Why Do People Do This?
 

I'm sure this topic has been discussed before but it's a puzzle to me. I'm going back to England next year. I can't wait. I've lived in Australia for 5 years and while I have taught myself not to hate the place (bites fist as she speaks swearing through the sock she stuffed in her mouth earlier), I really am looking forward to going home. Recession or not.

So why is it people act shocked then say things like 'are you mad"? England?? It's a crap hole.
These are the words spoken out of the mouths of people that have never set foot out of QLD, never mind got on a plane and visited England.
I am so close to strangling the next person who says this it's not funny.

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Yes, I know! I find itquite funny now:rofl:

Just console yourself with the fact that you know something they don't!;)

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Equally frustrating are the friends and family back home in the UK who have never lived abroad themselves so don't understand our need to return to what they call a s**t hole.

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Hi Erica

I think I know why the Brits make negative comment. It's because they really do think they are worse off. The news is doom and gloom over there but at least you can choose whether you buy a newspaper.
But like you.....I am amzed that so many people have such a strange opinion when they've never gone further than their own back yard. :frown:

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We're getting comments like that from people here as we're off back to the UK in January. They don't think there is any other country as good if not better than Oz! Ysterday a Mum at school said I was mad going back to the rain in the UK even though it was pouring it down and freezing yesterday in Perth!

Back home the odd person has a moan about what's going on in the UK but the one's who agree with what we are doing are the on'es that have been here and seen what it's like!

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Exactly, I have been back in the UK a week and it's amazing how many people have said "what you doing back 'ere?".

Don't forget though that what the average Brit sees of OZ/NZ is what the media shows them. Like Bondi rescue - for one thing. Or, Home and Away.

Fantasy and reality : 2 different things.

I am not saying OZ/NZ are better (or worse) than the UK - just different. Personally, I prefer the UK. There is no better city in OZ/NZ than London. That's a fact.

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I now ask people why they think the UK is a sh*thole. You'll be surprised at how many can't think of a valid reason.

Of the minority who can this is the conversation I usually have.

Why is the UK a Sh*thole then?

"Stabbings everywhere"

REALLY Everywhere:ohmy:. How many have you seen then?

"Well none"

How do you know there are stabbings everywhere?

"Well the paper says so"

So if the paper says the Pope is Jewish do you believe them?

"Well no, don't be stupid"

Why am I stupid.

"Oh I'm not carrying on this conversation"

Cue the hissy fit flounce off:rofl:

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It's when they get really shirty and start going on about whinging pommes and how we should all p***s off back to England.

My response goes like this;

Ahem, you're just jealous. Some of us came on a ship and some of us came on a plane. Doesn't really matter, we're all out of the same gene pool. We can all go home at any time. If you want to stay here, then that's fine by me. Ta ra me duck, nice knowing yer. I'll send you a postcard from sh****ole Britain to not worth a mention on the map Perth:rofl:

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Because they are just plain bloody ignorant. I was once like that, having lived in OZ i am now a much better person:p

We just have to ignore the idiocy. We know better;)

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I'm not bothered anymore that people think the UK is a sh*thole. In fact some parts are, I was lucky enough not to live in such a place.

What does annoy me is when people won't/can't justify their statements and quote stuff they read in the papers and then apply it to the whole of the UK.

This past week I've been 'debating' this very issue with another poster on another thread. This lady posted how bad it was where she lives in Lancashire but still insisted that what happened in her part of the world happens everywhere in the UK.

Unlike some of you guys who seem to get grief from Ozzies, I have alot of well travelled Australian friends who think it's great that we've given Oz a go but equally think it's great we are moving back home. There is only one non-Brit who has said the UK is a sh*thole. Bizarrely she is from South Africa and has never been to the UK.:confused:

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True, as are some parts of OZ and NZ. Like Brisbane's Fortitude Valley or New Zealand's Cannon's Creek.

I lived in a house in NZ at one point with superb sea views, had an excellent job, good circle of mates, but there was always something missing. It's hard to explain really. I just feel I belong in the UK. All these feelings of disconnection left me the moment I stepped back onto British soil.

Note, I spent 2 months at Xmas living in Buenos Aires and I never felt out of place once. I think NZ and OZ just don't suit my temperament.

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I think the reason many aussies respond like this is because they are taught their whole lives, at school, by newspapers and TV that australia is the greatest place on earth. So they just cannot understand people wanting to live somewhere else, they just cannot comprehend it.

I have been in oz 2 years now and have thought many times that I might go back to the UK but perhaps I will try america first, I hear they like the english :thumbup:

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In my experience the majority of Brits who say it is a craphole usually came from a "crap" city or town (mostly the ones that seem to say this are from the north of England and this is not a dig at northerners). Anyone who called the U.K a dump who had not been there would quickly get put in their place.

