What were your expectations ?
 

I have been visiting the forum for a couple of months and there seems to be a common thread regarding people moving back to the UK (apart from missing family,friends,shopping etc ) BOREDOM. I was just wondering what everyone did that was so exciting in the Uk or what you are not doing in Australia that you imagined you would be doing ?:)

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Actually I get bored here in terms of trips - I miss European destinations and the diveristy of the travel it is much more expensive to get yourself up to Asia than it was to do Mainland Europe and the Med etc.

I do get around on trips here and have had some interesting breaks but nothing I am hankering to do again in a hurry.

I also miss my season ticket for Reading FC!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

This place is not boring if you're the type that loves sports and the beach/water. I don't.

Kids will soon get bored of going to the beach and the well kept parks every weekend. I feel like I'm in a goldfish bowl, going round and around, doing the same things ; Freo, The Boat, Hillary's, Kings Park.

I find it bland, lacking in character and soul, it has nothing like England or Europe, no diversity. And yes, it costs an absolute fortune to get out of it.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Yup, what the others have said. You can drive for hours and never see any different scenery. Once you have done the touristy stuff that's it, same old same old. A trip to Sydney for the weekend doesnt quite cut it when you compare a trip to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Edinburgh as possibles from London. And if you live in Sydney then going somewhere with a bit of "buzz" for the weekend is even harder - Newcastle???? hmmm no, think that is a bit of a pass.

If you want to live with sand in your cozzies every day on the beach then fine, you will probably be happy as a sandboy but if you want to go somewhere with character, history, culture then you will have a very long drive!

This is a very boring, shallow place full of puffed up arrogance IMHO - if only the Poms had one tenth of Aussie arrogance and pride in their country, the place would be absolutely buzzing and the Poms have a darned sight more to be proud of and skite about!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Yes, I liken it to a gilded cage. It looks beautiful from the outside looking in - nice house, car, sun shining - but you still feel trapped, bored and disassociated from the rest of the world.

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I once went to a Reading away match at Pompey. It felt as if someone had placed me into the Polar Bear enclosure at SeaWorld, except for the fact that the Pompey fans seemed to be capable of inflicting far more damage than a polar bear (as well as seeming more eager than a polar bear to be given the chance).

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

:rofl::rofl::rofl: thats what you get from Pompey fans.

We have at least enjoyed the last two years in the Premiership so we have managed a few live matches easrly in the morning.

Son is trying to get us to go to some fottball matches over here but it doesn't seem to have the oomph. I have tried local Rugby League matches and some international Rugby Union but still trying to find a local sport I can find a connection with.

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I moved here (SE QLD) looking to take my foot off the pedal as far as work is concerned but I have found I am really not ready for this at my age. I commuted to London for 5 years before coming over so I was a bit fed up of the rat race. As another BE poster said that they should have taken an extended holiday rather than a full on move to the other side of the world and with hindsight this would have probably been a better idea. Problem with that is once you start the whole Oz thing you really need to see it through and try it out. We are a sports mad family and with the exception of Sunday (family day) I play sport every day of the week. It is just not enough to shake off the feeling of being unsettled and wanting to go home.
I really don't know what we would do though if we were not into sports. I have never really been a beach person but even that is wearing a bit thin with the kids, very unexpected.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Same here, mine are never interested when we suggest beach for the day. They do still love pools though (shame we haven't got one LOL but their dad and grandma both do).

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Boredom here for us is not having much to do. Unless going to the beach is your thing and hanging out in parks. Can't do that now anyway in the winter.

But we do miss our social life, pubs and clubs are few and far between here in Perth. Having a BBQ gets abit boring after afew.
We just got it all wrong and were told by rellies here that there were loads to do, our own faults really.
The blue skies and sunshine can be a lovely thing, but the novelty wears off. We miss good shops and quality foods. Aswell as missing our friends and family. So with no-one to share things with, it's a lonely life.
We would rather be happy in dull UK than miserable in sunny Perth;)

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Ah but maybe if they had one (which we do) they may not be in it as much as you think. My boys like it when they have their friends over but didn't go in it as much as I thought they would over the summer. Kids of today..huh!!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

this is something I think about constantly - what exactly did we do back home that we cant do in Perth?? With a young family, back home (scottish highlands) we went to the cinema, swimming pool at weekends, the odd concert, walks in the country (if no gale force winds) and that was basically it. holidays were a package deal to spain/greece etc - not for the culture but for the sunshine - and we could usually only manage a week or two every year. we didnt jet of to paris/bareclona/rome etc everyother weekend for "culture". nor did we visit any of the many other cities such as dundee, manchester etc etc. we mainly socialised in our house with friends.

