What was the final straw for you?
Nov 13th 2006 | 7:09 am
#346
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,627
From: Where the sun always shines
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by moneypen20
I've just sat and read all this - and yes I am in Aus and I am loving it, but I also have a stinking head cold and don't have the energy to do anything other than sit at the computer 
One thing jumps out at me, most of it I scanned past because the arguments were slightly boring. Anyway, I did stacks of research before we came out - I don't work, so have had plenty of time and at no time have I read that Aus is the greatest place on earth and that there are no problems, I haven't read that everything was cheaper and better.
I read good and bad. We discussed for ages about selling the house or renting it out, but decided that a) we needed the equity to do the move, and b) the hassle of renting it out and having a reliable management company and the aggro of selling it from 12,000 miles away solved the dilemma for us. Had we had stacks of money, we would have kept it as a pension but didn't have that privilege so it had to be sold.
We arrived and we bought, we love it here and are very happy. In five years time, who knows, and to be honest who cares - I prefer to live for today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow doesn't exist.
It's not utopia and no one ever told me it was. I spent hours and hours on here, and still do because I am not working, and have always read the good and the bad.
If people are told it's godzone and utopia, don't read the bad stuff or blank it out, then they possibly deserve to have problems. I would never accept the total opinion of someone who doesn't know me. I object to being told "don't go to Aus, it's all crap, I have to make my own mind up, and make my own mistakes. Human nature being what it is, no one learns from other peoples mistakes so please don't try and make people do differently from what you did. You wouldn't have accepted such advice and most sensible people won't either but that doesn't mean they are wearing rose tinteds. They want to give something new a go and it's their decision.
One thing jumps out at me, most of it I scanned past because the arguments were slightly boring. Anyway, I did stacks of research before we came out - I don't work, so have had plenty of time and at no time have I read that Aus is the greatest place on earth and that there are no problems, I haven't read that everything was cheaper and better.
I read good and bad. We discussed for ages about selling the house or renting it out, but decided that a) we needed the equity to do the move, and b) the hassle of renting it out and having a reliable management company and the aggro of selling it from 12,000 miles away solved the dilemma for us. Had we had stacks of money, we would have kept it as a pension but didn't have that privilege so it had to be sold.
We arrived and we bought, we love it here and are very happy. In five years time, who knows, and to be honest who cares - I prefer to live for today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow doesn't exist.
It's not utopia and no one ever told me it was. I spent hours and hours on here, and still do because I am not working, and have always read the good and the bad.
If people are told it's godzone and utopia, don't read the bad stuff or blank it out, then they possibly deserve to have problems. I would never accept the total opinion of someone who doesn't know me. I object to being told "don't go to Aus, it's all crap, I have to make my own mind up, and make my own mistakes. Human nature being what it is, no one learns from other peoples mistakes so please don't try and make people do differently from what you did. You wouldn't have accepted such advice and most sensible people won't either but that doesn't mean they are wearing rose tinteds. They want to give something new a go and it's their decision.
Nov 13th 2006 | 7:11 am
#347
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,886
From: Nappyland
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by LouiseD
Hi Hiddenpaw. I think that gullible is the word I'd use. For us, we were looking to escape the UK because we'd sort of got sucked into the Daily Mail syndrome - didn't read it at all but so many people bombard you with how crap the UK has become that you tend to start thinking the same way - my parents still bombard me with it all - crap NHS, crime everywhere, crap weather, crap everything.
We had family who had visited Australia (also moving here but different State), and reported back on how wonderful it was, better standard of living, nicer people, beautiful scenery, idyllic lifestyle etc. etc. So we investigated and liked what we heard, applied for visa, came to visit. Alarm bells rang. We noticed on our visit that things weren't cheper at all, house prices had gone up while we had waited for grant of visa. Looking back we should have pulled out then, but house was almost sold, daughter enrolled at university here, so we thought we'd give it a go. After all, we didn't want to spend our lives thinking what if.
For some, it is a paradise and I can see why, but for us, I think we didn't truly appreciate what we had in the UK until we gave it up.
We had family who had visited Australia (also moving here but different State), and reported back on how wonderful it was, better standard of living, nicer people, beautiful scenery, idyllic lifestyle etc. etc. So we investigated and liked what we heard, applied for visa, came to visit. Alarm bells rang. We noticed on our visit that things weren't cheper at all, house prices had gone up while we had waited for grant of visa. Looking back we should have pulled out then, but house was almost sold, daughter enrolled at university here, so we thought we'd give it a go. After all, we didn't want to spend our lives thinking what if.
