Please can I have your HONEST opinions on Australia

[gem1981]

Hi

Hubbie and I are looking quite seriously into moving abroad

DH lived overseas (mainly the middle east) when he was growing up as his dad travelled alot with his job.

He has alsways had ambitions to move away from the UK and we have looked at the options and decided that Australia is probably our best option.

we want to move for the following reasons:

1)Better quality fo life for our DCs
2)more relaxed way of life
f3)ed up of being fleeced for every penny we earn in taxes by the UK

I suppose what I want to know is how realistic are we being in thinking that moving to Australia is going to give us this type of lifestyle or is it just a pipedream?

I would love to hear all experiences good and bad.

If you have emigrated there do you have any regrets?
Thanks

[allgonebellyup]

my sister moved there 3 years ago.

She says they are very sexist
Very racist
old fashioned

Awful drivers, no manners, very rude.

She says every time she enters a building, nobody ever holds a door open, they just let it slam in her face!

She cant wait to leave

[muggglewump]

I agree with Riven, it also feels so isolated and a bit 20 years ago.
The weather isn't that great, sure hot but too hot is no fun, winters are freezing as the heating and insulation are rubbish. I found a Perth winter worse than a Scottish one. I missed the light summer nights too.

I did have a fantastic time the two years I spent there but it was before DD and now I have no wish to go back.

[milge]

My honest opinions on Australia:

It is very hot

It is running out of water

It is miles away, and once you are there, costs a fortune to book a flight home.

I love visiting Australia, but would not want to live there

[Quattrocento]

Weather nice

People a bit too sporty and not bookish enough for me

[madcol]

Depends on where and what you're used to.

I would gladly live in or near Sydney or Brisbane. Anywhere else a bit remote for me. People I know love Perth and Melbourne.
The outdoors life is the main incentive.

If you want to avoid cold/wet winters you need to think of Queensland.

My family are Australian and I don't find htem rud but htey are by nature striaght forward and call it as they see it generally. it can come across as rude and they will get stuck into you if you come across as snobby or reserved. You are expected to be open and freindly and not stand-offish this can be hard for Brits.

Could talk all day about it. Where were you thinking of?

[madcol]

WHat do you mean 'no culture'?

[gem1981]

we are thinking of canberra, perth, melbourne

Dh is in IT

[gem1981]

we want an outdoor life where things don't cost a fortune to have a family day out.

we are finding that to take the fmaily out here for the day costs us a packet and there is not much free stuff to do in the UK as weather is not always permitting

we livein Suffolk at the moment so we are used to not living in the city - we have forests and beaches around us here but the weather is rarely nice enough to enjoy them iYSWIM

I suppose I am panicing that we are hyping Australia up as the perfect palce to live and I don't want us to be disappointed

I am trying to establish a more balanced view

[madcol]

Avoid Canberra like the plague. Melbourne can be miserable in winter

[Mercy]

Afaik Melbourne is more 'European' than other cities in Australia.

Not all Australians are beer-swilling, non-book-reading outdoorsy types!

From my (very) limited experience Australian women in particular are pretty forthright. And fair enough too.

You need to wait for the down under/late night posse to see your thread.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[TheGirlWithGreenEyes]

I would echo what madcol said (esp about winter in Melbourne!) - of the 3 cities you have mentioned I liked Perth the best. But a friend who grew up there said it felt very isolated, even from the rest of Oz. I loved it as a place to visit but didn't want to stay permanently. However, with the internet and satelite tv, etc it probably doesn't feel as cut off from the rest of the world as it did 20 years ago...

Back then pay was good in comparison with the UK but I felt the country was less recession-proof. I knew lots of Australian graduates then who had trouble finding work. It definitely is a place to go if you love the outdoors.

Not sure about the relaxed way of life really - I found Australians very hard-working in comparison to what I had experienced in similar companies in the UK - it was a real heads down, no chatting sort of environment. Plus the cities sprawl a lot so you can have a long commute...

