I came across this article on migration between Australia and the UK, and found it balanced and fascinating.
It is the first consideration I have seen in the media on the question of migration like it.
Of course, as a Canadian, I will never understand the appeal of Australia anyway. 
The article and the underlying study are utter bollocks. The "ping pong pom" thing is based on "research" of an internet forum called britishexpats that is 90% filled with Daily Mail readers. The figures are based on airport departure card responses, which are inaccurate by their very nature (what people think and say and actually end up doing are three different things). The premise (that this is something new) is also false: a certain chunk of emigrants have always re-immigrated to their country of origin.
Australia is actually pretty dull to live in. Nice for a couple of years but once you've got over the novelty of Xmas day on the beach and such like you can start feeling trapped. The problem is that it's just so damn big, very hard to go anywhere interesting for just the weekend.
Perfect place for bringing up kids though, i'd imagine.
Will be able to give a first hand account come January. Melbourne bound!
Was in OZ at Easter, there again for New Years, its ok, I agree with Mackem
Xmas day on the beach
the one xmas day i was in oz (and on the beach) it rained 
my sister and my sister-in-law both live in australia. perth and melbourne respectively. i've thus been to visit quite a lot and agree with Mackem.
I think it'd be much easier to be distanced from certain things in Oz if you're living in the country there. Can't see that it'd be any different thaan living in isolated parts of the UK though. If you can't make your own entertainment in these sorts of places then you will find it dull. I reckon a lot of emmigrants go for the rural lifestyle without experiencing it first in the UK and coupled with a lack of family and friends leads to them failing to settle.
Australia is a fantastic place. I live in Perth and have done for 5 years. Beautiful city, stunning coastline, some amazing places to visit, particularly in WA. The people here are much more welcoming and friendly than anyone I have experienced in the UK. The increase in my earnings comfortably outweighs the increased cost of living and the country isn't dissappearing down the toilet like the UK either.
I can be swimming in th ocean in the morning and riding fantastic singletrack in the hills in the afternoon, and because the weather is stunning you can do that pretty much all year.
Put simply Australia is a fabulous place to live and anyone calling it dull clearly lacks some imagination. Oh and endless emptiness is absolutely beautiful too in its own way, nowhere else quite like it.
hey shorts in winter, where's the good mtbing near Perth, then? My sis and her husband live in Subi. I'll try and get some riding in next time I go!
Give me a shout.... Lots of cheeky stuff but also now a dedicated sanctioned route. They are even talking about a 7 stances style development....
My brother has just come back from 7 years in Perth. He likes it a lot but says there's nothing outside Perth unless you get on a plane and do a pretty long flight, so you do tend to feel isolated
See you all in Perth for Christmas.
The in laws live on the east side, and I'll be taking my road bike out again.
perth is one of the most isolated cities in the world, but i wouldn't say there's nothing outside of it...there's frickin loads!
+1 for tonnes of stuff to see and do in WA. amazing, amazing place. best part of oz IMO.
Mackem - Member
Australia is actually pretty dull to live in...
I found it quite an interesting place to live except for the big cities.
Oz can be anything you want it to be, you just need to be enterprising enough to take advantage of the opportunities.
Maybe expatriate urban types don't see/look for the possibilities.
shorts_in_winter - Member
...Put simply Australia is a fabulous place to live and anyone calling it dull clearly lacks some imagination. Oh and endless emptiness is absolutely beautiful too in its own way...
Agree. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being on a bike 100 miles from the nearest house.
Can't see that it'd be any different thaan living in isolated parts of the UK though. If you can't make your own entertainment in these sorts of places then you will find it dull. I reckon a lot of emmigrants go for the rural lifestyle without experiencing it first in the UK
all this talk of awesome riding and meet ups in Perth makes me wish I had another trip there in the offing!
I dont lack imagination (at least I dont think so). I just like being able to visit different cities with different architecture and nightlife and culture. I also like the great outdoors. This combo is rather difficult in Oz, but that's me and why I find Oz dull, I've nowt against it, I enjoyed my 2 years there, but it started to feel limited.
Australia is actually pretty dull to live in. Nice for a couple of years but once you've got over the novelty of Xmas day on the beach and such like you can start feeling trapped. The problem is that it's just so damn big, very hard to go anywhere interesting for just the weekend.Perfect place for bringing up kids though, i'd imagine.
A mate of mine moved there a few years ago, with work. Was nominally a two year deal, with the option to stay (and loads of amazing financial perks) on after.
He has moved back to the British Isles (now lives in Dublin). He said that living in Aus was ok at firtst, but after a while he and his missus just felt increasingly isolated, and that they were in a really 'sterile' culture. Nothing felt quote 'real' for them. As for the bringing up kids thing; he said that he wanted his kids to grow up in a place where they'd actually mix with other cultures more, as he'd done, and that where they were just din't feel like that was all that readily achievable (and I think they were in Sydney too).
He also said it was the little things, like a simple 'phone call taking on a new dimension, that got to them, and just feeling really cut off from the rest of the World (we can nip across to Yerp in just an hour or two).