For some, it is a paradise and I can see why, but for us, I think we didn't truly appreciate what we had in the UK until we gave it up.
I took Moneypen's post as suggesting censorship (for want of a better word) and I'm wondering why she feels that people should refrain from posting what they want to post, when surely those reading can make their own minds up?
(Not sure if that makes sense 2nd time round either )
Nov 13th 2006 | 9:01 am
#348
Life is more than a dream
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,389
From: Kings Moss, UK - it's a bit like Emmerdale
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by HiddenPaw
Hi Louise, I mustn't have worded my post very well because I wasn't questionning why people make the decisions they make. What I was trying to say was that posters are smart enough to make their own decisions, without others telling us what should and should not be posted.
I took Moneypen's post as suggesting censorship (for want of a better word) and I'm wondering why she feels that people should refrain from posting what they want to post, when surely those reading can make their own minds up? (Not sure if that makes sense 2nd time round either )
I took Moneypen's post as suggesting censorship (for want of a better word) and I'm wondering why she feels that people should refrain from posting what they want to post, when surely those reading can make their own minds up?
(Not sure if that makes sense 2nd time round either )
Nov 13th 2006 | 10:05 am
#349
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,886
From: Nappyland
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by LouiseD
I'm with you now, obviously far too early in the morning for me
My father also has acute Daily Mail syndrome. He is forever telling me that we should have stayed in Australia (whilst simultaneously grumbling like Victor Meldrew). (He does go for 8 weeks every year, but his visits are only holidays in rural Vic, some interstate travel, a bit of working for BIL on the block, and a cold beer always available......hardly life as we know it!!) I don't think any amount of preparation can prepare you for how it will affect you as an individual. Even with the best-managed expectations, there's no guarantee you'll like the place.
I think we expected it to be far more laid back than it is. Perhaps because our own experience of Australia had predominantly been the rural life, lots of space, work hard, play hard, very friendly, etc and moving to a city of 3.5m people was a bit of a shock. The business environments were so different to those in the UK - the work ethics, the long hours, the distrust, backstabbing, etc was totally unenjoyable. Once I'd resigned from my job in Mel I felt liberated!
Nov 13th 2006 | 10:37 am
#350
Banned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 441
From: knuckle dragging, cultureless, boring, dingo oblivion
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by HiddenPaw
Surely we can credit people with enough intelligence on this site to make informed decisions? This means sifting through the good, the bad and the extreme, taking on board that which matters to them, and discarding what's irrelevant. Why is that so difficult to do?
p.s. John Howard said that Australia is the greatest country on earth in a speech earlier this year. So did Peter Costelloe.
p.s. John Howard said that Australia is the greatest country on earth in a speech earlier this year. So did Peter Costelloe.
hehe I remember (and was here) when the then Prime Minister Paul Keating called Australia the 'arsehole of the world' (or simililar)
Nov 13th 2006 | 12:35 pm
#351
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,399
From: Hills District
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by FPM
hehe I remember (and was here) when the then Prime Minister Paul Keating called Australia the 'arsehole of the world' (or simililar)
Nov 13th 2006 | 1:57 pm
#352
Banned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 441
From: knuckle dragging, cultureless, boring, dingo oblivion
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Gibbo
He actually said " Banana Republic" which it would have been if his government had remained in power.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=360812&page=7
Oh look it's here as well
Yes, Mark Latham has some classics. As does Paul "Scumbag" Keating, who described Australia as the "arse end of the world
lifted from here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...006_October_27
I know I'm old, but my memory isn't that bad,,,yet
Nov 13th 2006 | 2:46 pm
#353
Banned
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,177
From: Godzone, utopia, Paradise Island under the sun.
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Gibbo
He actually said " Banana Republic" which it would have been if his government had remained in power.
Nov 13th 2006 | 2:55 pm
#354
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,399
From: Hills District
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by FPM
No, he actually said this:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=360812&page=7
Oh look it's here as well
"
lifted from here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...006_October_27
I know I'm old, but my memory isn't that bad,,,yet
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=360812&page=7
Oh look it's here as well
"
lifted from here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...006_October_27
I know I'm old, but my memory isn't that bad,,,yet
Nov 13th 2006 | 3:14 pm
#355
Banned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 441
From: knuckle dragging, cultureless, boring, dingo oblivion
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Gibbo
Wouldn't take Wikipeda as a definitive reference but as you said you heard him say it I'll accept that. I remember him saying " Banana Republic" when his lot had virtually made Australia bankrupt.
