What’s life in Oz really like?

[Lisyloo725]

Hi ladies
We are seriously considering a big move to Oz (Sydney suburbs) - but I’m keen to know how my life (and DH+my kids 3 and 6) will be better than it is here in SW London please?
I’m a secondary teacher and DH works in IT.
Feel free to share the worst bits too ☺️
Thanks in advance!!!

As long as it’s a suburb that isn’t currently underwater....

I’ve not lived in Sydney but generally living over here is like anywhere. Work and home and whatever social life you make. Difference is you have no family, stuff is expensive but you get paid more to cover it. Once I stopped comparing prices I enjoyed it more here.

Yes - it’s been a tough week or so for Sydney-siders!
Thanks for your note @LadyVymes
I know the fact things cost more will be annoying - and that’s a good tip - accept it and get on with the rest!
I also realise it’ll be same shit different place - but just hoping the greater amount of bright days and a more outdoor lifestyle will be good for my well-being.
Thanks v m

Are you able to move? Australia isn’t allowing non citizens in right now, but of course that will have to change at some point.

Definitely the outdoor lifestyle and sunshine is a big positive. It is very “far away” from everywhere but that’s just a mindset.

How does your DH feel about it?

As far as the outdoor lifestyle it’s really what you make it. I’ve never been the outdoors type but there is so much to do. After a decade I am finally venturing out more. I’m finally acclimatised to the weather and can manage a hot day.
So if you enjoy being out and about you will do well because there is so much choice.
I wouldn’t want to live anywhere near Sydney because it is so busy and I would hate driving there. But seeing as you are from south London you should be used to it.

If you like heritage or history in any way, architecture, visiting places with a different character like different villages or towns, traditional things like fetes/Carol services/even UK seasons, having a variety of cultural attractions available (theatre, museums, wildlife places, etc) and the opportunity to readily access different countries (pre-covid), then you may find it a bit samey in Sydney unless you manage to replace those things with other traditionally more Austin activities. These things are available in a different fashion but I found it more limiting & that we needed to travel further afield for the stimulation I wanted. This didn't bother me before I went out there pre-kids though. When I came back to the UK I felt like I was in some sort of historical theme park. If you don't fill your time doing that stuff then you won't miss it much there. Difficult to generalise of course.

I lived in Sydney for 2 years. I really liked it but I was glad to leave in the end. As others have said it can feel a bit samey and there is definitely not the breadth of things to do that there is in London. It was more like living in a medium size town - in fact it reminded me a lot of Cardiff in terms of the scale of the city centre.
Conversely, as a whole it's also very sprawly - it covers a larger area than London - meaning that you can end up with a long commute to an anonymous suburb. Places like the Eastern suburbs and the Northern beaches are amazing places to live, but very expensive due to their more central location.
In terms of the weather, even in normal years Sydney has a higher average rainfall than London and summers can be rainy. The humidity is also pretty horrible in the summer particularly if you are commuting.
The best things were :

• Sydney is a really pretty city, in the centre at least. I used to love wandering around Darlinghurst and Paddington looking at the pretty houses and the harbour is obviously amazing
• The restaurant bar and cafe scene is great if expensive
• The natural landscape is beautiful
• Even Sydney never felt over crowded by London standards. You could get a drs appointment easily and public transport wasn't too mobbed.

It felt pretty safe where we lived - although I think the Western suburbs are more dodgy People are generally polite and superficially friendly - even if it doesn't go much deeper It's a young optimistic country that people are really proud to call home (the lucky country) - which makes the place feel really positive Worst things included

• Sameyness as above
• Distsnces inside and outside the country
• Cost of living - even though I was paid more rents etc are very high
• Insularity - it was actually really hard to meet people properly / make friends
• Cold houses in the winter
• Boiling hot houses in the summer
• Lack of midrange options on things like furniture and clothes - there was only really expensive brands or Walmart
• Casual racism
• Drug abuse is rife and very visible in the city centre
• Sun damage - you wouldn't belive the things I saw growing on people's skin! I actually kept out of the sun as much as possible as you could feel it burning