Perth for sure is not a craphole in terms of beauty , cleanliness e.t.c but it is a crap city in so many other ways to some, boring & lacking culture & things to do are some of the reasons.

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Kind of a strange comment for a South African to make given the situation in their own country. One look at the Africa (South African) forum on here is like reading a horror story:eek:

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What annoys me most of all is when my own family (both the ones here and the ones in UK who've never been here) say that Britain is a S***hole.

My mum in particular (and she lives here in Australia) seems to take great pride in putting Britain down at every opportunity she gets. (and she is British).

Today I was talking to her on the phone about my dilema as to whether I should move back or not, and I mentioned one of the things that puts me off going back to UK is the ecnomic situation and the constant bad news that we hear from UK. Immediately she cut me off in the middle of the sentence and said:
"Ah yes, of all the countries in the world Britain is going to have the worst recession and it's probably going to be a depression and MOST people will be unemployed and...."
and that's when I cut her off to say that I knew some of the bad news was exaggerated but the point I was trying to make is that I know Britain is not perfect. It's just the way she said that though, as if she was proud to say how bad her own country supposedly is.

I can only assume, (although she'd never admit it) the real reason is that she secretly wishes she had the guts to go back, and is looking for any excuse she can find to justify herself staying here. I suppose if she can convince herself that Britain is terrible and Australia is wonderful then it probably makes it easier for her to feel better about not having the guts to go home.

Maybe that could be the reason behind a lot of other people saying similar things too.

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About how bad the UK is, is a question that has been discussed and argued on numerous threads on BE and the general consensus is that if you live in a good area the chances of being robbed, stabbed and seeing any of this are minimal and that is the same whether you are in the UK, Canada or USA etc. the fact of the matter is, that when a person from say the UK sells their property, in what may well be a crime affected area and moves overseas. They often state how great their new area or country are compared to the UK and that there is little crime there etc. The real reason though, is that by selling their UK property it now enables them to normally buy in a good area in either Canada or Usa given the relatively cheap property prices there compared to the UK. The same crime that they complained about in the UK exists in their new country also, but now they never get to see it because they have in effect upgraded themselves. Only problem now though, with the fall of the pound and the devaluation of UK property, is that this may well not be the case anymore for Brits moving overseas.

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I hope the same principle doesn't work in reverse!!!

If I move back from Australia to UK will I be downgrading myself so I can experience more crime?

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Thats one reason i could never of moved to Aussie. The constant pom pom pom when i travelled there in the early 90's drove us nuts. Saw a couple of them get taken out of their shoes when said to the wrong people. Strange mob.

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probably coz the QLD folks are jealous coz they would really like to live in the UK and to the folks in the uk who say it, it's because they have never lived abroad and don't know how lucky they are to live in the UK :thumbup:

just humour the next person that says it to you, best way to deal with them :sneaky:

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The principal I don`t think has been discussed in reverse but for many people wanting to go back to the UK and live in a decent area, there may well never be a better time than now, given the weakness with the pound and people desperate to sell there.

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It's a sign of insecurity that Australians need to sh*t on the UK (most have never been or spent 3 days on a Kontiki tour in London in 1987) to make themselves feel better about living here.

That and getting it drilled into them from birth by their own families/the media that this is Godzown etc etc.

Helped along by the media here picking up all the doom and gloom stories from the like of the UK Daily Wail and broadcasting them as gospel.

There is no point trying to reason with these people unless you are a bit bored and the telly is sh*te and you want to do a bit of Aussie bating for a laugh, otherwise don't waste your energy.

And Jules - love yer work, you are so on the money there with the comment about crime/neds/graffiti.

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Totally agree with that......Anyone selling an ex council house, down south 4 yrs ago.......Would of almost walked into Canada a millionaire :eek:

I get so fed up with hearing people pull down and compare the Uk to Canada.
You could sit the whole of England in one Canadian province, so how the hell does that compare.......The newspapers and the News reports on the whole of the UK.
In Canada they generally only report on their own province, rather then the whole country......


I'll get me coat :D

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The thing to remember is that for all the perceived crime, the UK police still haven't, as far as I know, resorted to carrying guns so gun crime in the UK is one of lowest incidents in the world compared to Oz and the US yet we never hear about this positive.
In the time I've been here I am shocked at how many people I know of either directly or through a third party that have been shot.

Nu Shooz, I'll have breakfast then tell you why I am leaving the Gold Coast. I'll be back. :)

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I think its that people never agree and if you said you loved Australia they would say they hated it and vice versa. Just rubbish. People have to be happy wherever they live and goodness me glad we do not all want to live in the same place how would that be.

I have lived in four countries and every one of them has merits and negatives. I could be happy living in UK if I had to and I am equally happy living here in Aus. Horses for courses.

Global village now and people live all over the world these days. Just like moving from town to town now.

Good luck.

