to just not understand 'Wanted Down Under'

[AtYourCervix]

All these people wanting to move 'To improve the quality of life'

but every one has older children refusing to go, partners with 'major concerns' and extended families devastated at the thought of families so far away.

Why? I don't get how this could Improve their lives.

Enlighten me.....

I'm a well travelled Aussie and did spend a year in London and then Coventry in my early 20s. I hate the cold and as I age I feel it more so could never move again. FWIW we do have (mostly) free state education and federally funded Medicare (NHS) - neither is perfect but from what I've read here are certainly acceptable.

Australia is a huge country so the claims of 40c temps, horrendous commutes, no infrastructure etc simply don't apply to the whole country. Each state has its own positives and negatives and the people and "feel" are all quite individual. If I had friends/relations moving over from the UK I'd probably suggest they research Tasmania. The climate would be more suited and house prices very cheap, the island is small and commuting is easy. It's hardly a thriving metropolis but for quality of life without the heat it would be a viable option.

I wish we had kept our little house in Auckland !! We sold it at a loss after coming back to the UK in 2001( after a disastrous renting experience for 6 months). Over the years house prices have rocketed though !! Having said that we might have ben tempted to move back had we kept it . There were many fantastic things about living in NZ but as others have said the job prospects aren't great. When I lived there, there was no help with childcare costs or anything if you were on a low income, no child benefit even ( it may have changed now). we really struggled even with both of us working as many hours as we could and a moderate mortgage. My dh is quite badly asthmatic and had to pay $60 NZ every time he went to the GP. I remember even having to pay $60 for a GP visit for an infected C-section scar as it happened 2 days after the 6 weeks free care after a birth. On the plus side as we got residency, we had free hospital care and they were even prepared to pay for IVF when we were struggling to conceive ( luckily didn't need it in the end). The health system In NZ is very good generally. My ds 2 was born prematurely and poorly and got fantastic care in SCBU and paediatric ICU

crazy Maybe Cornwall would be easier?

Its an awful programme, same every week and, I believe, just an excuse for a little jolly to another country to see how others react! ( family mostly) have only ever watched one or two though, but I get the idea they are all very similar. the one on channel 5 last night was better( caught it by chance) although the mum seemed hell bent of getting her parents to live there. I don't think I would be keen if it were my sons ( too hot for me over there) but we're all different and I guess its worked out for many people and not for others. My uncle went after WW2 ( he did marry an Australian) and he didn't come home ever again, not even for a visit! I think these type of programmes are just boring now, escape to the country is another one that gives me the rage!

I just hate the downer some people have on the UK. I love it here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. As someone upthread said, why don't the ppeople on the show try a different part of the UK before going over 10, 000 miles away from their 'wonderful, close' families?

Probably Giddy!

We lived in NZ for a short while (7 months), whilst my husband did a locum job at a hospital there. Boy was it a culture shock!! We went thinking that we might be persuaded to stay if we liked it, I knew within weeks that I was never going to
A. Fit in, I was the square peg in a round hole!
B. Find enough to do to keep me happy, apart from the "outdoor" activities there is sweet fanny adams!
Yes the summer was great and the beaches were lovely. Then the most depressing winter came!
We came home to England and I will never entertain thoughts of emigrating again!
Oh and the cost of food was eye watering! I still haven't worked out why NZ lamb cost more in NZ than it does in the UK

Trouble is, the UK does tend to talk itself down a lot and the latest with the news about the NHS and lack of jobs and affordable houses mean that people think it might be better else where I suppose. I cant blame them really but there are issues in other countries too, I am sure its not fantastic everywhere and Australia isn't as cheap to live as it once was.

Yes 80s but I think if you have money you can have a good life anywhere but if you don't there are no miracle fixes in Australia.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15970341

found this

My family moved to Australia too giddyaunt. I'm the only one left behind. They didn't handle telling me well at all - in fact they didnt tell me directly: they blurted it out to a neighbour while I was standing beside them. I was 'stupid' apparently for being upset about them leaving. Anyway complaints about the cost of central heating have morphed into complaints about the cost of air conditioning, food etc and that there is nothing on the telly. They are bored and not getting on - bringing all their problems from here to there. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that they left in the end as they tended to bully me. I'm much happier in myself having little contact with them. It's been very sad but enlightening.

