Originally Posted by BadgeIsBack (Post 6276134)

To be honest, I only mention ''fat/feral'' people because so many people have an issue with those issues in Australia. Read the MBTTUK forum or socio-economic complaints in general from those not happy here.

It was partly an exercise in comparing and contrasting Australia with UK as objectively as I could. And parts of London/the UK were without peer in terms of these problems people complain about - others weren't, hence my emphasis on area, not nation.

A little rotundness is not an issue. But an area where a high proportion is obese, along with a myriad of other factors (etc) will I bet ya be more ''feral'' than an area where everyone is decidedly not.

Originally Posted by saveme (Post 6282027)

..........."stomachs dragging on the pavement"....

Originally Posted by saveme (Post 6282027)

I read an article in The Daily Mail by Max Hastings about a visit he did to Australia. He was extremely positive about most aspects of Aussie life but he did comment on how many people looked overweight. (stomachs dragging on the pavement' might have been his exact comment.) Perhaps the Aussies are taking after their heroes the Americans in yet another way!

Originally Posted by aston man (Post 6282356)

The West Midlands seemed very depressed and the people reminded me of the more feral people reported in Australia

being an ex west midlander , that is out of order,its much worse than that..:rofl::rofl:

flippin horrid there eh badge?

never looked back,where in a completely different world here,im still depressed though.....

i should of done it years ago:(

Originally Posted by aston man (Post 6282436)

bloody depressing place there though clipps...:rofl::rofl:

you dont see many dolphins in the cut at the back of davis and blake either?


mind you i once saw a whale.....



a bieycle whale:rofl:

Originally Posted by Clippy (Post 6282458)

:rofl: that's so funny, I had to say that outloud for it to sound proper :rofl:

Anyway you! It wasn't depressing where we lived, now stop it! You know how I like to defend the midlands.

but please don't make me go back

Originally Posted by aston man (Post 6282467)

bloody good on you cath,,,you should never forget your roots...


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede (Post 6285403)

My question would have to be: why say it at all?

There's no need for childish euphemisms. If you mean "gay", just say "gay".

"Woolly woofter" sounds like something that would emerge from the mouth of a 6 year old child, not a grown adult.

Originally Posted by BadgeIsBack (Post 6268545)

I'm back after 40hours of travelling and 5 planes(!)

UK notes: Pluses and minuses.

- The first thing that got us was how cramped everything feeled.
There was a dawning realisation that our modest home in Australia is not so small after all. Streets seemed impossibly narrow but could be crossed in steps - handy with a pushchair.

-It was unseasonably cold and it snowed the first day a far cry from my last April.
+ I told everyone that I recalled the long (and hot) summer of 2003
and most people told me that had been the last really good summer. People did not seem to remember any long warm periods in summer in recent years.

+ My brother had told us to be prepared to be shocked with the traffic. Well all week there was hardly any.

- It finally dawned on us belatedly - it was school holidays(!)

- A trip to the supermarket was interesting. The prices were alot more than I expected and so I would have to revise my hitherto held view they are cheaper to that they are about the same as Australia which other recent posters have commented on (and I didn't believe).

+ There is certainly alot more choice and variety particularly in pre-packaged foods. The real champion is BOGOF that alleviates the expense.
(I did notice something which noone has ever picked up on or noted in this forum. The variety is a bit misleading. For example, the linear metres of cheese selection on closer inspection turned out to
be 3m of one cheese in one quantity followed by 3m of the same in another quantity. Another 6m of aisle was devoted to the same, but with a slight variation - eg. 'low' salt. This was repeated in alot of lines from yoghurts to package foods and there actually seemed to be more choice [and a lot more quantity] than there was. Australian supermarkets hold less of any one line.)

- We were enticed to buy some ready meals from M&S which looked a million dollars and we thought we'd give them a go on the allure of their packaging. Surprisingly, they tasted nothing less than absolutely awful which was truly disappointing.

+ We noticed how well dressed people were and how well groomed they were and well educated. Not a single fat person in sight - sorry but Australians seem to carry fatter people. Their winter clothing seemed very expensive or technical based loads of climbing and outdoor tech gear compared to the sweatshirt or cheap Chinese fleece that Australians wear in winter.
(Having said that my old man lives in a very expensive borough of London which has got better and better - beyond parrallel now. A 4 bed semi house with a bit of character is GBP600k, even a 3bed maisonette is GBP400k.)

