Originally Posted by bundy

Ah yes, England, why would anyone want to live here?

I live in a village. It's a lovely village with a proper post office, butchers, bakers, village hall, library etc etc etc. There is a proper village atmosphere where people say hello to each other in the street, kids play in the park without being kidnapped/preyed upon/falling on syringes.

I have a good job, which I walked straight into after moving up here. I've was promoted after a year and am I about to be interviewed for another job at the same insitution. I have excellent career prospects with an excellent employer (university). We both earn enough to support a decent mortgage and to live comfortably.

I travel to work on public transport, which I can do door-to-door on the bus and train, and have had very few problems with delays etc. I pay £16 a week to travel a weekly total of 180 miles, which I reckon is pretty good.

We go on holiday at least a couple of times a year - off to France this year, as well as Jersey, and maybe skiing too. We're not wealthy by any means, but we can afford this because travel in Europe is cheap. There is plenty on offer in the UK too, and especially in the area where we live.

I've had two operations in the last 3 months, both on the NHS. The waiting time from diagnosis to operation was 5 weeks - it would have been 10 days, but I opted to delay it because we got married and went on honeymoon in between . I don't have a serious illness, and neither were these urgent operations - 10 days was simply the average waiting time at my hospital. I was given my own ensuite bedroom which was immaculate, cleaned 4 times a day. I don't believe I would have been seen any quicker or treated any better if I had gone private.

So what happy little corner of England do I live in where things are so good? West Yorkshire, just outside Bradford - probably an area of the country those such as the original poster would assume was afflicted with all that is bad about Britain.

Yes England has problems, but then so does everywhere else. For those wishing to move back, it's honestly not that bad (don't believe all the red-top tales of doom). In fact, it is a fantastic place to be - but only if it's where you want to be.

Originally Posted by HiddenPaw

Tableland seems to change his stance according to the seasons. I reckon he's currently in the doldrums due to UK winter! In Aug 2005, he wrote this:

Originally Posted by bundy

Ah yes, England, why would anyone want to live here?

I live in a village. It's a lovely village with a proper post office, butchers, bakers, village hall, library etc etc etc. There is a proper village atmosphere where people say hello to each other in the street, kids play in the park without being kidnapped/preyed upon/falling on syringes.

I have a good job, which I walked straight into after moving up here. I've was promoted after a year and am I about to be interviewed for another job at the same insitution. I have excellent career prospects with an excellent employer (university). We both earn enough to support a decent mortgage and to live comfortably.

I travel to work on public transport, which I can do door-to-door on the bus and train, and have had very few problems with delays etc. I pay £16 a week to travel a weekly total of 180 miles, which I reckon is pretty good.

We go on holiday at least a couple of times a year - off to France this year, as well as Jersey, and maybe skiing too. We're not wealthy by any means, but we can afford this because travel in Europe is cheap. There is plenty on offer in the UK too, and especially in the area where we live.

I've had two operations in the last 3 months, both on the NHS. The waiting time from diagnosis to operation was 5 weeks - it would have been 10 days, but I opted to delay it because we got married and went on honeymoon in between . I don't have a serious illness, and neither were these urgent operations - 10 days was simply the average waiting time at my hospital. I was given my own ensuite bedroom which was immaculate, cleaned 4 times a day. I don't believe I would have been seen any quicker or treated any better if I had gone private.

So what happy little corner of England do I live in where things are so good? West Yorkshire, just outside Bradford - probably an area of the country those such as the original poster would assume was afflicted with all that is bad about Britain.

Yes England has problems, but then so does everywhere else. For those wishing to move back, it's honestly not that bad (don't believe all the red-top tales of doom). In fact, it is a fantastic place to be - but only if it's where you want to be.

