A couple of months ago I wrote a post in which I asked the question who is it in Australia who takes 23 cents out of every dollar that Australians spend?
The answer was quite surprising, well, it was to me. Because it wasn’t the taxman. If you want to know who it is, you can read the post by clicking Where’s All My Money Gone?
But why am I mentioning this post today?
Because a couple of days ago a reader called Sandra made a comment at the end of that post about the cost of living in England. In my answer to that comment I asked the question “did your visit make you pine to return to England?”
Sandra answered in full, and some! And I think her answer may be of interest to you because it was all about….
Australia or England? The Pros and Cons.
A bit of background, Sandra moved to Australia from the UK in 1970. A couple months ago she went back to England for a holiday for the first time in 35 years. What did she think of it?
Here’s a summary of what Sandra said:
England Pros
• the countryside and lovely country lanes
• the little quaint pubs
• the shops
• greater variety of food in the supermarkets
• gammon steaks
• pork pies and pie and mash
• cheaper chocolate
• not having your bag checked when leaving a store
• places of interest, castles etc
• the sausages
England Cons
• paying for parking everywhere
• it did not feel safe in some areas
• petrol is more expensive
• no border protection
Australia Pros
• better for bringing up her daughter
• it feels safer
• great beaches
• swimming pools
• blue skies
• the layout of Australian houses
But what was the bottom line? What was Sandra’s answer to my question? Is Sandra pining to return to England?
The Answer: “It would be nice to live in UK 6 months and 6 months here haha. Would I live there after being here in Oz I don’t think so.”
I can’t see much to disagree with there, what do you think?
My thanks to Sandra are taking the time to share with us her thoughts on returning to England.
But Bob, where’s our Friday YouTube?
Okay, as Sandra virtually wrote today’s post, here’s a peach of a YouTube for you. Those of you who have read my free ebook “20 Reasons Why YOU Should Move to Australia” will already know who Bert Newton is.
For those who haven’t read my ebook, (why not? Get it free by popping your name and email in the form top right) here’s a quote from the foreword….
They have a TV programme here in Australia, which I have a feeling has been running for many years. It’s called “20 To 1” and is hosted by a rather surreal looking Bert Newton……
Bert did make other shows though, and here he is embarrassing himself in front of all time great, Mohammed Ali. I’m not sure if he fully got away with it, but he did try his best…
Hi Bob,
Another great article, and I see you’ve found the Australian institution that is Bert Newton. 20 to 1 has only been around since about 2005, but Bert’s been hosting shows on Aussie TV since about 1957. I’d include him on Australia’s “Living Treasures”.
Yes, he is an Australian treasure for sure, he can be in the same room with Les Murray.
I would imagine that for every pitfall there is also a positive. The big downers of course are you’d need to own/rent two homes, pay around $3000 a year in flights to and from each country and you will probably need to apply for your six-month visas every year. What would happen if they changed the rules one year and said no? And as a non-resident you would have to seek special permission if you were intending to buy a house here in Australia.
But if you have the time and money to cope with all that, I would imagine it’s great fun living half the time in Australia and half the time in England. That way you get to stay in touch with all your friends and enjoy both countries.
That’s all I got, sorry there are no real insights for you. I don’t actually know anyone who does it, but if you do go ahead I’d love to hear how it goes.
Cheers
Bob
Hi
I may not be able to emmigrate to Australia for financial/health reasons but may be able to do the 6 months England,6 months Australia thing.I have a base in Melbourne and am trying to set one up here.I was wondering about any pitfalls and would appreciate any advice.
Thanks!
Barbara