Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Hi
We live on the iow and have done for for the past five and a half years, We moved here from birmingham. The island is a lovely place to live and work, We have never had a problem being accepted.
My hubby is a painter/decorator and I work in an estate agents.
PM me any questions you have I will be happy to help.
we are awaiting our case officer hoping to go to QLD, if oz does not work out we would move back here not the mainland.
Fingers crossed you get the job you would love it here.
Isle

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Im living on the island at the moment. Its a nice place with lovely beaches but you can feel a little cut off and ferry fares can be expensive. Ive lived here all my life so am use to it but mainlanders do make comments about islanders being a bit back wards but ive only found that in areas that are out of the way a bit, i lived in freshwaterfor a while and hated it was stared at every time I walked into the pub it was a local pub for local people hee hee. If your going to live any where would recommend looking at ryde newport shanklin areas ryde is good if you have young children lovely beach at appley and play areas ice skating, bowling and some nice places to eat. Its about 20 mins drive to prison. shops not to bad you've also got the fast ferry to portsmouth so your only 20mins away from good clothes shops only down side is that it can be a bit noisey on weekends if your near the main high street hope this helps.
if you need any more info would be glad to help

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

I lived on the IOW before I left the UK. That was 1990-1994, so my opinion might be out of date. But I really liked the place, and would consider living there again. Lovely scenery and laid back, friendly people. I worked in the Housing Association there and was never once made to feel like an 'overner' (mainlander/outsider) by anyone.

The cons: very quiet in winter; perhaps a bit stifling for young people.

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Hi All,
Very Interesting comments from you all,
I've lived on the Island for 40 Years leaving for NZ this month, I feel most of the comments are holiday ones, the Island is great for Families very safe, I have never locked my car in 30 years crime is low compared to mainland, prisons have been down graded, have family and friends there, (prison officers that is) but saying that the older you get the more of a prison the island becomes, ferries are expensive, wages are low, property cheaper and polish next door neighbours are compulsary. why am I leaving, FREEDOM.:frown:

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Yeah I hear there aren't any immigrants in NZ:rofl:

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

My daughter loves the place....we lived in Portchester and Fareham just across the water...

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

are you William Wallace?

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

I always thought it was a nice place to visit but wouldnt want to live there. Over run by holidaymakers in the summer and isolated in the winter, especially if the ferries arent running. Ferry prices not that cheap either, but perhaps if it was only for 9 months one could put up with it. :)

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Thanks again for the comments. Much appreciated.

Still no news :( Maybe it is not meant to be, although when i applied for a job back there at the beginning of October, I wasnt called for an interview till November. 2 days after i had arrived back in Sydney!!!

From what most of you have said, I am sure we could cope with living there for 9mths.


Oh well.. lets keep hoping

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

Fingers crossed that you will hear something soon Flea:wub:

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

I was born and raised on the Island and lived there for 21 years.

Most of the above comments are very much touristy ones. Cowes, in reality, is quite "grubby" and, for the most part, is not visited by anyone other than those that live there. Then Cowes Week kicks in and it is full of rich snobs for the Regatta.

The Island's population increases massively in the summer months and trips that would normally take the locals 20 minutes, will suddenly take an hour. There is only one stretch of dual carriageway that is about 2 miles long, with a roundabout 2/3 of the way along it.

Some of the beaches are great, but they are the ones that all the tourists tend to use (although there are some that only locals know about).

Island mentality is fairly insular and most people either love it or hate it. Shopping used to be a big problem over there (total lack of decent shops) but that has been addressed in recent years.

If you don't intend to go anywhere much, then you don't really know you are on an Island (except for the sea views) but if you want to be able to travel then the ferry is a complete pain in the wotsit. It is very expensive to take cars across (yes, I know there are sometimes good deals) and property prices are not really that cheap.

In the winter, the place can look very messy and, if you do go for a property with a sea view, don't forget that you will get a real pasting from the weather coming off the sea.

Horses for courses really, I would rather live by the sea but on the "mainland" if I was obsessed about being by the sea.

Re: Isle Of Wight?
 

That sounds very much like Cape Cod MA...we don't have to pay to use the bridges...but for months of the year the wait to get off the Cape can take 5 hours...and 5 hours to get back on...so its not worth going anywhere...you do get cabin fever...but if you have a job you like I'm sure its a lot better....