dotty

Boy oh boy what a culture shock, we got off the plane in the Uk expecting miserable people, grotty weather, off the wall living costs and a mugger on every corner.

Not so, people welcomed us like never before, that open friendly humour was everywhere, from old ladies to teenage kids, we got help wherever we went, and as we were always lost that was often.

Sure the weather was often wet and sometimes chilly, but oh the joy of actually sleeping under a duvet, not sweating night and day, going out without the full sun protection routine was a joy, sling on a jacket and out you go so easy. Perhaps I am biased to the cold, but my god its about 9 am here and humidity could stick you to the wall.

House prices are sky high, compared to Sydney tho probably similar. Of course Brisbane and Perth cheaper, because of the lesser facilities and opportunities. Still you would end up with a smaller house in UK. Wages much much higher, husband could have started work on $450 Australian a day, which is about the average weekly wage here!!

We were in the South East, but all friends and family, doing V well, nice houses cars etc, holidays amazing, 20 pound airfares to europe. I think my husband summed it up, "Bloody hell there is more to do here in a week than in a year in Australia"

Crime, we saw quite a few "odd" types wandering around, you know begging etc, but you see that anywhere now. Never felt in any danger, but of course, I wasn't exactly hanging out in back alleys at 2 in the morning. Few friends had stories of car break ins, but we had tales of house break ins here.

Probably the worst thing was the rubbish, people pile it up on the front doorstep instead of the Aussie wheelie bin system.

The oddest thing to us was the perception of the English of Australia, people just fascinated, it was like a bizzare cross between Baywatch and Neighbours!!
People seem to equate it to a 52 week holiday in Benidorm, people really really glamourise the image of it, people really amazed when we talked real issues like wages, cost of living, hospital problems, litigatation madness, drugs, crime, it was like hey that cant be happening there! the squeaky clean Aussie soap image is actually believed there.

Food, sorry apart from meat probably same or cheaper, Petrol is about the same as liquid gold, but bear in mind people travel much shorter distances and rarely need two cars, you just dont see the english driving to post letters, buy milk or get kids to school. Which is probably what explains the funniest thing we saw of all, The English are actually a much slimmer, more health aware race! Aussies are HUGE and very fat compared to UK. like how you used to go to hawaii and see all the fat yanks, well now its fat aussies, it was hilarious to us, what with all the Baywatch type golden Aussie myth.

Would I live in the UK, YES. Reality dictates after 10 years of Aussie earnings it may be a while till we get back but we will go back (probably armed with 56 million wheelie bins tho, viva Australia that was a great invention)

Happy new year to all here and best of luck wherever you are heading, happy 2003 to all.

jockney

Hi,Ifind it amazing, although we should all be used to it by now,that people can look at the same thing but see something completely different.However I`M glad you returned and had a great time.Anybody that has read your negative posts(which I appreciate) and comes from the south east will be feeling better about australia now.Nobody drives their kids to school?The infamous school run in the south east is the cause of never ending delays.I`M NOT GOING TO GO THERE!You should move right away not wait for the right time which may never come.If you hate things so much move now and stop making excuses.You can depend on one thing myself and a lot of others will enjoy your negativity on australia as long as you promise to think the south east is paradise.Iwish you a happy new year and a quick return to paradise.jockney

tinaj

Crikey, I drive to 3 different schools to drop my kids off and I have to drive to get milk etc from my local petrol station and I live in Outer London! You must be talking about a different place. And yes we do need 2 cars!

I agree with Jockney, if you are as positive about moving to the Uk as we are about going to Aus then you should return asap. Unfortunately the $450 a day earnings you quote will soon be sucked in to pay for your £200 000 mortgage.