I lived in Sydney for more than 25 years in the lower north shore beautiful suburbs very pretty . I had my son there we both had great jobs it certainly was a nice lifestyle . I wouldn't say it will be better but it will be different I am so glad I had the opportunity and the experience of living there but it's a long way and if you are close to your family you will find that hard .
I agree with others that it can be samey but Sydney does have a great restaurant and cafe scene although expensive
Housing is also very expensive renting and buying

Thanks so much to all you lovelies who have given me a real breadth of things to think about!
I’m not close to my family or that of my DH. In a way lockdown has shown we don’t need them either if that doesn’t sound too terrible.
@HauntedDishcloth we aren’t particularly into history/architecture - and would probably prefer a day kayaking to a day looking round Warwick castle/Hampton court house. So the culture concern is not a worry. Thanks for sharing that tho!
The cold houses in winter bother me GREATLY. I’m a 15tog duvet and thermal vest wearing kinda girl so I’m not gonna enjoy a cold house. We’d rent at first but hopefully if we could buy one once we sell here (we’d like to keep London home for a few years as a backstop) then maybe we could insulate/build it warm enough?? 🥶
Thanks for the idea on sizes too @Puppylucky

@aussiegonewrong - that’s also a consideration - I think I’d regret it if we didn’t ever try it. I’d always wonder!
@whatwherewhywhenhow it’s gonna be a year in the making with visa applications, expression of interests, skills assessments for our work, and of course the borders being closed - but we just need to make the decision to begin the work to get us there or not. It’s all so expensive and the first thing we’d have to do is tell our bosses for the EOI reference (for skilled visa) which my hubby is not keen to do. I am I hate my job and relish the thought of telling them I’m not that into them. Might be leaving in a year or so might not hahah!

Thanks all so much!

It's honestly like living here in many ways. Work and pay bills.
Everyone asks about outdoors life- really think about this point as it's too hot alot of the year to he outdoorsy.

Cold houses. I froze in winter- be prepared that the house quality is rubbish and in est in air con and heating throughout. Its miserable on a cold wet day to have no central heating!
It's very culturally barren. Everyone does tha same thing every weekend as there isn't lots of different places to go. You will meet alot if people who have never been out of the country and dont see any need to see or experience anything else

Be aware of the sexism too and be ready.

Sorry I sound so negative. I liked living there and no regrets it was fun for a few years just knew the sameness and distance from anywhere wouldnt keep us there indefinitely.

Enjoy the journey!

We aren't in Sydney but have been in Oz nearly 10 years. My kids have a a great lifestyle. Where we are its only really cold in July August and it doesn't last long. My kids do beach swimming as their school swim and my 11 yr will be doing surfing at school last term. There are amazing parks everywhere and most weekends there is something on. My teenager spent all summer going between the beach and friends pools.
Yes its along way from home and you can't pop to Europe for a quick break but we literally have beaches far nicer and far less crowded then the ones in Europe less then 5km from our house. We haven't had much trouble meeting people but then where we are most people are from somewhere else be it elsewhere in Australia or overseas.

See that's the difference! I also lived in Dubai, where everyone was from somewhere else and despite all the obvious negatives about the place, it was at least a socially inclusive (for Western expats) place to live. Whereas my experience of Sydney was that everyone who actually wanted to meet different people and experience different points of view, had left the country, if only for a while, and the ones that were left were quite happy in the social circles they had built up from school. It was quite a shock given my experience of Aussies in the UK.

We've been living in Sydney's Northern Beaches for nearly 9 years and had our son here, who is now 4 years old. We absolutely love it but also know plenty of people who have not settled/moved back.