so basically what i am saying is there is nothing we cant do in perth that we didnt at home. if anything we do more as you can take the kids into pubs until 9pm and we can get out more - although we dont go to the beach very often funny enough. but what is missing here is the good friends from home, someone to share good times with. we knew it would happen but didnt appreciate how hard it would be to strike up new friendships. maybe if we had family or friends here it would be different.

so i dont agree with those who say there is nothing to do - we can fill our time no bother but we do feel lonely without our old friends and family.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Not trying to argue with you about this, but you say there is more to do in Perth than in UK...maybe for you, but defo not us!
We took the kids to pubs in UK and they stayed with us all night. Depends on where you lived i suppose. We were in the middle of many big cities, easy to get to all of them.
My kids were never in back in UK, but here they never go out as no-one is around, it's like a ghost town. So no point in them trailing round streets on their own.
When the weather gets too hot here, we stay indoors. You can't bike ride in temps over 30c with kids really! But in UK we rode in all kinds of weather.
Sitting on a beach all day to us is boring, for others it's great. We all expect different things.
We enjoyed visiting London, Scotland, Ireland on many weekends away. Not many places like that here is there.
So we made a mistake, i accept that. But there is definately more to do in Uk than here.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

yeah I take your point- if we had lived in a part of the UK where the weather was less harsh and the nights less dark (winter) and no midges (summer), there would have been more for us to do. In scotland, the licensing laws are different and you cant take children into pubs - we always said one of the things we liked about england was the "country pubs" (even those in towns!!!) where you could take the kids. plus there was alton towers, legoland etc etc which you dont have here. so overall there is probably more to do in uk for most families - but for us and the stage we were at in our lives (ie young family, money restricted for visiting the likes of alton towers etc), perth offers us similar things. so i cant disagree with you, but as i say for us, its swings and roundabouts and the reasons we are considering home is only the family/friends thing - overall we are happy with the lifestyle/things to do here. will i say the same thing once we've been here longer and the kids are older?? who knows - maybe we wont be here long enough to find out! cheers

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

I think what you say about little kids is spot on. Aus is great for littles ones who don't have to be cooped up inside all day and who enjoy parks, picnics etc, so you don't have to spend loads of money. Once they get older ... well not sure yet. My nearly 12 year old moans that she's seen everything now and Brisbane's boring (and I have to say I agree with her!) but then that age group always say that don't they?!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

In the UK we drove around London at the weekends looking at the architecture, historic buildings, visiting museums that contain worldwide exhibits not just the history of the town you live in (all Melbourne's museums seem to be about Melbourne and nothing else).

We went out 3 to 4 times a week to charming pubs where we were known & made welcome and which were buzzing with life & cheer-here our local is empty by 8pm apart from the pokies grandmas:thumbdown:

Shops had a wider (& often cheaper) variety of food, shoes and well, everything really.

It took me 13 years to feel a bit bored in London. I have only been here 3 months and am already feeling it-oh dear:unsure:-and I am an Aussie (tho I left to live in UK when I was 4)

I read this in other posts several times before we came and didn't take it seriously but if you love English pubs, history & charm then Aus may not be the place for you..

I guess the main reason we came was for a better financial life which we do have so I mustn't complain but if I won the lottery this weekend I think I would probably be heading for Heathrow shortly after;)

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Writing>Reading = FACT


:o

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Apologies for my poor attempt at wit. It's been a long day and my suburb has gone to sleep.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

My suburb has never been awake.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

totally agree with these points, we liked 'holidaying; in England because of the 'family friendly' pubs, i remember one sunday afternoon, watching a big group of english friends and family and kids all meeting in the pub, and wishing i had that. We never visited Europe, couldn't afford to, and were delighted with package holiday week in spain, and dont mention Alton Towers, we had one of the best weekends as a family we have ever had there, stayed in the Caribean Creek hotel, felt like luxury.