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I grew up in a part of London where there was rioting in the early 80's and we didn't normally walk out in the evening.

However, most of the people that lived there only had one dream to get an education for their kids.

It's funny when I go home sometimes and I hear from my peers about how lucky I am to be out of the UK, I ask

Why? who in this room doesn't have a degree a reasonable well paid job, a car, etc.

I read the internet from new about the UK and note the reports of the stabbings, but if I listen to the arizona news in the US, I hear the reports of people shot, etc.

After all the places that I have lived, I've come to one conclusion, everything has advantages and disadvantages, you pays your money and you make your choice.

No matter which country you live in there's no go areas.

The economy is global now. If it suffers in one place it suffers in another too. Housing prices are down in the US and the UK. Economy is down in the UK and the US.

For me I grew up in the UK, my family is there, it makes sense to me.

I always ask the peolpe that complain about the UK, when they say it's awful, what are they comparing it against.

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I don't know why people worry about a recession. I grew up in a permanent recession. We were as poor as Church mice. Gave us brilliant coping skills so 'a recession' doesn't worry me at all.

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Because my dear it also happens with Brits because most are still in denial and although they hate the place they have emigrated to they will not admit it due to pride or the feeling that they may be deemed a failure if they ever mention that they prefer marmite to that dog poo vegemite…you are not alone although soooo many will not admit it.:thumbup:

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Are you stalking me:lol:

With regard to the South African lady, she tells me that South Africa is on a par with the UK crime wise although she hasn't been to the UK. I've never been to South Africa so don't comment but you'd have to be an idiot not to realise that in some parts of SA there is a serious crime issue. Whether it's all over the country I don't know. I used to work with a guy from Durban who wouldn't hear a bad thing about his home country and he is now back living there very happily.

I also agree with this post of yours. The thing is, as I've said before just because some British people live in some sort of hell-hole doesn't mean everyone does so why can't they understand that.

I have a lovely group of Aussie friends who have ALL been to the UK and other countries and understand there is crime/violence globally. One of them is quite vehement about how much more violent Perth has become in the last 4 years and as her husband is a policeman she's got a good grasp of the situation. I think it's unusual to have Australian friends who understand this and I wonder if subconsciously I've been drawn to them because they do think like that.

I find the British more likely to slate you for your decision to move home. If I meet new people here and they ask me how I like it I just say it hasn't worked out and we are moving back next year and nothing more. This invariably opens the floodgates for me to be called names by complete strangers. This is when I go into my Brit bating (as I call it) and ask them why the UK is a sh*thole:p

It amuses me when I meet people who post on the forum about how wonderful their lives are but will tell me to my face that they are unhappy, bored and miserable. Don't understand how people can't just be honest. :huh:

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I'm a failure:(. I love vegemite:o

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Ok I'm back. Nu Shooz asked me why i'm leaving the Gold Coast. Far be it for me to suggest there is anything wrong with the Gold Coast. Alas, there is something very wrong with me. I can't stay up all night every night getting p***d and not turn into work the next day. Heaven knows why but I just don't get burning my lilly whites sitting on a beach all day.
I actually like my 14B cup boobs and as I'm only a size 10 and weigh 57 kilos, I don't think they need inflating so that i can enhance myself to better my chances of becoming a bed hopping man magnet.
I like my 'real' nails. I find I can do mundane jobs like housework and typing better.
I'm not into fake jewellry and leopard accessories and I don't like handbags that are bigger than I am and match the exact shade of the gloss lipstick I'm wearing.

What else? Ah yes, I'm a terrible conversationalist. I wouldn't even know where to begin discussing the merits of eyelid tattooing, trout pout lips, botox or lunchtime nips and tucks between sessions of extra marital sex.

And finally, I like working damn it. I have this thing about being self sufficient so I can better myself instead of relying on the lottery and the pokies.

To sum up, it says it all when I place my wine glass on a bar mat that has emblazoned across the back of it the words 'ethical gambling'.

Nope, the Gold Coast is OK. It's me. i have a serious attitude problem. It's time I left these good folks and went back home.

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I am near tears laughing at cricket's description of the Gold Coast, it is indeed a paradise where the streets are paved with gold (shoes).

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LOL I was laughing at the Gold Coast description too! Most Aussie laugh when you tell them you are going to the Gold Coast for more than a week's holiday actually. It used to be the standing joke that you were going to win the lottery and move to the GC because all non GC Aussie know that it is BLING! personified. Cricket, it sounds like you are well out of it and heading back to normal life!

I think the Poms have a nasty tendency to self flagellation because the PC crowd have told them that they were naughty imperialists and they need to atone and atone and atone thus nothing they do or have will ever be worthy of any note.

