Originally Posted by bramblebush (Post 4600344)

Just popped in to check the boards and the first one I came across was big Petes comments on the Uk.

As I read through his list I found myself saying 'oh dear' 'oh no' 'oh shit' that sort of thing, you get the picture.

By the time I read to the end of it I began to fear for the family and friends left behind in this terrible country. What can I do to persuade them to leave :eek:

Then I carried on to read all the POSITIVE responses and I my faith has been restored.

Yesterday OH and I had come to a 85% decision to return to the UK :thumbup:

Today after reading here, I am now not sure if I am ready to return, if I was so easily put off by Big Petes list of negativity, I am concerned that if I return to blightly then it will be only a short time before I am scared shitless and want to run away again.

I need to keep telling myself that it is England not one of these war torn countries where people are forced to flea because it is just not safe to stay.

Decisions, Decisions...........:confused:

Originally Posted by ex_exile (Post 4595888)

You need to stand by your decision for a while and hopefully things will pan out. Its normal to feel pangs of regret about your former life, the grass is always greener after all.

Personally I have been out for 7 years; when I left I never imagined I would be away for so long (was just going RTW) but now I cant imagine ever living in London again. I used to be at one with the city but every time I return to see family it seems more grimy and violent, you should never go backwards in life, seize your future and make it work.

Originally Posted by LouiseD (Post 4600452)

Oh poor you - it's awful being in limboland isnt it?

Take comfort - most of the stuff on Pete's list is the same the world over - house price increases, smoking bans, taxes on everything, manufacturing moving to the Far East etc. etc. Other things are just personal moans and exaggeration - there are still plenty of small corner shops here & we've found our food bill is just the same as before we left (as are house prices).

And just how much would it really affect life if the bins are emptied every two weeks - not exactly the end of the world is it? I've realised that people here just don't like change - I remember the outrage when councils introduced the wheelie bin in the first place :ohmy: What? We have to wheel our own rubbish to the side of the road - bloody councils :eek:

You have to decide where you yourself are happiest and not listen to anyone else because we truly are a nation of whingers - I think if there was an event at the Olympics for doing your own country down and being negative, we'd win the gold every year without fail.

Good luck with your decision - hope it all works out for you :)

Originally Posted by bramblebush (Post 4596045)

Me too !! :o

Originally Posted by Big Pete (Post 4599202)

Its not a conspiracy , its just happening slowly and slower than what you predicted .

The country is still struggling on and on the surface looks much the same , However when you look under the carpet so to speak there is many things that are chipping away , which will in time lead to the inevitable crumble !!

I am sure many would love to follow you , i know when i say about getting away everyone says i dont blame you , if i could afford to i would etc,etc.
So its more a case of most are heavily in debt in the Uk stuffed with Mortgages or in rented accomodation which they cant just get capital enough in order to do the major move !!!

In 18 months let me think Hmmmmmm whats changed ,,,
1/ Rates have gone up 10%
2/ Countrys gone NO Smoking crazy
3/ Taxation added to virtually everything , The UK is going through a sort the worlds global warming problem by itself !! With taxes added to on land fills and flying and well anything they can !!
4/ Rubbish collections changed to once a fortnight .
5/ Another 1 million immigrants have appeared , and added further drains on the dentists, hospitals ,housing etc..
6/ House prices have gone up even further about 10 - 20% in some areas .
7/ Hospitals have severe MRSA outbreaks more regularly
8/ Numerous BIG Manufacturing Companies have closed or relocated production to the Far East
9/ Food bills rose by about 10% added costs of Haulage costs and taxation on the packaging and stuff i imagine.
10/All Computers and accessories cheaper than ever ,likewise all electric goods :thumbsup:
11/The country is now officially multi racial ,a trip up town can very often be like a International airport waitting lounge .
12/England football team still useless.
13/Weather seems to be warmer in general but wetter ,from Last November til this March has been so wet ! Add to this the warmer weather been a lot of Mossies and creepy things that normally were killed by our frosts ! so summer will be interesting ?
14/All utility bills have risen its getting so expensive to live and a lot of people work there socks off to make a living.
15/Finance is so easily achieved with low interest rates so lots of new cars and the country is favouring the buy now pay later way of life .
16/Credit cards given away like confetti , Uk has i believe one of the highest debt ratios per person than anywhere in the world , dont know if thats true or not ? heard it somewhere .
17/Crime is on the increase with more violent killings happening.
18/Have heard some towns now have micro chipped rubbish bins and if you dont recycle you get fined .
19/Coastal holiday resorts in serious decline and so dull and gloomy ,had poor summer seasons and it shows .
20/Road congestion getting worse ,travelling distance gets harder and takes longer
21/Government planning to introduce road toll charges , and even planning a car meter so they charge you by the mile on when you drive.
22/Cigarettes now up to £ 6 a pack in some places
23/Pint of Beer about £ 2.50p
24/Litre of Petrol £ 1
25/Road Tax on 4x4 vehicles now £ 400 a year
26/Many small shops in our town forced to close as Tescos , Asda, etc and excessive rates and rents are driving them out of business
27/TV licence £165