We never had a 'big social life in scotland' and certainly have little or virtually no family to speak of there, but i just miss being somewhere i belong, i miss glasgow so much my heart aches, and my hometown killie even more, (sad i know, lol), i miss Edinburgh and its general excitment and the childhood memories i have of being there with my dad. I miss the fact everyone talks like me, the general banter in the shops. I miss the girls nights out from work. I even miss the 2 hr trip to Dundee to see my bros, even though he made little or no attempt to see me in scotland.
I miss the excitement of getting a penny flight from glasgow to london ,(even if you had to leave and return at the most bizarre hrs) lol.

I ....miss........where i belong.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

This should also be posted in the coming to Australia thread. It would save some people a lot of time and money.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

"I was just wondering what everyone did that was so exciting in the Uk or what you are not doing in Australia that you imagined you would be doing ?"

I think for us the UK had so many more options for things to do on a weekend, where we lived in the UK, within a half hour drive, we had the choice of going to the beach, walking in the woods, going into town (with a proper town centre etc), popping into see friends, walking on one of the many footpaths in the countryside. We could get to London by train in an hour, and we would regularly go to visit friends and family in other parts of the UK for the weekend, and France was close enough for a day trip.

Here in Northern NSW, within a half hour drive, we have the choice of several beautiful (but v similair) beaches. The nearest rainforest walks are at least a 2-3 hour drive away. I love the rainforest, but if you're just wanting somewhere quick to go on a Sunday afternoon then it's not close enough to do. Also, as my daughter points out, it looks exactly the same each time you go there, whereas British woodlands change with the seasons (and they don't have poisonous snakes).

It's the limited options that make it dull at times, stunning as it is to look at (and I never take that for granted).

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

How right you are!!!!

For the time it takes me to drive to Sydney I could be pretty much anywhere in England I would want to be from my home town. For the time it takes me to drive to Melbourne I could be in any one of several European cities. You only have to drive for half an hour to get ten times the variety that you would get in half a day's driving here. I think a trip down the Hume from Sydney to Melbourne should be mandatory for any aspiring immigrant - it epitomises Aus for me - boring as b*tsh*t!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

That's what happens when you live in the most isolated city in the world which has a country town attitude.

If you were in Melbourne it would be a completely different story. Have you every visited Melbourne? It is not bland, it has plenty of character, beautiful historical buildings (albeit more Victorian era) , heaps of diversity and culture and there is so much to see and do in Melbourne that you could never be bored. There is always something going on with arts festivals, music festivals, food and wine festivals every month of the year. It is a much bigger and more interesting city.

The same goes for Sydney too with a more outdoor/beach lifestyle but can't speak for other cities.

I don't think your 'Perth' experience means that the same experience would be true of other places in Australia.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Set as a "point 0" any of european capitals and start driving from your point 0, one hour, 2 h, 3, 4, 5 h, you can see castles, historic buildings built in various styles through ages, museums, etc. In australia you can drive for long hours watching the same scenery, finally you reach your destination - any rock or whatsoever, "attraction", you enjoy it for a while, take picures, walk around and see nothing great, and you go back home through the same boring scenery. and historical building in Melbourne? I reccomend to see historical buildings in northern africa or middle east countries and compare.
I miss cheap european flights - within 1-2 hours I could go to any nice destination on Saturday morning and be back on Monday morning, and this was cheaper than in Oz any weekend trip.
I do not see many pubs in melbourne, where do the Aussiess spend their time? I see them stuck in traffic jam at 6-8pm. - I didn't expect it is australian lifestyle, i heard Australia is cheaper, uhmmmmm, where? what is cheaper here? and I heard about low taxes, low cost of living, well paid jobs, where is it all?

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

As I was only back in UK fairly recently, I have quite a few things i can compare I dont do here that I know i can do there right now or tomorrow (not living in the past)

Spend an hour in the supermarket and not be bored. Not just with the array of interesting things in there, but the willingness of the people to have a chat or a giggle. I cant wait to get in and out of the Aussie supermarkets. Bloody rank dump holes most of them

Go into a pub and feel like the people are alive and kicking. Along with a sense of cosiness and belonging unlike the sterile Aussie pubs. I dont think i have ever been in one that had any form of atmospshere.

People... lots of them and interesting too. I loved sitting in the high streets watching them all toddle by. Maybe its just me but the people just LOOK more interesting.

