Hi there

I would like help to decide if moving to Australia really is the right thing to do,
I know you have all been here.
I am 38, married & have 2 children, 2 1/2 & 10 months, hubbie would love to move out there, me, it's the same old, I would miss my family & friends, & truly is life going to be better for us & our 2 boys if we did move. I suppose my main questions would be firstly, do you have the mob culture that seems to be ruining this country, are 15 year old girls being stabbed in lifts & can you go for an evening out without worrying about being set upon by lads & being left in the street needing medical help, sounds severe I know, but this is what I want to leave behind, if I thought the same problems exist in Australia then maybe it isn't the right move. I want something better than that for my sons. I could go on for ages, I suppose, but really I appeal to the ladies for their views on moving a day away.
Thanks

Posted this before, and I reckon it's due a repeat...

From a born-and-bred Aussie, here's my 2p:

Australia is not for everyone. If you have no compelling reason to go... don't.

Write a list of the things you really want out of life. If you already have them in the UK (or you're already on the way to getting them) then why look elsewhere? Australia won't necessarily change your life for the better; it's not a magic wheel that spins straw into gold.

Like most places, Australia is a land of swings and roundabouts. You have to trade them off against each other. Some things are cheaper - a lot cheaper - than the UK. Other things are more expensive - a lot more expensive - than the UK. Find out what they are, and compare them. Try to estimate their impact on your family budget.

Consider your relationships with family and friends. Are you so close that you can't live without each other? Are you fairly independent? Could you cope effectively without your usual support network for months on end? Do you make friends easily, or are you happy to have "quality over quantity"?

Do you enjoy regular overseas holidays on the continent? Bear in mind that these will be almost unaffordable when you're flying from the southern hemisphere. Driving to Paris is great fun, but the Chunnel doesn't quite reach Australia. If you're the sort of person who would miss the benefits of proximity to Europe, think carefully before making a decision.

Above all, don't move to Australia "just to see what it's like" unless you have enough money for such luxuries. If that's your primary motivation and you're not flush with funds, just take a holiday - and make it a long one.

Hi and welcome to B.E

You have asked the million dollar question! Who knows if emigration is right for you?

There is crime and violence in Australia. A lot of expats are lucky enough to live in the "better" areas of Australia so they don't see as much of it.

What is it about Australia that makes you want to live there?

For me it's the thought of more sunshine and more weekends spent outdoors. I love the outdoors but I'm a "fair weather" outdoorsy person

Good post Vash

Hi

Firstly welcome to the site. Only you can make the decision to move. Personally it is the best thing that we did. We have now been here nearly 18 months and never regretted it. We have had family visit us from the UK and we keep in touch via Email, MSN, phone etc. Yes I do miss my family and friends but I am very lucky that my brother was already living here so I have gained a family there. We had also been on holiday quite a lot so had made quite a few friends.

Aus also has it problems just like the UK but I must admit I log on to Sky news and have found it very sad the number of youths that have attacked in the UK.

Good Luck with your decision.

Sunshine23

My motto is that there is crime everywhere to different degrees and we have the choice to decide to which degree we can tolerate it.

I feel safer where I live now than where I lived in London but by no means am I blase about it.

Better life? I would say different - better for some and not for others.

The pull of family and friends is an invisible force that must never be underestimated.

Think long and hard about it because you have to REALLY want to move, don't do it half heartedly.


The stress can make you ill, it tests your relationship with your partner, any problems you have will be magnified.

You both have to pull in the same direction and have the same goal in order to do this and if you are not sure then think hard before making the move.

It's a new climate, new stuff to be aware of, new systems and protocols, new culture, new job, new house and new country - that is alot to get used to.

For me, the UK could not offer me what I get out of life now. It has been a long and hard struggle and that didn't stop once we got here - it just changed direction a bit.

I don't regret it for a second, I love where I live and just deal with my 'people sickness' as it occurs.

But it does have to be your decision and you have to want it more than anything.

Strange people Australians. We allow Vash to post here as a warning of what is to come....

Seriously, you will never know unless you try it. Once you are here is takes a lot of time to know if it is for you.

You will miss people. You will miss somethings that were familiar to you. It is difficult to leave the support network of home especially with two young children.

It is expensive to go anywhere once you are in Australia and the first couple of years tend to be the years where you are trying to settle down and maybe don't travel to much anyway. Cue feelings of why are you here. It is important ot have strong reasons to be here for those dark days of longing.

Most people do not walk off of the plane and find the perfect job. It takes a long while to get to there.

It also takes a while to make friends. It is difficult to avoid making only expat friends but making the effort to have weird Australians as mates eventually pays off.

It is not cheaper here. It does feel safer. (my own opinion).

Only you can say whether it is for you.

Much in the same vein as alot of replies, if you don't try, you'll never know. One thing my mrs said was 'better to regret something you did, rather than something you didn't do' Had me wondering whether or not she 'did' our milk man tbh

We've been here almost 6 months now, found some long lost relatives, slowly building a circle of friends and so-far it's been the best thing we've ever done.

Make sure you both want the same though, you'll need eachother more than ever once you get out here

All the very best to you

Steve & Sanj

PS the Sanj is short for Sandra, I'm not married to an indian fella

Simple questions.

Simple answers. No, no and yes (in my experience).

But just as location makes an enormous difference in the UK, it also makes an enormous difference here.

Thank you all for replying to my very general question, Vash I have shown hubbie your answer, I wanted him to see it isn't quite as wonderful as he may think. You have all given me more to think about, especially the holiday thing. Hubbie does have an Auntie, & several cousins already there, so there is some family about, we stayed with them when we visited a few years ago,which we both enjoyedy, but I would miss my sisters soooooo much. The start of a very long decision, wish me luck.

Fair play, mrstwee. Best of British luck to you and hubby with your decision.

I find it very interesting to see an Aussie guy living in the UK giving a well balanced bit of advice to show that the grass aint always greener. I work in Sydney with an Aussie guy who is green with Envy because I have a British passport. I think it's fair to say (and feel free to take issue Vash if you think I've got this wrong, I'm still a newbie) that it's not Australia that's the envy of the world, it's the way Australia is marketed.

Having said that we bloody love it here

One thing that struck me on reading your question is whether you've taken into account the size of Australia? It's HUGE! The same size as the US without Alaska for example!

When it comes to crime, inner-city Sydney isn't regarded as such a good place to live (not been there myself).

We live in Perth and there seems to be a lot less violent crime (stabbings, shootings) compared to where we came from (Reading in Berkshire). Even though Perth is much much bigger.

Rather than thinking about moving "to Australia", maybe you need to narrow down the city/town/area where you'd like to move to?

Consider your jobs, the climate, the life style (leisure time). Do you want to live in a big city or small town - then take it from there when you make your decision.

Gina

This is of course a very personal decision and relativity is a key statement here. For example, if you are coming from a remote Scottish village to inner city Sydney then it will probably appear quite violent but if you're from inner city Birmingham moving to rural victoria then probably a lot better. In general though it seems less violent although there appears to be a rising trend in drunken yobbish behavior.

For me Australia is / was an itch I needed to scratch...........and I am no longer itchy. Europe (excluding the UK) is far more sophisticated and far more diverse and I look forward to going back.