- As soon as we crossed into other parts of London outside my father's corridor to see friends we were shocked to see issues. People got fatter, we saw 'Chavs', feral people, inequality. As the trip went by we saw more and more of it and we both agreed that the area was tantamount
and prices reflect that. We even found the small flats friends lived in amusing. We kept banging into door frames and walls as
we walked through their homes(!) The West Midlands seemed very depressed and the people reminded me of the more feral people reported in Australia.

- Everyone seemed to have a bit of an issue with the Poles. We saw some people who were very loud (even abusive) on public transport. This seemed to be tradies organising their next gigs and the language barrier understandably seemed to cause irritation for all. My offering that often migrants do the work that locals forsake was countered with the fact they do the same work for less pay and better too.....(!)

+ My brother's neighbour is a Polish family. My wife really took to the mother (as she had a baby the same age) and we were invited to a party - the only Brits there. They all seemed amazed at the innocent way we really wanted to hear all about them and I think to start with they distrusted us as it seemed they werent used to the attention.

+ People were very polite and friendly. A lot of people wanted to help a family with 2 small (<3yrs ) children. Incredibly, following on from small talk, alot asked us 'what part of Australia' we were from(!) As far as I could see, from our trip to N America, S America and the UK, the reputation of Australians is still high in the world and people positively beemed with interest when told we lived in Australia, (although we were quick to point out our actual respective places of birth).

I would conclude from our experiences that despite self-criticism of some badly-behaved Australians from their own bethren in parts (source: The Age) the overall worldwide rep is still highly positive. If I ever had to curry favour or ingratiate myself somewhere overseas (in a somewhat opportunist manner) I would offer my Australian passport in favour of my British passport. Australian friends amazed us with how British they had become, whilst they laughed at forgotten Australian phrases we used....tit for tat.

- We had some very bad experiences with Public transport regarding strollers.
- I couldn't believe the way customer service supervisors referred to us. When dealing with an issue, in a away I now recall, they would talk or refer to you through their staff member. "Tell the customer he can't have that due to a/ b" in a particularly socially stark awkward manner, when we were standing right there. My experience is that an Australian supervisor would tell you direct and be polite and candid about it.

+ As a sort of exercise, I spent some of my time there trying to find a community in a village similar to the place we have here and one part of the UK caught my eye - Wales/ the Welsh borders.
- One realisation that hit me though was that here the countryside was beautiful but the housing stock tiny. To get acreage would push the cost through the roof and properties would be inordinately expensive sort of falling into choice farmhouse or 'B&B' territory. Other stock was worker's cottage type offerings. Here there is a sort of equitable distributon; every one
has acreage.

+ Another place that caught my eye was where my grandmother lives in a fantastic village in Leicestershire.
- But again the housing stock was a bit limited and there was not much more than a little high street. I found the countryside otherwise disappointing to be honest; rather low-lying and barren.


Returning

My wife tells me she misses not just Australia but our life in Australia. My return to Melbourne has been VERY pleasant. I was able to expedite entry with a chipped Australian passport which was fun. The air felt crisp and clean.

Incredibly, it seemed better than ever before and the view from the Bolte
made it seem world class. Here, countryside was on a par or even better than the Uk and I've realised how much for granted I take it. Even the new suburbs seemed nice - I think I might even have been harsh on them in the past. Infact I've realised I've been over-critical of some places, traits and that as it turned out, familarity had breeded contempt after all which a break helped fix.

Within hours of getting back I was enjoying all the things we get up to here with some mates (bit of a network here where everyone mixes in on their properties. I was jetlagged beyond belief but still able to muck in) and it felt just so right doing all these things. It's a light world from the sort of lives that others report.

I've realised that the debate in some ways has nothing to do with Australia vs Uk. More so, it is area vs area and what suits your expectatation, budget and requirements. I found one of the places I would like to live in the UK - SW London - but at what cost(!)

It's only worth moving to Australia if it benefits the migrant in all ways and that is still many. There are people who will always miss or fail to see the opportunity or fail to get the right ticks in the boxes which is getting harder and harder. Some people will always benefit from the move.

cheers

BM

Originally Posted by fraser (Post 6285415)

I agree shirtlifter, turd burgler, iron are all more appropriate euphanisms for an adult to come out with;)