Hope this helps you ?

Originally Posted by Big Pete (Post 4599202)

Its not a conspiracy , its just happening slowly and slower than what you predicted .

The country is still struggling on and on the surface looks much the same , However when you look under the carpet so to speak there is many things that are chipping away , which will in time lead to the inevitable crumble !!

I am sure many would love to follow you , i know when i say about getting away everyone says i dont blame you , if i could afford to i would etc,etc.
So its more a case of most are heavily in debt in the Uk stuffed with Mortgages or in rented accomodation which they cant just get capital enough in order to do the major move !!!

In 18 months let me think Hmmmmmm whats changed ,,,
1/ Rates have gone up 10%
2/ Countrys gone NO Smoking crazy
3/ Taxation added to virtually everything , The UK is going through a sort the worlds global warming problem by itself !! With taxes added to on land fills and flying and well anything they can !!
4/ Rubbish collections changed to once a fortnight .
5/ Another 1 million immigrants have appeared , and added further drains on the dentists, hospitals ,housing etc..
6/ House prices have gone up even further about 10 - 20% in some areas .
7/ Hospitals have severe MRSA outbreaks more regularly
8/ Numerous BIG Manufacturing Companies have closed or relocated production to the Far East
9/ Food bills rose by about 10% added costs of Haulage costs and taxation on the packaging and stuff i imagine.
10/All Computers and accessories cheaper than ever ,likewise all electric goods :thumbsup:
11/The country is now officially multi racial ,a trip up town can very often be like a International airport waitting lounge .
12/England football team still useless.
13/Weather seems to be warmer in general but wetter ,from Last November til this March has been so wet ! Add to this the warmer weather been a lot of Mossies and creepy things that normally were killed by our frosts ! so summer will be interesting ?
14/All utility bills have risen its getting so expensive to live and a lot of people work there socks off to make a living.
15/Finance is so easily achieved with low interest rates so lots of new cars and the country is favouring the buy now pay later way of life .
16/Credit cards given away like confetti , Uk has i believe one of the highest debt ratios per person than anywhere in the world , dont know if thats true or not ? heard it somewhere .
17/Crime is on the increase with more violent killings happening.
18/Have heard some towns now have micro chipped rubbish bins and if you dont recycle you get fined .
19/Coastal holiday resorts in serious decline and so dull and gloomy ,had poor summer seasons and it shows .
20/Road congestion getting worse ,travelling distance gets harder and takes longer
21/Government planning to introduce road toll charges , and even planning a car meter so they charge you by the mile on when you drive.
22/Cigarettes now up to £ 6 a pack in some places
23/Pint of Beer about £ 2.50p
24/Litre of Petrol £ 1
25/Road Tax on 4x4 vehicles now £ 400 a year
26/Many small shops in our town forced to close as Tescos , Asda, etc and excessive rates and rents are driving them out of business
27/TV licence £165

Hope this helps you ?

