The good, the bad and the ugly side of your migration story.

[Rachiegarlo]

It's been a long time now since I moved here, but to start the ball rolling.......

 

The Good.....

I love the wide open streets and sense of space.

I love the heat and the cold and I love it when it rains (you are truly at home here when you say this

Kids seem more confident with themselves at an earlier age, but at the same time they are kids for longer.

The willingness to help and the friendliness of people in their everyday lives.

The Adelaide Hills, great for a day out, and as they surround the city, they are always in view.

Most of our fresh foods are produced in Australia.

Driving is easy and it doesn't take long to get anywhere or out of the city.

You can go to Sydney or Melbourne for the weekend, if you book early enough to get cheap flights.

 

 

The Bad.......

When I came I missed my best friends and there were only letters in those days and international phone calls were expensive.

Today though i still sometimes wish that we could have had a greater part of my nieces and nephews growing up.

Adelaide can feel very cliquey and insular at times until you make your own circle of friends.

Sometimes I miss the vibe of London and the wide choices available there.

Coffee walnut whips do not exist anymore.

 

The Ugly......

The same problems that exist in other developed countries exist here. It is not Utopia.

Otherwise I've been here too long for the uglies to be evident but some other people may have some more pertinent comments.

[Guest Guest5035]

It's been a long time now since I moved here, but to start the ball rolling.......

 

The Good.....

I love the wide open streets and sense of space.

I love the heat and the cold and I love it when it rains (you are truly at home here when you say this

Kids seem more confident with themselves at an earlier age, but at the same time they are kids for longer.

The willingness to help and the friendliness of people in their everyday lives.

The Adelaide Hills, great for a day out, and as they surround the city, they are always in view.

Most of our fresh foods are produced in Australia.

Driving is easy and it doesn't take long to get anywhere or out of the city.

You can go to Sydney or Melbourne for the weekend, if you book early enough to get cheap flights.

 

 

The Bad.......

When I came I missed my best friends and there were only letters in those days and international phone calls were expensive.

Today though i still sometimes wish that we could have had a greater part of my nieces and nephews growing up.

Adelaide can feel very cliquey and insular at times until you make your own circle of friends.

Sometimes I miss the vibe of London and the wide choices available there.

Coffee walnut whips do not exist anymore.

 

The Ugly......

The same problems that exist in other developed countries exist here. It is not Utopia.

Otherwise I've been here too long for the uglies to be evident but some other people may have some more pertinent comments.

 

my oh feelings exactly

 

stevo

[Guest soggy]

my oh feelings exactly

 

stevo

 

you miss coffee walnut whips too ??????????????

 

Simon:)

[Guest Guest75]

Good thread.

 

Bad........

 

The distance from the family/UK. Just wish we were living on the continent sometimes.

I hate the flights.

 

Ant and Millepedes!! Arrrgghhhh!!

 

Whinging Poms. ( boy will I get into bovver for that one!)

 

Lack of a local boozer in walking or taxi distance from where we live ,some boozers are not far away but try getting a taxi down sarf!

 

Slow local government - I have a real issues winding me up at the moment that seems to be taking for ever to get a decision on ( mind you this is probably worldwide)

 

Why do Aussies want me to like sport??

Fishing is a sport,beer drinking is a sport ,mickey taking is a sport- I live a healthy and full life.

 

The good.

 

Most things to honest,we still enjoy the differences here against Europe, some thing are quite quaint/sweet/old fashioned.Nothing wrong with this.

 

Aussie Mateship - A big thing here that has sadly disappeared elsewhere.

 

The sea/ beaches.

 

The Flinders Ranges and beyond. Planning a trip further in the more remote areas later this year.Arkaroola looks fascinating.

 

Pleasant staff in the shops that have the time of day for you.

 

The weather - just look at it now,like an English summers day out there.This gives me much more chance to be outside.

[Diane]

Ok, my turn...

 

The Good...

 

The weather and that huge blue sky

Spotting koalas and being swooped by parrots when walking in the park

The standard and choice of schools

The lack of hyped-up media (such as tabloid papers) meaning kids' role models tend to be sportsmen and women rather than pop stars and "it" girls/boys

The variety and availability of every sport you can imagine - to watch or take part in

The politeness and self-possession of the average aussie teenager

The friendliness and helpfulness of complete strangers

The accessibility of everything - you can have an affordable house in a reasonable suburb, and still nip into the City of an evening for a show or a band or a meal without it taking ages and costing a fortune (I don't think you could do that in somewhere like Sydney so much) and at weekends you can park on City streets for 20c!

 

The Bad

The lack of a decent "spoken word" radio station - why can the BBC produce dramas and documentaries on the radio, and the ABC just can't seem to get it?

The lack of decent satire - does seem that the aussies find it very hard to laugh at themselves sometimes, something that we Brits excel at

The price of holidays compared to package tours from the UK (was just saying today that the one thing I'd have done with the kids if we lived in the UK was take them skiing regularly - here it's just too expensive)

The "Who you Know" not "What you Know" thing here

The lack of manners on the roads

I miss decent pubs and pub meals

 

The Ugly

The insularity of the place - if it's not happening in Australia, you have to really struggle to find out about it!

