Please can I have your HONEST opinions on Australia

[gem1981]

Hi

Hubbie and I are looking quite seriously into moving abroad

DH lived overseas (mainly the middle east) when he was growing up as his dad travelled alot with his job.

He has alsways had ambitions to move away from the UK and we have looked at the options and decided that Australia is probably our best option.

we want to move for the following reasons:

1)Better quality fo life for our DCs
2)more relaxed way of life
f3)ed up of being fleeced for every penny we earn in taxes by the UK

I suppose what I want to know is how realistic are we being in thinking that moving to Australia is going to give us this type of lifestyle or is it just a pipedream?

I would love to hear all experiences good and bad.

If you have emigrated there do you have any regrets?
Thanks

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Oh FFS this thread goes on and on! There is good and bad everywhere! There is rudeness, sexism and racism everywhere. Unfortunatley nowhere is immune. However, you can decide not to associate with people who's views you disagree with. I have been with a friend (mixed race African/English) who was called a "nigger" by an educated person in Dorset . Does this mean I go round telling everyone Britain is racist? Of course not because that would be insane! I am from London and plenty of times I have experienced doors not being held open for me, no one standing up for me on public transport when I was heavily pregnant, people bumping into me on the street etc etc. Does this make me come to the conclusion that British people are rude? No. Because that would be insane! Are you getting my point yet? Sheesh!

Whoops unfortunately

perhaps come and live in east london first to get a feel for what it's like to be surrounded by aussies! then if you don't like it, it's not too far back to Suffolk

laughs at all the irony of such negativity about Australia from people in the UK considering our largest immigrant group - around 20% of total comes from the UK.

I'd love to visit Australia but after reading Bloss's post I don't think I'd like to live there at all.

I know they have a reputation for being friendly but I found them to be very cliquish when I was travelling to Germany with a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis,and a little too loud for my liking.

However I've no doubt they aren't all like that, and as it was an Oktoberfest trip I'm hardly likely to meet the rather more quiet and reserved ones.

The Kiwis, Americans and Germans were by far the friendliest ime.

The lack of culture/news would concern me, not because I think Aussies can appreciate it but the country is so huge and so isolated that it'd be logistically difficult to have such events reguarly.

I hope to visit one day but I think the isolation and heat would drive me mad.

bloss I think you have summed it up perfectly I am one of the people who finds most of the things you've listed important and I didn't like living in Oz at all. Mainly because I love shopping, don't like the heat, am not an outdoors or sporty person and like to be reasonably close to my family.

When we lived there (8 years ago) the tax was definitely higher than the UKs but that was before GST so not sure about it now. Job opportunities were more scarce than in the UK and when we were there were much lower than London salaries - we were in Sydney and dh is in IT.

I had such an awful day yesterday. God I hate Australia.
We drove 2 hours to the mountains and had lunch in a cafe/bistro followed by coffee and hot chocolate. Then we spent the afternoon playing in the snow with the children. We made a snowman and spent 2 hours toboganning (well, I didn't on account of my broken foot but I watched DH and the children). We then drove 2 hours back into the city to go and pick up DH's car. God its a terrible city, Melbourne is, all the shops were still open with twinking winter lights, despite the rain (much needed) the parks were full of happy people, the old building of Flinders Street Station was in fantastic contrast next to the modern architecture of Federation Square and the Art Gallery. The trams were tootling along amiably, people of all shapes and sizes, colours and creeds looking happy.
We then drove the 20 minutes back to our suburb (10km out of Melbourne city centre) and on the way discussed what we should have for dinner: Should we stay in and cook or eat out? We couldn't decide at first (out of Greek, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Lebanese, 'Bistro' style, woodfired Pizza etc etc - all within a 10 minute walk from our house) but in the end we chose to eat at one of the two Japanese restaurants down the road ...

Like I said, it's a terribly unfriendly, boring with nothing to do, no culture and shit place to live.

I think I prefer Redhill.

id move to melbourne.
tis a fab place and i think it would tick all yur boxes.
sydneys lovely too. i lived there for 6m and loved it.

dp wont entertain notion of moving abroad atm due to his 8yo son from previous relationship living here, so not an option for us. and he has a thing about long flights and australians [yes i know, i do tell him hes being an arse and awkward too] so it wouldnt be aus in any event.
but id move there if i didnt have those ties.
i have family who have moved/are moving there. an increasing number of them as it happens...

the bits ive been to outside of those two cities are breathtakingly gorgeous, but yeah, the um, 'history' is a bit . you read things in guide books that say stuff like 'discovered in 1821...' and you think eh? im pretty sure there were people there before that. it pisses me off that they mean first seen by White Man when they say first seen at all. iyswim. so yeah, it can be a bit... shallow feeling.

but you know, a place is what you make of it. and theres a lot to work with there.

I'm not gonna post as it's all been said.

All i can say as a brit is roll on January as I can't wait to the most goddam awful place on earth

Or should I say ' I can't wait to go to '

Do they accept bad spellers ?

