PFC1975 Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 3 hours ago, RubyMonday said: Money, houses, jobs and weather are nice but you can't replace family. Once they're gone they're gone and you may regret your kids not having had that connection and memories as well as for yourself. You're very lucky you go back once a year, that's more than many. I've just moved to Aus but if my dad starts getting sicker (already has heart problems) and needs my help I'll be going back. I'm hoping it won't be for another 2 or even 4 years so I can get citzenship first to make it easier moving back again if I want to. I talk to family regulaly on whatsapp but it doesn't replace being there in person. It's always a hard decision either way though when you have life, opportunity and feelings in both places. @Cheery Thistle I've been here around 4 weeks now in northern Queensland. It's 30oC, dry, bright and sunny every day but I was bitten by something that itched like crazy for around 3 days but I'm not dying. I saw on the news that there's been violent riots and fire setting in my UK city and not even 5 minutes drive up the road from my house in the last week or so. Similaly foreign nurses getting physically attacked on their way to work and it not being safe for women on public transport in the evenings now. The atmosphere in the UK right now is scary, way more than it ever has been in my 30+ lifetime. It's hard to fully appreciate unless you're there living amongst it. Cost of living and mortgages going up doesn't bother me as much as this. It has been on the news here as well about some violent attacks but pretty sparse and not in my area. I know where I'd rather be right now but time will tell. Family and friends is often the biggest draw for people to return it’s never been a real problem for ourselves As my previous post said my wife her mother is 80 and she’s very close to her sister. Luckily she’s been back 5 times with a 6th coming up in October My wife mum has been 100% supportive, of course missing them but totally can see why you want to leave England Her sister and her adult children have all visited us My parents aren’t together and my mum has visited 3 times , she has loved each visit My dad has only recently retired so hasn’t visited yet but when we went back to England in January, my dad his wife , my daughter she’s 12 and me went to Ireland for 6 days to spend quality time. It was great My mum found it hard when we was leaving but after her first visit saw the lifestyle the potential and relaxed My dad was always 100% supportive totally understanding the opportunity especially for my daughter and getting dual citizenship etc My daughter has a great relationship with her grandparents. You and they have to make the effort. She does miss them of course My parents and my wife’s mum always had the attitude they’ve had their life so to speak and our daughter needs the best opportunities possible and you can’t not take the opportunity to move just to be near us As for friends it’s been fine in fact probably in contact more 6 of us from school we are all 49 years old are in a WhatsApp group and talk every week. Two of us live in Australia Maybe I’m different but I always felt you have to do what’s best for you and your family. For everyone that’s different but we had very supportive family It all sounds to good to be true but it’s the reality The secret to our success ( sounds corny) Simple - It’s Darwin Darwin the arse end of nowhere Hot, Humid , Isolated, , Dusty , Expensive, some social issues , Poorly run at times , terrible work ethic We used this to our advantage Aussies in Darwin go sick all the time, lazy at times, often late for work ( Obviously not all ) Theres plenty of jobs a lack of competition. It’s not hard to shine at work here. You can get higher faster in jobs due to all of the above A smaller town you can make good contacts Wages are good here , housing can be cheaper than NSW or Victoria The other thing Darwin gave us which money can’t buy is TIME We have so much more time over the years, Darwin most jobs you have no more than a 20 minute drive home often less . The time we’ve been able to spend with our daughter doing things is immeasurable She can do 2 or 3 activities every week, couldn’t do that in a big city If we had moved to Perth, Melbourne, Sydney etc we feel it would have been very different. We may have achieved some of what we have but we would of just been swallowed up by the other millions living in those cities Living far more of a big city daily grind , commuting, less time and maybe not made as good friends In Darwin people have more time Why Darwin We were both Prison Officers in the UK and at the time the 489 Visa the Northern Territory was the only place that had Corrections Officers on the Skills Shortage List . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 1 hour ago, Ausvisitor said: Good luck with the move, what city did you settle on in the end - I'm sure I've read it but can't remember Heading to Brisbane or maybe GC depending on jobs. Thanks. House is going to closing today so that’s a biggy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 (edited) 1 hour ago, PFC1975 said: Family and friends is often the biggest draw for people to return it’s never been a real problem for ourselves As my previous post said my wife her mother is 80 and she’s very close to her sister. Luckily she’s been back 5 times with a 6th coming up in October My wife mum has been 100% supportive, of course missing them but totally can see why you want to leave England Her sister and her adult children have all visited us My parents aren’t together and my mum has visited 3 times , she has loved each visit My dad has only recently retired so hasn’t visited yet but when we went back to England in January, my dad his wife , my daughter she’s 12 and me went to Ireland for 6 days to spend quality time. It was great My mum found it hard when we was leaving but after her first visit saw the lifestyle the potential and relaxed My dad was always 100% supportive totally understanding the opportunity especially for my daughter and getting dual citizenship etc My daughter has a great relationship with her grandparents. You and they have to make the effort. She does miss them of course My parents and my wife’s mum always had the attitude they’ve had their life so to speak and our daughter needs the best opportunities possible and you can’t not take the opportunity to move just to be near us As for friends it’s been fine in fact probably in contact more 6 of us from school we are all 49 years old are in a WhatsApp group and talk every week. Two of us live in Australia Maybe I’m different but I always felt you have to do what’s best for you and your family. For everyone that’s different but we had very supportive family It all sounds to good to be true but it’s the reality The secret to our success ( sounds corny) Simple - It’s Darwin Darwin the arse end of nowhere Hot, Humid , Isolated, , Dusty , Expensive, some social issues , Poorly run at times , terrible work ethic We used this to our advantage Aussies in Darwin go sick all the time, lazy at times, often late for work ( Obviously not all ) Theres plenty of jobs a lack of competition. It’s not hard to shine at work here. You can get higher faster in jobs due to all of the above A smaller town you can make good contacts Wages are good here , housing can be cheaper than NSW or Victoria The other thing Darwin gave us which money can’t buy is TIME We have so much more time over the years, Darwin most jobs you have no more than a 20 minute drive home often less . The time we’ve been able to spend with our daughter doing things is immeasurable She can do 2 or 3 activities every week, couldn’t do that in a big city If we had moved to Perth, Melbourne, Sydney etc we feel it would have been very different. We may have achieved some of what we have but we would of just been swallowed up by the other millions living in those cities Living far more of a big city daily grind , commuting, less time and maybe not made as good friends In Darwin people have more time Why Darwin We were both Prison Officers in the UK and at the time the 489 Visa the Northern Territory was the only place that had Corrections Officers on the Skills Shortage List . Hmm you’re really selling Darwin Can I ask how you feel about the access to international airports etc? I don’t like the idea of being ‘cut off’ if that makes sense? I suppose there are compromises everywhere - it’s whether you can live with those or not. Edited August 23 by Cheery Thistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 37 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: Heading to Brisbane or maybe GC depending on jobs. Thanks. House is going to closing today so that’s a biggy. In Brisbane every 2 weeks or so, it's a lovely place. Only seen the CBD and the airport road but seems great 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 1 hour ago, Ausvisitor said: In Brisbane every 2 weeks or so, it's a lovely place. Only seen the CBD and the airport road but seems great Brisbane is a great city ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 On 23/08/2024 at 22:02, Cheery Thistle said: Hmm you’re really selling Darwin If you want to get a picture of Darwin, search for posts by @Huntersmummy for the negatives (and also for a laugh, she's a Glaswegian with a great sense of humour) and @DrDougster for the positives. I have two friends who moved to Darwin. Both of them cried themselves to sleep for the first several months. It's stinking humid and hot in the summer so all your clothes and shoes go mouldy in the wardrobe. There's crocodiles and creepy-crawlies, tropical diseases, too many bogans and too much crime...it was the arse end of the world and they loathed it. This year, Georgina's husband has been transferred back to Sydney. She hates the idea, doesn't want to leave the amazing community feel of Darwin to return to a faceless big city. She'll miss the glorious "Dry" (there are only two seasons in Darwin, Wet and Dry). So like most places, there's two sides to the story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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