Some things I have found useful to consider:

• anything that is a source of stress or worry in the UK will still be an issue in Aus - money, relationships, health etc. Moving abroad isn't a magic solution. On the other hand, even in our most difficult times, we find a huge amount of joy and comfort from being able to connect with nature, walk on the beach, swim in the pool etc.
• Our main reason for moving was to have a more outdoors lifestyle and Sydney is great for that - sports, beaches, surfing, bushwalking etc and the reliability of the weather (recent floods excepted) mean that we can enjoy being outdoors even in the winter.
• It is very expensive and takes a long time to stop converting everything back to pounds. House prices in the Sydney suburbs are currently rising at a crazy rate so if you want to buy you will need to be realistic beforehand about what you will be able to afford and rental competition is increasing too
• We were used to not having our family immediately on hand but consider what you will do if a relative is ill or dies etc. I had just given birth when my dad died and wasn't able to travel back for the funeral etc which was very hard so it's sensible to have a plan for what you will do, also consider if a relative might need long term care etc what would be expected of you

Ooooo loads of good points - brilliant- thank you @bananabread2000 @Puppylucky @sunbunnydownunder @Nextyearwillbefun !!!

I would be worried about making friends when there. In a years time we’ll have a 6mth old too so maybe that will help!!? Here in London we’re miles from family and school friends but do have NCT groups friends from both our kids. I really value a social circle though so I’d need to really look into where is good to live for expats perhaps. 👍🏼

Hey, Aussie here, who lived in London for a few years. I thought I would put in my perspective.

I agree, work/money/bills are the same everywhere, but I found it came down to the type of LIFE you like to live. As I had grown up is Australia, I’m used to being outdoors, and living outdoors. Instead of history, architecture, museums etc (as we are a young country in terms of European settlement, and don’t have a long traditional western history with buildings etc) we do outdoors-y things on our weekends and evenings - sports, bush walks, beach, surfing, picnics, hikes into waterfalls, canoeing etc, depending on where you live.

I now think of it as the difference between adults and kids at the beach. Adults might have one or two swims, read a book, stay under the umbrella, go for a walk. The Kids/teenagers will be in and out of the water all day, cricket, paddle boards, surfing, sand castles, jump waves etc. Kids will just think - great day let’s do it again! Adults might think, great, but let’s see an art gallery tomorrow.

In Australia, we are the kids. Happy with the outdoors and the occasional art gallery. Some (Only some!) of my UK friends Feel like the opposite - they prefer the outdoor lifestyle only occasionally but want the other stuff all the time, and we just don’t have that.

Also - you can go to any doctor you want, whenever you want (or can get a booking, which is usually same or next day). I never understood the ‘registering at one place’ thing when I was in London. Thank goodness I wasn’t sick much! (No criticism of the NHS and overall yea for both UK and Aust Governments understanding that health care is a right, not a privilege).

I should add - we have one of the oldest indigenous cultures in the world.

I love being home in after 10 years in London.

But I have my family here, my circle of friends and I was really ready to come home.

It's tough being an expat anywhere. I have lived in 4 other countries and the first year of each time I've always hated it. Because it's hard work moving, learning the new social norms and being away from family and friends.

The thing with expat friendships are you rely on each other to fill the family void. I've made a few expat friends since I've moved home to Aus, but they're fairly superficial because I'm home to spend time with my family, not be out every other weekend with new friends.

Harsh I know, but it's true. In London I was mainly friends with other Aussies, Kiwi's and Polish. Most English friends were more acquaintances for the occassional drink/coffee.

Aus is a long way from Europe. And you will feel it. We watch a lot of British shows, including topical ones, as I like to keep up with what's going on in the world. Aus tends to be rather insular about world news. And Australian TV is SHITE.

The houses aren't built for cold weather, but mainly good for hot days.

Pre Covid work/life balance could be shit. Luckily I work very local and dh with a global company that were ok with WFH. Most companies were not (but lots are planning to continue with hybrid work ways).

It's really expensive here. I mean 🤯 expensive. Even after living in London I'm shocked at prices.

But right now there's no other place I'd rather be 🙂

Spidery, when I lived in the tropics I'd often find huntsmen spiders in my bed.

I love being home in Australia after 10 years in London.

God the spiders! 😬
I’ve heard there’s food spray poison!?

*good spray poison

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

Spidery, when I lived in the tropics I'd often find huntsmen spiders in my bed.

