Australia has always been a popular place for Brits to relocate to. It offers just about everything one could ask for, and more.
Two of my children now live in Oz, along with four grandsons. My daughter moved there about 18 years ago, and even though my youngest son has owned property there for many years, I think he has now decided once and for all to settle there as well. He's lived in some wonderful locations all over the world, but has decided that Oz is best.
Both Boo Boo and The Cherub are now at school and doing well, and they are again appreciating all that Oz offers. Below shows the boys with mum Kellogg, watching a game of Cricket.
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I believe he has sold his beautiful, gated community house and will soon be looking for another. The area around GoldCoast (where he lives) is not short of nice homes.
I thoroughly approve of people moving to Oz or NZ, the lifestyle it offers is generally superior to that back in the UK. Life is very much based on outdoor activities, everyone speaks English, and the whole system is familiar to an ex-pat. Even though they are about 9,500 miles away, it still feels like 'home'.
Wills has also been building a villa in Thailand for the past few years. Covid stopped the builders completing the work, but I believe they have now returned, and all will soon be finished. He's building it as a holiday rental home. This was it a few years ago (with builder's notes), but I believe it looks very different now.
Sadly I shan't be visiting. I have mobility issues (as I mentioned yesterday), and I couldn't face 14 hours in an aeroplane. Maybe Lady M will visit again, and I'll stay behind with Billy. She loves to travel; I don't.
So, does Oz have a downside? Well the answer has to be 'yes'; all their native wildlife wants to either kill or eat you! Does that put you off?.... It shouldn't.
Yes, it does put me off, big time. Snakes sneak up on you, and spiders down under are a bit too big for my liking.
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandmother's sisters moved to Australia (I think it was her husband's idea, farming), mid nineteen fifties. Never met her. However, I do remember correspondence between her and my grandmother. One of the (to me, the little girl) more astonishing observations of my great aunt that the sun had weathered her skin to leather. Unthinkable.
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My daughter built a house on high ground in a flood area. Whenever the surrounding area flooded all the wild animals would head uphill and stay in her garden. There were some very scary creatures around.
DeleteFrom your heading I thought you were joining them in Oz. I haven't regretted my move to New Zealand 57 years ago now. No snakes, crocodiles or scary critters and a pretty good lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago NZ was voted 'The best place to retire to'. I'm sure they were right.
DeleteReading about Oz wildlife makes me thankful the UK has only wasps and the occasional adder to worry about.
ReplyDeleteI've been stung by jellyfish off the south coast. Wasp and Bee stings are a way of life!
DeleteThe wildlife doesn't bother me but their climate is becoming unliveable, what with bushfires and extreme heat one minute and now the dreadful rainfall and flooding they're getting.
ReplyDeleteThey do seem to be going through more 'extremes' than we are, but in general their weather is pretty good.
DeleteThey have been going through extremes for 100s of years with Black fire days well recorded historically and vast areas destroyed by fire Australia has bring drying out for 15 million years.
DeleteI moved to Oz about 25 years ago. I live in sunny Perth and love it here. The only things I truly miss are M&S foods, and also "living in history" - which is why I like to make an annual pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.
ReplyDeleteI had a very good friend who had lived all over the world (he was a diplomat). He claimed that Perth was the perfect place to live. Sounds like he was right.
DeleteMy other sister-in-law lives in Perth. We should get around to visiting her.
DeleteI'd vote for Perth too, after NZ of course 😁. I have family in Perth. A lovely city. The wild life stays in the wild.
ReplyDeleteBut moving to Greece wasn't such a bad choice.
I'm sure you have it pretty good on Poros. I wish I could speak Greek.
DeleteI have visited family in Oz many times but still like to come back home, despite our weather.
ReplyDeleteHome is always best. I say that, but I have two.
DeleteEach to their own but I have no desire to live in Australia ..... extremes of weather, spiders etc and a lack of culture. Our daughter has visited many times and worked there and says there is still outdated and harmful views against women. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but the UK . But, it would be a boring world if we all wanted the same things ! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI think one could say that about almost anywhere. People in the UK are quite misogynistic and racist. I would miss ancient architecture the most.
DeleteI loved my visit to Sydney , loved it. Perhaps save up and go first class with a cabin cro
ReplyDeleteLady M loves it there. She's more adventurous than me.
DeleteWheelchair, business class...we could catch up for afternoon tea. I don't know why your children would like Australia so much. It is an ok place and with better weather than Canada, a reasonable alternative. I can't describe how I feel about my country beyond I feel there is some hollowness in Australia. Never mind, it is only fair to warn you of a new risk in Australia, Buruli ulcer
ReplyDeleteI had to look-up Buruli. It looks very nasty, and seems to be around Melbourne. Be cautious!
DeleteI love my country and I am proud of it - warts and all. Once, I would have happily emigrated to America but now I realise the greatness of Great Britain - its footpaths, its coastline, its history, its weather, its inventiveness, its people. What I don't like is people knocking it.
ReplyDeleteI have never had any desire to visit Australia. It is too far away from Europe. I like living in England. It is a fun place to be.
ReplyDeleteI'm much the same. I'm happy to travel in Europe, but almost a whole day spent in a 'plane doesn't interest me. There's plenty to see, do, and eat, much nearer to home.
DeleteGoing back to yesterday, I recommend the El Paso Manual Physical Therapy You Tube channel for self help with walking trouble. They are excellent. Also yesterday, I suggested a local swimming pool might be available but you didn't respond. Perhaps you missed some mid area comments.
ReplyDeleteI shall certainly look at El Paso. I didn't reply about the pool because I wasn't sure if ours was still open. There were rumours of it closing. I still don't know, I must look it up.
DeleteI can't imagine the agony of 24 hours on airplanes.
ReplyDeleteI once flew to the USA and that was about 7 hrs. That's long enough for me; it nearly drove me mad!
DeleteI have a Kiwi friend from NZ. She lives in CA and spends time in NZ. Now that her children are all in university, she is in NZ more frequently.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a good combination of locations. The best of both worlds.
DeleteShame you are not coming I was going to send you a pair of budgie smugglers for Christmas...Customs are more lenient if they see them in your luggage....of course they does not mean you should wear them at the airport....that is even too casual for us wel at the moment.!.As for the creepy crawlies that kill and things that sting well it's true so best not come ,There are too many people here already....once you could go to a beach with 10 people on it now it has increased to about 40 or even 50.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching online for those Budgie Smugglers; I can't find them anywhere. As for those crowded beaches, When I look out from my house in France, if I see someone, I call the cops!
DeleteSimilar problems have beset me gradually over the last 5 years and now I have accepted I shall not travel agan. Memories will have to keep me going as I am now more or less chair-bound so memories will have to do but I have so many.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a great traveller. I've always been happy in Europe; the farthest I've travelled is to the US, but that was for work.
DeleteAustralia does have its extremes, but lately, so does the rest of the world. Places that rarely had extreme heat and bushfires, (wildfires) are now having them (USA, Europe) and places that rarely had more than one flooding per monsoon season are now having much more rain than is usual, so much more flooding (that's us), but it's mostly on the Eastern coast. I live in South Australia and I'm used to it, but if my children and grandchildren weren't all here, I'd move to Perth or Fremantle in Western Australia.
ReplyDeleteAs for the critters that want to kill you, they avoid people as much as people avoid them. You just need to be aware of what is in any area you choose to visit or inhabit, learn what they look like and whether they are nocturnal or not and so on.
I';ve never lived in Australia but shared my life between Scotland and New Zealand for 10 years until 2016. I concur with what you say. It is a wonderful place to live.
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