| Welcome to Yanks Down Under! You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customising your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| has any yankee here.... | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Jun 21 2011, 02:35:18 AM (1,983 Views) | |
| stormgal | Jun 21 2011, 02:35:18 AM Post #1 |
|
Yacker
|
regretted moving to Oz? Why? Why not? Show and tell, please! 
|
 |
 
|
| SanDiablo | Jun 21 2011, 08:43:55 AM Post #2 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
Yes, because it is working out well and so now it looks like I may never move back home and I really miss that I'm not a part of all the beautiful details of daily life that weave friends and family together. I am this exotic star that blasts into town for 3 weeks every two years, and 3 weeks is just about as long as anyone wants to listen to stories about places they haven't been - whereas people never get tired of telling stories they shared together - so each trip home makes me feel more and more an outsider which makes me more and more homesick. But otherwise, life here is grand - which makes it all worse. |
| "I'll try anything twice." | |
|
|
|
| incognito | Jun 21 2011, 11:29:41 AM Post #3 |
|
Chatterbox
|
Even though we are moving back to the US next year (after 5+ years here) and find plenty of things about Oz maddening, I don't regret for a single moment moving here, and I know I will miss it when we go. It has changed me forever, and my beautiful son was born here. I feel so lucky to have had this experience. Yes, we are a bit broke, but who knows what shape we'd be in if we had stayed in the US these past 5 years! I think it's important to always look forward! |
|
|
|
| (provocateur) | Jun 21 2011, 01:14:44 PM Post #4 |
|
Deleted
|
I'm on the fence. Financially we'd be much better off if we hadn't come down here. Everything is a lot more expensive. We don't have the support that we thought we'd have. I just have the feeling that life down here is much more aggressive and ill-mannered than what I'm used to and it wasn't like this when I lived here before. Things are improving, though. |
| Account deleted by user request | |
|
|
|
| OptoChick | Jun 21 2011, 01:48:41 PM Post #5 |
|
Chinwagger
|
Incognito, I *love* your positive outlook! Provocateur, I can relate. We're taking a massive hit financially, and we miss the family and support structure. But we've only been here 5 months and already I have a few friends I know I can call on if I need them. I have actually found people friendly here than back home in "the OC." I don't remember how long you've been here, but I'm hopefully it gets better with time. SanDiablo, your experience definitely hits a nerve with me. We're planning our 3 week trip back home for the holidays and I am sure we'll get a similar reaction from our friends. Not so much our family. I'm trying so hard to stay connected to everyone, because we're going back in a few years. But I think it's going to be hard to re-integrate because everyone will have moved on. Do I regret moving here? Too soon to tell. It's hard when my kids cry at night because they're homesick. It's also hard to tell when I feel like we have to watch every penny, something we didn't have to do before. Our plan was to travel every school holiday to see as much of Oz as we can in our 3 years, but I don't really feel that we can afford to now. Two things I keep reminding myself of. One is that when I moved from PA to Cali for grad school, that was the hardest thing I ever did. I was lonely and broke, but it turned out to be the best thing I ever did. Hopefully this will end up being one of the best things we ever did. The second thing is that they (whoever "they" are) say that the things you regret most in life are those that you *don't* do. If we had passed up this opportunity to live in Oz for three years, we'd have always wondered what it was like. |
|
|
|
| yaussievi | Jun 21 2011, 02:07:16 PM Post #6 |
True Blue Mate
|
I absolutely love Australia and love living here...on the other hand I miss my sons and family in the states and sometimes wonder how it would be if we were there. Circumstances made the choice for us so if my husband and I wanted to be together I had to move here. I really do love everything about it except my family is so far away. |
| Yaussie-Vi | |
|
|
|
| incognito | Jun 21 2011, 03:08:31 PM Post #7 |
|
Chatterbox
|
You caught me on a good day!! There is plenty that I whinge about... I will say that financially we have also found it VERY difficult, and that is one reason we are moving back. However, I have learned a whole new level of penny pinching and living completely debt free and I think that will come in handy when we move back. Also, I have struggled over the years with being so far from loved ones in the States, but it has gotten better with time. I wonder if when we get back, I'll have a mini breakdown from the joy of being closer to everyone and the end of my efforts to keep it together emotionally all these years. But still, I would not change a thing and Finn (our son) would not be here if we had stayed in the States. |
|
|
|
| MountainsChick | Jun 21 2011, 10:11:36 PM Post #8 |
Anklebiter
|
