Would you rather stay in U.K. or aus

And actually as OTT as it may seem, as well as the piss poor public services in the U.K., the thing that makes me want to move is the damp. I can’t stand it, currently lying in bed listening to yet more fucking rain. I feel like all I do for 4 months a year is wipe condensation off the windows, mould spray the walls and everyone constantly has bad chests/coughs. It’s so depressing having plans ‘rained off’ constantly, I just want to be able to plan a walk/picnic/trip to the zoo or whatever without it pissing down and disappointing DD when we end up staying in yet again.

A big plus is that there is no class system in Oz. Literally nobody cares what school you went to . It's very freeing.

Can I ask, about the spiders, is it safe for dogs? Do you not worry about them rummaging about in the garden and being bitten? Which is the least spidery part of the country? I think there’s a lot of Australian posters here laughing at Brits without realising just how scared dangerous wildlife/weather actually makes us, it literally isn’t something we ever give a second thought in the U.K. - a bit like school shootings in the US, you know they don’t affect the vast majority of people there but it still seems scary!

I was a bit loathe to comment about the more, let’s call it, exotic wildlife since I got bashed on the last thread that I commented on about the downsides but here goes.

Of course there are spiders and snakes and anti venom. And yes, shark attacks are a thing but not in places like Bondi, where there are nets. And yes, jellyfish but you can always take vinegar to the beach if you’re that worried. Just make sure it’s enough to last for 30 seconds. (Okay, this last bit was tongue in cheek, I couldn’t help myself but the nets should keep jelly fish out too!)

As for the racists, if you’re white, then you should be fine. If you’re not, then yes, white people can be casually racist but I am a WOC and if you were to ask my (white, English) DH, he’ll tell you that’s there’s no racism. It’s all about perspective. And there are racists in the UK, they just aren’t as blatant or casual about it! And let’s not forget, it was the English who colonised Australia, the English who had a policy of trying to breed out the indigenous people by making the women have half white babies, the English who didn’t allow the indigenous people to be counted as Australian until 1975, because ultimately, unless you’re a POC/indigenous, the laws were made by the English ancestors of the (majority of) current (white) Australians! (There are other white nationalities in Australia, such as Dutch, etc.)

I think as an adult I’ve seen maybe 3 red back spiders in my whole adulthood and one was scurrying away. As a child, I saw much more but was outside much more, enjoying myself. Also, in urban areas, I don’t think you would see as many. I always lived on properties rather than in suburbs/urban areas as well.

I would be more concerned about the mozzie bites because they can be painful and numerous when you first arrive and they scent your fresh blood but you can also just use a spray deterrent to keep them away, burn citronella in the garden etc.

I would make the change, if you don’t have any permanent ties here then you can always come back. You could always see it as an ‘extended break’, and put a limit on it if say 18 months, then see how you feel at the end of that.

The only thing that puts me off is the spiders - the thought of it terrifies me and makes me start itching all over!

I've lived in Oz for 30+ years and I've never encountered any spider more scary than a daddy long legs. I've only seen snakes in the zoo.

Re the health system, I can see my doctor any time I like , it costs me nothing. I've never had to be quizzed by his office staff ,I'm horrified that you have to beg the reception staff for an appointment.

I think both countries have pros and cons, but I'd never go back to the UK except for holidays.

I know right?

Great Britain sends its colonists to Australia to murder, rape and enslave the indigenous population. Steals indigenous land without treaty or recompense. Sets up a system of government entirely based on their own, with their monarch as the head of state and a constitution that doesn't recognise indigenous people as actual human beings.

Slow progress is being made at unpicking this system and repairing the damage caused. This in spite of pushback from those people and entities who owe their power and wealth to British colonialism and continue to wield political/media influence to this day.

And right here we have British people saying 'you Aussies have a terrible human rights record, we're soooooo much better at this stuff'. Unbelievable.

Come to Australia, OP.

We will honestly welcome you with open arms. People here are so friendly and non judgemental. They don’t care what car you drive, what you do for work, how you look or what you own. They will just like you and welcome you if you’re a decent person.

Some of the replies on here are comical. “The weather is disgusting” - pretty ignorant considering Aus is the size of Europe and the weather vastly varies across the country. Some places have snow and some places have sun, some in between. But okayyyyy.

“Insects/wildlife/spiders/snakes will kill you” - literally only ever said by people who’ve never been here. We don’t spend our days trying to survive the native wildlife. In fact, we barely ever see any of those. It’s the bloody magpies you need to watch.