Urghhh!!! I always said I'd drive straight to the airport if we found a huntsman inside the house! We had them on the windows, on the balcony & pantry but not in the actual living area - to my knowledge!! Oh and in the car. Red backs on the front door and a trapdoor or wolf spider in a hole in the lawn where I stood hanging up the washing in my thongs flip-flops Yes, you can get pest spray - we had the house sprayed regularly which I didn't like the idea of with babies & pets but did for a sense of reassurance, probably undeservedly so & I used to feel embarrassed having it done in front of our Austin neighbours being a soft pommie The bit of tolerance I built up from our years there has probably worn off now

I have a friend who lives on the south coast of the UK who does all the sports listed above..

Not Sydney but we lived in Australia for 6 years. Our friends were mostly expats (not all British; Kiwi, Canadian, Italian, Japanese too) or people in mixed nationality relationships. Not sure why really although I guess particularly in my case a lot of those were people I met through work, which tended to have quite an international slant to it. We did/do have some great Aussie friends though and plenty of acquaintances who treated us with real kindness - invitations for Christmas Day for example or to the footie.

We loved the food culture; seasonal food, lots of great restaurants and while big chain restaurants are easy to find there is no illusion that they're good! We ate so many amazing meals, shopped at great markets etc. It is something we really miss and often talk about.

By the end of our time there we had started to struggle a bit with what to do at weekends, it felt a bit repetitive. But I find it difficult to articulate why and it may just be that we were ready to come home, rather than any fault with Australia. I'm not wildly outdoorsy, as a skin cancer sufferer, and my OH's chosen sport was not very easily accessible where we lived but those are issues that are personal to us, not universal.

It is a long way away, and we love having travel options here that we did not have there. How this works in a post covid world, who can say, it may be less relevant.

I feel like I've been more negative than positive and that doesn't really reflect my feelings - I miss living there and it is something we talk about often, because we are fortunate in that we could go back at any time (covid allowing, we're not citizens). We have considered moving back more than once since returning to the UK so it obviously has things going for it!

Thank you for your messages @tentative3 @murbblurb @HauntedDishcloth.

Does anyone have any idea of suburbs to look in for that expat / good social vibe - walking distance to the beach ideally?

I am Monegasque and before moving to the Northern Beaches in Sydney, we lived in Italy, France, Spain, Monaco and a couple more countries. All the advantages listed above are easily done on the Côte d'Azur or Italian Riviera, and so many places on the Mediterranean coast without the inconvenient of being far far far away from everything and the added bonus of being able to go skiing every weekend in winter for the sporty ones, or jump in a cheap plane for a weekend in Venice or Lisbon.

Having experienced the vibe and hype of Southern Europe, I struggle here and can't wait for my DH's next posting, hopefully back to Europe.
Life is certainly sweet for the children, but so was my childhood in Monaco or the young years for my kids when we were living in Barcelona and we would go to the beach until the end of October (and the water has a temperature way warmer than the freezing Sydney. Only now is it pleasant to swim) and wander through the old city eating an ice cream.

I miss not being able to show Europe to my kids, visit Greece, or the capitals because of course when we go back - and high now were are locked in - we have to visit family. I miss the internationality and somehow also the intellectuality of Europe. Here there is very little awareness of what is outside Australia, everything is so expensive that the majority can only afford very limited overseas experience and for many that will be a week in a resort in Fiji-Bali. Pre-covid obviously.

Of course for sun-starved people, I can see the attractions of Australia, but you can have sun and sun-related wellbeing a lot closer in a richer environment. I find Australia very old-fashioned in many ways, I couldn't believe the debates when the same-sex marriage referendum was proposed (and passed! ) but now religion freedom laws are being discussed allowing for gays to be fired (if they work in a religious school for example) or a baker refusing to make a cake for a gay couple.

Yes you have beach life here but not all year long. There are the winter months, the rainy days and we had plenty this year.

What shocked me when talking with young people in my house (I have kids ranging now form Uni-year 7 and we have an open house with plenty of guest all year round ) is the sheer ignorance on so many things, not only the arts but general knowledge and historical culture and even basic geography.
I was mentioning to a group of mums at school gate we had just returned from New Caledonia, and several of them asked me where that was . It is the second closest country to Australia, the first being Papua New Guinea, then New Caledonia and Solomon equal distance, before Vanuatu, Fiji, New Zealand....
They don't even know their neighbours!