I'm sure many people love it out there though. and I also know Aussies here in London who are adamant they will never go back to live there, as they prefer it so much over here.
Courses for horses, innit?
First things first, the place is full of Australians FFS so why would you go there ?
Their real estate property bubble is just starting to collapse and when China stops importing their mineral exports, as their economic growth starts to contract, things will change in Australia.
YMMV
Mackem - Member
...I just like being able to visit different cities with different architecture and nightlife and culture. I also like the great outdoors...
I don't mind visiting the cities, but I'd hate to live in one. They're simply too far away from the good stuff because anything close to the city gets swamped by urban adventurers.
You haven't lived until you've done a bit of feral bacon harvesting with a couple of dogs and a sharp knife.
Or paddled a kayak through North Queensland rivers
etc etc 
Edit: the crocs like bacon harvesting too...
I'd love to go back to WA and work there for a year or two.
What, no more cold crisp winter night rides...
Don't bother. It's raining in Sydney. Has been all week.
I'm off to Adelaide in April next year so all this makes interesting reading.
I'm sure there are times when isolation sets in but I'm happy to find my own adventures. I for one love the UK's countryside but in all honesty I could leave the cities well behind and there associated "problems"
Culture? going down the pub every week to catch up with friends is all foreign to me so I doubt that would be an issue. As for history I'm again not fussed, take it or leave it in my opinion.
Family is the only real concern but bar my older brother I'm not that close to any of them.
Yeah I'll miss my friends and they'll always be friends but I'm not going to miss an opportunity like this for that reason.
Also the job market seems much better for my career and current situation and the GF is certainly stuck in her current role as there is a glut of people going for zero job promotion!
I'm wondering what tires for the MT Lofty Ranges Adelaide? I think my X-Kings should be spot on!
2hottie.... Eagle MTB park in the Adelaide hills is awesome, and some great riding north too! I did roll off a drop with an Eastern Brown snake sunbakng below it the other day though, I screamed like a little girl
Epicyclo, even in the Perth Hills its very easy to find yourself riding alone, just not necessarily on legal trails!
Agreed though, the bubble will burst but still some growth to go in Asia so I'll keep making hay while the sun shines!!
I've been in the UK 18 months for my job having lived in Aus all my life. I think culture and travel opportunities are way greater here. Riding opportunities are no comparison either with Aus having massive issues with land access. I know more cheeky trails in Perth than any of you will ever see and I can confirm few of them compare with the quality of trails I am enjoying here in the Welsh trail centers. Furthermore we don't have the massive network of legal and amazing bridleways or footpaths you have here. Socially I find that there always seems so much more activity going on and things to do here when you're not riding. On the flip side Aus does have better weather most of the time.
Personally I think it's a bit of the neighbors grass is greener stuff. My impression from chatting to work collegues is that you all reminisce of your 2 week holiday there in the summer and think we live in the sunshine on Bondi beach.
Pays are less here but costs of living are also - I don't think my standard of living has changed much at all.
I am thoroughly enjoying my time here and will miss it when I go back.
2Hottie,
Great riding in Adelaide. I can do a 50km loop one way, or a 40km loop the other, nearly all singletrack (legal) from my doorstep, yet I'm a 20 minute ride from the centre of the city. Can get bloody hot for a week or two in summer (38C+), so you drink in the day and ride at night. Winters can be damp and cold (c.14C during the day). Autumn and Spring are brilliant (c.25C). Personally prefer Ignitors to X-Kings, lots of loose over hardpack stuff here :-).For living near the riding look for places in the south eastern suburbs (Belair, Blackwood, Lynton).
Have a look here http://www.amtbc.com/
Feel free to get in touch when you touch down (see... we are a welcoming, friendly bunch - or is just 'cause I'm an expat Jock from the 70's )
Their real estate property bubble is just starting to collapse and when China stops importing their mineral exports, as their economic growth starts to contract, things will change in Australia.YMMV
beat me to it. Australia is always a few years behind, their commodity production is directly linked to chinese manufacture and western consumerism. anyone smugly thinking they are living in a financial paradise is in for a shock. the only thing possibly in their favor is perhaps being better off in the currency devaluation race to the bottom if they return to europe in the next few years.
At least if or when the bubble bursts in Oz, they will be living in one of the few countries in the world that could be completely self-sufficient.
And the other plus, it's still Australia.
But they do have problems with mulit-year droughts and the wildlife is more dangerous than that in the UK. Oh, and don't forget the aussie Blairette who has just saddled the nation with a ruinous carbon tax.
Bampot,
I'll be sure to give you a shout when we arrive in April! unsure if I'm bringing my bike as we are travelling light and I believe it can be a nightmare to bring in items such as this.
Also I doubt I'll have the time for the first few weeks of being in Aus to go riding as I'll be out exploring the area and hopefully working!
Shorts in winter, I read about Eagle Creek looks like fun, I'm looking forward to riding in the sunshine for a change.
You must log in to post.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