Best of luck whatever you choose

dotty

I am sure many people in many countries drive their kids to school. However it is unlikely in the SE of the UK that the school would be around 15klms from home as was the case with our daughters when we lived on the Sunshine coast. (Mt Creek High) in the Zone was the only High school for miles. And in its credit it is a great school even with 2200 kids. Schools here are much bigger and located quite far apart. It is even more unlikely in the UK that the local store would be 7 klms away from a housing estate, often more. My klms a year are 20,000 and I work from home, my daughter, just school and work was similar, and husband put the car around the clock once a year, just getting to work. Choose to take the bus, usually there isnt one. Unless you are driving from manchester to London every day you can be assured 'life in a car" as we call it here will become your life. Our house swap guests, simply couldnt believe how much they used the car, they actually apologised to us. Still untill you have lived here I can see it is hard to comprehend.

dpr21

Well it all depends on which is worse and where exactly you live. If you don't like distance stay in the UK. If time spent in the car is a problem perhaps Aus may be better? 15kms here (in Perth) takes 15-25mins. 15k's in the South East sometimes took me a few hours

DPR

r.bartlett

wow dotty i didn't know they were handing out rose tinted glasses on arrival at heathrow!!

england is indeed the best country in the world but it isn't like you painted it that's for sure!!

cheers

richard

Marlo

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dotty

Hi Dotty, I live in the South East and quite frankly I think you were walking around with your eyes shut!!

You didn`t mention the GREY sky that`s over us most of the time and the weather has been mild not chilly, for this time of year. People do drive their kids to school even if it`s not far, especially if it`s raining. Over weight people not here......OPEN YOUR EYES!!

It`d be interesting to know which part of the South East you stayed. I can`t take what you say about Oz seriously now because you have really let yourself down by telling porkies about the SOUTH EAST DIVE!!

Marlo

scoobydooathome

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Marlo

Well said Marlo,

Its a case of seeing what you want to see etc ...

Merry Chrismas Dotty,

(the UK has changed a lot in 10 years.)

poggle

Hi Dotty!

Are you sure it was the UK your plane landed in, it must have been diverted somewhere else? only i have lived in the south east of England now for 40 years, and your views of your recent trip here and the reality of life in Uk, south east just dont match up!!

Most Families have 2 cars, and everyone i know drives their kids to school, even if its only a few yards to the school gate, this is due to things like it not being safe for kids to walk to school, even in groups, because of the violent society we now have here. sadly, this year, there have been so many children murdered and abducted, no wonder parents insist on taking their kids to school in the car!! then theres the worry 'are they safe in school'?

You also dont have to be in a dark alley at 2 in the morning to be in any danger, just anywhere in most cities in the uk, even at 2 in the afternoon, you are likely to be mugged, attacked , have your house burgled, car stolen etc.

This country has so many overweight people!! and seems far less health conscious as a nation, than what ive seen in Australia!
A lot of kids here are over weight from lack of exercise! sitting still with a PS2 is more fun than running around or playing football in the cold and Rain!

Im glad you had a nice holiday here, seeing your family and that they are doing well, but im sure you must have borrowed some of those 'rose tinted glasses' from one of us sad dreamy poms in oz before embarking on your trip.

Happy New year!
Cheers

pommiesheila

Hi Dotty, Thanks for putting your views on the UK on the Board - I'm sure you knew you'd get a few Victor Meldrew responses (I don't believe it!)

But as far as the driving children to school bit - have to disagree here - In the UK I used to spend nearly half an hour some mornings driving my two to school less than 3 miles away - now I can do the same journey in less than 10 minutes every morning.

Yes, agree with you about the skinnier children - there do seem to be more overweight children here.

Also it is sheer joy to be able to say "lets go to the beach today", and not only know the weather will be good but also not having to spend hours in traffic jams to get there (we usually drive to the south end of the Sunshine Coast or to Tweed Heads - both take around an hour - good roads, no jams).

No one on this forum will say I'm Australia's greatest fan, but although I'm not over-keen on the attitude of some Queenslanders, the thought of returning to the UK and going back to what we left (or worse) does not fill me with joy.

To be perfectly honest, if my family and good friends of many years standing were in Australia, I think I'd be very happy. That, in the long run, is why I'll probably return, not because of what the UK has to offer - buy the International Daily Mail - it makes for depressing reading...

jockney

Good point!Iremember reading an ad about year 2k saying 1900ad average speed in london 11mph year2000ad average speed in london 11mph.An anti car ad I think.Ialso saw something in the standard lately that it had dropped to 10mph.So there`s driving and there`s crawling.