Right, joking and sarcasm aside ....
Here's my view:

If you LOVE London life and actually USE it regularly, say once a month (the shows, the clubs etc etc), then don't come to Australia, you WILL be bored. If you only 'use' London once a year (for that special night out to a show) then Sydney or Melbourne has lots to offer and things like that are more accessible and cheaper.
For example, it is REALLY easy to get tickets to the Australian Tennis Open (and virtually impossible to get tickets to Wimbledon) ...
If you live in an idyllic English village near the beach and only 2 hours from London and you are thinking of moving out of boredom then I seriously don't think moving to Australia is the right thing to do. At the end of the day, the cities are still cities and you may be overwhelmed, the cost of living is expensive in Melb and Sydney and that may give you a shock. If you leave you lovely suffolk village for a small out of the city place in Australia then the 'small town' ness of it may shock you .... small towns in Aus are a different kettle of fish to small towns in the Uk and I think you will feel isolated.
I think people should only make this move if they are really ready to start a new life, get out there and make new friends, take the Aussie culture (warts and all) and embrace it, loving it for what it is and accepting its faults.
No place on earth is perfect ...
I miss England a lot, I miss the history and quaintness and family. I am not a big shopper and on my recent trip back to England I went shopping once (in a month) and didn't buy anything I couldn't buy in Melbourne. DH and I do more in the way of concerts and shows and fine dining than we ever did in England but maybe that is because we are 6 years further up the ladder in terms of circumstance and so we can afford it more .... I don't know ...
We moved to improve our life, and we have, immeasurably ... but it wasn't over night, it took at least 2 years in NZ to settle, another 2 to get our finances etc sorted then a year later we moved to aus and we have had to start all over again (well, not financially really but socially yes) ... I have a thick skin and can make friends fairly easily .... if you are shy and your friends and family are your rock and strength then moving to the other side of the world is not a good idea either.
It is a great place - like I said in my original post but only if you want it to be iyswim ...

as ever Ghosty talks great sense

am looking forward to first trip to oz in a month and a bit!

I did a rowing song today in music to celebrate "our rowers success" all the British people pointed out that I was in fact British and I was genuinely surprised to remember that I was.

but with a kiwi dh and a kiwi ds getting behind the boys and girls in black and cheering I found myself doing it to.

I lived near London for 2 years and went to 2 concerts. I've been to 2 concerts so far this year that were just as good and been able to take ds, go in the car and park 3 minutes walk away. There may be numerically less culture, but in terms of accessibility and cost and taking into account a way smaller population there is probably more.

Well said ghosty!

mrsjc - if you are coming to Sydney we could arrange a wee get together as I think we are due another one.

ah sorry VF, am only going to Melbourne this time...have meetup all planned! have my eye on Sydney next though....

My impressions:
I've been here 6 months. I'm lucky in that DH has far more family than I have and it's been amazing seeing DS getting on with/playing with cousins. but that's not an Aussie thing.......
My big shock is from inner london (urban) to surburban Sydney. I grew up in a "posh" area, and was quite excited by the idea of moving back to a monied area and not having any worries for awhile. I've most recently been living in Peckham (and loved it btw)... so big change.
Culture and Racism:
Sounds weird but I think they are in some way connected. In London, culture is just a part of everyday life. The newspapers you pick up, the broadcasting, the stuff available at libraries, the conversations you have with neighbours/friends. Therefore, whilst there are overt racists, generally everyone maintains a polite silence if they can't think of anything good to say about "foreigners".
In Sydney, in my completely underbiased opinion (I was looking forward to the move), it is jaw droppingly blatant and rather than a few people who get told to shut up, everyone (educated or not) seem to think it's OK. The racism here in Sydney seems to be a nasty "they are getting all the best results / taking over the schools/we don't want them here", and yes the name calling. In six months I've heard dozens of references to coons, wogs, Them, etc etc.. all of this is stuff I haven't heard in London since the 70's. It seems to me to be a sort of bullying. I've had problems all my life with being ridiculed for having a posh accent, but in the UK it's always been manageable, one off remarks by idiots. To have my DH's friends, or parents at DS's school going on and on about it, as if I can do anything about it is a tad tedious. Everyone is very quick to pick on differences. Far less accepting.
Having said that, several people have become really great friends, and DH's family are fantastic.
I've just been o/seas for almost a month, my dad passed away, but I do remember being bored witless before I left because there didn't seem many dimensions to my life here .. and I hope that's not just because of me :-)
The big big positive is that DS loves it the great outdoors. But I have to say, once you've been outdoors for a while, it really doesn't change that much. Beaches, yep, bushwalks, yep, wildlife, yep. But even if they're fantastic, but they really don't take on a new and exciting look 4 times a year.
Finally, my first thought when I came over for a visit 6 years ago was that it seemed very 1950's. Still feels like that to me.

........and you thought you wrote essays ???

Unfortunately i'm up in the middle of the night with a sick child, jet lag, and desperately missing my dad, so really I'd like to go home please ..........

Oh Jackaroo, you poor thing ... losing your Dad only 6 months into living here must be very very hard {{{}}} It isn't surprising you want to go home at this point.

