your reason for migrating to Oz?

[qarezma]

Many indians in Malaysia like myself have been migrating to greener pastures like Oz/Canada/UK for better opportunities and lifestyle.

But I've noticed quite a few people here are migrating from Ireland/UK/US to the Oz... which is puzzling to me becos if i get the chance i would love to migrate to UK/US myself. If its not too personal, could you share your experience or reason for migrating?

[Tiffani]

Hi Qarezma,

Maybe it's just a case of "The grass is always greener on the other side" (of the planet hehe)?

Seriously, I moved here from the US and even though I love America and it'll always be home, the opportunity to live in Melbourne presented itself, and frankly it was rather sexy.

Some people move here to escape from poverty and that's great for them, but most people who move here do so because they simply want to be here. it's a chance to experience a different culture but still live a good life, and the lifestyle here is really wonderful. Sure, there are things I prefer about the US (I also lived in the UK for three years and there are things I prefer about the UK), but there are things I prefer about Australia too. Nowhere is perfect; there is no utopia.

I think a lot of people probably move from the UK because the weather is better (let's be honest) and there are fewer space constraints. People move from the US for a better work-life balance (like my partner and I did). Of course, that's a generalization but I think there's a lot of truth in it.

[kaz101]

Hi Qarezma,

We moved from the UK for a warmer climate (my husband has circulation problems), for a better quality of life and because we liked it here.

The UK is very crowded and that always brings issues. We were fed up with the crime, the ever increasing taxes, and more time spent working than relaxing. It's so expensive in the UK that it's like you're on a treadmill always trying to make money to pay off bills and taxes, and we didn't have an extravagant lifestyle either.

My husbands day in the UK used to be get up at 6am, leave the house at 6.45am, sit in traffic for up to 2 hours, do garden maintenance work, travel home for up to 2 hours.

My husbands day in Oz is get up at 7am, have leisurely breakfast with me, chat, walk 7 minutes to work, sell some cars (although that may be changing soon ), walk home, have dinner and / or go out. Check investments.

It's soooo different here. We live in an area where we aren't afraid to walk around at night, and where we have time to go out - we've been out to the theatre and cinema more since we've been here than we ever had in the UK!

For some people that live the fast pace of city life they would hate the way we live but we love it.

I think that Utopia exists in your head, and that goes with you where ever you are, so that if you are running away from something rather than running to something, that stuff in your head will still be with you....

Regards,
Karen

[Tanya86]

Hi there,

At the moment my boyfriend and I are looking into moving to Oz. We are both 21 and from the UK and although we have both been very lucky to recieve a university education it is very difficult to find a job afterwards. Oz has the ability to offer us jobs that are hard to come by here

By looking into moving to someplace that has the ability to offer us something that we are less likley to get at home the prospects are very tempting. We are still young and if oppertunity rises its head then we have to grab it with both hands.

Kaz101 am I right to guess that you are english?? The problems that you were describing regarding crime and the traffic etc is not a factor for us. We live in a city but its nothing on the scale say Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Cost is also a factor for us. The whole credit crunch that is happening at the moment has ment that it will be very difficult for us to even buy our first house together and we figured that if we are going to start out together why struggle over here when we have the oppertunity to start from fresh in Oz.

[MichelleAlison]

Although we didn't end up in Oz, we did leave the UK for similar reasons, terrible weather, rising prices (no inflation according to the government ha ha ha), crime and no quality of life. Both my sons were mugged at knife point and the youngest one at 1.30 in the afternoon, almost outside our house. Obviously crime is everywhere, but we now feel so much freer and happier and it was definately worth the upheaval, especially as we had to pull the kids out of school half-way through GCES's and college courses.

Michelle

[bobntpa]

We currently live in Florida, so we are not moving for the nicer weather. My partner and I have both lived in other countries and love learning new cultures and meeting awesome people from far away places. If all goes well we will be learning the Oz culture and travel to every destination within reach when we get there.

Bob

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by Tanya86

Kaz101 am I right to guess that you are english?? The problems that you were describing regarding crime and the traffic etc is not a factor for us. We live in a city but its nothing on the scale say Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Cost is also a factor for us. The whole credit crunch that is happening at the moment has ment that it will be very difficult for us to even buy our first house together and we figured that if we are going to start out together why struggle over here when we have the oppertunity to start from fresh in Oz.

Hi Tanya,

Yes I'm English (soon to be an Aussie in 17 months ) and we lived just North of London.

Beware that you may not get a mortgage here for a while since the banks will want to see proof of income. That's why we bought our Aussie house while living in the UK. Also you have to get a permanent visa to be able to buy here . Most people start off by renting here. The cost of living (there is a thread on this) isn't that much cheaper than the UK. I just didn't want you thinking that everything is cheap over here

Regards,
Karen