Are you all mad.................
 

I'm sorry but are you mad, list me things that are better in the UK than here, I mean seriously what are you thinking of............................ :scared:

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Been in New Zealand for two years. Loved the experience, the people, the weather (in Hawkes Bay), the scenery, and most importantly the REST. However now I want to get on and actually achieve something with my life, I just seem to exist here in a cocooned state of stress free comfort.

Also I am getting very bored with the limited work opportunities and blatant little town nepotism - okay may be different in Christchurch/Wellington/Auckland but wouldn't live there. Also the pay and conditions are an embarrassment- earnt more 20 years ago but didn't enjoy 1950s conditions of service. Yeh if promotion was there, it would be very little more money.

Miss the opportunities to travel. Do you meet many Kiwis who actually go on holiday outside mad January down to the mice ridden bach? No can't afford it other than rich doctors/lawyers/businessman etc. Most Kiwis I meet haven't been outside the North Island other than the once in a lifetime OE. I've friends who have been across from the UK twice in couple of years and seen more of NZ than I can afford to see in my measly three weeks leave (and I know many who get a week).

Bloody houses are freezing and made of a similar structure to my 1970s school Nissan Hut. Houses colder than those in Siberia I'm told. Kiwis are too proud/daft to admit it other than those who have lived abroad.

Admittedly being so far from friends and family is a big issue, particularly where there is ill health - there's the three weeks leave but flights paid for by money I kept in the UK for visiting frail parents.

New Zealand is a great place, and the UK has many problems but (for me) life is richer in the UK. I'm certainly not complaining about my two years here, even coming home with more cash than I took out (from housing surge and nice exchange rate - but forget that if you're coming now as that is a thing of the past). Will see life from a different angle and not rush back to the mad South-East.

So no I'm not mad IMHO.
Roger
P.S. The wreck diving sucks and the dog can't go to the pub.

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

stark raving!!!!!!

Green countryside
wages
working conditions
mates
family
education
opportunities more varied
drivers
weather
european gettaways
clothes
variety and quality in shops
houses and architecture
culture
history

Things we miss about Aus? Kangaroos in the drive and wider spaces, and some good mates we made. Can think of nothing else!

:beer:

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Ditto all of that for Australia.

You never know until you try it. I was just "dying" to get here..... a) just for a change, and b) to see whether it REALLY was better than the UK. Now I've got my answer.

The only "advantage" I can see, is the climate, but then you have got to consider skin cancer, and nuking yourself and your kids up in suncream for 4/5 months of the year, and god only knows what's in that!!!

Miss friends and family - the big big problem, travel to Europe, decent shops....oh I could list loads.......at the end of the day, it's just another country to live in, with the same old load of problems as the UK. No we're NOT mad.....

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Count me among the certifiably insane:

My top ten (comparing to the US, but many of these probably apply to Oz and New Zealand):

History (where else can you find prehistoric stones in a field while on a walk?)
The press (who not only can use the English language, but use it to great effect)
The beautiful countryside
Cheap travel to Europe
The sense of modesty (i.e.,. lack of superego) of the average Brit
The great supermarkets (US "foodstores" just can't compete)
Curries!!
British TV dramas and documentaries
The ease of discussing topics like religion and politics without having to worry about "offending" someone
The pub (and as so rightly pointed out, the fact you can take your dog there!) :D

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Just call me a looney!! :D

Are you all mad.................
 

In addition to the other lists, my husband (UKC) and I (USC) would add:


25 days holiday/year

Sunday roast (lamb)

Television (in general)

No hurricanes

Magazines with 'free' gifts

Being able to see ahead when driving as there are not SUVs or 4x4s everywhere

Better driving skills (rain does not mean accidents)

Not all towns are copies of the one you just left

Newspapers that actually have real news and are interesting

TV programs that let you know they are cutting to an advert by displaying a 'splash screen'

Decent road signs that give mileages to destinations and not junctions

Traffic lights in the correct location

Decent street signs

Proper road paint markings

Decent biscuits (cookies)

Decent fish and chips

Decent cheese

Decent bacon

Decent bread

...and decent tea! (Not to mention tea rooms!)



:D

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Damn I forgot the curries too. Really must be loosing it.
Roger

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Obviously, it depends where you are. I agree with the guy who was in kiwiland. I used to live in the Middle East. Spectacular lifestyle, great friends, social life, sun sea and sand. I miss it...sort of..well yes, I miss the money we had to spend perhaps. But all the time I was there, I felt my life was on hold. And no disrespect to my friends, but conversations were pretty empty too, because we saw eachother every day.

Being back in the UK has loads and loads of negatives on paper, but bizarrely enough, it feels more 'real' (whatever that means!) and interesting. Here at home you are always striving for something, to improve, to move up and on; as a expat (in my experience) you already have it all, and actually, that's boring.

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

this and the comment Roger made about being cocooned is exactly how I felt in the US. It really is a blessing that the GC was denied because it seemed so hard to make a decision to leave behind what on paper was an excellent life in Maryland to return to the UK and start again. Now we're here on VW while we sell the house and I know we'll be back in the UK in September life does seem real again.
Maybe many Brits thrive on adversity and we think life being easy and comfortable is somehow bad for the character - of course it could just be some warped aspect of my character!
:beer:

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Remind me to move back soon.......

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

:D My husband's a London man. He takes his driving VERY seriously. :D

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

Green countryside - Thats because its always raining.
wages - Yes but much higher cost of living.
working conditions - Cant answer that.
mates - My best mates were from when I lived abroad.its what you make of it when your abroad that determines how you interact with people, who wants to be friends with a winger.
family - 100% agree, unless you have a family like mine :eek:
education - Not sure I agree.
opportunities more varied - Opportunities are everywhere, not just in the UK.
drivers - You should drive around St Anne's, maybe you would think different.
weather - If your a slug
European getaways - Fair comment.
clothes - Sorry but rubbish, you get what you pay for.
variety and quality in shops - same as above.
houses and architecture - Yes, you gotta love them UK housing estates, every house the same!
culture - Chavs, lager louts etc
history - Cant this be enjoyed from anywhere?

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

I know I'm risking getting a reputation for being a pedant, but why do so many people misspell 'lose'?

To lose something is to mislay it. Loose, is a completely different word, it means that something is not tight.

Loosing is not a word at all as far as I know. Yet I keep coming across people writing loose, when obviously they mean lose.

What's going on? are we totally losing (note spelling) our grasp of the English language.

Roger, if this was a typo, I apologise, but this does not excuse all the other people who regularly do it.

Re: Are you all mad.................
 

You'll see it all the time. Far too many people get there, their and they're confused, your and you're confused and numerous others. At the end of the day, that's their problem. If they can't take the time to work out the differences of each word, then too ( note the 2 o's) bad on them.

Getting back on topic...
One big reason the UK is better is because I grew up there. Doesn't matter how good life is on paper here, for me personally, the place where my roots are makes it superior.