chris955

Since joining one of these Expats forums I have noticed more and more the odd things people say. Many of those who have settled wherever they are seem unable or unwilling to see any good at all in their old country and will jump into any thread to counter any negative post about their new country or indeed to infer that anyone with a positive opinion about the UK for instance must be lying or deluded.
The favourite one seems to be those that left the UK because of crime and then seemingly ignore the same level of crime here.
Is it to make themselves feel better about their decision ? I remember someone saying how they rarely saw grafitti in Australia and when they did it was removed within 24 hours, are they really living in the same Australia I am ?
I recently returned from 3 weeks in the UK and gave my thoughts on the forum and presumably because they were mostly positive views one fool accused me of making it all up.
Just seems odd to me.

quoll

Nah, it's cognitive dissonance in spades, very common phenomenon. But you are right, I think some of those folk inhabit a parallel universe to the one I live in!

chris955

You probably know the thread I am referring to, or at least the one that made me think about this subject. If crime was a problem in a small area that you lived wouldn't you move to a different part of the country rather than assume it will all go away in a different country ?

brits1

The one friend who wished us luck for our return to the uk was my Australian friend who loved both the uk and Australia...others in Aus were "your mad" brigade...ie..."crime" "bad customer service" "unfriendly neighbours" and they were some of the "better" comments lol.....all of which we have not encountered so far since our return....I think for the most part most people say things to make themselves feel better....both in Aus and here...you just have to know how you really feel about a place and be honest otherwise you'll never be truly happy anywhere. I also found the 99% of the Brits who slagged off the UK are the first to wear their "Mother Country" tops in any sporting event, who mainly only had British friends and took the "Mick" out of Aussies......

beachgal21

Do you have a link to the thread you mention? I'm always interested to read about people's thoughts about their trips back home.

Beedubya

I mainly have had "But you will miss the Aussie weather" comments, well funnily enough I did have those comments but since all the shocking weather here this past month nobody has mentioned weather to me.

I hear there is a cyclone hanging around off Queensland coast due to hit in 24 hours and another one coming in from Fiji on Thursday.............then there are the droughts......

I am in NSW and it hasn't affected me excess for excessive humidity, give me the mild Brit weather any day, snow and all.

kmthor

Chris iv had the same sorta thing on another forum and to some point here, i think they do try to make themselves feel better about their decision but i also think they get reassurance from each other. nine times out of ten it is a same people just the order that varies..

i also think there will be some that are jealous because they cant do it for one reason or another

chris955

Oh yes, I couldn't agree more. I see this little group who seem to follow eachother around pressing the Thanks button. It is just so obvious though.

SmallGoodWolf

It goes along with the "what do you think about Australia?" question, this is meant as totally rhetorical, the answer you must give is "its fantastic!" otherwise you are wrong and mad or they dont want to hear.
Interestingly since I have voiced my intention to move home, my Australian sister in law here has taken this as a personal sleight against Australia and even her, how dare I!

Beedubya

Yes it's funny how Pommies or other migrants seem to take it so personally.

kmthor

not being rude here but i rekon a lot of people who use these forums are very highly strung.. so god help you if you dont agree.. just look on the crime in the uk thread ... some idiot has taken a stab at me cause i dont agree with his survey all very funny really

Beedubya

I often wonder if they are so blissfully happy here in Oz why do they spend so much time on here talking about how wonderful it is, instead of actually being out there and living the fabulous life of which they speak?

I only joined this site last year when I was in England and in all my many years here in Oz did not join expats groups or forums or any other type of Brit gathering..........in fact I probably assimilated far more than a lot of them on here have despite all their protestations to the contrary as I wasn't constantly talking about Britain to other British people.............

quoll

Quite right, I only found this site by accident when there was a big thread going on about the Maddie disappearance which I stumbled upon. For me it was a major revelation that I wasnt bloody Robinson Crusoe adrift in an alien land and that did my mental health no end of good. By that time I had been here close to 30 years and never seen the need to relate to other Poms I was out there totally assimilated into the local culture (to all intents and purposes anyway) and it never even crossed my mind that there would even be an expat board - never needed it at all. In fact I sometimes even astonish myself for sticking up for some things Australian against the whinging Pom (OMG I love it here but ....) onslaught (this bizarre need of new migrants to find Bulk Billing doctors for example, really gets on my nerves!)

That said, my best friend is a displaced Pom like myself but she is too old and scared to return and dumps on me more than I dump on her!!!

Trevski

Hi Can i just say i was this person when i migrated to OZ in 2006 , it is a fantastic place England has lost it and all that stuff, but after living here 5 years now i feel lost and a strange feeling of empty and dont know what to do to make myself better.
My family and i have been talking for a while know about moving back to the UK because we feel at this present time with all the crap we get from our own country/ goverment etc, i feel as we would enjoy our family and friends being closer, also the choice we would get from the UK super markets.
When we left UK in 2006 our money went a long way here in OZ but it dont go further than the front door now, i have compared many items of every day living here in OZ and UK and it seems as we are paying twice as much here compared to UK, even with the better wage here it seems as it costs us more to live in OZ than UK.
I feel as if i stay here we will find our selfs struggling more and more, but i cant find my crystal ball at the mo so who knows.
Im not saying that all people that migrate here have the feelings that im having but on reading on BE it seems as many people are just living here in oz and not having a life,
My children had many True friends in UK but they dont seem to have TRUE friends here.
If im true to myself, Australia is a great place for many but it seems as i have lived a summer for five years and its time for a change.
My family and i are talking of being back in the UK by the end of the year but we will see what happens in the next few months.We have to sell our house first and then sit down and make the big decision
Do we Stay or GO

Beedubya

I have NO IDEA how I stumbled across this site but when I did it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I thought I was the only person who felt as I did!!! Just like Robinson Crusoe as you say adrift in an alien world.........my best friend in contrast to yours is a Kiwi, she loves it here, but her partner hates it with a vengeance and has just gone back about 3 or 4 weeks ago to try and find work and set them up over there then she will follow him. So when I whinge to her she totally understands where I am coming from, the poor thing, copping it from both sides LOL!!

When I came here in 1981, like you, there was very little UK telly, very little British food or books or mags in the shops, no Internet or mobile phones or cheap fares, it really was a case of my family saying "We will never see you again."

And I can remember looking at a plane flying overhead way back then and thinking the chances were very remote of seeing the UK any time soon. The fares have changed very little in all that time in comparison to most other things and in my case that was way out of our reach for a family of 4.

Today I had a BIG sort out of photos, do you realise how much photo albums weigh LOL!! So I took all the photos out of the albums and put them into boxes and will buy new albums over there in the UK. I looked at all the old photos of me (and the ex) and the kids newly arrived in Australia and I was sooo gung ho and young and motivated to live here then in the "lucky country", just like the new migrants on here now who are sooo quick to defend Australia and put down the UK and think people like me have no idea of what we are talking about................