To want to move to Australia ? Need advice

[maxbradbury]

Cannot find suitable forum so posting here because of high traffic.

DH is a qualified gas engineer and we are considering a move to Australia. I dont know anybody who has done this and would like to know if anybody has done this or knows someone who has so i can get a insite of life there such as cost of living, lifestyle, education and how easy it is to get a job. Any helpful comment appreciated.

But not everyone. Really, just no way. But it can be bad.

Examples, squoosh?

I certainly, by no means, object to people sharing their personal experiences of racism, but I DO object to people causally labeling an entire country racist. I think you'll find that, in itself, is racism.

I think the problem lies in the difference between what is culturally acceptable in Australia, is not acceptable in Britain. So if you don't like what is said, don't go.

I bet you don't go to a middle-eastern country and say their lifestyle is racist? No, because it's a different culture.

I agree.

Also people may think that the UK may think it is none of these things but to an outsider the class system and huge separation between the rich and poor feels far more divisive.

Examples? By all means

tryingtoleaveTue 21-Aug-12 00:21:22
it is common in Australia to use words like wog, skip, pom without any malice behind them. If anything they are fairly affectionate.

FrizzyFrazzledTue 21-Aug-12 03:54:18
applauds tryingtoleave

saffronwblueTue 21-Aug-12 12:15:36
I would not use the word Wog here in Australia but often hear it being used by someone to describe their own ethnic origin. It is not shocking or offensive in Australia.

auschopperTue 21-Aug-12 13:18:20
Wog hasn't the same connotations in Australia as it has here... I have loads of friends who are Wog's and we call them Wog's all the time... It is a term of endearment... like how you going you old bastard...

no not everyone no but by too many. i think things are changing and will change but so much deep rooted anger and hatred that it slows the process down. yes this is both sides at times but one is justified and more understanding of why some are angry would go along way

OP I lived in Sydney from 2007-09 on a working holiday visa and I didn't find the Australian people I met overly racist by any means. I was a bit taken aback to find Golliwogs in the toyshops. I agree that the indigenous people were treated appallingly in just recent history and that persists in some parts of the country but then it's not so long ago that we had the 'no dogs, no blacks, no Irish' signs in UK boarding houses so..

Aside from that, Australia is a beautiful country, lots of sunshine and a very good attitude to balancing work and family life. But the summers can be brutally hot and home is a loooong way away. I came home because I would have been tied to my job for four years for the visa and I wasn't ready, at 28, for that kind of commitment. And also I didn't want to raise children so far from my family.

I would say, if you want to go for it, you should. Otherwise you may be plagued by what ifs.. But leave it so if you want to come back home for good, you can.

PS when I said overly- I meant OVERTLY!

No, not everyone but even one is too many. There are organisations that are building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, one individual at a time. I'm a friend of this great organisation. Please take a look: aimementoring.com/about/program/ Thankyou.

There are racists and bigots everywhere!

There does need to be a big investment to help things along, time / thinking etc.

That looks good Cartoose.

Thanks Marsha. Slowly but surely

Squoosh, we may have to agree to disagree on this point, but I fear you cannot see the wood for all the trees. These ladies are trying to explain that the word 'wog', whilst not culturally acceptable in England, is in Australia. It doesn't have the same connotations. It's like, for example, the word thing has 2 very different meanings in both countries.

OP, good luck whatever you decide to do. Just make sure you have a lot of savings and that your husbands qualifications are transferable and he is allowed to apply for residency given his profession (I think blue collar workers are favoured over white collar).

I loved growing up there, my nephews have a very very high quality of life. I can't say it's a better one than here, but I can safely say (from my POV) raising children in Australia is easier.

And by thing, I of course meant thong. Silly auto-correct.

Yes slightysquiffy let's agree to disagree. Although I see you as the one unable to see the wood for the trees as you still refuse to see the term wog as casually racist. Whether it's widely accepted in Australia or not it is still a racist term.

Honeytea - with all due respect your opinion is a pile of shite!! To brand an entire casually racist is at best ignorant, at worst just another form of bigotry!!

