The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Not gonna be a long one this.

Landed in Melbourne June 9th 2008 and after a year renting in Pakenham we bought a house in Berwick (yes we've gone upmarket :p)

Me and the missus both work full time and the kids are at school.Kids are very settled and seem to enjoy it here..my lad loves AFL :frown: Wife also seems to like it here.
As for me i'm seriously underwhelmed by the whole thing.Heres a list of pro's/cons.These are only my opinions and quite frankly i couldnt give toss if people agree...

Pro's

Climate - love the back end of summer and all of Autumn.Warmer all year round :thumbup:
Beaches on the Mornington Peninsular - i wanted to move here but the missus won :(
Relative 'safe' feel of Melbourne

Cons

Work - pay/conditions worse than in the UK
Geographical position - friggin miles from anywhere in Aus let alone the rest of the world.
Social side - Bbq's in the garden and thats yer lot...miss the pubs/pub atmosphere.
Family - The biggy for me ( wont go into details )
Schooling - Shite...too 'touchy feely'.Kids seem to do bugger all work.
Houses - Piss poor build quality.Cold in the winter and hot in the summer.
Cost of living - If you think Blighty is expensive then dont come to Aus.Total lack of competition (banking,supermarkets etc)
Aussie 'pride' - Aus is the best place in the world...end of .What a load of old bollocks :thumbdown: Goes way over the top to he point of being embarrasing.

I could waffle on for ages but i wont bother.If the family was'nt happy we'd all be on a plane back home but it looks like i'm gonna have to suck it up for a while.
Two more (long) years and the kids can get citizenship and then take it from there...home to England hopefully.

After reading all that i've just wrote i'm not totally down on Aus its just that i really dont think moving to Aus has been worth all the aggro mentally,financially,emotionally etc.

Home is where the heart is...so so true :blink:

Thanks for reading

Lee :fingerscrossed:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Disagree on every point, particularly schools, cost of living. Different strokes fer different folks I guess.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

hat even disagree on his pros? ;)

Different strokes, as you say. I can't comment on schooling, but the rest of it sounds pretty spot on.

I know exactly where you're coming from, Lee :)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

The low population of Australia makes it a delight for me. However, that same small population also means low demand, higher prices, no competition and very high transport costs.

You can buy well known Aussie wines cheaper in Tesco than you can here because of the huge volume of sales.

If you have another 2 years anyway, see how you are after 4. It took me that long to become wholly positive.

However, on the schools front (maybe just VIC?) - you are spot on. There is no challenge for the kids at all, especially the brighter ones. Mind you, there are fairly hopeless schools in the UK as well.

Hope you feel better sooner rather than later.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Thanks Polly...Atleast someone understands :)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

got to say that i totaly agree with you, however i do like it here and feel settled so i put up with things, your points are very true with schooling ect. good luck with things.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Do you think there would have been fewer cons and more pros if you had won perhaps? If you had your heart set on the Peninsular then the disappointment may have magnified other negative perceptions.

BB

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I hear you Lee:blink:
Iv'e been here 5 years, waiting for that magical feeling settled moment.
Well it's never surfaced. Now i feel as if i am stuck here. Other members of the family like it:sneaky: Eldest daughter now 15 and half, i can't disrupt her education now...wouldn't be fair.
I feel as if i have lost myself along the way:unsure:
Your not alone!

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Maybe Buz maybe.I do love it down Mornington way . Berwick was the practical choice by the missus :frown: :)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I feel exactly the same regarding that 'settled' moment...cant set it ever happening TBH

Chin up

Lee :p

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Could of written all this myself, agree with all your cons and if I had a choice would also like to live in Mornington...also stuck here for the forseeable..your not alone:(

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Cons are spot on, especially the 'aussie pride' crap.

Pros, well were not in melb now however its among the better bits if you have to live in oz.

Make sure your 2 years dont turn into 10 :eek: :lol:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

spot on, I have come to hate this place more ever since I went to work, my god I use to get more wages 15 years ago, & trust me when they say part time it means sod all, I have never worked so many hours in my life, as the hours dont go by weekly but fortnightly.:eek:

I want to get the hell out of here, but I'm stuck because of children & hubby likes it here.:frown:

we are almost on our 3 rd State move I cant see that would bring happiness for me but I give it one more go, you never know pigs might fly too.:blink:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Totally agree. Particularly the whole 'underwhelmed thing', and the negatives of being away from family. We are planning to go home next year :)

But if we hadn't come, we would always be saying 'what if' so im not looking on it as a bad decision. Its an experience which has made me realise whats most important to me, which is being close to my family. Home is where the heart it as you say.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

.[/QUOTE]

Spot on posting, v accurate, glad you think the same.;)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Yep Lee gotta agree with your points, i have been here three years and cant seem to write a three year post, to be honest am all over the place in my head, wanna go home, dont wann, think its better for the kids, etc, etc.

One thing i really wish though is that we could afford to buy a house i think that would help me settle more, but no way can we afford it here!, however in scotland...........

We really shoud've stayed where we were , in the long run we are gonna be up shit creek financially!