To get an understanding of kiwis: watch Hunt for the Wilderpeople on netflix

I live here and drink kiwi wine and eat kiwi lamb and laugh evilly about how much cheaper it is here.

Actually, I don't, I prefer to buy more locally. But yeah, tempting.

Oh and no free doctors visits in NZ. Or NHS dentists.

Yeah flown, Sam Neil in a Swandry....that's Kiwi right there. Went down to Tesco last week and got 8 NZ lamb chops for £5! Half the price than in New World...hahaha

For the love of God, don't fall in love with the imagery and lifestyle of Sydney and then immigrate to Perth! They are completely different cities! One woman did that and then moved back to the UK, two weeks later. Well der!

I'm getting very homesick for my old Aussie lifestyle. I'd love a free holiday back home. Maybe they can do a Boomerang program sending UK Aussies back. I will get DH to have doubts on tv about moving over there. Sorted.😂

I have two school friends in NZ and at least 3 in Australia, all seem to have busy lives but they all seem to have more active social lives than we do in the UK, it seems everything is more family orientated

I miss Australian healthcare. I loved that medical centres were open 7 days a week. Open to 7-9pm through the week. You could just walk into a GP as a new patient, register and be seen on the spot. In some centres, no appointments but you would need to wait your turn. Over here, everytime I call for an appointments, it's a couple of weeks unless an emergency due such a massive population.

DP's DSis has lived Down Under for eight years now. She has a great house and the beach lifestyle looks fab but she feels incredibly isolated, particularly as her DH is very introverted and doesn't like socialising. What I find interesting is while DP's family are convinced it was BIL's idea to emigrate, his family are equally convinced it was 100% DSis who wanted to go. So they both blamed each other to their fams!

It did get on my nerves when DSis called her parents recently sobbing about not getting her birthday present on time from DP, who then got it in the neck from his folks. Apparently we don't think about her enough.

One never sees the middle class packing up their lives to move Down Under.....hmmmm

Down under a bloke is sexy if he can throw a pass 20 metres, wears a vest, fry a steak on the barbie and says "sweet as mate" and "gidday" more than 10 times a day.

In the UK a man is sexy if he is intelligent and has an appreciation of the arts.

Know where I'd rather be!

I did see a very middle class dr and his wife. She was very upset that her sparkling water cost more and would have to drink tap 😂

I always have thought the way they do the grocery comparison is a bit odd, surely you'd buy things that are cheaper locally rather than spend lots of money on things you'd buy in the UK? But maybe its all expensive if NZ Lamb etc is.

Maybe because most of the middle class who move to Australia don't need the help. And the majority of the people on that show are going for a free holiday with no real intentions of moving in the first place.

What an idiotic steoptype about Australian men. Obviously by someone who has never been to Australia.

DH's family were £10 Poms after the War. His mum and dad, two sisters, aunt and uncle, grandma. They had to go by sea, we've got the photo albums of the trip. They stayed for the obligatory two years and came home because his dad missed the weather and football He wasn't born until 10 years later so missed it!

I hate it when they have family days out and seen to imply they cant spend time together in the UK. Granted weather here prevents some activities but I always end up shouting "stay at home and make more effort with your life instead of running to another country"

What cracks me up is when they say " we are going for a better quality of life / for the kids/ to spend more time as a family " then realise their 3 bed semi won't get the mansion pool and boat ( cos the houses they can afford are invariably dumps) so the part time/stay at home parent imediately reverts to - I'll go back to work full time so we can live in a half decent area and eat too. I was in oz for 3 years and the kids there (teens ) were just the same as here - drinking smoking (weed) and shagging. Utopia it ain't and shockingly expensive.