Don't you pommies miss the English seasons though and Christmas in the dark midwinter, I would. This thing about spending time with the family outdoors round a BBQ, sounds a bit primitive like cavemen round a campfire, why do you value that higher then spending the same time with the family indoors round a civilised dining table or quality home entertainment?
I won't bother trying to convince you about anything over here, as you have to put down anything that comes up. Its a funny attitude where you have to try and put down anything anyone else says. I like to listen to everyones views as everyones ideas are different.
Came in 1968 and was lucky in so far as my husband had lots of relations out here so settling was really easy. I think coming without knowing anyone out here would be really hard. I left England because of the better work opportunities offered abroad. Both myself and my husband reached levels in employment we believe we would never have attained if we had remained in the UK. My closest friends are people who also migrated from England and I would never dream of returning there mainly because of the rotten weather. My husband has said,however, that if I "kick the bucket" he would return to Hull.(we have no children and he has family there).
True story. Old Army mate of mine was born and raised in Australia until he was ten. His family then moved to Cardiff, or Dinas Powys to be precise. He couldn't wait to move back there when he left the Army and duly did. He lasted six months and moved back to the UK. He hated the place and was born there. One of my other mates went to stay with him for a couple of months and he didn't like it either. He reckoned the Aborigines near where he lived were alcoholic pests who would drink petrol from time to time. He called them Abo's, the mad racist. I'm sure it's like anywhere, it ain't all good and it ain't all bad.
Your last line sums it up really. Whats good for one person is bad for another. As Mrs BMB says the work opportunities have been far greater out here now i have settled in, but it wasn't that easy when i first got here. As Andy Ps Mullet says the english countryside is fantastic but i think the beaches her are awesome. I go to Bribie Island and think the ones there can be awesome.
they only way you could do it and not have to worry, would be to win the Lottery, then come back to the UK if you dont like it after a few year, the money would be no loss
Totally agree with you in that observation. I have been fortunate in being able to do a great deal of globe-trotting and it is up there near the top of places I have visited.
Fair enough Brissy Tiger we do get a few cold days down here, but nothing like they get back in Britain.
I'm a bit like the fella that Carmine has referred to in that I was born here in Australia. I did nearly all my schooling over here but always felt a bit English because my Dad never stopped talking about home and Hull in particular. When I was 15 we moved to England and I fell in love with the place and did my last year of schooling there. For a number of complicated family reasons we ended up back here. As I've got older I have developed a fairly strong view that sometimes your family history (and particularly if that goes back several generations), is such a strong part of your DNA that you can't escape it and that is no different for an indigenous Briton than it is for anyone else. When I visit now, it is hard to leave and I still harbour the belief (or maybe just a dream) that I'll finish up in the East riding. Just one final comment - England's countryside is not only beautiful but amazingly accessible. If you live in the right part of Australia you will see some nice countryside too but the truth is that over here, most of us are urban dwellers in a suburban landscape that goes on forever. And the pubs just don't compare. Of-course Britain's not perfect but it has a richness to it, probably because of it's vast history, that makes it a pretty special place. I won't go on -I could, but I won't!
New Zealand south island is a fantastic place to visit but not such a great place to live - one of the World's highest suicide rates associated with isolation and depression caused by dismal winter weather.
We celebrate Christmas in the dark mid-winter too. It is normally held up here in July when it is cold enough to tuck into all the English traditional Xmas fare. We also have the December Xmas when because of the heat we generally opt for a cold seafood main meal. So we have Xmas x 2!
I find this quite amusing. Yes, we have 9 of the 10 most venomous snakes in the world here, and they're all scared ****less of humans. If they can sense a person approaching them they will "get the hell out of there". Red Back Spiders are venomous but really, who pays any attention to them. Huntsmen, they're like having a beetle running around on the floor, harmless, but very impressive looking. ( I quite like them) As far as the English country side being unrivaled in the world, you make it quite obvious that you have never been to "The Kimberley Ranges in Upper Western Australia http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Destination/Kununurra/9009576 There is a certain resort Home that is half hanging over a Gorge in Kunnunurra where Kylie likes to stay when she comes back home to OZ, mind you, I dare say most of us couldn't afford it as it's around $2k per night and comes with a helicopter and pilot
My Grandad & Nan were going to go after the War, but my Aunt (when she was young) preffered Glasgow and whinged about leaving, which put a stop to it. Well according to what me mam says anyway. Something must be wrong Down Under if loads of them want to come live in London & the UK.
But what to snakes etc do when they are scared? Bite!! My ex pat mates living in Oz are always asking how to get rid of red backs and huntsmen so obviously some people are bothered. You are of course right that have never been to the place in the link you sent. It does look impressive, but personally I would rather spend my time in the Dales, Moors, Lakes, Scottish borders, and Wales for walking or mountain biking than having to charter a helicopter to deliver me to an almost inaccessible place of natural beauty. Bill Bryson's book "notes from a small island" is very good at pointing out why the British countryside is unlike anywhere else in the world
Your comment on snakes has brought to mind the fact that my husband on his exercise bushwalk the other day had a rare sighting of a Tiger snake which is probably the most fearless of our snakes and will come at you under certain circumstances. Although he often comes across Brown and Black snakes this is only the second time he has encountered one in around 45 years of living next to the bush. The first time he saw one was the year Hull City were promoted to the Premier League!