Originally Posted by tableland

He could get work in Canada with that sort of background if Australia doesn't work out. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by tony_russell

Some go away and love it, some go away and hate it but for anyone thinking or returning to the uk who's been away a few yrs make sure you really think about what your giving up. Put those rose tinted specs away and see the UK forwhat it really is. I've lived in Oz, come back home, been out and visited, come back home and now i'm going back out again for a few yrs. England certainly isnt the place it once was, believe. There are lots and lots of problems here at the moment especially in London. Houses are very over priced, crime and violence are spiraling out of controll (if your burgled they wont even send an officer out to see you anymore!) Tony Blair and the Labour party are selling the place up the river. The NHS is joke. The building trade is getting SCREWED thanks to these total strokers in govenment and the whole country is overun with foreigners (mostly eastern european) bringing the day rates down to what they were 4 yrs ago in some trades (bricklaying, spreads, chipies, stud partitioners, dryliners) we are heading into recession an the economy is *****ed. This is the reality of life in Britian today. I love the place and it will always be my home but some of the posts i read in this forum are just totaly unrealistic, i dont think we're even talking about the same place. Who could really care less about Tesco's? eh? please. You may not like certain places or things about Oz but dont be too hard on it cos life is far harder here. I wish everone luck with their decisions butmany need to remove the blinkers.

Originally Posted by Rosie Cheeks

A great post, reminds me of how I lived in the UK. I left the UK with the Aussie hubby because I had an opportunity to try living in Oz, I didn't leave because I was disenchanted with Britain.
I now have had the worst five years of my life ever, here in Australia, and really really want to leave. My husband doesn't, so there is a problem.

Originally Posted by Pollyana

Substitute three and a half years for five, and you just wrote down my thoughts

Originally Posted by tony_russell

Bloody hell what is this? I was only having a bit of a rant about the state of things and now people want to see me hang! whooo whooooooo chill out:scared:

Originally Posted by BAY

'I live in a village. It's a lovely village with a proper post office, butchers, bakers, village hall, library etc etc etc.'

Hope the Post Office isn't one of the many rural ones that are due to be closed ... and really hope Tesco's don't build a store nearby which would then cause the butcher , baker and candle stick maker to close ... like in lots of other UK towns and villages

Originally Posted by blowfly

Wel I lived like this too.As for the post offices closing well were I live there isn't even a letter box to put your mail in for collection. I wonder what the elderley do here? In the village they could catch a bus, go to the bakers, butchers,village hall, library, church,chemist and all by themselves. Haven't a clue how the poor sods get on here there isn't even a decent bus service.

Originally Posted by sassenach

substitute 16 years and 2 ausssie raised teenagers and you have a real problem ,you dont know whether to go back probably knowing your future family [grandkids] will be in aussie or go back to the uk and end up looking after the olds for 10 years but knowing you feel complete as a person in your homeland .
My advice to anybody is if you dont like the feel of australia and cant settle say after 2 years go home to where you belong before it gets real complicated.

Originally Posted by Rosie Cheeks

That is very difficult sassenach, I want to leave here before the kids (6 years & 10 mths) are teenagers, and are too aussified, and I don't want the situation you discribe. I can see how extremely awkward (understatement of the year) it would be with older kids.

Originally Posted by sassenach

substitute 16 years and 2 ausssie raised teenagers and you have a real problem ,you dont know whether to go back probably knowing your future family [grandkids] will be in aussie or go back to the uk and end up looking after the olds for 10 years but knowing you feel complete as a person in your homeland .
My advice to anybody is if you dont like the feel of australia and cant settle say after 2 years go home to where you belong before it gets real complicated.

Originally Posted by sassenach

it is awkward ,i wanted to go home after a visit to a friends marriage in scotland in 99 and discussed it with myOH ,but she said no as the kids need to finish school and we would go after the youngest has finished .I said ''fine '' its 2 years since he left and we are still here because at the moment whether we like it or not the ''growing'' future of the family is here in aussie and the ''decaying '' part of the family is behind in the uk [ie both sets of parents] .
People who come here make a lot of sacrifices to make this place work and although for me materialy its been wonderful but for matters of the heart its been a total disaster .Maybe i just have to face the fact that my family more than likely will have its base in aussie and i will have to be a property owning ping-ponger.
Your eldest at 10 will be approaching awkward years soon rosie ,so i think a decision for you within a year might have to be on the cards otherwisw youll be here another 10 years with no prospect of leaving as a complete family unit .