If you did, you'd know that as an adult you could go hiking in the Chilterns through ankle deep mud and have the wind sting your face as your mac inflated with the howling gale and it would be fine.

When you try that with little children, it's hard to watch them cry with the cold no matter how much they're padded up.

It's also hard on a busy village street in the UK where cars go through at 60 in a 30 zone to let your children wobble down incredibly thin pavements. Here, our garden is big enough to ride a bike on and traffic is so infrequent, they can ride down the street or on the fire trails.

Australia's environment makes a huge difference to a child's outdoor life.

thribble

Absolutely. The fact that my commute is reduced by an hour each way means that I have more time for me. And theoretically I could have moved closer to work in the UK - but I'd have had to sell my body on the streets to pay for it, and my hubby would have had his commute increased by an hour at least each way.

Sometimes you need to break away from where you are completely to be able to effect the changes you want.

Shakmaty

How are these 2 things related to each other?

thribble

Erm, they're not! Although I suspect if I was selling my body on the streets he'd have to sell his car, so actually you're probably looking at more like a two hour increase!!!

jothefw

Good thread guys - and I agree about children versus bad weather and changing lifestyle - at the moment we're in UK and pressure of work and weather means we have less time as a family - less time to enjoy/explore as a unit.

In Oz the pressure will be reduced due to more dependable weather and therefore we'll have more time as a family!

(Our life revolves around the weather A LOT)

BadgeIsBack

I'd agree with Petey, and say that Australia wouldn't necessarily change you from a couch potato. I disagree in that it might not be your fault that you cannot live to full potential.

The biggest difference between our days is that our weekends are completely different - this is because we own a family home on a big block with that fun as apposed to a flat in South London. I used to try to leave life like I might here, but it involved driving 2hrs plus from London and it wasn't our own place.

I love woodworking, being on 24hrs call as a volunteer structure and wildfire firefighter, DiY, (or rather home maintenance) and all the myriad things associated with a real home. For me, a flat was just a box to live in - not the real deal.

Work is a bit easier, less hours for (quite a bit) more money. Nicer,less agressive management.

My wife doesn't have to work here either.

BAdge

PS When we were kids we would walk literally miles, in all weathers, across the North Downs even as 4 year olds. Locals couldn't believe it.

PeteY

Ohhh come on. I'd like you to re-read what you are saying, and think HONESTLY about what you are trying to say.

Well... although i do not have kids, i was one once. I was "dragged out" from a young age, and seem to remember enjoying it.. It doesnt rain all the time in the UK, not all footpaths are muddy etc etc etc etc. The uk does not have but one season.

See how your kids go on a nice long walk over here, mid summer. Im sure they will LOVE you for it (being without kids, as you say, i am only guessing...).

You go out when the weather allows in either country.

So a) You are trying to proport that aussies dont speed? b) You're comparing Australias complete LACK of pavement in most suburban areas with all of the paved footpaths in the UK? c) You reckon that firetrails are better than the UKs EXCELLENT public footpath/bridleway system?

All i am trying to say to everyone here... is you are generally trading one thing, for another.

You trade the mud and wind in a UK winter, for blistering heat, mossies and flies in an Aus summer.

You trade crazy kids in Ford escorts for hoons in commodores.

You trade less traffic congestion, for a poorer public transport system.

Etc....

BadgeIsBack

I think you can allow for a bit of personal taste, too, Pete.

Some people just prefer one extreme over another. Have to be honest, balance or no balance, I still vastly prefer good old Aussie, and for someone of my means, think our kids will be better off here, even after schooling. I'm not ashamed about this.

iPom

Uh huh.


Uh huh, you're a qualified parent then, because you were once a kid? Well done you. You won't need any help when your sprogs pop out then, will you? You'll be a pro without any advice whatsoever.

We took our children out frequently as we were living in Buckinghamshire before we moved here. They had excellent walking facilities after a ride in the car to get to the place. Bearing in mind my youngest is 3, there is a limit to how far he can walk, but I'm sure you know exactly how far seeing as you were once a child yourself. (By the way, children don't recall anything much before the age of 3...so I'm guessing you were 4 and upwards. Something to think about?)
This is merely the point I am making, that the environment was a consideration when it came to taking our children out. Our eldest two are great walkers and can still do an hour easily, even though they're 7 and 9.
The weather in the UK is certainly less stable than it is over here and certainly during the winter, life in Australia is much more pleasurable, whether you agree or not, that is my perception and I'm allowed to exercise that perception without being told to 'think honestly, whatever that's supposed to mean.

What a wankerish thing to say. They've been lucky in their lives and this isn't the first time we've been here, so summer won't be any great surprise to them, and of course what responsible person would take out a child on a walk at the hottest part of the day in mid summer?
However, we have considered climate which is why we live where we do and summer temps here are generally around the 28-30 mark, although some days can be hotter. And of course, there's mornings and evenings to consider when it comes to going for a walk- you don't have to go when the sun's blazing.
For certain it is an absolute indisputable fact that there is more time to be had outdoors in Australia for most of the year.

Uh huh


No, this is what you've assumed from my post. I said that it was a dangerous road to be on because of the incredibly thin pavements and fast cars. Here, where I am the roads are wide and we are on a road that goes pretty much nowhere, so it's safe for my children to play on their bikes. They see and hear cars coming and can move, if indeed the rare car comes this way.
We couldn't bike in the UK unless we took the bikes to say MK and did the lakes circuits, which we did, frequently, but we couldn't do that with children on any roads near us.
Now we can. We have convenience at long last. We're in a beautiful bit of Australia and we don't have to get in the car to go see thse things because they're on the doorstep.

I find your post a little full on, mate. It's been a long day if you've read anything else I've written today, but your assertion that I have swapped one thing for another here just isn't true. That's why we've chosen to live where we are.

Hoons in cars aren't common here and they don't come down this road because there's nothing to interest them here. It doesn't get blisteringly hot up here in comparrison to the rest of Australia, the transport system seems to be just fine here with a great train and bus system going on. In my village in the UK we were lucky if we had access to one bus! And basically, we've swapped poor weather, (January through to Easter in the UK was one long grey spell - lucky you if you didn't experience that) cramped housing, tiny back garden, terrible road, a drive to get anywhere beautiful to exactly the opposite.

I realise what you are trying to say, but I am not everyone, nor should you presume that everyone lives where you do!

PegLeg

Sorry but I think that a typical day here is pretty much exactly the same as in the UK and I have come to the conclusion that there's a lot more to life than worrying about the weather!

glittababe

not that we can enjoy the fab surf beach and warmer weather we have as we're now too scared to go anywhere!!!!! ahhh dear X

PeteY

Ouch...

Anyway, I guess i just didnt like your generalisation about "mud in the chilterns", "grey skies" etc etc etc.