It's nice to know that there are other people out there that sit on both sides of the fence like I do! On the one hand, I love Australia; I love the people, I love the lifestyle, I love the country. The other part of me desperately misses my family (especially since my in-laws are pretty much a write-off) and wishes I had them nearby to be a part of our daughter's life. I feel like she's missing out on so much not having her grandparents, aunt and uncle, and extended family nearby like I was lucky enough to have. Having said all of that, if I'd never moved here, she wouldn't exist and my life would be a very different thing indeed! I can't imagine it happening any other way. (Except maybe winning the lottery and being able to live between both countries  )
|
|
|
|
| Joshua | Jun 21 2011, 11:16:50 PM Post #9 |
|
Yacker
|
I also like/dislike it here. I didn't have a choice in moving here but being here is fun I guess, I dont mind the people as everyone is very nice. I miss good food though and I miss Ihop and Dennies and Starbucks and Taco bell and cheap protein powder from Walmart for 13 bucks where as I have to pay 80 bucks now... Grrr the woes of vanity/fitness But Sydney is pretty and no one would ever declare war on them so I'm cool with being here. Oh ya and I miss all my family, besides Mom and Dad who are here. Edited by Joshua, Jun 21 2011, 11:18:38 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Seven | Jun 22 2011, 11:29:11 AM Post #10 |
|
Yacker
|
I am glad we took the opportunity to move to Oz when it came along. Sure, there are plenty of things I miss. However, any move is going to have some of the same issues, whether just across town or to a new state. When I approach it as things are just different, not better or worse, then I am happier. I can take issue with the rental market in Oz, pricing and availability of foodstuffs, and a very inefficient market on pricing in general. Once the shock of the new wore off it has become more of a fun challenge to make my situation comfortable. For example, by and large prepared Mexican food just sucks. But, there are plenty of the raw ingredients available. So I have learned to make my own tortillas here which are better than any I could buy back in the states. I have also dusted off plenty of Mexican recipes I have and cook as good as I could get at most restaurants back in the states. Problem solved. Hamburgers are just weird here. Really weird. The nearest way I can describe them is to call them a meatloaf sandwich, ack! So I have a local butcher custom grind (mince) beef to what I want using a 70/30 ration of beef to fat since Aussie markets sell very lean mince. I have tried about all the top rated hamburgers from recent feature in Time Out Sydney and mine are far better than any one I have tried yet! I find Australians to have be very friendly and in a few months here I have as wide of a circle of friends as I did in years of living in the SF bay area. For anyone that makes a move, whether to Oz or anywhere, research, research, research. I spent months reading about various areas in Sydney and reading school reports for schools for my son. We are very happy with the school and area we live. However, there are plenty of areas around Sydney I wouldn't want to live. Not that they are dangerous, just not my preference to live in. Costs are high on many things, but some things I just do without (car) and other things are amazingly cheaper (medical). The full cost of a doc visit here is about what I used to pay as a "co-pay" in California. Clothers are ridiculously priced, so we look for sales, use ebay, or just don't buy. It's not like we need to impress anyone here with a flash wardrobe! Overall we like it so much we are applying for permanent residency. I certainly don't see the US economy going great in the next few years! |
|
|
|
| incognito | Jun 22 2011, 01:03:16 PM Post #11 |
|
Chatterbox
|
Are you me?  |
|
|
|
| Kuningan | Jun 22 2011, 04:12:05 PM Post #12 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
For me Australia just isn't exotic enough to provide the full living in a foreign land experience. It's similar enough to the US that it feels like home just without many conveniences or easy access to family and long time friends. Think I'd appreciate it more after 2.5 yrs here if I were still working to master a truly foreign language/culture/lifestyle. Still it's been a great move for us. Just wish I could see my peeps more often and find the occasional bargain somewhere. Heck, a decent martini for under $20 would cheer me up for days! This probably belongs in Tucker Time...You are so right on the meatloaf burgers. 70/30 is what we do with ground pork in order to make our own "Jimmy Dean" style sausage. My kingdom for a fat pig! We've given up on ribs - they are too lean to be truly delicious. But the pork belly with crackling is wonderful. Interestingly, the butcher who mastered American style bacon for us finally quit selling it as "Low Nitrate, low sodium" bacon and started labeling it "American bacon" and now they can't keep it in stock it sells so well. |
|
|
|
| AmbroseChick | Jun 22 2011, 08:33:37 PM Post #13 |
True Blue Mate
|
I do not regret moving to Australia despite the challenges. I laugh when my friends in America ask me how things are going... how do I even begin to explain? All they see is the 'cool' side of being here and on a good day I can see that side... on a not so good day... I want to pack and move back. So I just work on staying positive... seeing the bright side... our business has grown; the sun shines; winter is like summer and summer is actually like summer; my sons have more opportunity; my church is awesome; no more $1000/month insurance bill; I love my butcher and my cooking skills have improved. Yep lots to be thankful for I feel like singing that Monty Python song... 'Always look on the bright side of life...'
