G'day from Down Under!

31 Jan 2013

Hello SHers!
As some of you may remember, I left Manchester four years ago and moved to Brisbane because we wanted to give our kids a better outdoor life. Time has just flown by and we have experienced so much since we arrived. The kids love living here and would not want to move back to England. We have lots of family time on the beach, fishing or just playing in the pool in the back yard.
I am proud to be English, but have no regrets about moving to the other side of the world, though it is difficult being so far away from our families. It is a pain having to watch United in the early hours of the morning, and floods and cyclones have tested our sense of humour but it has made us stronger.
Anyway, what I wanted to know was, if you could leave the UK and live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why? confused

31 Jan 2013

Hello Stranger wave

I have often sat and pondered in my quiet moments if I would live anywhere else. I have traveled the world in my mind as I know of a lot of people that have been here and gone home or have left the UK and settled elsewhere.
I really couldn't live for good I have to many people around that mean to much.
I would however like to visit all those I know overseas and have invited me to go and stay with them within their own countries and meet their families.
So if I had the money I would travel round the world and spend a week in with each of them that would take me to enough places but I would always want to come home again. So give me your address and I shall pop in while visiting my cousins that have lived there for years. wink

31 Jan 2013

Hey Sarge, it's good to see you bobbing in lately and great to hear things have worked out so well for you. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone really that's done it and regretted it. Couldn't pick a much better place could you, just up the Gold Coast. I'd do Australia in a heartbeat if I could, Melbourne probably given the chance but that will never happen. Too old and nothing the Aussies want.
I could do a GnV and bugger off to France quite happily, somewhere down the South West corner probably. The land, the skies, the light, the heritage, the Pyrenees nearby, all work for me. I quite like the French, and the language. English tourists to Paris often find them arrogant, sometimes that's as much the fault of the tourists as anything else I think but hey, even the French find Parisians arrogant and up their own arses quite often. lol

Still I loved Paris and found the French quite receptive and friendly so long as you made some effort with the language and weren't just all 'Garcon, un bouteille de Muscadet, pronto sunshine' with them. I like the radicalism we seem to have forgotten, that the Govt serves the people, and if the people don't like what the Govt is doing they just ignore any direction from it, I'm not having that, or take to the streets in tractors. I remember the pace of life and historic feel of small towns around La Rochelle with real fondness, best holiday I ever had as a kid. I'd like to go back and see more one of these days.

31 Jan 2013

Quote by Theladyisaminx
So give me your address and I shall pop in while visiting my cousins that have lived there for years.

I shall look forward to it Minxy kiss

31 Jan 2013

Quote by neilinleeds
Hey Sarge, it's good to see you bobbing in lately and great to hear things have worked out so well for you. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone really that's done it and regretted it. Couldn't pick a much better place could you, just up the Gold Coast. I'd do Australia in a heartbeat if I could, Melbourne probably given the chance but that will never happen. Too old and nothing the Aussies want.
I could do a GnV and bugger off to France quite happily, somewhere down the South West corner probably. The land, the skies, the light, the heritage, the Pyrenees nearby, all work for me. I quite like the French, and the language. English tourists to Paris often find them arrogant, sometimes that's as much the fault of the tourists as anything else I think but hey, even the French find Parisians arrogant and up their own arses quite often. Still I loved Paris and found the French quite receptive and friendly so long as you made some effort with the language and weren't just all 'Garcon, un bouteille de Muscadet, pronto sunshine' with them. I like the radicalism we seem to have forgotten, that the Govt serves the people, and if the people don't like what the Govt is doing they just ignore any direction from it, I'm not having that, or take to the streets in tractors. I remember the pace of life and historic feel of small towns around La Rochelle with real fondness, best holiday I ever had as a kid. I'd like to go back and see more one of these days.

:thumbup:
Not far from LR here neil and concur withall you say about the SW.
Oh, and g'day cobber and fellow Mancunian.

31 Jan 2013

We lived abroad for years. We were with the forces so I guess that no matter how much you try, you never get a true 'living abroad' experience as you are living in a forces community, surrounded by Brits! I loved it though.
We came back to UK almost 6 years ago. I miss the sense of community that comes with forces life as you don't get that in the UK but I have to say, for me, there is no place like home!
I have a friend who transferred to the Aussie army about 3 years ago and she and her family are loving it. I really must go and pay her a visit!

31 Jan 2013

My dad emigrated to Australia many years ago - he lived in Penrith, not far from Sydney. He tried to tempt me to move over there (when I was an adult - it's a long story and not for this forum but I didn't have contact with him for many years, so never visited as a child) but it was just too big a move for me / us.
If I could already have a life out there, without the trauma of leaving the UK and all that's familiar, I'd move to Australia in a heartbeat, but we're just not in a position to move so far away. Sadly my dad died so there's no real reason for me to go there now, but I'll always be thankful for my memories and hope one day to return, even if only for a visit.

31 Jan 2013

Hiya Sarge, glad to see that things are good with you all.
I don't think I could live anywhere but England, but if I could move anywhere it would be Edinburgh. If it was overseas, I think I'd choose France - not too far away to come back occasionally.

1 Feb 2013

Elllllooooo Sarge kiss

Great to hear you and the family are enjoying your new life down under.
If I could take all my family with me, would love to move to Barbados,
it's such a laid back place (so I would fit in nicely) and warm most of the year.
xx--xx

3 Feb 2013

I'd move to the Florida Keys, its pretty, the fishing is great, good food and we have friends there, also they're very laid back and friendly out there.
I have to admit though that I'd miss our family if we just buggered off out there, so maybe for us if we could one day it would be nice to just go out there during the winter and return to the UK for the summer, I can't see that happening in the near future, but who knows.

3 Feb 2013

oh...tough one as I love Cannock !!
But I do have a great love for the Far East.....and if i did have to choose somewhere else it would be one of the Thai islands. the two that come to mind are Ko Samui and Ko Phi Phi.

3 Feb 2013

I did the reverse some time ago. Australia is a fantastic place to be a child (if you can stand the heat). But I couldn't go back. I'm too much of a northerner. Give me cold and wet and snow.
If I had to move, I'd probably choose Norway. I've always had the feeling of being home there. After a few days I forget that I don't understand a word of the language.