[EmmaKeegan]

Hi guys

Loving the website, what would we do without the internet eh?!

My husband and I have definately made up our minds to leave the UK but are undecided as to where to move to (toss up between US, Canada and Oz). I would like to go to Oz (although yet to visit there) as I have a very active 6.5 yr old daughter and believe that she would excel at all the outdoor activities that would be available to her.

The ONE question that I must have answered before I consider it further is........being an Arachnophobic, is living in Oz a possibility? I know that you have enormous and lethal spiders there but would I be seeing them on a day-to-day basis? Do they invade EVERY part of the house?

I know some of you must find it funny and quite silly and I wish I wasn't like it, but I just can't help it. Nothing else bothers me, I like snakes, lizards, crocs, birds, rats anything else, except spiders!

Many thanks

 

[tarlyn]

Not including the spider question I was born and raised in the US...ended up marrying a girl from Australia....lived there for a year and then moved to the US for 11 years.....we are now going back to Australia.

The economy is better.....food is better.....people are nicer....health care much better.

Only come go to the US if you enjoy job hunting every few years as its just not realistic to stay with the same company for your career anymore.

Regarding spiders the year I lived in a suburb of Melbourne I never saw any of the "dangerous" spiders but I suppose it mainly depends on where you live.....in the city areas I doubt it would be much of a worry.

 

[EmmaKeegan]

Thank you for your reply Tarlyn, I read it and breathed a sigh of relief! I've been looking at US a fair bit, the property is so cheap there but thought to myself that the reason for leaving the UK is because the economy is just rubbish and wanted to make sure my daughter has a great chance and opportunities in life - not to mention a better quality for us all as a family. I don't think much would change if I chose US?

Where abouts are you thinking of relocating back to in Oz? Is Melbourne nice? I would like to go where there is good schooling. Any suggestions? My husband works in the middle east at the moment and I have secretarial qualifications and experience.

Thanks again.

 

[tarlyn]

The prices on property are really cheap right now due to the financial crisis of the last 5 years so it is a very good time to purchase property in the US.

I live in Utah which is better off job wise then most of the US right now and its still very hard to find a decent paying job and even more hard to hold onto it.

Basically my experience from the two countries is that in the US its mostly big business....corporations that really care less about their employees and their stock price is all that matters. When I worked in Australia there is a lot more family owned small business and most companies seem to care a lot more.

Also the whole working atmosphere is much different....Australians work to live and Americans live to work. Very simple statement that is very true.

Working in Australia is much more laid back.....there are many more benefits from retirement, more holidays, more sick days, and less stress.

Granted I'm sure there are great companies that treat their workers like gold in the US and companies that are horrible to their employees in Oz but in general this is what I have found and look forward to returning to in July.

Living paycheck to paycheck and working well into retirement age is very common in the US and who knows where their Social Security system will be even by the time I need it. Would much rather work in Australia and have my employer pay into my Superannuation fund until I decide to retire. There are very few jobs in the US where your employer does anything to help with your retirement.....even hard to find an employer to match any money you put aside for retirement so its a very scary thing to look down the line and figure out how to save for retirement and not be working at Walmart as a greeter when your 80 years old.

We will be staying with my wife's parents in Swan Hill, VIC for a few months while we wait for our stuff to arrive and then plan to move to a suburb of Melbourne...not sure where yet. Melbourne is a very cool area....has 4 actual seasons which coming from Utah is nice.

I dont have a lot of info regarding schooling yet as I didnt have kids when I was last there but we will be looking into the same things when finding which suburb to live in.

 

[shussel]

Hi,
We moved from London to Sydney two years ago and we HAVE seen some poisonous spiders but it shouldn't put you off, you learn to manage the risk and get on with life. After living in our rental property for a year we found a few red back spiders in the garden (poisonous although no one has died in Aus for years from a red back bite as there's an antivenom); we contacted pest management and had the house and garden sprayed and didn't see any spiders in or around the property for about 8 months. We then saw a few and had the house sprayed again and the place is clean. Pest management works so there's no need to be put off coming.
We have two boys who are very active and curious and we teach them not to touch bugs and spiders. Again, I think it's a case of managing the risk...that seems to be the Aussie attitude to all the creepy crawlies etc.
I've travelled and worked in the US and if I had to choose between Aus and US it would definitely be Australia - the lifestyle is perfect if you have young children.
Good luck with your plans!

 

[EmmaKeegan]

Thanks Shussel, you have made me feel better about the spiders! But even better, that you said the lifestyle for kids is great, thats my main reason, I wanna give her the best opportunities. My daughter will be 7 in June, how old are yours? Are you happy with their schools?

Do you have family there? How did you come to choose Aust? Where about are you there? I worked in London for over 12 years, never really had a pull for me. I'm in Kent, and it is very picturesque here but we are so governed by the weather as to what we can do!

Is there anything you miss in the UK? I would love to hear yr thoughts.

Many thanks x

 

[Dolly]

I am the biggest arachnophobe! The one concern I had were the spiders over here. Well it turns out that spider-wise, it was worse back home! We've been here 4 years, never once had a huntsman in the house, had small spiders but none to worry about. We have the house sprayed inside and out every 6 months or so and I have a can of moretein cockroach spray in my bedroom (just in case.....) - the cockroach spray kills ANYTHING, it's great!

We live just south of Melbourne, now if I were living in FNQ then perhaps it would be a different story. The spiders there can be very big and they'd wrestle that can of moretein out of my cold clammy hand before I knew what was happening!!!! :lol:

Honestly, if I can survive the spiders here, anyone can.

Dolly

 

[EmmaKeegan]

Brilliant Dolly, thanks so much! And well done you, I know exactly how you must feel. So glad that Aust can still be an option for me! Just gotta work out, where to start now! I think a holiday there first, but again, where to go and when!

Any pointers please?

Many thanks

 

[shussel]

Hi Emma,
We moved to Sydney with two preschoolers for a change of lifestyle. We wanted to live by the sea, a more outdoor lifestyle and have challenging jobs. Sydney is perfect for us in many ways.
The only negative for us is the distance from family and friends in the UK, you gradually stop missing 'things' (products and services) but after two years I still miss people just as much but I've learnt to live with it and look forward to visits, skype conversations etc.
Good luck with your plans.

 

[Riza2012]

i go to sydney before for holiday spiders everywhere even in downtown sydney i saw big spider v scary and dangerous if you try to fight with them they can attack you and kill you. Perth has less spider problem.

 

[KimMii]

It really depends on WHERE you live...and to be honest, the 'larger' spiders aren't the ones you need to be afraid of...those great, ugly, hairy huntsman spiders won't bite and aren't poisonous but the Red Back (which is quite small) and White Tail spiders will give you a nasty bite that will make you sick and sore...the Funnel Web can be deadly but I don't think anyone has actually had a fatal bite in many, many years.

I was born in Australia, grew up there, and 40+ years later I've never actually SEEN a Funnel Web or White Tail spider...coming from QLD I have seen quite a few red back spiders but they are fairly 'docile' and seem to just 'sit around in their messy webs'

I am DEATHLY afraid of spiders and snakes...and I've only seen 3 snakes in my entire life (and one was dead on the side of the road)