Healthcare - far, far, far superior here. I can get a doctors appointment anywhere in the country within an hour. Free. In England I had to wait six weeks once for an appointment. There are a lot of British GPs in the area I live and we’re close to a lot of the world’s leading health related research universities, so I feel here that medical professionals are more up to date in their knowledge and just seem to take their patients seriously. We also live longer here on average too.

The air is cleaner here. It feels and smells
different. I can’t explain it and I forget about it until I come back to Australia from America or Europe, and then smell that fresh fresh fresh air for a few days. The scenery is just stunning. I still pinch myself everyday seeing how beautiful this country is.

Someone will come along later, if they haven’t already and tell you that Aus has no culture. That’s ignorant and borderline racist. There is a rich indigenous culture in this country, going back thousands and thousands of years. We have galleries and theatres and concerts too, shocking!

The fucking coffee here is like liquid gold. It’s indescribable. Australian’s take their coffee so seriously and, just wow. Never in my life, in all the countries I’ve travelled, have I tasted better coffee. And Melbourne coffee is the best, FYI. I’m in Qld, but can definitely appreciate that beautiful Melbourne coffee!

We swear. Lots. Sometimes as a sign of endearment. This was the most difficult thing for me to get used to, as well as people being just so nice (it appeared fake nice when I first got here).

Lifestyle is outdoors, relaxed and happy. We eat better here. Fruits and veggies in season and just taste better. Less hormones in Aussie meats. Seafood is divine. I catch my own most weeks; oysters, fish, mud crabs.

Cost of living is higher, but bingo, so are the wages. Leisure activities are cheaper.

“TV is shit”. We don’t watch it as we’re living our best lives! In England, when we go back we really notice the obsession with celebrities and sports stars and how a lot of people’s lives are centred around the TV or the local pub. So you can keep your TV channels. Though, shh, we can actually stream UK tv here. Even the BBC. Without a license fee. But we’re usually too busy having fun to bother. In fact, I think we last watched anything on the TV properly about 5 years ago.

Houses here are bigger. My wardrobe here is bigger than my bedroom in England and my laundry room is bigger than our old uk kitchen. We don’t even have a large house by Aussie standards.

Anyway give it a go, you can always go back if you don’t like it. :-)

I usually try not to comment on these threads because the Australia-bashing makes me sad. OP, just be aware that we are not exactly like the UK - the culture is quite different in ways that are difficult for a visitor to spot at first, and this means that some people from the UK find us unexpectedly prickly.

On the spider front, they are real - I have some new funnel web holes in my garden right now! - but unlikely to bother you unless you make a habit of sticking your hand under rocks or down hollow logs.

I’m an Aussie and can’t help but laugh at this! Have you been to Australia?

Also, who isn’t nice to the indigenous people? Because I would argue it was the British 😆

@marvellousmaple

We lived on Sydney’s northern beaches during our time in Australia too. Very happy days. And I saw no more spiders there than in the UK.

We Brits struggle to accept we are no longer the global force we used to be and use insulting other countries to cope. We’re losing relevance everyday and things are falling apart, and one way to cope is to make ourselves feel
better by bashing other countries. If it’s not the US then it’s Australia lol using lazy stereotypes.

There was a recent post where a woman was jealous of her friends excitement to move to Australia that she opened a thread asking people to tell her how the UK is better aka help her bash Australia to help her feel better. That’s how bad it is.

And the UK was nice to its colonies? Still trying to control them through the so called commonwealth, yeah pot calling kettle black.

I wondered how long it would take before someone came up with this stupid stereotypical reason, yeah people in Australia duck and run from snakes and spiders all day long with no respite lol.

@whytesnow I live in Australia. If I were you I'd come on the work visa and see if you like it here. Enjoy an adventure, do something different in your life. You can even take a year or so to make up your mind if you stay or not. You could always go back to UK if you don't like it here.

Weather is very different city to city. If you want always sunny then move to Brisbane, Gold Coast or Sidney. Melbourne weather changes 4 times a day but it's rarely hot on summer or really cold on winter. There are other places but I think the weather is more extreme there.

Quality of life is amazing. If you want to rent in the main city of course the price is too high but if you move a bit further away is affordable. There are a lot of articles about Housing Affordability but there are affordable places if you have an average salary and don't live in the city. Since you're young and single you could even share an apartment in the city with its own included gym, sauna and pool. A single friend lives like this and loves it. She rents a 2 bedroom apartment and rents the other bedroom.

