To emigrate to Australia?!

[DarlingDuck]

DH and I are 30 and have 3 DC's, we've wanted to emigrate for a long time. It would mean me re-training and doing a midwifery degree but I would earn twice the salary in Australia as I would here in the UK. The only cons we can think of would be missing our families and all the huge spiders/snakes!

I realise it will be a huge upheaval and our eldest will be around 10 years old when we plan to go which may be hard for her. Ideally we would like to do it sooner but we want to make sure we can earn a good wage.... AIBU?

Follow your dream! It will be extremely hard but worth it for quality of life alone.

We moved from the UK to Canada with 2 months notice for my dh's job, at the time we had a 4 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old. It was extremely hard at first, with no support network and never having visited here before, but i can honestly say that the experience has not been easy but worth it, the kids have a better quality of life here, and we will not be returning to live in the UK again after this experience.

Thank you, Tilly! I've lived here my entire adult life, and I'm fairly sure that I'm capable of both comprehending and analysing world affairs.

LOL Tilly don't take it personally, we mostly don't.

It doesn't matter that most of the world think we are a bunch of thick racists, as long as they rock up with their money, spend away and then go home.

I am however amused at the idea that there is more racism in Oz outside of the big cities than in the UK outside of the big cities. I came across plenty in the UK and haven't encountered a single comment here in the 'burbs of Sydney. This doesn't mean that Oz is less racist, just about the same I would say but perhaps the 'flavour' is different so different people are noticing it in different places. Most people are racist to some degree I find everywhere I have been in the world.

Australia is not perfect, but it is a pretty good place to live, but then so is the UK, for different reasons.

Morloth, I know there is racism in the UK as well. But I haven't encountered much in the last few years in the UK; whereas just this morning one of the mums at playgroup said this:
"some Indian bloke rocked up to the house last week trying to get us to change our energy supplier to (?) ALG - his argument was that Energy Australia isn't Australian owned any more but ALG is. I told him that he was having a laugh - trying to sell me an Aussie company when he looked and sounded like he'd just stepped off the plane from India. I told him that I'd consider switching but not through him, when he couldn't even speak English properly, and was black as the ace of spades!!"

Now that is the sort of conversation I might have expected to hear from people in my grandparents' generation some 20 years ago in the UK - but got it from a fairly young mum here. That is the sort of thing I'm talking about - and the fact that most people there just nodded along or agreed.

But yes, of course it still exists in the UK. And everywhere else in the world as well - it just seems to me to be more open here (in rural Australia) still than it has been in the UK for some time.

I guess I'm just not used to people saying stuff like that around me (and haven't been for years) so I notice it more.

cjdamoo - thanks for that - I heard this morning as well that one local primary has a $30 a year voluntary fee, with $15 book pack - don't know if that's standard for this area or if it varies from school to school though.

Thumbs you must have missed the thread on here complaining about Indian call centres and have obviously not experienced the outrageous attitudes (expressed quite openly) towards Eastern Europeans in London.

Different flavours but I dont think there is anymore here than anywhere else. My family are from Far West NSW so I spend plenty of time outside of the City.

Obviously, I am not saying we don't have racism but IMO it is no better or worse than what I have seen and experienced elsewhere.

'Fees' for DS1's school this year (including sports days and excursions etc) were $215.

Compared to the 9,000 pounds a year I was paying in London, it feels like something of a bargain!

YABU based on my morning - $100 down after visit to dr for a respiratory thing that was hanging about plus prescription cost. I have become one of those people that don't go to the dr until they are at death's door, & I haven't been to the dentist or optician for 4yrs - maybe when I win the lottery! Just feeling sorry for myself cos I'm so ill, & there is a huntsman on the window outside that I am watching like a hawk til DP gets home & can deal with, yuk...I hate it how they look dead but then aren't...

I live in Brisbane. Moved here 3 years ago.

The BEST decision we have ever made.

Australia is an incredible country. Queensland is an amazing place to live. The sense of community is wonderful, the infrastructure is good, the lifestyle for the children is great! It is incredibly expensive though (housing, utilities, food, clothing and recreation are all very expensive - even by UK standards). Income is good and the job market is reasonably stable.

I consider myself Australian and am very proud of this place - not to say that everybody will settle as well as we have though.

Good luck!

Re paying for your degree, I take it all the high and mighty posters on here do realise how many of our
Midwives trained in other countries before being recruited by Nhs???!! During my 2 pg's I've seen ONE English midwife! ONE!!!!

I pay for the dentist here in UK so dont see the issue. If you arent used to waiting for the NHS service, its no change.

I pay for the optician here too.....I am not on any benefots so have to pay like lots of others

Thumbs, where in Australia do you live?. This is such a vast country. Then again if you are experiencing lots of racism, maybe you need to change your environment and/or the people you mix with.

A friend of mine is a Home Loan Manager with one of our major banks and she gets very frustrated with the people she has to deal with in the Mortgage Centre. She has mentioned this to me several times and has stated that the Indian call centre people are the worst.

Her background is Fijian Indian as is her DH's. She was born in Fiji but has lived most of her life in OZ. Consequently she has the no nonsense attitude that is prevalent in OZ.
She is not being racist. What she is saying is actually the truth.

I think like everywhere there are ignorant, inward looking people here and of course there are also people who are educated and interested in world affairs. I find reading the comments on the Daily Mail is quite revealing as to the level of ignorance, insularity and racism in the UK!