The fact that family are so far away, and none of us are getting any younger...

[carryon]

I'm Next.

 

The Good.

The Weather, beautiful blue skies, makes a whole lot of difference to our lives.

Living near the beach, the kids and i love it,(Not so much my other half)

Still can find good large properties for reasonable money.

Friendly helpful people who give you a chance.

Easy driving and access to venues.

Willingness of people to except you as you are,( i love this coz im a scruffy sod)

Space and peace, down here in the far South anyway!!!!!!

The kids playing outside more and not wanting to sit in front of the TV.

 

 

The Bad

Apparently there is quite a drug issue, i dont see it though!!!!Apart from the plumes of weed smoke that drift over from my nieghbours:)

The price of cakes in the bakery!!!!!!

 

The Ugly

Mmmmm, im stuck really on that one, it always amuses me when you have a big nice new house and next door is a run down shack, falling to pieces!!!

 

Thats it.......Nearly 2 years, still haven't suffered any kind of homesickness and im pretty sure i wont!!! I am a fully paid up member of the ''Love it '' Brigade!!!

 

Simon

[adelaidenow]

The good...me

The bad...everyone else

The Ugly.....Man Utd supporters

[Guest WhatNow?]

Hello Diane, Hmmm - I can really see the Aussies paying a licence fee just to get good spoken word radio (not) - but I agree. I use the BBC iPlayer all the time but the main downside is the awful download and streaming speed. Roll on High Speed Broadband!

[Diane]

Hi Mandy, yes and my annual subscription to you-know-what has run out and I'm trying to justify renewing it!!

[kjc79]

good -

 

i have to agree the wide roads and the open spaces

 

and strongly agree the growth in confidence with my kids although still being kids longer

 

the warmer months of the beach and socialising so you can forget the daily stresses

 

and the fact that people are so easy going most of the time

 

finding such great friends in such a short time frame that you know will be friends for many years to come:)

 

When a kangaroo bounds accross main south road and you have to swerve - a nice reminder we are away from the very packed uk (as long as i dont ever hit one)

 

bad- (cant really think of much as its just the same as anywhere you live really with the daily struggles of life and money and not even in a happy place at the moment:()

 

the its WHO you know not what you know when trying to get jobs (oh struggling and no replies)

 

and the cliquey groups/people who whinge all that is not the uk - its a whole different country thats why peeps.

 

and just a bug bear (which is inn the uk to) graffiti?? some are fantsatic pieces of art but why just scrawl names and tags. baffles me

 

cant think of too much else at the minute although when i stop juggling 3 jobs i may have time to think and add to the good list

 

 

ugly -

 

nothings ever that bad i dont feel to be honest and everything gets better in the end cause it has too

 

 

I have days when i am just driving and see the blue sea and feel so pleased we live here and i feel content in where have chosen to bring our boys up and then some days (not many though) i do feel like an alien in a strange country but it still looks beautiful.

 

kathx

[Guest angiestaff]

me next:

 

the good:

the price and availability of good aussie wine

the price and quality of meat/fish and all fresh foods

some of the lovely places we have eaten at recently

the friendliness of some people in welcoming you to australia

the lack of heavy traffic at 'rush hour'

the weather (ok 2day is pretty crappy but compared to summer in UK we have it pretty good!)

the rental house we can afford here compared to the house we owned in UK

being far from family n friends (see 'bad' section too)

the wages

being able to use the m/bike far more here than in UK

 

the bad:

the standard of SOME peoples driving here (i come from b'ham and for me to say this it must be bad! lol)

the price of convenience foods (come on sometimes it's easier to pop something in the microwave when ur knackered!)

being far from family n friends

the creepy crawlies

 

the ugly:

some of the hair styles that you seen teenagers sporting (what is it with the huge hair that some of them have! lol)

 

i'm sure i could think of loads more for all sections but hey-ho i have some lovely aussie wine to drink

ange x

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

Been here 19 months so my findings

The Good.

Buying our dream house that we could never have dreamed of owning before.

Being able to run a 2 cars and not worry about having enough fuel.

The taste of real fresh fruit and food even though sometime it cost a little more.

Bus drivers and Nurse's higher wages.

Wide open unclutterd spaces and the wild life.

The friendlyness of the people here, how they except you as you are.

The pride people have of this fantastic country.

The clean beaches and crystal clear warm water.

The weather.

And the list go on for ever.

 

The Bad.

Theres a bigger obesity problem here tham what most people would think or beleive.

Crime is roughly on par or only a little less than the uk but also depends on the area.

Un-even and poorly mantained roads.

IADS Indisisive adelaideian driver syndrome.

Whining poms (agree with tyke on that one)

 

The Ugly.

Arndale, Manfield park, Blair athol,some parts of port Adelaide and according to most ozzies in work anywhere north of Gepps cross (feral)

Abo's when drunk (part of life here)

IADS Indisisive adelaideian driver syndrome. (again)

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

There are a lot more + than - for me and the missus here.

I was always proud to say that i am Cornish but never proud to say i was from the UK.

Now i cant wait to become a Australian Citizen so i can say im Proud to be Cornish and Australian.