What do you miss...if anything?

[Peterc]

Castle Lager must be the most popular beer in Southern Africa. That alongside with biltong sitting on a houseboat on lake kariba with a few friends and loads of mosquito repellant... the sound of hippos and the roar of lions... what more can you ask for?

[Aussiejock]

I've been here too long to miss anything!

[Hazel]

How long have you been here in Oz, Ozziejock?
Peterc, I miss the sounds of certain African birds in the morning. Birds??? Me??? I never used to care about sounds before. I also get a tiny twinge of missing when I think of the different trees and grass in Africa. But then I think of all the good stuff Oz has that South Africa doesn't even come **close** to. Really, the little things I miss are truly far outweighed by the gains I've received being here. Bottom line for me is that this is a forum where we are able to just say what we feel....vent...doesn't mean we are not happy with where we've moved It's kind of like when you think what life was before you had kids....you miss your life before and it was so much easier (read: boring) but you would never trade your children for anything...you'd never go back to Before. This (changing countries) is our After. We are obviously going to reminisce a little....

Also I wanted to respond to lillymist about not missing shops....I understand what you're saying and I just want to share that sometimes it's not the actual shopping/buying you miss...it's more the cultural aspect of it.... when I say I miss the clothing shops in S.Africa I'm not saying I love shopping at all....what I'm saying is that in S.Africa the shops are set up differently: everything is in one place according to quality and price. Like one shop will be excellent quality right through...you don't have to feel the garment to see if it will last (Peterc I'm referring to Woolies the clothing store)...you can trust that it will. Another store will sell much cheaper clothing but the quality leaves much to be desired...it doesn't matter though..those stores have their purpose - fashion items that are not meant to last. I suppose I miss that convenience...I suppose I've become a lazy shopper who doesn't like to dig/hunt for stuff...I just wanna pick it up and buy it I don't know if I'm explaining myself properly. These are just my thoughts.

[tygwyn]

You're spot on there Hazel. It isnt actually the 'shopping' as such that you miss - its the familiarity of those shops - knowing what things are, the quality, which makes are good makes etc etc etc. Its exactly the same with groceries too - food has different names, they dont do lots of things here that they do in the UK - the selection is far less (very minimal actually).

I hope you dont miss anything when you get here lilllymist but my guess is that you will.........and it'll be silly things that you just didnt think were important to you before. You might miss the culture, the history, the people, the clothes, the food, the variety of grcoeries but most of all you'll miss FAMILIARITY!

Good luck though

Rach xxxx

[Hazel]

Yep Rach. You said it better than me. I agree with you. To Lillymist, I think that you just never know **what** you'll miss. Like I said in another post I never thought I'd miss the sounds of birds. If you'd have told me that 5 months ago I would have laughed you off. It's stange but true. Oh well, it's all good : -)

[lillymist]

This may be true for most people but not every one is the same....

I don't want to be reminded of the things around me here or i wouldn't be going....As far as im concerned the less im reminded of the place and people i live right now the better ....

I feel in order to get home sick when you leave don't you first have to feel at home in the place your living !!!! .....

I do understand what your saying, but you also must understand that we don't all feel this way about our life as it is now.....

[tygwyn]

Originally Posted by lillymist

This may be true for most people but not every one is the same....

I don't want to be reminded of the things around me here or i wouldn't be going....As far as im concerned the less im reminded of the place and people i live right now the better ....

I feel in order to get home sick when you leave don't you first have to feel at home in the place your living !!!! .....

I do understand what your saying, but you also must understand that we don't all feel this way about our life as it is now.....

Hi Lillymist

What I'm talking about isnt Home Sickness - I've never felt that and hope to god I never do. What you cant even begin to imagine (until you've made the move) is that when you move overseas EVERYTHING around you is alien - EVERYTHING! Even the hardest Expat who hated everything about the UK struggles with that a little. It takes time for your new surroundings to feel FAMILIAR - not homesickness - just familiarity.

When are you hoping to move over? Do you have a Visa yet?

Take care

Rach xxxx

[Aussiejock]

Originally Posted by tygwyn

Its exactly the same with groceries too - food has different names, they dont do lots of things here that they do in the UK - the selection is far less (very minimal actually).

Rach xxxx

I have read this so many times and I can't understand it. I have been back home many times over the years and I have often found it difficult to find the most basic things. Plenty of pre-prepared food tho'. So please Rach can you explain the above statement in more detail? Thanks in advance.

[tygwyn]

Originally Posted by Aussiejock

I have read this so many times and I can't understand it. I have been back home many times over the years and I have often found it difficult to find the most basic things. Plenty of pre-prepared food tho'. So please Rach can you explain the above statement in more detail? Thanks in advance.

No worries

How long have you been over here? Perhaps when you go to the UK you're trying to do the same as I do here - look for familiar things? I've only been here 14 months so its still all pretty new to me.

Things like........different crisps (sorry chips), decent curries, ready meals (sorry but I'm no chef!!), cheap 'home brand' groceries which dont taste like crap....etc etc etc

Like I say......for me its more familiarity. The size of Woolworths still shocks me now compared to the Tesco Extra we had in the UK.

I'm not knocking Australia - just saying 'its not the same'

[lillymist]

No one said its the same...if it was the same i wouldn't want to go there...not everyone needs things that are familiar around them in order to be happy....thats all im pointing out...

im not the type of person that needs my life to feel familiar...in fact i wouldn't want it to be that way..i'd be bored in an instant if i lived that way....

Everyone needs different things in there life to be comforatble with it and mine is not things that are familiar....

Not meaning to sound so disagreeable but its how i feel.....