Of course we have friends here. Do they compare to those we've have for 10, 20 years? No, of course not. Does Australia have a culture? Yes. Does it compare to the cultural diversity of Europe? No, of course not. There is a 'city' and a 'county' culture, and any further cultural diversity is hard to spot. Architecture - Sydney Opera House, and...um... maybe a few other examples in an area THE SIZE OF EUROPE. Mobility - first within Australia - how easy is it to drive from one city of interest (Sydney and Melbourne, and...um...) to another? Not very.

More to the point perhaps, how many times have you travelled to Europe? Based on a previous post of yours I think I know the answer - NONE! Have you been to the UK? No, you haven't. Therefore your mindset is that of an Australian who has not travelled to Europe and cannot compare the two from experience. You seem to have a constant need to believe that Australia is the best country on earth, yet I'm not sure you've been to many countries on earth. The fact is (try to accept this) many people find Australia somewhat boring, and find Europe (comparable size) more interesteing. It's nothing personal.

Remember my insights are of a British ex-pat (note the name of the website) - yours are those of a non-British/non-ex-pat.

Spot on at last

My wife and I were going through our photo albums last night. We have lots of photos of our years in Australia and many happy memories. However, at the end of it I yawned and said to my wife, "god I could never live there again, I was SO bored there...", she chuckled and said she was thinking exactly the same thing.

PS. Ignore the Aussie, met many of his kind before, just feel all smug and have a good laugh at his expense. I do.

Nice retort

I think you're missing the point. It's about missing who and what you are used to.
If you were to move to the U.K you may find that all the career prospects, wages, historical castles, beautiful countryside, English pubs and holidays to Europe are fantastic but missing your family and friends and all that is familiar to you would not make it worthwhile staying.

Geez, so all the stories I've heard about Oz are true, then. I thought they were just myths.

I can't comment on Australia having never been, but I recognise your remarks. Canada is so vast that most of it might as well be on the moon. The Rockies for instance I'm sure are very beautiful, but are they relevant to my experience of living in Canada? No! It's almost as quick to fly to Britain as it is to fly to Vancouver.
Many people don't seem to realise this. If you live in Toronto, you're pretty much stuck with it, it's not like Britain where you can hop on a train and in 30 minutes be in a different city or high in the mountains.

You can't replace friends or family - be fair. (Unless you make friends and ''family' everywhere you go in life and not everyone can do that rapidly).

Wombat you're a stirrer. But - one of the things that is making me feel settled here is the realisation that there is a lot more culture, architecture, history in Melbourne than you'd realise. In fact I'm pleasantly surprised, and even my wife who went to one of the best dance schools in London is starting to find her feet and she has been home sick for London a few times this last few years. There are no laws about making friends or enjoying culture, it's like you can have your cake and eat it.

I can quite see why people get fed up with Australia though. Location, location.

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