If you haven’t yet read Vivienne’s email to me which was the subject of yesterday’s post, it might be an idea to do that now before reading my reply.
My reply.
Firstly, wild horses couldn’t drag me back to England now, I love my life in Australia and I’m here to stay. We all love it here, so if I did want to go back I’m pretty sure my wife would say “bye” and my daughter would say “bye daddy”.
Luckily that’s not important, we’re all staying.
So now for my thoughts on Vivienne’s comments starting with those that I feel I can answer.
Cost of living.
I really couldn’t agree more with Vivienne’s comment here, there isn’t much between the UK and Australia in terms of cost of living and I’m sure Australia used to be much cheaper than England a few years back, but it certainly isn’t now.
In fact as the pound weakens, and it has done significantly even since I first posted my cost of living comparison on petrol back in June this year, Australia will begin to appear to be much more expensive than the UK.
But because salaries in Australia are around 30% higher on average, that isn’t the case in reality. As I said to Vivienne in my reply to her, neither Australia nor the UK are “cheap” places to live, if you want cheap there are plenty of other countries to choose from. But you probably wouldn’t want to live there.
Quality of houses.
They certainly knew how to build a good quality home back in England 100 years ago. But modern estate homes which are prefabricated and erected real fast these days are not in the same league.
Homes in England do need far more insulation to keep out the cold and almost always have double glazed windows. So I’m not surprised she can’t hear her neighbours. I on the other hand do not have double glazing and almost never shut any windows because it’s just too hot. I can’t hear my neighbours either, they are just too far away.
I have only lived in one house here in Australia, but it’s a pretty solid construction as far as I can see. Like with the cost of living, I don’t think there’s much in it.
England’s rich history versus Australia’s bland scenery.
Vivienne’s biggest argument seems to be based on the bland scenery of Australia compared with the rich and fascinating history of England and the surrounding Europe. And I’m not surprised, because she is right!
London
There are five continents in this world and in my mind, without any doubt, Europe is the most fascinating. Is there anybody on the planet who would disagree? So much history and so many different cultures in such a very small space.
Venice
So, as Vivienne says, the UK and Europe beat Australia hands down for history and tradition. Anyone who has read my about me page will know that for five years our intention was to move to France. We had already holidayed in Australia and discounted it because it was just too far away from Europe and all that wonderful architecture and history.
Scotland
But in the five-year run up to our move to France, we saw more and more of Europe as we continued to holiday there. Finally, we felt we’d “almost” finished it and because of that, Australia became very attractive because it was so different.
Of those five continents I mentioned earlier, the two we had seen the least of were Australasia and Asia. But now we live in Australia, we’ll be seeing plenty of both of them.
France
Why we moved to Australia.
There are two reasons why we moved to Australia. The first was so that we can bring our daughter up in a better environment. As Vivienne herself says “I am totally in love with England apart from the crime and the really cold weather”….. well us too! We decided we wanted a better outdoor life and less crime. Australia is perfect for that.
The second reason is that I believe we only get one life, why would we want to live in the same place ALL of that life? It’s a big world, surely it would make sense to experience living (not just holidaying, but living) somewhere else?
So that is why I AM RIGHT and Vivienne IS RIGHT! We have both chosen to move to the opposite side of the world at “around” the halfway point in our lives and we are both loving the new scenery. I suggest everybody else does the same.
But that does mean at some point I guess I will be hearing the question “Daddy, there must be more to life than Australia?” or, if she’s in her teenage years it will more likely be “Why did you make me live in Australia? I want to go back to England! I want to be there NOW! It’s not fair! It’s all YOUR fault!”
But if Elizabeth could hang on until she was around 40 years of age before deciding she wanted to live in another country or declaring she was going to return to England, I wouldn’t argue with that.
But then I’d be 90 something, I’d probably just say “Okay dear, will you be back for tea?”
And the comments I can’t answer….
