Always wondered about people who pay for visas and go through all the hassle of shipping stuff over and selling the house etc. They then move to a country they have never been to for a holiday or even one day. But give up there previous life for somewhere they have never been. Not having a go. Just curious. The so called ping pong poms. Are these mostly people who have never been to Oz? I have lived in 3 countries away from the UK in the last 10 years. The first time i came to Oz was on a working holiday visa and was single but i knew a few people around Oz. So wasnt going not knowing anyone. When i left Oz after my year there, i went to NZ, where again a knew many Kiwis. I travelled around for 2 months on my own seeing my friends who were scattered around the country. After leaving NZ i decided to return and do my working holiday there also.So returned just over a year later. To be honest after 6 months living in Auckland i was bored. But i saw out my year. Then after leaving NZ me and a mate went to Thailand for a month. In that month i fell in love with the country. I decided after my month that i would go back and live there. So after 4 months back in the Uk i moved to Thailand where i lived for just about 5 years. Before moving back to Oz in Otober last year. So what i am trying to say is. Maybe its a good idea for those who are thinking about immagrating to Oz or where ever. They should probably go for a visit first. Just my opinion.

We had never been to Australia before we moved here. The statstics say that people who never visited before actually settle better!

Maybe that's because we don't have any romantic idea's about the place before we come? I think if you go somewhere on holiday, it puts an 'ideal' in your head, living here is very different to a holiday though.

I would not go back to the UK for all the money in the world.

Yip thats us,
Been in oz for 5 weeks now never been before, never even seen any photos just applied for the visa sold up and gone for it, no regrets I think it is a question of attitude as much as anything else, we always said as long as our family unit was together we dont care about anything else. We moved from Scotland to England 12 odd years ago and hated it from the word go, but since we arrived in brisbane we have felt at home, yes it could have gone all wrong but I feel the people who you refer to as the ping pong poms are the ones who leave lots of friends and close family back in the uk, to me that is a recipy for disaster, its like a big adventure and gives them lots to talk about to their mates and family but when the move comes they miss too much of their old life to give the new one a good chance. We had few friends and our family heard from us once a week and only saw us every couple of years so nothing has changed and that is perfect for us.

i would have to disagree.i have lived in the uk, the us, france. travelled the world and spent 3 months in nz before we came to oz. wed never been here before and all we had was a couple of battered backpacks to our name. what we did have was a positive, realistic attitude and an open mind as what lay ahead for us. i think sometimes people have really high expectations, which when oz doesnt quite live up to it there dream is shattered. some people expect it to be like britain which it is not. i really do think it depends on the type of person you are. just remember oz has many of the same problems that the uk has and it is not this promised land where everything is shiney and perfect.

We had never been to Australia before and had no preconceived notions about it. I think the ones who don't settle are the ones who have an image of a "better life" whether it's for themselves or their children. There is nothing better about life here. It's just different. We too would not consider going back to live in Canada. Maybe in 10 years' time we'll move somewhere else but for now I consider Australia home.

We only managed to get to Australia 2 months before we came for good for a month to validate visa in case house didn't go through. We had done our homework and just reccied the state we intended to move to anyway. We have not regretted not coming before and are happy with the choice of QLD, it all depends what you want. Think QLD is slower than some other areas and still bit of an underdog compared to Melbourne and Sydney and even Perth. Coming from North East of England have no problem with that as in England nothing exists outside of London anyway.

We decided to come without having been as we felt we had a pretty good idea what it would be like from family who'd been and a few Aussie friends. I have to say we've no regrets, been here six months some good some bad but overall we're loving it

Martyn

When I came here no one had the luxury of having been here before. Neither did we have the option of leaving after a few months; we had to stay for 2 years. With hindsight, I think this was a much better method of immigration than it is today. We suffered homesickness just as much as those of you who come today but knew we just had to get on with it. No BE to complain to, no email etc and telephone calls very expensive. Yes, some people went home but those that I knew all came back and are still here. I didn't manage to get home for 16 years and by that time I knew that, as much as I loved the country of my birth, I couldn't live there. I feel that today there are too many ways for people to dwell on the things they miss, which makes it much harder for them to settle.

Like she said....

Ummm, "ping pong poms" are those that come to oz, dont like it so go back then decide actually they'll give oz another go.

I'd never been before, just made the move. I think it worked out better personally as I had no pre-conceived ideas or expectations of what it would be like therefore have never been disapointed.

Like you say, it's is just YOUR opinion which you are of course free to have, I just never understand why people always voice their opinions as if they're talking facts.....

I would agree that in an ideal world you should visit first. But the flip side is that 2 weeks on the Gold Coast doesn't really give you an indication of what life would be like here We were fully prepared to move here without ever having been before. But due to failing my ACS assessment the first time around and basically being told I wouldn't meet requirements for another 6 months, we decided to visit then. As it turned out, the visit just confirmed most of our thoughts anyway

These days with t'internet, you can look up everything to the cost of lettuce to how much sand you'll get in your Speedo's so it is possible to fully understand the country without ever being here. We researched so much on the net that I reckon we know more about the country than most Aussies!

Ditto Think what you said can be very true.

We'd never been - came here with no expectations...just a broad mind, and have settled so well - got good jobs, have found a great suburb to live in, have made some good friends, find that Melbourne suits us very well - (or do we suit Melbourne?) and now, over two years down the track, feel privileged and so happy to be able to call this place home

Hi all,

We are planning to emmingrate 'blind' and am more excited for doing it. I was in the mindset that I had to see where i was going to live before we moved there but my MIL made a valid point that if we did go for a holiday, it would be a holiday and we would love it because you're away, the weather is better than here and you'll generally be in that holiday spirit. My BIL is leaving for Perth at the end of April and he's visited twice before, I guess that makes the move easier on us, but who says you have to stay in one place and visit. Why can't you just up sticks and leave?? We just figured, if we really didn't like it after giving it a good go, we could move somewhere else. The unkown really does give you a buzz.

I'm going in six weeks and have never been before - I don't care! What's the absolute worst that could happen?! (Aside from Alpaca farming, !)
I know it won't be perfect, I aim to celebrate the new rather than mourn the old - if I never went anywhere new what kind of life would that be? Boring!
I can't wait to get on my flight.

Like your attitude You certainly can't live by everybody elses experiences - go do and see it for yourself.