It is funny how people have these different experiences though, I have a very standard English accent (not completely posh but I speak well) and not once has anyone (5 years in NZ and 18 months in Aus) ever commented on it other than noticing that I have an English accent - no 'posh' comments if you know what I mean ...
I still get blown away by outdoors views, but then I do in England too ... it is all personal.

But going back to losing your Dad, my Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the beginning of this year and all I wanted to do was go home ... and I have been away for 6 and a half years! I am sorry for your loss and hope you have lots of people around you to help and support you {{{}}}

Jackaroo that is very sad, I am so sorry that you are having to cope with losing your dad, and to have to cope whilst being so far from home is truly awful.

It is one of my worst nightmares that something happens to one of my family back home and that I am away from them. It is the sort of thing that brings me to tears just envisaging it (I do seem to like to torture myself sometimes ). As my parents are still relatively young - mid 60's I can comfort myself with the knowledge that I wont have to confront the issue about aging sick parents for a few years yet (fingers crossed) but it is something that I spend time thinking about. And I would say it is another issue to consider if you are thinking of emigrating.

I too have a very standard (slightly posh maybe) English accent (with the odd lurch into broad Gloucestershire after a few drinks), and no one has ever mentioned it - apart from DH who likes to point out my Gloucestershire vowels now and again. But a good UK mate of mine here really does speak like the Queen and the only person I have ever heard take the piss is another Brit.

One thing to bear in mind is that when you emigrate the one thing you take with you is YOURSELF. If you are a generally unhappy/dissatisfied person you will continue to be so wherever you live. If you are a generally happy positive person you will be so in the UK, in Australia and probably Timbuktoo. External things do matter a bit - ie it's nice to have nice sunny days, the great outdoors, good shops etc but essentially these things will not make you HAPPY. You need to take into account your inner nature as that will be the thing that determines a successful move or not iyswim

The other thing is that DO NOT be fooled by the superficial similarities, Australia is a FOREIGN COUNTRY - they do things differently here. It is not the UK dragged 12,000 miles into the sunshine. It is FOREIGN therefore there will be significant differences. Some good, some bad.

Just out of interest are Poms just the English? or are Scottish, Welsh and Irish lumped in together.
I hate London so I should be fine then.

Completely agree Claudia, I think the two big things you can take responsibility for are your own character and forward planning. Absolutely no point in turning up with no job contacts etc., and then wondering why you can't get anywhere for example, and if you're miserable in the UK, going to Oz won't fix that!

Thank you for the kind words, Ghosty and Claudia, my parents have been o/seas from me for the last 13 years so for all the emotional blackmail I had to contend with when I came to Sydney, THEY moved first!!
They see the same thing there (in the Med.) people turn up with a suitcase having bought a house off plot, and then are baffled by having to deal with tax, employment etc etc..

My dad was older (almost 80), and has had 3 unrelated cancers 5 years ago, and then we had a break for the last 4 years. Wherever you are it is determined by your relationship with your family, and the network around you. Another reason to be very thorough and get out there and make friends etc etc...

PS Yes, I am more of the Queen type accent, which some Aussies love/laugh at in an incredulous way, but still a noticable number think it's up for constant comment/ridicule. I have sort of tried to soften it, but it just ends up sounding silly, and makes me even more self conscious!

I think Poms are just the English aren't they?

from an aussie - poms are just the english.

Jackaroo - we had a similar situation of sorts with my FIL. we had not long left and he underwent bypass surgery. Did not seem to be getting better - had the cardiologist rouse at him and telling him to stop malingering. Long story short - taken to a and e diagnosed with lung and liver cancer given no time to live.

Dh went back to UK in the June when fil was diagnosed and had some time with him. His father was gone by the end of september and so back for the funeral. His mother said she would understand if dh did not go back for the funeral - long way, lots of expense on one income BUT i had always said to dh that if anything happened with regards to his family if we did not have the money we would find it and he would be able to go. He was also thinking about not going in the June but I said he should go and spend some time with his father. If he had ages to go - great maybe we could all see him again and he could see dd2 BUT if not then at least he had no regrets by only going for the funeral.

I agree what others said to - what you are and live is what you do wherever you go. We were a bit irresponsible though. Dh had no job to go to, I was 20 weeks pregnant with dd2 and we had a house ( mine which had been rented out) and so a mortgage with some savings. Dh managed to find a job quite quickly and we have not looked back.

I also agree with the comment that it is still a foreign country and us aussies have strange ways and I think people do get deluded into thinking - well part of the commonwealth, settled by brits, speak english - be similar - not at all. But conversely I heard the same sorts of naivete from aussies who went to Britain and were shocked that it was different!!! That there was some culture shock.

I've tried to soften my accent somewhat as the Glasgow accent can be a little BROAD. I just can't get into the Aussie sayings though as I sound like a fool or like I'm taking the piss. So g'day is still good morning and how ya going is how ye doin!

There's a satellite delay while people decipher what I say, but I got that for seven years in England too.

I do try.