Bernard

Hey, does the whole of the UK live in London? I think not.

I only ever went south of Northampton once or twice a year when I lived in the UK.

There are vast areas of the UK that are uncrowded. Ever been to the NE coast - up the A1 past Berwick? Beautiful open landscape, miles of unspoilt sandy beaches, Lindisfarne, Bamburgh Castle etc. Newcastle is just an hour's drive to the south if you want city attractions, Edinburgh an hour or two to the north.

Or how about Herefordshire? I lived there for a while. Beautiful little villages, reasonable house prices and quiet roads. There's also a lot of Wales and Scotland which is quiet and not too expensive on housing.

Anyone who lives in the SE is a mug in my opinion. Salaries are higher than in the rest of UK, but not by enough to compensate for higher house prices and cost of living.

My sister currently lives in a large & modern 5-bed detached iwith double garage in the NE - she paid just over £100k ($300k) in October.

Having seen some of the posts from inteding migrants in the UK, I would suggest they look at the desirable areas of their own country before moving to the other side of the planet.

dotty

I think it says a lot about our opinion of the Uk, by the fact that the only thing most people here can actually dispute is my wording of people driving kids to school. Already explained that one in my second response to this post, but its still being brought up as probably little else to dispute.

I never said that out of 56 million people, there was not one fat one, but way way more in Australia, kentucky fried is now the national sport.

If we had found the UK Crap, then I would have said so! We visited North London, Brighton and surrounds, Cornwall, and stayed near Tunbridge Wells doing a house swop. No doubt our friends and family live in the wealthier areas, East Mosely also visited friends there, so yes I guess we saw the 'better parts'. I always find it so amusing the denials here, I can remember being told here, I dont have a brother in Brighton in a four bed house who goes overseas three times a year, funnily enough I was having Xmas Lunch with him last weeK!!!!

For me having more square foot in my house does not equate to a full and active life, nor does being able to BBQ sausages most days of the year. If I have to put up with a smaller house and a bit of rubbish and a few nutters asking me for change then so be it. At least I wont expire from boredom.

I was brought up in London, perhaps I shock less easily than some, but for me its all about filling life with experiences and adventures, and the sausage/beach thing just didn,t get my IQ racing. I respect that some like a quiet life but I dont, and I know many UK mates here feel the same way. If fighting for a spot on a crowded beach (you can only swim in patrolled areas) is your thing then great Aussie will be your thing.

England is nowhere as bad as people make out. If you actually read the post, I stated expensive houses, rain, rubbish but nobody mentions that. Just harking on the school run. Of course I realise some drop their kids off 500 metres up the road when its raining, read the post please.

As I said we will go back, but we are too smart to just walk out. House prices here have finally gone up, On the Sunshine coast/Brisbane many have doubled, houses in Estates are now nearly up to $400,000 and many in nicer areas, are up in the $600,000s +, its mainly Sydney money pushing them up, the locals are too poor for those prices. So we will sit and wait another year, and if the increases continue we may finally get back to Uk without the 'arse hanging out of our pants" so to speak. I want to go back saying been to the beach had the sausage, not went there and lived in poverty for the rest of my life because of the effect of low dollar/low wages.

People may slag off my opinion of the Uk, thats OK, but I do wonder on this board, where do so many of the very very enthusiastic prospective Aussies who glorify Oz, go to when they arrive here, we certainly hear very few back on here verifying that it was that wonderful do we now?

Just as Oz is a great place for the quiet, lazy, life, the UK is fantastic for those who like a little more oomph, why cant adults accept that without resorting to calling people liars because they can see opportunities in the UK that may be taken for granted by those living there. I thought this was a forum not a playground.

col

Swim outside the flags and play "I'm a piece of Seal" with a white that gets the IQ going!

All the best dotty

captaincook

i have been here 5 years now and pretty much all ozzied out - i could'nt agree more.

It really is difficult to find people that really love the place after a few years most either return home or tolerate it realising like most long termers that the grass is'nt any greener.

Most agree they are richer (but probably financially poorer) for the experience !

best way to appreciate england faults and all is to live in australia for a few years !!!