In my opinion terms like wog and pom are racist, it has been said on here that those terms are seen by Australians as being a nice nick name, I disagree so it is reasonable for me to think that the people who think it is ok to use those terms (apparently most Australians) are racist.

Women in saudi arabia can't drive, does that make saudi arabia a sexist country? yes, in my opinion it does. In Australia it is ok to call people by nick names based on where they were born does that make it a racist country yes in my opinion it does. Does it make me racist to think saudi arabia has sexist issues and Australia has racist issues? I don't think so. I am not saying all Australian people are racist, I am saying that there is a level of racism that is acceptable in Australian society that is from my point of veiw unacceptable.

Does the uk have issues with class divisions? yes it does. Sweden where I live now has much worse racism issues than Australia. But we are not talking about those issues.

Yes but class divisions are linked to ethnicities in the UK.

In lots of ways Australia is more egalitarian.

On language meaning is cultural but Aus is not in a bubble so it would be no loss to lose the word.

Fair points, both of you Squoosh & Honey.

I think I just find it horribly sad that racism, sexism etc still exists, and personally pride myself on not using racist terms (unless about myself! Will very happy respond to 'Sheila' or 'Sheils' when amongst English friends ) and it really rubs me up the wrong way when people brand Aussies as generally racist, when I have been on the receiving end of some serious racism at the hand of English people myself, for being Australian (having been called a convict several times by strangers).

I refrain from using those words as I know most people do find them offensive and would hope to show that not all Australian's are racist by showing that I, myself, am not.

I do get your point honeytea and again I personally do not use the word "wog" as I think it does sound offensive and also wrong coming from someone who is not of mediterranean or greek heritage themselves.

However some of the 'affectionate' use of the word comes from this television show which was aired when I was growing up there.

Prior to this the word was seen as derogatory and so the use of 'wog' in a mainstream tv show was a bit shocking. Now it is seen as more of a jokey reference [and is often used by those of greek heritage to describe themselves].

Wogs out of Work

When I moved to Glasgow I was shocked by people casually using the term Paki. They'd call the corner shop the 'wee Paki shop' and my elderly neighbour would call the shop owner 'that nice wee Paki man'. I was .

I know there's no attached malice but it's just so shocking to hear.

I was called a pommie just yesterday, by a Polish woman who happened to have lived in Australia for a long time. I was quite surprised, and was a little offended though I'm not quite sure why. I think it is slightly derogatory tbh, but wouldn't be offended by any of my relatives calling me that because I know they're using it as a term of endearment.

I agree that treatment of the Aborigines by both the British and the Australians has been shocking. I definitely see parallels between them and the traveller community in the UK. And though the UK may be more superficially polite than Australia I don't see that as being an indication of thr underlying level of dangerous racism that exists in both places.

I think we should just let this thread drop to be honest.

It has gone off track into a thread about racism which isn't helping the OP. I mentioned racism as one of the reasons I wouldn't live down under. I did come across it more often in Oz than I do here in the UK but then that could be the quiet place I live in the UK. Racism does happen everywhere sadly but running round in circles on a thread isn't helping.

It's now up to the OP to decide her reasons for moving and whether the move is right for her.

I thought we were getting some kind of agreement.

Really? Doesn't seem that way to me.

The way I see it is a word can have different meanings.

But we don't just stay in our own countries and other people will think differently, so it's best to get rid of words that others see as offensive.

It misrepresents Australia which is quite an egalitarian country. Except for the Aboriginal issue which is terrible and engrained and a result of the actions of the British and the Australians. And will take ages to fix, but should be fixed.

Is my take on it anyway.

The term 'wog' is widely used in Australia by people who self-identify as 'wogs', there was a popular 90s musical called Wogs out of Work featuring Greek comedians, with spin-offs like Wogboys and Acropolis Now.

I grew up in a very ethnic area of Sydney but am not comfortable using the term due to my Anglo heritage. But I can sort of see why many people think it's acceptable now.