My mum (in UK) was beside herself the other day because her appointment to get her pacemaker fitted had been put back 2 WHOLE WEEKS! Heaven forbid, she could be dead by then. Yeah right mum, and how much is this all going to cost you and how long have you actually been waiting for this? Two weeks huh. How much did you have to pay to go to the doctor last week ? Nothing huh? How much are they charging you to come in and insulate your roof space this week? Nothing huh? Oh yeah, really tough!

I come from a really nice place but I can imagine that if I came from the industrial midlands for example I could see that living in a holiday resort with sun, sand, sea etc could be a positive Utopia but similarly, moving to one of the "nicer" areas of England could be just the same.

I say good luck to anyone who has the balls to move back! Think of it as your mission in your returned life to spread the word that the UK rocks!!!!

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I say good luck to anyone who has the balls to move back! Think of it as your mission in your returned life to spread the word that the UK rocks!!!![/QUOTE]:thumbsup:

I too think that any of us returning to the UK should spread the word. From crickets description I think that non-believers should get sent to the Gold Coast for a few years until:
a) they realise the UK is great
b) like it so much they don't want to come back (we won't miss them anyway!)

ps cricket, how did you stand five years there? It sounds ghastly!
pps quote box not working. I don't understand why.

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here here, very well said, i agree with quite a few of the comments made on this thread, but I truly believe a lot of the reasons for leaving/returning to the UK are to do with your own background, the area/place you come from and oportunities and expectation that go along with it.

I find most people I have come accross that make comments like the UK is a 's***hole have either never left the place so don't haven't anything to compare it to or have never been there so go on heresay or reports or the there are the expats that came from not such nice areas of the UK and life has improved a great deal for them.

We are all so very different, for me moving has been a major learning curve it has been a one off experience for sure, but one, with hindsight I would have rather done with out. But 'hindsight' as we all know is a wonderful thing:unsure: if only we knew hey :confused: I for one would have appreciated what I had in UK and would never have left in the first place.

I am glad that I will get the chance to start again there....please house sell so I can go home:wub::wub:

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It's certainly true that some Australians are still very insecure about themselves in relation to Britain (and the rest of the world) and feel that they constantly have to justify themselves, often by making derogatory statements about others - it's a bit like the petulant teenager criticizing his parents!
Just be grateful you weren't born that way yourself and ignore the ignorant ones that are... It just says a lot about their immaturity as a nation. Hopefully it is something that will disappear with time.:unsure:

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I think there is a lot of insecurity and I think it comes from not being connected to a true identity. It's like they are scared of not being someone so they try extra hard to be important. I have never been to the US but I imagine it's similar.
I think it's because they are both relatively young countries still trying to lock into a solid feeling about who they are and where they've come from.
It's their own fault if they feel insecure. The War of Independance was all about cutting the apron strings with the parent country and in 1900's Australia, they did the same.
They've struggled ever since to emerge into a definitive culture. They are more defined by lifestyle and current trends rather than an individual nation of people.

Brits don't appear to have this identity crisis or lack of faith in their roots. Since the merging of the middle classes and a general overall sense of equality giving people better choices and standards of living, the Brits seem not to need to put on an act about who they are. A long history gives them a road map by which to define their origins and as we can't argue with history, it provides status and solidarity in terms of who we are.

So yes, perhaps with a few more 100 years of evolving and growth, things might change.

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The UK is great, I think it's just in our culture to moan and whinge about it. Maybe we could start a new movement and start singing the praises of the UK?!!!! Seriously, it is great here and sometimes I think it takes moving somewhere else to really appreciate how good it is. Also I often wonder about why so many rich and famous people from Australia don't stay there e.g Kylie/ Danni Minogue, Elle McPherson, Clive James, Dame Edna etc etc. Most of them move to London or NY. When I try and think of any famous people who have moved from the UK to Aus I can't hardly think of any- only Leo Sayer and I know Caroline Aherne did but then she moved back.

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Virtually every single person i've met since being back has asked me what I am doing back here, and then made negative comments about the state of things and the weather. Yesterday, it was my bank-manager. :) Maybe one day when i've given up the will to live I'll return to NZ.:rofl:

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This has long been the case(that OZ & Kiwi are the places to be) perhaps less so in London though as there is far more awareness of people from NZ and OZ hence not all have the wish to scuttle down under in what was considered by many i knew there as ok for visits but not to live. ,Being somewhat socially conservative was an often considered opinion expressed in various forms.

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True. I'm not saying this is representative of the whole of kiwi-dom, but, a few years back I attended a David Grey concert in Wellington. I liked his music and had seen him play a gig in Dublin on dvd. I thought it would be a great night. I get there and it was all seated on plastic chairs, security around the stage, and when David sang a song everybody politely clapped - whilst remaining seated! It was more like going to a piano concerto or something. Really weird.
David Grey actually made a comment "Come on you wild and crazy Kiwis!". Yeah, some people are very reserved.