Originally Posted by king kong (Post 4600509)

All these could be applied to aussie and everywhere else in the wesrern world .There is only so much cake and the governments of the world carve it up to suit their needs, and the bottom line is when looking at britain v aussie there really isnt much in it dollar wise .
The fact is if you have to move to aussie and work when are you really going to experience this so called aussie way of life ,im so busy working im lucky to get 2 weeks off a year and believe me that isnt enough to experience the real australia as opposed to city australia ,which is no different to living in a city in the uk .
Australia is a great country and is an absolute pleasure to see once out of the citys ,but by and large most people who migrate here are coming from one city in the uk to a city in aussie and after the intial running around getting furniture etc ,Bang they are back in the same old rut they just left behind .
The only people who really see this country are backpackers and they love it ,but many have made the mistake and tried to live here .
If your coming for a change ,in my experience it doesnt exist and the samr old whinging that goes on in the uk can just as easily be applied to aussie .
I would say if you are the type of person who is content just to sit at home or down the beach then aussie is perfect ,if your interested in getting out and about a bit at the weekends then forget it as most places are that little bit to far .For example perth -adelaide 3 day drive ,adelaide -melbourne 8 hrs,perth-darwin 5-6 days drive ,perth-geraldton 5-6 hrs,perth -sydney 5 day drive,perth -albany 5-6 hrs ,perth -esperance 9 hrs .The answer to this is to fly but with internal connection flights an absolute rip off a weekend in sydney in a decent hotel and return flights to perth can cost you as much as going to the uk ,i know where id rather be going but thats just my personal choice of course .

Originally Posted by Big Pete (Post 4599202)

Its not a conspiracy , its just happening slowly and slower than what you predicted .

The country is still struggling on and on the surface looks much the same , However when you look under the carpet so to speak there is many things that are chipping away , which will in time lead to the inevitable crumble !!

I am sure many would love to follow you , i know when i say about getting away everyone says i dont blame you , if i could afford to i would etc,etc.
So its more a case of most are heavily in debt in the Uk stuffed with Mortgages or in rented accomodation which they cant just get capital enough in order to do the major move !!!

In 18 months let me think Hmmmmmm whats changed ,,,
1/ Rates have gone up 10%
2/ Countrys gone NO Smoking crazy
3/ Taxation added to virtually everything , The UK is going through a sort the worlds global warming problem by itself !! With taxes added to on land fills and flying and well anything they can !!
4/ Rubbish collections changed to once a fortnight .
5/ Another 1 million immigrants have appeared , and added further drains on the dentists, hospitals ,housing etc..
6/ House prices have gone up even further about 10 - 20% in some areas .
7/ Hospitals have severe MRSA outbreaks more regularly
8/ Numerous BIG Manufacturing Companies have closed or relocated production to the Far East
9/ Food bills rose by about 10% added costs of Haulage costs and taxation on the packaging and stuff i imagine.
10/All Computers and accessories cheaper than ever ,likewise all electric goods :thumbsup:
11/The country is now officially multi racial ,a trip up town can very often be like a International airport waitting lounge .
12/England football team still useless.
13/Weather seems to be warmer in general but wetter ,from Last November til this March has been so wet ! Add to this the warmer weather been a lot of Mossies and creepy things that normally were killed by our frosts ! so summer will be interesting ?
14/All utility bills have risen its getting so expensive to live and a lot of people work there socks off to make a living.
15/Finance is so easily achieved with low interest rates so lots of new cars and the country is favouring the buy now pay later way of life .
16/Credit cards given away like confetti , Uk has i believe one of the highest debt ratios per person than anywhere in the world , dont know if thats true or not ? heard it somewhere .
17/Crime is on the increase with more violent killings happening.
18/Have heard some towns now have micro chipped rubbish bins and if you dont recycle you get fined .
19/Coastal holiday resorts in serious decline and so dull and gloomy ,had poor summer seasons and it shows .
20/Road congestion getting worse ,travelling distance gets harder and takes longer
21/Government planning to introduce road toll charges , and even planning a car meter so they charge you by the mile on when you drive.
22/Cigarettes now up to £ 6 a pack in some places
23/Pint of Beer about £ 2.50p
24/Litre of Petrol £ 1
25/Road Tax on 4x4 vehicles now £ 400 a year
26/Many small shops in our town forced to close as Tescos , Asda, etc and excessive rates and rents are driving them out of business
27/TV licence £165

Hope this helps you ?

Originally Posted by Eric Hitchmo (Post 4600135)

Just had a quick run through Costa Del Big Pete's "list of Doom", to see how many of those alledged points are having a major impact on my life. It appears to be none. Phew!



I must have missed this. Was there a ceremony, or an announcement, like when we went decimal?

Marvellous isn't it? "I don't approve of people from other "races" being here, so I'm off to the Mediterranean".

Originally Posted by LouiseD (Post 4600452)

Oh poor you - it's awful being in limboland isnt it?

