Sorry my first post is just a whinge

[Megami]

Dear All, sorry my first post to this excellent forum is a venting rant, but I just had to let off steam in a group that might understand my frustration!

Our family (me, husband and son) currently live in Australia and are looking to move to the UK end of next year. We lived and worked in the UK in 2002-2003, so I would say we have a fair idea of what we are getting ourselves in for - we know about the weather (I spent a winter in Glasgow - I know dour weather), we know about working and dealing with everyday issues, we have dealt with the health system, and taxes, and councils.

But of course everyone says we are mad. What really gets me is such people are usually Brits who have no idea about Australia, and Australians that have no idea about the UK.

What REALLY gets me is the Brits who complain about the UK and wanting to move here. But what they usually give as their reasons for leaving the UK are exactly the same issues here in Australia - its not that different when it comes to government, education, social systems, immigration etc. People claiming they are moving to Sydney because the highschools in Australia are so much better than the UK - have they ever been to an Australian highschool? Or have they just watched 'Home and Away' and know what they are on about?

And the weather. Firstly, the weather in the UK is not that bad. Seriously, I have lived through two years of it in various parts of the UK, and I survived. Secondly, it can get so hot in Australia that you just feel like doing absolutely nothing that involves moving away from the air-conditioner, so it works both ways. Finally - it is just weather! To quote an old Norwegian saying - there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices.

Sorry for ranting. Can anyone on this board understand what we are going through?

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by Megami

Dear All, sorry my first post to this excellent forum is a venting rant, but I just had to let off steam in a group that might understand my frustration!

Our family (me, husband and son) currently live in Australia and are looking to move to the UK end of next year. We lived and worked in the UK in 2002-2003, so I would say we have a fair idea of what we are getting ourselves in for - we know about the weather (I spent a winter in Glasgow - I know dour weather), we know about working and dealing with everyday issues, we have dealt with the health system, and taxes, and councils.

But of course everyone says we are mad. What really gets me is such people are usually Brits who have no idea about Australia, and Australians that have no idea about the UK.

What REALLY gets me is the Brits who complain about the UK and wanting to move here. But what they usually give as their reasons for leaving the UK are exactly the same issues here in Australia - its not that different when it comes to government, education, social systems, immigration etc. People claiming they are moving to Sydney because the highschools in Australia are so much better than the UK - have they ever been to an Australian highschool? Or have they just watched 'Home and Away' and know what they are on about?

And the weather. Firstly, the weather in the UK is not that bad. Seriously, I have lived through two years of it in various parts of the UK, and I survived. Secondly, it can get so hot in Australia that you just feel like doing absolutely nothing that involves moving away from the air-conditioner, so it works both ways. Finally - it is just weather! To quote an old Norwegian saying - there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices.

Sorry for ranting. Can anyone on this board understand what we are going through?

Of course I can understand ....... its always a case of "the grass is greener on the other side", and people end up in a new country with a whole new set of challenges and problems. If you have problems in a country then sort them out, dont just move them to a new location thinking they will go away. I have to say thats not just Brits though, I've seen a whole array of worldwide ex pats whinging about the move they made, believe me.

Oh .... on the subject of weather. Yes .... it is sh!t. You're basing your experiences on 2 years, I'm basing mine on 50. Right now in the UK its snowing, its wet, its windy and its cold. Some years, especially recently, we would go for months and months with grey depressing skies. In '05 it seemed to go on from Nov through March / April. This year my daughter told me it rained solidly for over a month, hence the floods. Dont underestimate the depressing weather . I realise the downside of months of hot humid weather also, but trust me .... the UK weather can really get you down

[Megami]

Actually Stravinsky, I have experience bad/horrible weather in a lot of places: living in Victoria and leaving my house in darkness and returning in wet darkness through winter - I only noticed what was actually growing in my garden on weekends. Living in various tropical locations where it was just soooo humid and muggy that as soon as I stepped outside with my son he would start crying, or the daily torrential downpours meant you couldn't go outside, let alone drive, for large parts of the day, and everything eventually went moldy.

But thanks for your reply - I have to remember that the weather CAN be dire.

[kaz101]

Hi Megami,

We have just moved from the UK (just North of London) to South Australia.

We had spent some time in Australia although I admit it was holidays rather than working here.

Immigration is controlled in Australia to a certain extent and not in the UK. That was not one of the reasons we moved since my Dad was an immigrant to the UK anyway

It is harder to run small businesses in the UK and I hear the same in Oz but it doesn't seem to have the same level of red tape that we did in the UK.

The weather - for us that was a big thing since my husband was a gardener and has poor circulation (not a good combination) so we wanted to move somewhere warmer but not too hot. The long grey days did used to get me down in the UK. We've had a few here this winter but not for months on end.

Lifestyle - in the UK we were part of the rat race. My husband got up at 6am and as you mentioned in winter never saw the garden since it took him 2 hours to get to work and another 2 hours to get home in the evening. Our lives consisted of getting up, going to work, coming home tired, eating and sleeping - repeat. Moving to Oz meant that we now have a life. We spend time together and my husband loves the fact that he can walk to work (and he's a trainee car salesman ). We've joined groups and I'm actually recognised around town which never happened before in the UK since we were sooo busy.

Some people think that Oz is just the UK with warmer weather and they will get a big shock! The culture is different and we still have lots to learn.

And as for people saying you're crazy we've found out that there are bets going on and the longest gives us 3 years before we go back. However my parents have just been out here and now they understand why we love it so much.

Hope the move the UK goes smoothly for you!

Regards,
Karen