I hear the old 'interest rates under Labour were the highest on record' trotted out a lot etc etc (not having a shot you) . I think they were 18%. But they fail to mention that Britain had similar rates then and it sure as heck wasn't Tony B-Liar's mob in power. If memory serves, 'twas the grocer's daughter
Actually one thing I found very similar when I came here ('89) was the stark similarity in the political manouvering. I was very surprised at the similarities seeing as they were meant to be at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Both selling/stripping assets, both dismantling unions, both lying through their teeth. I don't think one lot is any better/worse than another. Both countries are stuck in a political duopoly with varying shades of beige and similar amounts of BS .
Nov 13th 2006 | 3:29 pm
#356
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,399
From: Hills District
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by FPM
Yeah he definitely said it, I can't actually remember in what context. He said a few good ones.
I hear the old 'interest rates under Labour were the highest on record' trotted out a lot etc etc (not having a shot you) . I think they were 18%. But they fail to mention that Britain had similar rates then and it sure as heck wasn't Tony B-Liar's mob in power. If memory serves, 'twas the grocer's daughter
Actually one thing I found very similar when I came here ('89) was the stark similarity in the political manouvering. I was very surprised at the similarities seeing as they were meant to be at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Both selling/stripping assets, both dismantling unions, both lying through their teeth. I don't think one lot is any better/worse than another. Both countries are stuck in a political duopoly with varying shades of beige and similar amounts of BS .
I hear the old 'interest rates under Labour were the highest on record' trotted out a lot etc etc (not having a shot you) . I think they were 18%. But they fail to mention that Britain had similar rates then and it sure as heck wasn't Tony B-Liar's mob in power. If memory serves, 'twas the grocer's daughter
Actually one thing I found very similar when I came here ('89) was the stark similarity in the political manouvering. I was very surprised at the similarities seeing as they were meant to be at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Both selling/stripping assets, both dismantling unions, both lying through their teeth. I don't think one lot is any better/worse than another. Both countries are stuck in a political duopoly with varying shades of beige and similar amounts of BS .
Nov 13th 2006 | 3:39 pm
#357
Timelord
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,834
From: Lost in space...
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy
OZ is'nt a Banana republic thesedays, a GDP or economy bigger the France and Germany combined, record low unemployemnt, resource boom due to high demand for OZ's massive natural resources and one of the fastest growing economies in the world which is why theres a skills shortage and oz needs to import workers from overseas countries.
The French GDP is almost 3 times Australia's whilst Germany's is almost 4 times... And a growth rate of 3.5% is hardly one of the fastest in the world...
Nov 13th 2006 | 3:54 pm
#358
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 14,188
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy
OZ is'nt a Banana republic thesedays, a GDP or economy bigger the France and Germany combined, record low unemployemnt, resource boom due to high demand for OZ's massive natural resources and one of the fastest growing economies in the world which is why theres a skills shortage and oz needs to import workers from overseas countries.
$ 1,737,000,000,000 France GDP
$ 2,362,000,000,000 Germany GDP
$ 611,700,000,000 Australia GDP
Figures are a few years old but not much has changed. So not quite bigger than France and Germany combined. !!
Nov 13th 2006 | 4:44 pm
#359
Banned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 441
From: knuckle dragging, cultureless, boring, dingo oblivion
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy
OZ is'nt a Banana republic thesedays, a GDP or economy bigger the France and Germany combined, record low unemployemnt, resource boom due to high demand for OZ's massive natural resources and one of the fastest growing economies in the world which is why theres a skills shortage and oz needs to import workers from overseas countries.
Nov 13th 2006 | 4:50 pm
#360
Banned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 441
From: knuckle dragging, cultureless, boring, dingo oblivion
Re: What was the final straw for you?
Originally Posted by Gibbo
I came in '66 and believe me the worst years were the Whitlam, Hawke/ Keating years. They let the country get into so much debt it was almost unbelievable. Yes, interest rates were that high. We had recessions that we had to have etc. My opinion only ofcourse but give me Howard any day.
