NiHao

MaryKay, how are you doing with your list of pros and cons?

Aries, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. Thank you for your posts that highlight both the good and bad about your experience in the UK, its so helpful to hear these things.

Black Swan, I'm so glad they caught your daughter's cancer in the early stages, I hope she doesn't have too bad of a time of it through the treatment and wish her a speedy recovery to being cancer free.

Jasper123, I think you are so right about having some savings if at all possible, it just makes the transition so much easier if you aren't under financial stress the minute you get there. Of course on the other hand we have seen it can be done, everyone just has to try to be realistic about their own personal situation.

SallySimmons, OMG I couldn't agree more with your comments about how everyone frets about what is such a small amount of actual benefit fraud. It is the same here and I find it repugnant the way the poor are demonized

aries

I am smiling when you say just another beach, and that after 40 years sunshine is not important anymore. It is exactly how I felt, but say this to people in Britain who have never lived in a hotter country, and they think we're mad! I try to explain that it isn't the paradise they believe when struggling to do things in the heat, but I don't think it gets through. Nevertheless, is a wet and grey climate any better?

After last year's bad summer and a gloomy wet winter, sunshine is very welcome when it decides to appear, though of course I would not want it as hot as in Australia.

I look at Adelaide and other Australian news every day so I'm not totally alienated from the country, I've even recently written to SA's Premier about an issue and received a reply within days.

Gawler can be quite crowded with traffic in the main shopping street which leads to the Barossa Valley and the wineries, but the surrounding residential streets are pretty quiet. My eldest sister lives at this retirement village on the side of a hill just a few minutes from the centre. http://www.lifestylesa.com.au/retire.../evanston-park

The Barossa Valley would be a good place to live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQeU0u75cU4

cheers

No offence but Aus. is a place I have no desire to visit.

aries

Interesting that you say this, I had no desire to go there either, I had thought of Canada. However a sister had gone to Oz the year before and I rather fancied the long sea journey for only £10, the rest is history. It is surprising how life has its twists and turns.

cheers

You can probably remember that Canada had a similar program back in the 1940/50's

Cheers

PS did you go down to the beach today? That is quite a hill you have to climb to get home!

Celticspirit

I was in Adelaide for a week a couple of years ago. I was judging a dog show We found people to be very friendly and helpful. The city itself had parts and architecture reminiscent of the UK. Lots of parks and greenery. Very nice zoo with visiting Pandas. There is a an incredible wildlife park where kangaroos are free to roam and come and eat kangaroo food from one's hand. The highlight was holding a Koala bear whose mother was road kill. We stayed in Sydney's CBD in a modern apartment for a second week. I much preferred Adelaide.

aries

Unusually I didn't walk to the harbour and town to-day (I did yesterday in a gale!!), but I usually catch a bus back, just 3 or 4 stops from the harbour or a roundabout journey from higher in the main shopping street. The 4th stop in Babbacombe Road enables me to walk downhill to my road with just a short climb. The other end is quite steep.

aries

The CBD and North Adelaide form an oasis surrounded by parkland before the suburbs begin, a genius of design. Unfortunately some of the old architecture has been demolished to make way for modern buildings, not always bad, but sometimes verging on criminal. Did you have time to visit the Monarto open-range sanctuary south east of Adelaide? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarto_Zoo The area was once destined to be a new town near Murray Bridge en route to Melbourne, but the idea was scrapped. Lovely to have wild animals roaming there instead of wild teenagers

PS: I'm reminded that I should visit Paignton Zoo this summer, it's only 4 or 5 miles from where I live.

cheers

From the impression I get buses in England can run every few minutes or not very often. I think in your case you go to the bus stop and a bus will be along shortly. This is one disadvantage of living 'rural' but then again if you know the bus comes, say, 10 minutes after the hour you could live with that. (rambling)

cheers

Man, you must be so healthy with that exercise.

aries

My bus runs every 20 minutes, or up to 45 minutes if there's a problem, and they never seem to keep to time. Easy to just miss one and having to wait in the cold, rain and wind.

aries

I walk half a mile to the harbour, then a mile up through the town, and back down to the harbour, so about two and a half miles. However with my heart condition I have good and bad days, and if the latter, I end up in a taxi to the door.

Celticspirit

No we didn't visit there. It was Cleland Wildlife Park.

aries

Ah yes, Cleland is much nearer to the city than Monarto, it is a popular place to visit.

jasper123

I remember when I emigrated to Australia in 1965, my first experience as an expat, I was 19 and it was all so exciting to me to start a new life in a big country so far away from England
Before I left home to go on this journey they sent me a letter from London giving me a choice of a nice cruise in a big ship ------ or flying, well for all these years since, I have been lliterally kicking myself for choosing the plane I mean what the heck was I thinking of, cause either one would still only cost me £10
I loved my life in Oz but I only stayed there 4 years, never thought I would like to live there for a long time, and I never since had the urge to go back there again for a visit.