Take comfort - most of the stuff on Pete's list is the same the world over - house price increases, smoking bans, taxes on everything, manufacturing moving to the Far East etc. etc. Other things are just personal moans and exaggeration - there are still plenty of small corner shops here & we've found our food bill is just the same as before we left (as are house prices).

And just how much would it really affect life if the bins are emptied every two weeks - not exactly the end of the world is it? I've realised that people here just don't like change - I remember the outrage when councils introduced the wheelie bin in the first place :ohmy: What? We have to wheel our own rubbish to the side of the road - bloody councils :eek:

You have to decide where you yourself are happiest and not listen to anyone else because we truly are a nation of whingers - I think if there was an event at the Olympics for doing your own country down and being negative, we'd win the gold every year without fail.

Good luck with your decision - hope it all works out for you :)

Originally Posted by LouiseD (Post 4600076)

I can understand why comments like the above are made by Big Pete and people like him. I was of a similar mind before I emigrated :embarrassed_smile:

All I ever saw was that the UK was rubbish in every way possible - how different and wonderful Oz was going to be - great lifestyle, low taxes, low cost of living :confused: OMG after a year living away did I wake up and realise that it wasn't that bad here at all.

Hope your dreams come true Pete - and if you do find Utopia please give us a shout and we'll follow ;)

Originally Posted by Big Pete (Post 4599202)

Its not a conspiracy , its just happening slowly and slower than what you predicted .

27/TV licence £165

Originally Posted by Big Pete (Post 4599202)

Its not a conspiracy , its just happening slowly and slower than what you predicted .

The country is still struggling on and on the surface looks much the same , However when you look under the carpet so to speak there is many things that are chipping away , which will in time lead to the inevitable crumble !!

I am sure many would love to follow you , i know when i say about getting away everyone says i dont blame you , if i could afford to i would etc,etc.
So its more a case of most are heavily in debt in the Uk stuffed with Mortgages or in rented accomodation which they cant just get capital enough in order to do the major move !!!

In 18 months let me think Hmmmmmm whats changed ,,,
1/ Rates have gone up 10%
2/ Countrys gone NO Smoking crazy
3/ Taxation added to virtually everything , The UK is going through a sort the worlds global warming problem by itself !! With taxes added to on land fills and flying and well anything they can !!
4/ Rubbish collections changed to once a fortnight .
5/ Another 1 million immigrants have appeared , and added further drains on the dentists, hospitals ,housing etc..
6/ House prices have gone up even further about 10 - 20% in some areas .
7/ Hospitals have severe MRSA outbreaks more regularly
8/ Numerous BIG Manufacturing Companies have closed or relocated production to the Far East
9/ Food bills rose by about 10% added costs of Haulage costs and taxation on the packaging and stuff i imagine.
10/All Computers and accessories cheaper than ever ,likewise all electric goods :thumbsup:
11/The country is now officially multi racial ,a trip up town can very often be like a International airport waitting lounge .
12/England football team still useless.
13/Weather seems to be warmer in general but wetter ,from Last November til this March has been so wet ! Add to this the warmer weather been a lot of Mossies and creepy things that normally were killed by our frosts ! so summer will be interesting ?
14/All utility bills have risen its getting so expensive to live and a lot of people work there socks off to make a living.
15/Finance is so easily achieved with low interest rates so lots of new cars and the country is favouring the buy now pay later way of life .
16/Credit cards given away like confetti , Uk has i believe one of the highest debt ratios per person than anywhere in the world , dont know if thats true or not ? heard it somewhere .
17/Crime is on the increase with more violent killings happening.
18/Have heard some towns now have micro chipped rubbish bins and if you dont recycle you get fined .
19/Coastal holiday resorts in serious decline and so dull and gloomy ,had poor summer seasons and it shows .
20/Road congestion getting worse ,travelling distance gets harder and takes longer
21/Government planning to introduce road toll charges , and even planning a car meter so they charge you by the mile on when you drive.
22/Cigarettes now up to £ 6 a pack in some places
23/Pint of Beer about £ 2.50p
24/Litre of Petrol £ 1
25/Road Tax on 4x4 vehicles now £ 400 a year
26/Many small shops in our town forced to close as Tescos , Asda, etc and excessive rates and rents are driving them out of business
27/TV licence £165

Hope this helps you ?