|
| Check it out! Facebook page: Americans Living in Queensland | |
|
|
|
| Bindie | Jun 23 2011, 12:05:48 AM Post #14 |
True Blue Mate
|
See, I find Australia to be quite different to the US. Or rather I should say Australians. The sense of humour, the politics, the attitudes, even beliefs. Australian have a different history and a different outlook on the world. Not better, not worse. Different. Sure there aren't morning prayers bursting from microphones in the sky, and people speak English, but I feel if people think the two countries are so similiar I have to wonder if someone has merely scratched the surface. Anyway, I regret nothing. Strangely enough, airplanes fly to and from Australia. If people want to see me, they'll visit. Same goes for me. In the meantime there are so so many ways to keep in touch with my family and friends. Even if I did regret moving here, as Thomas Wolfe penned, You Can't Go Home Again." I'm different, the US is different. The longer I'm here, the harder it is to straddle my two homes. |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
|
|
|
| SanDiablo | Jun 23 2011, 09:14:58 AM Post #15 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
A succinct summary of what has taken me years to verbalize. Not only is it not that exotic, it is very homogenous and I find that I am less interested in traveling here because of that. Sure, there are lovely landscapes to explore, but the cultural sameness makes visiting new towns or cities less enticing. |
| "I'll try anything twice." | |
|
|
|
| (provocateur) | Jun 23 2011, 09:45:46 AM Post #16 |
|
Deleted
|
I think that the US has become as much of a cartoon for Bindie as it has for most Australians. Australia and the US are more similar to each other than any other countries that I can think of. Relations suffer more from the bigotry of small differences than anything else. |
| Account deleted by user request | |
|
|
|
| Ausson | Jun 23 2011, 11:01:47 AM Post #17 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
In the late 90's I brought my then boyfriend (now husband) on a visit to Sydney to meet my family and to give him a bit of insight into my homeland. He is on the quiet side so I didn't hear much about the experience directly from him, but I overheard him on the phone describing it. His thoughts were that while he was in Sydney, standing there and looking around he felt like he was in the US. People dressed the same, looked the same, they were even wearing American sports teams paraphenalia. Then he'd try to cross the road, or talk to someone, or just try to function, and he felt like he was in the twilight zone, that it all felt familiar but was obviously not the same, enough to be off putting. I've found the similarities between the cultures led to greatest misunderstandings in communications that I've experienced in any of my travels. I think when I've been somewhere obviously different I have had to work at understanding the people around me. Because living in the US wasn't all the 'foreign' I mistakenly thought I understood the human interactions going on around me. All it took was a slight inflection or tone that I wasn't able to interpret, or I mistook, and meaning was lost in translation. I did learn early that not many of my American friends understood when I was 'taking the piss', so I stopped that pretty quickly. I agree Bindie - you can't go home. |
|
|
|
| incognito | Jun 23 2011, 11:27:43 AM Post #18 |
|
Chatterbox
|
|
|
|
|
| tierneyrb | Jun 23 2011, 12:32:20 PM Post #19 |
|
Chinwagger
|
I don't regret moving here. Things are going well, but I have had to make some adjustments. I have had to lower my expectations. By that, I only mean that it takes ME longer to do things because I don't know what I am doing, where to go, what to say, etc so I can't expect immediate solutions or comfort. Once I figure things out, it moves me up a level to feeling more at ease and comfortable. Small victories! I gave myself 6 months and that is about what it has taken to not feel totally "weird." I do miss family and friends though. However, we were moving to Ft. Worth if we didn't move to Melbourne so I was going to be away from them anyway. That helps sometimes when I think about leaving Atlanta for Melbourne (and Melbourne is a better choice than Ft. Worth - no offense to any Ft. Worth people out there). I know I would be happier if our Atlanta home would sell though. The US housing market is the pits and will be for some time. Not enough buyers and too many houses on the market, unlike Australia. |
|
|
|
| Kuningan | Jun 23 2011, 01:10:14 PM Post #20 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
That's definitely a big part of it. Kind of like living in Lake Wobegon where: "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average" Aussies deal with the same first world issues Americans do: the economy, immigration, jobs, politics, housing, where to go on vacation, drink driving, etc etc. My 18 yr old step daughter just visited with a friend and one of their unsolicited comments was how homogeneous the population is. Words to the effect of "we interact regularly with more people from different countries in Texas than we even saw here". They visited Perth, Sydney, and Newcastle. It's not a dig. Just an observation. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · General Chit-Chat · Next Topic » |
6:16 PM May 22