For me it's the sense of community. When I was in the UK it was a struggle to get anyone to help with anything. Here you have thriving Christmas pageants with hundreds of people taking part and thousands turning out to watch; you have all the mums at playgroup helping to clear up at the end; you have teenagers putting their litter in litter bins; a 'big lounge' event with the main street closed for live music; free public bbqs and toilets that are clean and un-vandalised. I could keep going.

There is crap too but for me I want my kids growing up in a place where everyone pitches in for the benefit of everyone, not in a place where it's very man for himself.

Interesting comment about community because I would have said just the opposite. A far stronger sense of community in the area I come from - the neighbours support my aged parents because they want to - I dont even know the names of some of my neighbours and not for want of trying. It's a very insular little world here. I like that people will have a chat in the supermarket check outs and not look at you as if you are bonkers if you venture an approach to them. Getting parents to help in schools here is a nightmare - you are lucky if you have a stalwart couple who do canteen duty on a regular basis and if you are really lucky someone will put their hand up to do kindergarten craft. Reading mums are a thing of the past as so many families need two incomes in order to survive. I guess it all depends on where you go.

neither is better then the other........that is why I move so much

Is an apple better than an orange?
I can tell you why I prefer living in Oz but it doesn't make it better than the UK.
1 - both my wife and I earn more here.
2 - more choice of work for me in particular
3 - weather - can't get too hot for me
4 - house with a pool
5 - work 5 days now as oppossed to 7, so love my weekends
6 - lots of stuff to see and do that is cheap or free
7 - have made some amazing Aussie friends
8 - chance to visit some cool places too exxy from the UK
9 - love the wildlife
10- my wife is happier here, ergo so am I

I enjoyed living in Edinburgh but life here is better for us - simple really

I agree for us its a similar story to the above

But I will add

11. My children are happier and have a more healthier outdoor social life, their school is particularly challenging and sets high goals.

Its not perfect by a long way, but at the moment..........

I have a job in Australia.
I don't have a job in the UK.

My family and I have been here in Victoria since the end of October. I love waking up in the morning to blue skies and sunshine nearly every day, its a lovely start to the day. Celebrated New Year in Melbourne, it was FREE, also the trains were FREE to get into the city, celebrated Australia Day in Geelong it was FREE, went to see the 12 Apostles, it was FREE.

Just a couple of simple things that I like about living in Australia.

Lisa

That does sort of sum it up

The thing is also; that there are so many different people, from different places, wanting different things.

However, my personal situation changed from a Terraced house in a crowded part of the UK, with no garden, to a much bigger house near the water with garden and pool, and space.

The weather is better, little need for heating, little need for cooling, other than ceiling fans.

Can nip down to the Gold Coast, or Pacific Islands, for much cheaper than I could from the UK

Life just feels brighter.

That's me....

Whatever other peoples reasons are for liking Australia over the UK (or whatever) doesnt matter really does it ... it will not change YOUR situation. From the tone of your posts you obviously feel as though you have been duped but there is no point to getting all bitter and twisted on a forum ... try having a chat with your wife about going back to "wherever the hell" you came from or maybe you could "shut up" ... If the Aussies want to go around thinking that where they live is the best place on earth, so what ?? let them, then you can concentrate on the important things in life

Must be the sunshine, but I get laid more often in Oz compared to the UK.

Hmmmmm

In the AREA I LIVE (thats very important as Aus is a pretty big place)

Hubby no longer has to travel 1 hr 40 mins to work for us to be able to live in an affordable area. He leaves the house at 8.15 and is home by 5.30. In the UK he'd leave at 7am and be back at 7pm. Pretty crappy when you have young kids.

The health service is way better, virtually no wait lists and the care and follow up is second to none.

The air feels cleaner and the days just seem brighter, even the cloudy days

We can achieve what we aspire to achieve here...in the Uk our money didn't go as far. That said I find things here expensive, so how I don't know. Maybe to do with free parking, free entertainments/ not needing to pay to keep the kids amused as much? (anyones thoughts welcome) We earn the same in dollars as we did in pounds (largely due to hubby having a huge, unplanned, career change) but we are still better off here.

I like the fact that more things are means tested....however don't aleways agree with the amounts they decide them at

The changes in scenery in an hours drive. For us its beach one way, mountains another, city the other, flat grass/ green country the other.

The beautiful birds that frequent my garden, I still smile when I see a king parrot hoping along my veranda (this will all change when we move into the burbs next week though, so expect some bah humbug posts for a bit)

Theres a lot more but they are more material things so don't want to blither on there really

It's personal. I don't think it is a 'generally accepted fact' that Aus is better. It obviously is for a great many people who live here but there are also many for whom it's not. It's different, that's all. People make it what they want.

I think you actually want to argue the toss because you obviously don't like Aus or don't like your life here. Why? Accept that some people love it here, that some have lives and lifestyles the same here as in the UK and that some don't like it at all.

Why does it matter what other people think anyway? It shouldn't have any bearing on what you feel about the place, someone loving it won't make you hate it any less, just as someone who is really happy is unlikely to be converted to disliking it by someone who hates it (on a discussion board anyway).

It isn't.

It's not.

>>and more importantly do you like seeing those women wearing bikinis in Coles/Safeway/Aldi<<

But do you call very pregnant fifteen-year-olds "women"?

15??? boy they are getting older each year. (from what I have seen around)