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I too live in your world:(

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I,m sitting in the sunshine coast mate and i thought we were sitting in the same room everything you said is bang on but we will have to suck it for a wee while longer due to the money they really love themselves I can,t even watch the local news on the telly just in case i boot it in cheers

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I'm with you pal - ditto.

I feel fine one day and all over the place the next. :(:blink:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I feel exactly the same as you do Margaret.

I like it here (some of the time) but overall, I wish I wouldn't have moved here in the first place.

:confused_smile:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

QUOTE]

Correct

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Big (English) Kisses n hugs ;)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing Margaret.

Aus does have its positive points but i just feel it will never feel like home to me and therein lies the problem ...cant help the way i feel ! Good god i actually sound like a girl :wub:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

:wub::)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

:)

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

You know what, I can't disagree with anything that you've said. We arrived 3 months after you....
Can't comment on the schools but kids do appear to be behind when I compare my niece with my mates kids here

Just keep on crossing off the days on the calendar, your time will come around soon enough.

In the meantime, as you say, it's about sucking it up and getting on with it;)
Although I do remember you saying that you weren't particularly bowled over when you came back and posted, but it's obviously got more for you than here :blink:

Personally, I'll probably be back to blighty later this year....

Wishing you all the best

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Hi Lee

I actually like living here and can appreciate much of the safety and improved standard of life stuff. I do however know exactly what you mean. I explained it to an Argentinian and a well travelled Australian the other week as 'there is a trade off when you lose the edginess and variety of the UK for the safety of peace of Australia, if you don't get it right Australia can seem very bland'. Both of them got what I meant.

I wish you and all the posters in this thread well in finding your place to be.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Hi BB :)

You've got it spot on .... 'BLAND' is the perfect word to describe my Aus existance.

Many thanks for that :thumbup:

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Then stop being bland and go and do something interesting.

This weekend I'm out to dinner with friends Friday evening, off to the boat show at Melbourne exhibition centre on Saturday and being part of the audience at the filming of the X factor on Sunday. (mmmm Natalie Imbruglia mmmm)

That is considerably less bland than my average weekend in London used to be!

BB

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I understand that perfectly. It just wasn't worth it given the expenditure /outlay whatever the current balance. Lee, at least you have a happy wife and children.

I haven't come across that Aussie pride thing in people.

Know what you mean. I think if you get the balance right it can be rewarding but that takes resources unavailable to all.. I sit next to an Argentinian and he and I like Australia. I find aspects of the UK rather gauche to be honest.

My weekend would be less bland if I could sneak a go at the tiller of your boat that you now command. Or you could be the master and I could be the bloke who carries the binos.

One piece of advice to the board - or bored. Stop acting bland. Take this in the nicest possible way :make things happen and stop acting like a peasant.

Failing that, increase intake of booze and smokes.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

[QUOTE=BadgeIsBack;8666579]
One piece of advice to the board - or bored. Stop acting bland. Take this in the nicest possible way :make things happen and stop acting like a peasant.
QUOTE]

"a peasant" ? you're so far up your own arse its :o

take this in the nicest possible way

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

[QUOTE=stuckinblighty;8667111]Typo. He meant pheasant. :D

BB

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I will mate...it's this whole culture of loss and difficulty I find baffling. It's not my culture, maybe.

Sorry, no, really. I could excuse myself and reply to the arse comment but I won't as invariably you can't win these arguments and it's not right in this instance!

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Hi there BB, long time, no post:, then an excellent post:)

Sounds like all is well with you:)

For me am still confusesd:confused: by the whole Australia thing, i can certainly see it good side, including everything you said above and for my children i think it holds some fantastic opportunities. My 18 year old is having the time of her life!!, I am convinced Australia will always be here permenant home now:)

For me its just not 'in my heart and soul the way Scotland is:o'

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

I bet it would help buying a property. Still at least it means you can live in a better suburb.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Like i said at the start of MY update thread i really could'nt give 2 f**ks who agrees with me...these are my opinions .

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

It would also be a sacrifice of the 'way' we live our life, which is not amazing, so imagine how shite it would be with a whopping big mortgage every month

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Well over 10 years ago in London I remember that the mortgage was the easy bit and that the thing stopping many people buying was getting that 10pc deposit together, or lack of will. These were younger people admittedly.

Given the choice of a inner City townhouse (rent) against owning a 4x2 out in outer suburban Melbourne I'd rather have the townhouse.

Have to admit though I like the idea of owning in the long term.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Good post. I felt exactly the same.The pride nonsense eventually made me angry and I was so despeate that my daughter would not "become Australian"
I hope you get home.

Re: The obligatory '2 year' thread.
 

Badge, here it is in all honesty, we have enought for a 15% deposit, but we have chosen to live in a suburb which has decent public schools, coz we cant afford private, our 15% also leaves me with the feeling i can get the **** outta here:huh: Renting also means i can work a 35 hr week instead of a 40 -45 hr one:blink: Remember i came from scotland , not London, and a small town where they filmed 'The scheme", these r the breaks, we all came from somewhere!

However I have this battle with myself say every couple of months about buying!!, wold love to own my own home for that sense of security!