Even though I love it Australia I have to agree with Thumb about the racism. You would have to be pretty deaf to not hear regular comments. I think the problem here is that it is such a big country that people in some places don't see someone with coloured skin. A lot of older Australians are very racist in their comments and I think it is an age and generation thing. That is no excuse and I will correct them as much as I can but it does happen. And it is a lot worse than the UK.

Just to be clear I wasn't disparaging Oz or it's people; I love it there and think the people by and large are incredibly open and welcoming.

That said my best friend is Jamaican and travelled with me to Oz, where we both lived for over a year. I was witness to a lot of the shit he got, even in metroplitan Sydney; he said it was like being taken back 20 years to when he was a kid in the midlands. My BiL married a chinese girl and has had more than his fair share of grief from ignorant ocker wankers. I'd imagine a lot of the people who've said they witnessed no racism are white anglo's who will possibly have a different perspective from

Not to say it doesn't happen here, of course it does, but even my most staunchly patriotic Ozzie friends would admit that Oz is a little behind in terms of the acceptance of multiculturalism.

btw a quick glance at Ozzie TV news will give you an insight into the insularity there; barely a mention of major worldwide news events before half an hours coverage of the latest scoops on Ozzie rules football.

Again, I'm not disparaging the Ozzie people, just pointing out one slight fly in the ointment. The UK has more than it's fair share of those too!

Ha, usually mostly right re. the news EXCEPT of course at the moment - News International (or News Corp) is MASSIVE news, but then that's cos Mr. Murdoch is an Aussie. (wry)

Thumbs, no not voluntary. These are primary school fees. Although I should add that the schools (primary at least in my ex) don't ask you to buy from a huge book list.

So I guess that outweighs it?

I agree with Thumbs - Cost of living is definately NOT cheaper here, food is very expensive, petrol is getting there too. I find it much cheaper living in England.
Definately do not underestimate missing your family - It is horrible to be so far away.
Yes Australia is an amazing place and I love it but if I had my choice all over again I would not have chosen to move here permanantly, purely because I miss my family so so much and when something bad happens at home and you have no money in the bank you cant get there.

Sydney is very expensive to live and buy/rent property.
My friends are renting a 2 bed appartment for the double the price they would pay up near Brisbane for a 4 bed house with good size yard.

The weather is great, I love being a short drive from the beach and the general quality of life is good. If I could move my family and friends here it would be amazing.

Kids do have a great outdoor lifestyle.

It all depends on your personal circumstances and how close you are to your families at home as to how you make it work if you move here.

We have had Redbacks in our yard but you just need to get the pest control man to come and spray to keep them away.
We had a big brown snake out there at the beginning of this year too. First one we have had in 8 years. Pretty bloody scary though.

Hope this helps.

DS1 is 10 (Y5) he is in a private school - fees are $12700 per year!

Brisbane Boys College - www.bbc.qld.edu.au. It is an excellent independent school with some of the best results in the state.

Have just come back from my local shopping centre. Had lunch in the food court. (Chicken wraps and apple juice for the DC).

Looking round this very crowded food court I spotted at least 15 different nationalities. Food court was very crowded, tables close together.

A very old Chinese man stopped to pat DD's very curly white hair and have a chat with her.

The people at the next table (Indian) were very taken with DS and asked lots of questions about his age etc.

I don't understand the racism comments on this thread. Maybe I'm just lucky that I haven't come across it.

Years ago I was doing a stint of primary teaching in the Blue Mountains of Sydney. It took me several weeks before I could work out why it was so different from where I lived.

I realised then that it was pretty boring, like eating white bread. Every child in my class was white Anglo.

Give me multi grain bread anyday.

I have noticed on quite a few threads that mums in the UK seem to get upset if anyone touches or talks to their DC while they are out shopping.

Another thing to think of is what you would do if one of you loved it and the other didn't want to stay out here.
In my case, DH is Australian so it is a given (for him) that this is where he'd rather be. I am more ambivalent - there are things I prefer here and other things I prefer in the UK - but I am still finding it hard to adjust to some stuff after not quite 2 y here. I miss my work - I can't easily pick it up again here until my visa is sorted, when I can do a short course that doesn't cost me overseas rates and can then get insured. I miss my friends - I have new ones here and they're lovely but I don't have the depth of history and the ability to just rock up to their place when things are not going so well and cry on their shoulders (so I spend more time on MN - which is good but not quite the same :()
I miss my family. I have been back 3 times already in less than 2 years but am already viewing with trepidation the idea of not going back until next year - my Dad is 78 this year and although not in bad health there are a few concerns - I don't like being so far away from him.

DS has more opportunities here - but less family. In the UK my sister lived 10 mins away with her 3 DDs, all older than DS but not by much. Here, he has a 2nd cousin of similar age who lives 5 hours away and only grandma who lives close. He does have friends at play group but it's not the same, is it.

Other practicalities - which we still haven't resolved - Wills. If we were both to die, where would DS go? It's not something people generally think of when considering starting a new life in a different country - but it matters, nonetheless.

Easier if you're only planning a short term move, say 3-5 years and then going back - but much harder in our case.

Sorry, having a Very Bad Day today so things are looking a little blacker than usual.

Sorry to hear you're having a bad day Thumb .

The wills thing is a very good point. A close friend of ours died suddenly leaving a daughter, apart from the tragedy of it all, it did rather concentrate my mind about what would happen to our dds if dh and I snuff itl