Men who do not look at me as if i have 2 heads because i wish to have a conversation about current affairs, politics, worldwide events or anyhting else that is more improtant than sport! But I can still talk sport with Brit guys. Try doing that here if you are a woman over 40 and they dont want to shag you... a glassy look befalls their face as if they are wondering where the voice is coming from. :rofl:

Bored at the weekend? Hop on the eurostar. In france in a couple of hours can even come back same day. All of Europe on hand at drop of a hat. Sydney? Most exciting Aus gets for me. No where else worth bothering with anymore.

In London last year i amused myself just taking a drive through different parts of London. SO many different lanscapes communities and contrasts. Central Sydney is so small i can do the lot on 20minutes!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

These are just my opinions and I am not trying to put anyone off returning, I have been in the same situation and anything anyone said would not have stopped me returning, I dont regret it at all, it was definately something we needed to do so please dont think i am being negative, just explaining how i feel at this point in time.

Maybe as mentioned previously it is all to do with which part of Oz or the UK you live? I felt perth had become boring and that we had seen and done most of it, but after being back in the UK for 2 years I would rather be "bored" in Oz with 2 young children than here in UK. I thought we would be off seeing more of europe - with 2 children that is just too expensive, just to get to spain for 2 weeks self catering in July we are paying almost 3000 pounds:eek: and its not cheap when you get there either. I also thought about the quaint english pubs and thought this is how we would be spending week-ends - wrong, with two young children why on earth would i want them to sit in a pub all night even if they wanted to - which they dont! I may have been dreaming of the life i had before kids when i longed for the UK but things are different with children and i feel we do much less here than we ever did in Perth. It is the bank holiday week-end today and guess what - its pouring down:( we had planned a trip to a farm and again our plans are hampered by the weather! We do live up north where it usually is grim, perhaps if we lived in the south we would get the better weather, cheaper holidays and easy access to france etc.

As one OP mentioned it is nice to be close to family but we cant spend all our time with them, I personally get fed up just sitting in peoples houses all day looking out at the rain. Even the supermarket shopping bores me now, i did find it great at first but now it is just another chore - and one that is becoming more expensive:eek:

So now our plans are to head back to Oz but as we found perth was getting a bit dull we are heading over east. Who knows maybe in a few years we will find that dull, maybe we are just the type of people who are always searching for more:confused: But at least we are giving it a go:thumbsup:

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

I very much agree with you Betty. It certainly does depend on WHERE you live in any country. It also has an effect what phase of life you are at as to where would be best to live regardless of which country.

For us the kids are grown up and the world is our oyster. I have lived in several places in Aus and also in NZ. I was back in UK last year and know 100% that is where i want to be, but as you rightly say, we also need to decide which part of UK would suit us best.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

I've never really lived anywhere long enough (in the UK) to have any kind of roots, I've been where I am for 2 years now and already I'm itching to move!! I've always moved around the UK from childhood and my only real connection anywhere is my family.

To me moving to Australia isn't about a huge adventure or about changing my life, it's about going where I feel comfortable, going to the place I fit in. My girlfriend is Australian and has been in the UK for about 18 months now and we're moving over to be near her family. Whenever I've been out there I've felt like I truely belonged, we've never done a 'tourist' type holiday as we always stay with the inlaws and just fit in around them and their lifestyle so we (me and the kids) have already experienced the realities of living in Australia rather than just holidaying.

The only thing I'll miss about not being in England is the lack of online food shopping (!) - I hate supermarkets at the best of times so having to shop in Woolies will drive me nuts and the ability to pop round and see my parents whenever I want to. That will be difficult as my parents are fairly elderly and my dads not in the best of health but I know that that's something I'll just have to deal with.

We already know where we're headed (Raymond Terrace - NSW) and can't wait to get out there - for us this is just another move, alebit a pretty huge one - and we're positive it'll work out for us.

I wonder sometimes if people have too many expectations of what Australia can offer as a country and what they can get from it? I know a lot of people who've emigrated to various parts of Aus and returned within (in most cases) 6 months and those are all people who thought it was the country that could turn their lives around and would make huge differences in their relationships.

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I think there is the potential for real problems when one of you is an Aussie and the other isnt. If you are the kind of person who needs to move about a bit and the other is "home" there is the potential for real family stresses. I think some of us are by nature a tad nomadic and inclined to boredom. If you have been "bored" after a couple of years in UK then chances are you are going to be bored witless after a few months in country NSW. When you get to the age where you want to settle down and one wants to be near their family in their familiar places and the other wants to be near their family and their familiar places then you get real trouble.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

I'm 33 and more than happy to settle down, it's just that in the UK I've yet to find a place that suits me. I love the area we're moving to in Aus, it feels right for me - which is something I've never found in the UK. I've always had a fairly nomadic life (my 12 year old has moved house 13 times) and I'm now at the stage that the next move I make is going to be the last.

