bundy

I moved from Cambridge to West Yorks and find the weather up here to be a bit milder in winter. None of those Siberian winds and horizontal rain. It does get cold up here, of course, but so far this year we've not had a frost - my dad, who lives in the Channel Islands and therefore as far south as you can go, has had several.

I think it also depends on the type of landscape that surrounds you - hilly vs flat, coastal vs inland etc etc

iamthecreaturefromuranus

The West of the UK is defo milder than the East... more rain but temps are higher. I was a keen gardener in the UK and i had plenty of plants go through the average Winter there that should have been killed off by frost. East is dryer, colder in Winter but hotter in Summer.

LouiseD

West Yorks is lovely. I think that because I come from St Helens which is a pretty grotty place, I just would like to live somewhere nice. Looking back now I think that we should have tried other places in the UK rather than come here to Australia. We were caught up with the hype of what a wonderful place it is here from members of our family and friends who had visited. To be honest the weather in the NW never stopped us doing anything, but it would be nice to live in more pleasant surroundings.

I think we are going to go back home for the first couple of years and then look at our options when the girls are settled. Mind you, hubby's brother only left home a couple of years ago aged 40, so I might have a longer to wait than I thought

ShozInOz

LouiseD

We now live on the South Coast and we would not have returned anywhere else. All my family is in the NW (Wigan area), and we would never have returned there. I could live there, but I wouldn't bring up our daughter there. There are different parts of course, but generally, the south affords a far better quality of life in our view. Miss the lakes though...

eeagles

The UK aint so bad, no. If it was I'd be outa here already, as I've always had the points to go to US, OZ, etc. But, leaving the UK is very very difficult for me, not because of family or friends or anything like that - I'm still trying to settle where I am after 7 years after moving from NW to SE, so don't have a huge network of mates here and no family...

There are many things that I hate about the UK... but I don't need to think about them much - they rarely or don't affect day to day life. But overall we do have it so good In the UK and it's possible you could have that too.

I have an option to transfer to NZ and while it seems like an exciting thing to do, the only thing I like the idea of, is that I could live in a really beautiful place and do the job I do, which is a very specilised role and not easy to come by. But, after months of research, I can't think of another reason I'd move away. Considering it all the same ( ) and taking steps. I'm very adaptable, so not too worried about it, even though I only see it as on a par with UK, worse in some respects, better in others.
There are loads of lovely places in the UK, you're sure to find one.
Elaine

fishfinger

You'd hate Canada then!

Kapri

Hi Louise,
I now live on the South West coast and it's a lovely place to live, very beautiful and friendly with low crime and mild weather (most of the time).
However job opportunities are scarce and pay is low.My husband has to commute miles for well paid work and I hate my job but don't have the option locally to get another one. It's something to consider. We had high hopes for a move here but it hasn't worked out as well as I would have liked.
BTW I see you are returning from Melbourne. We are headed there. Can you say what it is you don't like about it or is it homesickness bringing you back?

LouiseD

Hi Kapri - it's not really a case of not liking Melbourne, as the city itself is really lovely, plenty to see and do, loads of shops, restaurants etc. The bayside area where we live is so nice (but a bit boring) and my drive to work every day along the beach road is fantastic.

We have two teenage daughters though, one went back after 6 weeks and the other found it very difficult to adapt to life here as it is so much quieter than the UK. She did make a few friends here but every night out involved at least a 40 minute journey into the city, then she either had to stay over at friends or get a taxi back again. She missed her sister too so decided at Christmas to stay in England. My husband has also struggled with work - he's a brickie and earns a lot less here despite stories of them being desperate for tradesmen. The cost of living here is quite high so we just don't have the same lifestyle that we had in the UK. We love to travel and had plans of being able to do that here, but in reality we just can't.

If our girls were younger, we'd probably give it longer here as it does seem a nice environment for kids to grow up in, plenty of family barbeque areas, kids playgrounds, beaches etc.

Good luck with your move, I'm sure you will love it

LouiseD

Ah the Lakes - we used to go for day trips quite a lot and then always for a few days break just before Christmas each year. Beautiful hotel overlooking the lake, with lovely big Chesterfields around a roaring fire. The Salvation Army was always out playing carols in Ambleside. Cant wait to see it again.

LouiseD

You are so right here - so many of us get sucked into all the media hype about how bad the UK is, but as I've said before, how does it actually affect our day to day life? We do have so much to be proud of in the UK but for some of us, we only appreciate it when we've left it behind. At least you seem wise enough to know what you have right now and to realise that while other countries may be different, that doesn't necessarily mean better

denver

Plagued by flies! Sorry but this utter nonsense. I only notice flies in certain outback areas and the odd one or two buzzing about in the house during summer (easily killed with a short burnst of Mortein.)

meljor

Melbourne metro is certainly not outback and I can't go for a walk in the summer months for the pesky things trying to get up my nose, in my eyes behind my sunnies,in my mouth and in my ears, bloody persistant they are too. So who's talking utter nonsense Denver.

northernbird

is that why when I walk along west coast highway in perth I see all the walkers (including me) with bits of tree doing the WA wave. Get a grip Denver you can defend your country without coming out with shit like that.

Dizzillusioned

Same here in Sydney, they wait at the flyscreens and ambush us when we open them, I've taken to carting a tea towel around and zapping them when they aren't looking
(much more environmentally friendly than spraying with chemicals)

Jessie James

I agree, while flies alone wouldn't send me home, along with severe lack of ozone layer they have kept me from doing lots of what I expected to be able to here - any length of time on the beach, picnics, riding, walking - general outside stuff. If someone had told me that before I experienced it I would have thought they were fussing but they are truly awful!