Re: Is the grass greener?
 

All I can say, take everybody's view on board, nobody will be able to give you the advice you are looking for, as their advice might not be the right thing for you & your family, if you think things are not happening for you & your family in UK, & want to give OZ a try, then go for it.
If you think that you are up rooting your family to come to a country which has no problem with immigrants, crime, drugs & knife culture than you are very wrong there too.
My eldest had to do survey for his school on immigrant who have come & still coming to Australia in the street when we were in Adelaide, the result was shocking how much they hated so many immigrants are coming over to Australia.
You do have to remember this also, even thought your OH is coming over with a job, it doesnt mean life is going to be easy for you & your young children, you wont know anybody, you would be stuck in the house, it could be depressing.
In Perth, the summer gets very hot & the winter can get very cold, then there are things in UK which you dont pay for ( like dental care, option for the children) & take it for granted, here you pay for everything.
I say why dont you come if things doesnt work out, at least you can say you gave it your best & didnt work out, it wont be the end of the world.
Just remember the grass is definitely not greener, its different shade, good luck with your decision what ever it might be.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Try it, if you don't like it you can always go back :o
And if you don't try it you will always wonder ;)

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Not necessarily. Some of us used our entire life's savings to survive the many unemployed months immigrants sometimes face with the getting licensed to do their jobs. Even if we wanted to go back we couldn't afford the airfares right now, never mind shipping our belongings.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

We couldn't afford it either but we managed-we sold things, compromised on things. We have a far bigger mortgage now than we would have done if we hadn't ping ponged but it was the best thing we did.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

I come from Bradford, where abouts are you? (PM me if you like :))

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Most of the problems you have mention are here in OZ, just as in the Uk it has its own set of problems.

If you have the time search on here and you will find that the grass is greener for some but not for other, check out MBTTUK.

Life is want you make it where ever you choice to live and only YOU know what is right for YOUR family

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

I agree with Jan.
BB, you came across as extremely unhelpful, this is a new member after all and you're not really making them feel welcome. Have you quickly forgotten all the help you received on this forum?

bella-71, don't be afraid to ask, ask and ask again. From all the posts you read on this forum and the MBTTUK forum you will be able to amass a huge amount of information. :unsure:

Have you been here before?

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

I dont think there is a country on the Planet that has a bigger Migrant base than Aussie, so running away to a country to get away from migrants seems totally illogical to me.

Another point is the UK throughout history has always had great waves of migration, its how it reinvents itself and stays strong. It's the one country in Europe that has had more cultural changes in its history than any other... and it's still the strongest country in Europe.

Statistically there is probably hardly any difference in the crime rate here, . Things may look better here but perception is in the eye of the beholder. Sure I personally wouldn't go back, it would be too hard for me to readjust. However a new foreign speaking migrant to the UK may well have a brighter future than the same to Aussie... There will be plenty of new millionaires in the future out of these Polish and other migrants, they will keep the UK strong. The UK for migrants is still a shining beacon of opportunity, possibly greater than Aussie, and everyone benefits from creation of new wealth.

These are not my views alone, but are definitely repeated by the majority on the large South London board I visit.

It's funny, but I remember people saying the end of the world was nigh, when the West Indians came en-masse to South London in the early 60's... I ended up being educated in a school that was at least 60pct West Indian, took them a while to adapt, but they did it, and it changed our (the locals) culture for the better.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Irony police! This thread has been marked as a paradox ;)
Would you not be a legal immigrant of Australia? Are we Brit's really so anal we think we are better than anyone else?:p

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Yes I think some of us do. I was behind a couple of english ladies in the bottle shop this past weekend who were treating the guy behind the counter like something they had trodden in. Thankfully I am a regular so they know that not all poms are arrogant wankers.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

It is in my world but my world might be completely different from yours. Actually it's probably just a different shade but it's pretty damn good:D

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

It is now with all this rain. :lol:

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

[QUOTE=Red_V_Roger;5730790] Speaking to some friends back home, they were telling me that our local Tesco's now has a whole isle of Polish food. ]

Just like IGA has a whole stand of British food complete with ENGLISH flags waving at the top. Alongside the German/Danish stand.

Don't forget the whole aisles of ASIAN food in all the supermarkets all signposted and the pasta/sauces/pizza (ITALIAN), Bonne Mamman range(FRENCH) and INDIAN sauces/spices and various other ingredients need to make a curry.

We even had SCOTTISH shortbread piled high on shelves and ITALIAN Pannetonne (sp) available at Xmas.

Most importantly how can we forget the Taste of Britain Shops dotted around Perth sellling overpriced Tesco Fabric Conditioner, Brillo Pads and Bisto Gravy Granules.

More choice for everyone as far as I'm concerned both in the UK and Australia.:)

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Always has been. In my parallel world, we have a micro climate. Not seen brown grass (on our garden) yet.

Re: Is the grass greener?
 

Good on you for thinking about the opportunities and taking the initiative to ask!

If you are a young stay at home mum, then consider that your support network will not be there and you will be faced with making new connections in a new country. Australians are a pretty insular lot and making those connections can be more difficult than you may imagine (lots of busy working mums with no time to socialize). I really dont get the same sense of community here that I had at home but I was a village girl and not from Bradford (I think I would be wanting to move away from Bradford too but probably only as far as one of the lovely Yorkshire villages outside Skipton). You will be far from family and never discount that as a powerful factor. Of course, it only takes 36 hours to get home and these days there are way better communication options than there were even 10 years ago - I can remember the days of L1 a minute phone calls!

We have the same political correctness, similar pressures from immigrants, the same violence in our schools, the same community risks (you wont find many Aussie parents who let their kids go to the shops, mainly because the shops are generally so far away and everyone is concerned about their kids's safety). The weather may be grim in UK but having incessant heat can be just as depressing - you will get paranoid about letting the kids out in the sun without their sunscreen. We still have very low water reserves and many places still have quite severe water restrictions (dont know about you but 4 mins showers are just not enough!). The grass isnt green for most of the time and the ground feels like concrete to walk on.

There is nothing here over 250 years old, many of the buildings look like an architect's bad night on acid (well, I do live in Canberra, home of the architectural prize mentality) and you may well begin to miss the history that UK has in abundance - for me that is a major factor.

Education - you get different views from folk who have bought their kids over but having had my own kids and worked in schools here for 25 years and comparing with friends and relatives who have had their kids in school in UK over the same time, I would think that generally standards here are lower despite the surveys rcently published. Primary schools are probably pretty much on a par but High Schools IMHO just dont have the rigor and I would say that UK universities have it over Aussie ones (but there will be those on the board who disagree with me on all counts I am sure).

I'm all for giving it a go but have a bit of a plan and dont burn your bridges - take the opportunities that life offers you but dont let yourself get stuck in something that isnt working for you.