Vivienne did remind me with a couple of comments that I am living in a country in which each state has different rules. So in future posts I will be trying to cover:
- School fee variations from state to state.
- Ambulance fees from state to state.
- Anything else I find that varies greatly from state to state.
- I will also try to compare education standards between Australia and the UK.
- I’ll do a more comprehensive look at doctor’s fees and medical insurance costs.
But before I go, here’s BobinOz’s quick and easy guide to the differences between Australia and the UK.
The UK is good for:
- History.
- Culture.
- Cold and rainy weather.
- Pubs and football.
- Architecture.
Australia is good for:
- Beaches.
- Barbecue parties.
- Hot and sunny weather.
- Outdoor life and sports.
- Community events.
Has that cleared everything up?
Related posts:
- Normal Life Returns in Australia
- Why It Is Inappropriate to Write About Life in Australia Today.
- Social Life in Australia: Making Friends Revisited.
- Life in Australia. And Plenty of It!
- A Blog About Life in Australia
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
“But if Elizabeth could hang on until she was around 40 years of age…..But then I’d be 90 something”
Come on, be fair to your self – over 55?
I like the comparison at the end. UK sounds like a history lesson in a dark classroom and Oz is a summer sports day. As a kid at heart, I know which sounds more appealing.
Oh yes, I have been unfair, well spotted. I forgot Elizabeth is already 5 years old, so I need to subtract that….. hold on……..so I’ll be 80 odd. Maybe I will realise it’s too far to come back for tea.
I didn’t mean to do that with the comparison, but I see what you mean. It looks like history lesson versus playtime. Sort of how it feels really.
The outback of australia has a beauty of its own. If you are wizzing past in a car you just don’t see it, but talk to the people who live there, who sees its different moods and different lights and colours and they will tell you there is no more beautiful place on earth. With the Australian outback you have to experience it to understand it, with Europe it is more of a chocolate box beauty.
Hi Barbara
Well yes, they are two different kinds of beauty that cannot really be compared with each other. I am really enjoying my “new scenery” here in Australia, it is almost completely in contrast to the scenery I have lived with all my life in England.
I don’t think it is possible to argue that one is better than the other, they both have their own beauty. But I haven’t seen enough of the outback yet to really appreciate its glory, but I do intend to.
Cheers
Bob
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons
I love her jewel-sea
Her beauty and her terror,
The wide brown land for me!
(My country by Dorothea Mackellar 1885-1937)
I have travelled extensively throughout Australia and would never say that the scenery is bland. It is vast and very different. There is coast line forever, mountains, rain forrest, dessert and reef. There might not be much history, but there is more preserved history in Australia than the US and Canada. They tend to knock down any buildings older than 50 years!
Love the poem, it says it all. But you still managed to top it off beautifully Ursula, especially the comment about “more preserved history”.
Thank you!
Thanks for this page. We are actually contemplating another move. I said another as we came from the Philippines and after 7 years (being a citizen for more than 2 years), a job opportunity is presenting itself for my hubby. Great presentation of pros and cons here and so as Vivienne’s POV.
Well, my husband and I grew up in a very warm country, I’ve realised it’s hard to grow old for me in the cold place of East Anglia (haha that’s not even that close to Scotland).
Hubby is in consulting and though the job offer in WA is actually a salary cut for him (how we wish it’s a 30% increase) we are honestly still considering it- as you’ve said, less crime and better environment. We might end up packing our things again, though keeping our house in a good estate here in UK- but who knows we are still on the lookout for more personal experiences shared on the internet (just like yours) and hopefully we’d be able to take an enlightened journey where our feet and bags will take us.
Hi Melanie
A salary cut? That’s very unusual, normally coming to Oz from the UK you’d get 30% more (check out my post comparing Australian and UK salaries), not less. Maybe Hubby should check out more job opportunities?
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Cheers
Bob
Good job, bob!
Thanks mate!