Wendy

Hey, that's a tuesday night out in Bradford


I've tried to call you but you didn't answer. I'm planning a 'lunch' date this week, let me know when you're off and we'll arrange it for that day

iamthecreaturefromuranus

'Best' thing that ever happened to Manchester was the massive IRA bomb..

Just look at some of the stuff that's gone up since

Dizzillusioned

Stop it, you're making me homesick

Cheetah7

Oh Dorothy

(big hug)

soapy©

thanks, i can now throw away my keyboard

northernbird

you have 6 burners, you lucky buggar

Pollyana

She has a BBQ, lucky b*gger. I tried to buy one recently but got told it was an unnecessary extravagance......by an Aussie

northernbird

bbq envy, not a good thing Pol.

Lord Pom Percy

Its a realality.

northernbird

not for everyone

denver

The Australian Dream, yes I have lived it and will be again very shortly!

To me, it is:

Having space (not an overcrowded place)
Welfare/safety net if you genuinely fall on hard times: not encouraged as a way of life
being paid sufficiently for effort/qualification
being free to speak as I wish
being part of the political process
Egalitarian society
being able to call a spade a spade
Having happy and friendly compatriots
Having decent and competent politicians (compared to most countries)
easy access to higher education
Low corruption
Low crime rate
Kids are kids for longer
Wide variety of hobbies/activities to choose from
Cheap and effecient public transport
The beautiful weather and beaches
An orderly immigration program
Great food and wine, and a wide variety of cuisines to choose from
Children/students better behaved (I am a teacher)
Aussie Rules football

And yes, I have bought a house on 686sqm.

I truly believe the world is your oyster in Australia.

ShozInOz

I can agree with some of these, and many of them apply to most Western countries but definitely not:
Having space (not an overcrowded place) - not in Sydney, or many parts of the other few cities which house nearly half the population
Having decent and competent politicians (compared to most countries) - you are kidding?
easy access to higher education - easy yes - a monkey could get in. Affordable? Ahem... Good quality? (I used to be a lecturer at one of Aus's "top" Unis)
Low corruption - what, as in the police?

In a previous posts you stated that Perth was boring, so what has changed?

ShozInOz

In the 1950s-1980s, it was something different. Now, it is mainly about the weather. Sadly in the long term, that is not going to be an advantage for Australia. Australia is now certainly no longer a land of opportunities. Those new world days are over.

Pollyana

But everyone's oyster is different - some don't contain pearls

denver

Yes I THOUGHT Perth was boring, I wasn't bored per se, I just thought there was more "excitement" out there, and so I moved to London to do the two year work thing. Now, I realise that I was wrong and that I am a Perth girl through and through - do not like the Rat Race, crowds of people (shopped in Covent Garden last weekend - what a nightmare!) or gloomy weather. Nor do I like living in a shoe box and paying 1/4 of my after tax income for the privilege. That's not to say that there isn't things I like about the UK.

I do not think Australia is a corrupt country, that's not to say that there is NO corruption, it is low. I know some policeman in Oz and they are very hard working and honest - they would not turn a blind eye to corruption. The fact that some police are exposed as corrupt means that it is not tolerated or a blind eye shown. You should try living in Indonesia where corruption is common practice (best friend lives there)

Australia is a well managed country and is a prosperous and highly developed one. FACT. The economy is robust and our healthcare system is good. This does not happen without being managed by competent politicians.

Your comment about Sydney has some merit - I went there in 2000 and found it to be busy and bustling, some people like that. On the other side of the coin this means that housing and land is expensive, and there are crowds. I prefer Perth - but if you move to Australia, you do not have to move to Sydney.

I have never had any friends or family say to me that "Australia is going to the dogs" or "get me out of here." Unfortunately, this happens a lot in the UK. I do not gloat about this, just something I have noticed.

I find it insulting when you say that "monkeys could get in" to tertiary education. As a high school teacher, only the top 30 per cent can get into uni courses and it is very diffilcult to get into medicine, law etc. believe me, after teaching over here (and seeing the sub standard work produced in the GSCE's and how many teachers actually do the work for the kids) I believe the schooling system in Oz is actually quite rigorous. The fact that so many professionally qualified Australians work overseas in the UK and elsewhere and do so successfully is testamount to my point. If our uni's were substandard (and I am sure there are a few that are pretty crap - maybe you worked at one of them?) I do not believe that overseas employers would be prepared to take them on.


Australia cannot be all things to all people, but I think I am pretty lucky to come from such a place.