I love rural life, it's the slower pace that I'm looking for. Every move I've made since I left home has been to a quieter place and I don't think we'll get much quieter than the 'boonies' as the area the inlaws live is known!

I've always lived by the motto - life is not a rehearsal - and for those who've decided that Australia isn't for them and who're making the move back to the UK I really hope you remember this. You only have one chance to be happy so you have to take those opportunities as they're thrown at you - just make sure the decisions are for the right reasons cause it's damned expensive otherwise!!

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

now am really confused , why is the above post on the mbttuk forum:confused:


whats going on:confused:

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

I think Margaret, it's because some of us who are planning to move to another country are interested to see why other posters want to move back to the UK. With no disrespect to Fleafly who says she would like to do her weekly shop and have a chat and giggle I don't get that in my local Tesco. My local pub is a chain of foodie pubs where no-one knows each other. I do agree that there are places in the UK that you can still get the community feel. I am planning on moving to Spain so not too far away from family and friends. Best of luck to all returning to the UK and to all moving too :thumbsup:

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My boys were in ours yesterday now take into consideration its green and freezing they must have been desperate. Nope they just had a friend over and had nothing else to do. LOL

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Did you see that one of the previous posters is actually in Melbourne? JoolsB

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

[QUOTE=Ms_Fi;6305439]
To me moving to Australia isn't about a huge adventure or about changing my life, it's about going where I feel comfortable, going to the place I fit in.


A very good point and very important.

Re: What were your expectations ?
 

Yes, but where does JoolsB live? Maybe she lives 30 kilometres in some new suburb on the outskirts of the city where I agree there is not much going on. The closer to the centre of the city you are the more accessible those things are and the more likely you are to make the effort and in the end it is all about making an effort. People go on about all the things they could do in the U.K. but did they actually make an effort to do them? How many times a year does the average brit pop over to Europe for the weekend with their kids, how many times do they drive to London for the day?

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I think the problem begins when people move to Australia expecting 'The UK in the Sun'. So many people seem to see it that way before they move here, and set themselves up for disappointment, because of course it's not like that at all. Years of diverse immigration have given Aus a cultural identity all of its own, and it's a lot less like the UK now than it was, say, 30 years ago. It's a young country and is still growing and developing, whereas although things are changing in the UK, the differences are far less impactive due to the UK's strong and historic cultural identity.

My top tip to those planning to emigrate is always: STUDY THE MAP OF AUSTRALIA CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO COME HERE. You need to realise that Aus is a long eway from other countries, that the place is huge & distances between places are long. The State of Victoria, one of Aus's smallest, is the size of England + Scotland. That's how big this place is.

Just because they speak English here & watch Midsummer Murders on TV does NOT mean that it's like the UK, it's very different and it certainly isn't for everybody.

I'm somewhat bemused by all these posters who are so keen to take their kids into pubs. Reading this thread, it sounds like quite a big deal & may explain why the UK seems to be getting such a bad reputation for binge-drinking. Pubs are great places for adults (& I miss the UK real ale as much as the next person!), but children need fun, fresh air, exercise, stimulation and education, and the pub simply doesn't provide these. Ask your kids, & I bet they would much prefer a trip to the zoo, aquarium, beach, movies, theme park etc. I've never had any trouble finding family-friendly cafes & restaurants here to feed the kids when we're out, so taking them into pubs isn't really necessary.

Good luck to all of those staying or returning, and may you find the place that makes you and yours happy :thumbsup:

G.

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To be quite honest I think that taking the moral high-ground on other people's parenting skills and an, at best, tenuous hypothesis about national drinking habits is inappropriate for this thread.

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I cant answer the question as to where JoolsB lives but judging on some of her previous posts probably not too far out of the city.

We personally came from Sheffield and often spent weekends away with the kids in different cities or just drove over to them for a day out. We probably went abroad twice a year not major but still enjoyed and looked forward to none the less.

We have been to Melbourne for the weekend and it was full of beautiful old buildings which makes a nice change from the GC but once shopping and eating was over I wouldnt say there was particulary loads to do for kids. only my humble opinion of course.