jensteve

Hi all

Well 15 years have passed since leaving the UK and heading to Perth.

I've been back to Blighty a couple of times and to be honest don't like what I see. I'd be happy not to visit again. I've watched friends come and go and after my time here can safely say-

Do not think changing countries will solve your problems. Example - If your marriage has issues in the UK it probably will here. I've seen friends think moving will fix their problems, but they bring those problems with them. Its like a never ending spiral of self destruction.

Come for the right reasons. Have a plan what you want out of moving, new jobs, change of proffesion better enviroment for your kids.

Stay and at least get your citizenship, if not for yourselves but your children. There is no greater gift than dual citizenship if they're unemployed in the UK when older, in a rut there is an option for them, no visa hassles straight in. Australia literally is their get out of jail free card.

Come with a positive attitude, if your positive you can do so much, it makes the entire transition easier. Emerse yourself in all things Aussie, make an effort, gain new friends and really you won't look back.

Many expats say Australia is the land of opportunity, well it truly is if your up for the challenge.

I'm still in Perth and I can definitely say this is where I'm supposed to be, I live out bush on acreage, still vet nurse, which I trained for when I first arrived, see you really can change things around for the better, hubby came over as a roofer and did a total of 10 weeks in 15 years in that proffesion, he's done a few things but never found it hard to find a job. Our son moved to Adelaide of all places, but he also never considered going back.
We came out with myself not stepping foot in Aus before, as did our 11 year old son. We from day one made an effort to fit in, this was home and the UK just where we originated from.

Australia really is a great place to live, but its what you make it.

Good luck to those who make the leap of faith down under, embrace your chance of a new start and you'll go far.

For those going back, think of the resoning behind it, don't blame lack of shops (heard that one) education system (probably just as bad if not worse in UK), not settled, try another subburb/ house don't just write off an entire country first. No friends, guess what you need to make an effort, making friends is harder the older you get whether its here or elsewhere. Too expensive, I get it, Australia is an expensive country to live in but only if you live outside your means, sorry I follow bare foot invester. Life sometimes is hard but that is when we see the best of ourselves when we turn it around and make it work.

rabble_rouser

Interesting. A few of those points resonate with me, but also a few have in no way been the case. I'm going to pass some comments.

>I've been back to Blighty a couple of times and to be honest don't like what I see. I'd be happy not to visit again.
Yes, I feel similar. Although if those problems could be fixed I would go back without hesitation.

>Do not think changing countries will solve your problems.
True, and it may even make problems worse!

>Come for the right reasons. Have a plan what you want out of moving, new jobs, change of proffesion better enviroment for your kids.
Great advice...except, easier said than done. I came to Australia to reinvent myself, and I tried. But I wound up in the same miserable profession, working longer hours with fewer holidays as is the Australian way.
I had about a dozen plans about what I wanted to do and they all failed, but hey at least I tried.

>Come with a positive attitude, if your positive you can do so much, it makes the entire transition easier. Emerse yourself in all things Aussie, make an effort, gain new friends and really you won't look back.
This has been completely the opposite for me. I started off very positive and immersed myself, but the more I did the more I grew to hate everything. I also grew to dislike the people and their manner, and made few friends (not even really friends as such).

>Many expats say Australia is the land of opportunity, well it truly is if your up for the challenge.
Completely and utterly the opposite is true. Its far harder to do business here than the UK.

>Australia really is a great place to live, but its what you make it.
This makes me recall a unique experience, my first "real" chat with an Australian all those years ago. We were both waiting around a bus stop under an enormous fig tree, with bats squealing overhead waiting for the bus to arrive, just me and this obese badly dressed bloke. Typical QLD'er really. Out of the blue he turns to me and says "Where you from? I reckon Australia's shit mate". I didn't understand why he raised the topic back then, but now I comprehend the sentiment. Anyway that opening line and the following conversation about one street towns, unemployment, boredom, meth heads, it stuck with me.

I could go on and on here, but I won't.

>Australia is an expensive country to live in
To be sure, one of the most expensive on Earth. However if you are established with friends and family to support each other, you can live on a lot less.

spouse of scouse

Thanks for the update. I'm really glad you're enjoying life in Chittering, I think it's a lovely place even though I'm a townie I hope your next 15 years is just as good

BadgeIsBack

I used to post alot on this site. I can summarise my thoughts - thus: my theory is that it is a bit like the UK - the better your chances the better things will be.

You can avoid a lot of issues by doing the things you would do in the UK to avoid the same.

The biggest issue with migrants is that they come from ordinary circumstances in the UK and then get an ordinary bargain in an AU suburb.
The larger house and warmer weather is not a game changer for these people and actually ends up being a limitatation. The heady days of 3:1 FX rate made it easier for
smart or more lucky, migrants to choose the best suburbs.

I have noted before that AU can be very homogenous - in the burbs - part of the burbs - avoid this trapping and doors open. The more you do the better it gets.
There is also a City/Middle City/Outer City, Region, Country and Outback culture that is very identifiable. I quite like bits of it all. I have said before that UK life is more diverse because you can physically move away in an hour - but - a denizen of a rundown N town will always be a denizen of a rundown N town (etc).

I first arrived 18 years ago - sometimes I see traits in young Aussies I don't like - only to see the same traits in the people I see on UK TV programmes. I am forced to concede that I am just becoming middle-aged. ;-)

Retirednow

There are some must do’s. Move around to find what suits, as Australia is a franchise more than it is a country. E dry state/territory is different in ways that one can’t imagine. And most importantly, don’t try to ‘live like a Pom’. Self explanatory really.

rabble_rouser

This is very true, in my experience.

the troubadour

I'm not even sure just what living like a Pom, really entails. You won't probably be able to hide your background, nor should you. I've crossed plenty of Aussies in UK, living as Aussies, not being bothered by anyone doing so either. If, that means comparing all the time, then yes an exercise in futility, but one never the less hard to shake in the early days.

I would say Australia is harder, sometimes by far, socially than a lot of UK. They simply don't open up as much, nor as diverse in attitudes as UK. It is expensive. Houses are often not that great in construction, for the price wanted. There are as many social problems as UK, drugs being a very big one. Weather is obviously better. Beaches great, but unless a beach nut, may wear a bit thin overtime.

It requires a lot of weighing up the pro and con's. Increasing breaking up ever more even. More a matter of personal preference at the end of the day, than any great advantage in one over the other. The easy times, are long a thing of the past in Australia though.

Retirednow

I no longer talk, think, or act like a Pom. It took time, but then Australia made sense. So many Poms never get to that point or even try to, and end up doing a runner. Their loss...

themerlin

In the words of Yoda "You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned"

Retirednow

No thank you very much.