Beryl the Peril

Hear hear - and hear hear again! Couldn't agree more. And that's the bottom line - nothing can really compensate for the sense of belonging and I don't think it's possible to acheive it here.

ShozInOz

There was no single point, just a creeping, engulfing sense of boredom with Australia, and some disillusionment after 16 years of dreaming about Aus rather than experiencing the best of the UK. To me the benefits of Australia were nowhere near enough to justify a permenant separation from the UK... The decision was still immense though, and we changed our mind about one hundred million times. It was so much harder than the decision to go in the first place because of fear. We wondered what we might be losing. In the end, we lost nothing, and gained everything. When people ask me know what I miss most, "flat white" honestly comes to mind first, then a few other things, like the Spring and Autumn weather, the bluer skies. But apart from a small number of friends, we left nothing that really meant anything. For everything that we left and liked, and can list three other things that we gained and love on return. For everything that I dislike about the UK, and can list something I disliked about Australia. Now we are back, though in a different part of the UK, we feel alive again. It is amazing to feel at home again, and to know where home is. Home is really a state of mind, but it is one that I have wherever I am in the UK, and can feel even in Europe, and one that I never had in Australia. A symptom of that is that I rarely think about Australia much now, but when I was there I thought about the UK every day.

by the sea side

I totally agree with you every word.For me I wish the pain in the pit of my stomach would go away somedays I can hardley be bothered.Bestwishes on your return hope everything works out well for you and your happy.

Budowsky

For the record, I did go over to OZ and had a look at Sydney and Brisbane.

I prefered Sydney on the whole.

Brisbane sort of left me with really mixed feelings. After five days I felt I had been everywhere, and done everything.

Anyhow, I'm flying back to London today.

I don't think OZ or NZ has enough to offer. I would rather live back in South Africa. Yes, there are problems but what an interesting place to live.

To me though, I would rather have crime and never be bored, than have little crime and be bored out of my mind.

by the sea side

Jealous! All the best.

mazi

Thank you!!!!!!!!!! I was so bored in NZ that I even started missing the almost nightly car crashes outside my flat in London.

Beryl the Peril

I have to agree. I have never been so bored in my entire life than I am 'existing' in Perth. If, when I finally get to leave, anyone asks what I remember most about my time in Perth, BOREDOM will definitely be the answer. It is cripplingly boring, predictable, and utterly stagnant. Life is too easy, too manicured, too lacking in any atmosphere and too boring for words. Give me some 'grit' - even some gossip would do!! And hey, what's this 'Neighbours' image of Oz. Do me a favour! I haven't seen mine for literally 8 months. I'm beginning to wonder if they're dead!

by the sea side

Yes no character to the place at all and alot of the people for that matter.

toandfro

if we lived neighbours we would all drift in and out of work be paid enough for working an hour a day to live in a nice house wear designer clothes and drive modern cars.... I wish, but thats what they sell overseas

mazi

Who had a nice house in Neighbours?

Nomore

i have one word to say about OZ..

elmtree

Reading this thread has me a little worried.

We really liked Perth on our 3-week recce earlier this year and are hoping to be out there within 6 months.

I know a holiday/recce is nothing like real life but we really liked - among other things - the space and cleanliness of the place. And, of course, its' proximity to so many great beaches.

However, I think I know what you mean. Maybe. We live in Manchester, which is very busy and bustling and always seems to have loads going on all the time. There are also so many eateries and shops open all hours. Perth didn't seem to be like that at all; Perth seemed to more or less close at about 9pm. Mind you, we aren't out at night that often here so I doubt if we'd want to be there either.

I've been worried for a while about us having enough to do. The novelty of the beach will probably wear off after a while, and whilst we have plans to do weekend / week visits to lots of the great places in WA, I do sometimes wonder if it will be enough in the long run. I hope so.

Can any of you let us have a bit more detail as to why you're so bored with Aus ?

Cheetah7

Hi there

We are planning to go to perth and havent been before.

Living in West London, we thought that moving somewhere quiet, would be difficult for us to adjust so are looking at West Leederville/Subiaco to 'break us in gently' so to speak. It isnt that far really from the beaches - driving distance and we wouldnt mind driving an hour or two anyway.

I would rather do that and save the beaches as a treat, because as you say the novelty will wear off.

But then again the novelty wears off alot of things in life and lets just say that I no longer get excited when I see London Bendy Buses

northernbird

Perth is very quiet and is either a love it or hate kind of place.

elmtree

Quite.

The appeal of a bustling 24-hour city diminishes with age ( well, it has in my case anyway ) and we have been yearning to live in a place that is less "full-on" for some time now. Perth seemed to fit the bill for us.

After all, there are so many great places to go at weekends; the obvious ones such as the truly wonderful Rottnest Island, Mandurah, Swan valley, Margaret River, etc, etc, as well as visiting the country towns. That should keep us occupied for some time, methinks.

And that's without exploring Perth itself.

What the hell. I reckon we'll love it, just like we did on our holiday/recce.