I also found a lot of open racism (esp directed towards the Aboriginal people) but that was more prevalent in the country rather than the cities...

I also couldn't fathom why all the shops were shut on a Saturday afternoon - the busiest time in the UK - but apparently they don't do that anymore!

[TheGirlWithGreenEyes]

You're still here cod?

[Mercy]

Nooo, my dh has family in Sydney. They are nice people (but they are Kiwis really )

But many years ago (in Greece and other backpacker places) I met groups of young women from Sydney who were so up themselves - god's gift and all that. They refused to talk to anyone else.

Some of them seem to think they invented world travel

[liath]

I spent 2 years living in Queensland before having kids.

It was fantastic but I don't think I'd emigrate as it's so far from my family. Plus points were the weather (although the rainy season was foul) - you knew if you planned something nice to do at the weekend that the chances are you'd manage it in sunshine. The general approach to life was a breath of fresh air - really "work to live" rather than "live to work". I'd imagine it would be a great place to bring up kids.

Minus points were that I started to miss the seasons & light summer evenings. There wasn't much culture away from the big cities. Biting insects were a PITA. We couldn't get decent Chinese or Indian food ANYWHERE outside of Sydney!!

Great quality of life. We have friends who live in Canberra and really enjoy it (I can't see the attraction myself but they are a very outdoorsy kind of couple!!).

[saadia]

BIL and SIL live in Brisbane and love it there (BIL like myself is from India originally). He has always hated the UK and loves the space in Brisbane. It is also very safe. They can leave their front door unlocked. SIL works quite high up in a mainly male industry and reports on a lot of sexism from the older generation. They have not mentioned racism that much (are a mixed race couple).

[TheGirlWithGreenEyes]

Ah yes the seasons! I was actually looking forward to wearing winter clothes by the time I got back!

[madcol]

Lack of culture? What is that big white building in Sydney ...oh yes.. the OPERA house. Wonder what they do in there?

[claudiaschiffer]

Hello, am I the first to post who actually lives out here?

I emigrated to Oz and have been in Adelaide for the last 2 years and honestly my feelings are . . .

a. It is a great place for young children - lots of good weather (yesyesyes sometimes it is too hot and sometimes it is too cold but honestly no where is perfect just wear an extra jumper if you are cold and I'm afraid you have to put up with the hot days, but you get used to it). But the air is clean, the beaches are lovely - lots of focus on well maintained parks and general outdoor life. It feels very safe here. Amazing open air swimming pools in the local parks.

b. Australians are superficially very friendly - but I do find that because most people tend to stay close to where they grow up lots of my 'Australian mummy' friends here really have enough friends from school days and tend to be in fairly close knit groups so it is hard to feel like you have made good mates. However I have met lots of other Brits and we have bonded over our shared ex-pat experiences.

c. It is a farking LONG way away from ANYWHERE. If you are at all interested in current affairs then I think you will feel totally out on a limb - at least I do. The media here is mostly terrible - really amateurish and very um . . . low brow.

d. Homesickness is a killer - it is unremittingly awful to miss ones loved ones.

e. Shops are pretty rubbish - I really miss Waitrose and M & S. Also the high street clothes shops are pretty average, I miss the style of Zara, L K Bennett, Top Shop etc etc

f. You will probably be able to buy a nice house with a garden in a good suburb here - At least if you are not moving to Sydney or Perth that is.

God I could go on but I expect this is getting boring. Sorry.

The reality is a bit of a mixed bag. If you are very close to family and friends I would really think it through, as it is tough being here with no family support, but it is a wonderful place. Particularly for children.

[thumbwitch]

sheesh, wish I hadn't opened this thread now... Am married to Australian (fairly sexist but in tongue-in-cheek way, somewhat racist) and aiming to move out there next year for improved life for DS. Wasn't exactly expecting it to be a breeze but even less happy now..