Food and groceries are according to your budget but have to shop around. If I go buy everything in the main supermarket I'd spend a small fortune, but I buy meat at the butchers and veggies at farmer's markets so haven't felt much the inflation (last year I'd only buy in big supermarkets). Buy the veggies and fruit that are in season, etc.

Plenty of places to go for day trips and sightseeing. Excellent public transportation in larger cities. Depending where you live (suburbs) you can get free GP's (not near CBD city) with your Medicare card.

Here - Because no insects here will kill me 😂

I’ve lived in the UK and in Aus, both for many years and as a child and an adult.

Firstly, it would depend on where in Australia you would like to live - Perth is very isolated but has a mild winter and scorching summer, some areas of NSW, SA and Vic get weather comparable to the UK but not as cold, however wet and windy with summers being much nicer/hotter than UK but not really as hot as Perth gets on a consistent basis. Darwin is lovely but the mosquitoes are crazy AF and along with Cairns and FNQ, very humid. Tasmania is, I think, the closest to the UK. The problem is this: no one is able to give a definitive answer as the states are all large and the weather varies according to where you are. You say you want an outdoor lifestyle, well, in the summertime, not many places (Tasmania however is the outlier) are able to facilitate that, because of either the heat, humidity or UV ratings that day. And no, a hat doesn’t really cut it and SPF50 is absolutely essential, especially if you’re blue eyed, with fair skin, and fair hair or ginger hair. Even Indians need SPF50.

The COL thing: wages are much, much higher than the UK and so is the standard of living. Yes, groceries may cost more depending on what you buy but there are plenty of places to shop that sell locally produced products. Housing costs depend on the state and where you want to live. Car costs vary wildly, depending on whether you want a little Hyundai for $25K (new) or an SUV (very expensive new and secondhand) or a brand such as Tesla, Mercedes, BMW etc.

If you’re under 30, I believe you can go to Aus on a WHV for one year, with an extension for another year.

Alternatively, there are lovely little islands in Oceania if you would prefer an island lifestyle and are eligible for a visa - Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia (which sounds like a skin disease but isn’t lol).

If you can tolerate a society more racist, sexist & homophobic than the UK, then go to Australia.

I am happy here in England but in your place, op, I might be tempted to go abroad to live and work for a while. If you don't want to settle, you can always come back.

I'm not sure the weather is always wonderful in Australia, they have floods, droughts and fires often enough. Aus has never appealed to me, it is so vast and I think I would find it scary. However I am a home bod who feels secure in familiar surroundings. My neighbour's eldest lives out there, has done well and loves it; neighbour visits and they visit here.

But in terms of lifestyle - yes it is outdoorsy. I went to the beach before work this morning and a swim at the in laws pool yesterday plus I take my daughter to the park daily. I like 20km from the nearest beach because that's where I can afford to buy but if you want to do certain things then you'll prioritise them.

We are British and moved to Melbourne nearly 6 years ago when I was offered an amazing job opportunity. We live 2 minutes from the beach in a much nicer house than we could afford in the UK. Some things cost more here, like meat for example, but the supermarkets are reasonably priced in general and wages are higher in line with that. Clothing costs about the same as the UK and petrol is much cheaper.
There are many fabulous restaurants and cafes here and we really notice the difference in the quality of food when we go back to the UK where food often seems more bland and processed.
Overall, Australians are very friendly and chatty but, like anywhere, there are good and bad people. We also mix with a lot of Expats from across the globe, more so than in the UK.
Of course, we really miss our families and close friends but Australia has given us a wonderful life experience that we have been very lucky to enjoy. We will move back to the UK eventually but there’s so much more we want to do here for now.
If you get the opportunity then try it. It doesn’t have to be forever.

If you can get a WHV I'd do it especially before time runs out. If you don't like it you can go home. It's not the UK but sunny though and be careful where you move if you want sun. I found winter in Melbourne really tough and in summer it can be unbearable heat. Sydney, Brisbane and Perth all have more reliable sunshine.

oh yeah and free public barbecues in almost every public park.

I live in Scotland and am very happy here but if I were younger I would love to try a working holiday in Australia. Both my husband and I have relatives in/near Melbourne and I have friends in Townsville but I really fancy Sydney with the Opera House and beautiful beaches. If I ever come into any money I will holiday there.

Other than a few teeny, tiny ones, haven't see a decent sized spider for years. Unless you count the plastic one that my kids like to hide around the house to scare each other. Most houses are sprayed for spiders yearly, they really aren't a problem.