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Bon Voyage!

Bobbins

SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
May 5, 2005
21,548
45,031
Same. It was cold as well (Melbourne in mid October) and when my Mrs arrived, it was hammering with rain. Brisbane and Melbourne suffered some of its worst rain in a decade or more a couple of months later.

I thought it must just be me taking the Northern weather with me, then I realised Australia's tourism marketing dept has carried out one of the greatest swindles in history in convincing all Brits that it's warm, sunny and dry all year round.

Still moving there though.

Nothing against the place, it's perfectly alright. I do get annoyed at the people who go there on holiday/travelling for a few weeks, think it's some paradise on earth, move out there 'forever', then realise that it was actually the idea and life of not having a job which was the amazingly great thing, not the country itself, and suddenly working 9-5 in a dreary office in Australia is the same as working 9-5 in a dreary office in England. Britain would be pretty fucking awesome for most people if you never had to work or think about money.

Still enjoyed my visits, people were nice as well. Just couldn't live there (feels too 'cut off' from the rest of the world, too small-time and remote - not that there's anything wrong with that in principle, it's exactly what many people want). But yeah the weather, whilst obviously great in the summer, ain't so great all year round.

Hope you are very happy there mate. Haven't you been living around there/Asia for a while now?
 

Kendall

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2007
38,502
11,933
Nothing against the place, it's perfectly alright. I do get annoyed at the people who go there on holiday/travelling for a few weeks, think it's some paradise on earth, move out there 'forever', then realise that it was actually the idea and life of not having a job which was the amazingly great thing, not the country itself, and suddenly working 9-5 in a dreary office in Australia is the same as working 9-5 in a dreary office in England. Britain would be pretty fucking awesome for most people if you never had to work or think about money.

Still enjoyed my visits, people were nice as well. Just couldn't live there (feels too 'cut off' from the rest of the world, too small-time and remote - not that there's anything wrong with that in principle, it's exactly what many people want). But yeah the weather, whilst obviously great in the summer, ain't so great all year round.

Hope you are very happy there mate. Haven't you been living around there/Asia for a while now?

Agree with you, we said we would want to come back to the UK before making any permanent decisions so that it wasn't just a case of us being in love with the idea. Once you settle into every day life there, it's much the same. Though I do think there is more of a focus on living your life outside, I would prefer to bring up kids in any major Australian City over any major UK City, but that discussion is for another day.
 

fatpiranha

dismember
Jun 9, 2003
8,337
21,678
You won't be back :shifty:.

With UKIP running the country on your return you'll be arrested at Heathrow who will assume your newly acquired antipodean tan is evidence that you have spent the last two years engaging in jihad with ISIS in Syria. You'll then be extraordinary renditioned to Guantanamo where you will spend the rest of your natural life in an orange jumpsuit giving thrice daily blowjobs to 300lb American prison guards.

Have fun in Oz (y).
 

jonathanhotspur

Loose Cannon
Jun 28, 2009
10,292
8,250
Firstly, you can meet SpursManChris when you get to Aus and secondly, like me, you will still be all over SC there, unless you get banned for 4 months, like I did.

Enjoy it, have a blast.
Is SpursManChris an Aussie?

Nothing against the place, it's perfectly alright. I do get annoyed at the people who go there on holiday/travelling for a few weeks, think it's some paradise on earth, move out there 'forever', then realise that it was actually the idea and life of not having a job which was the amazingly great thing, not the country itself, and suddenly working 9-5 in a dreary office in Australia is the same as working 9-5 in a dreary office in England. Britain would be pretty fucking awesome for most people if you never had to work or think about money.

Still enjoyed my visits, people were nice as well. Just couldn't live there (feels too 'cut off' from the rest of the world, too small-time and remote - not that there's anything wrong with that in principle, it's exactly what many people want). But yeah the weather, whilst obviously great in the summer, ain't so great all year round.

Hope you are very happy there mate. Haven't you been living around there/Asia for a while now?
How do you mean, @Bobbins?
 
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spurs9

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
11,845
34,023
Same. It was cold as well (Melbourne in mid October) and when my Mrs arrived, it was hammering with rain. Brisbane and Melbourne suffered some of its worst rain in a decade or more a couple of months later.

I thought it must just be me taking the Northern weather with me, then I realised Australia's tourism marketing dept has carried out one of the greatest swindles in history in convincing all Brits that it's warm, sunny and dry all year round.

Still moving there though.
When I went to Australia, the first three days were cold and wet. Thought someone was taking the piss and I'd just ended up in Darlington after flying round in circles for 12hrs.

Australia does look quite like Darlington when the veneer of sunshine is removed.

Enjoy Asia though! (y)
You guys must have been very unlucky with the weather. Melbourne does get pretty cold in winter and pretty wet & windy in Spring but also hot as a bastard in Summer (it's like a more intense Auckland). Also, it depends where in Australia you go, Brisbane for example still gets to around the early 20 degrees C in the winter.

You are probably right about people confusing being on holiday to what actual working life would be, but the lifestyle is very different (again it's very different depending in what part of Oz you are in too).

Where about's in OZ are you moving to Kendall?
 

moomin

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2011
1,950
2,899
Lock.gif~c200

its comin.... i can feel it in me bones
 

Bobbins

SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
May 5, 2005
21,548
45,031
Is SpursManChris an Aussie?


How do you mean, @Bobbins?

For me, comparing Australia to the UK was like comparing the UK to America.

In the US, everything seems bigger, louder, more impressive. It was the opposite in Australia. The cities are much smaller than in England, the buildings are less impressive, there are so many less people than in London, there is so much less going on, and the world is so much less concerned with Australia.

There's nothing wrong with that, I just found that having grown up very near to, and spent my life in, London, Australia was just a bit small and cut-off from the world for my liking - at least to consider living there.

I remember two little things that summed it up for me when I was trying to explain to people what I meant:

1 - When staying in a hotel in Sydney, I watched the national news for a little while whilst my girlfriend was getting ready to go out. The lead story was some little thing, I can't remember exactly what, but the kind of thing you see on your regional news station in the UK. There was no big international story, no big national economic or political story, just this little thing that was really just a local event. It felt so small time. After that I made a point of trying to watch the national news to see if it had been a one-off, but it was like it every day.

2 - Also in Sydney, we were staying centrally at one point, and were getting a coach trip to the Blue Mountains outside the city. I remember a funny moment when we all got on the coach, it was 8:30am, and the tour guide came on over the mic and warned us that since it was the height of weekday rush hour in Australia's busiest city, and we were right in the middle of it, we should be prepared for some delays as it might take us "up to 20 minutes to get out of the city". There were a bunch of Brits on the coach and as one we all couldn't help but burst out laughing - my girlfriend and I both commuted into central London at the time and the idea of getting from the city centre to the country in 20 minutes sounded like an impossible dream! The tour guide looked properly confused that all these Brits found his warning so funny.

Incidentally, Sydney has also been grubby as fuck each time I've been there, especially on a Saturday and Sunday morning when there was streets full of rubbish and there were street cleaning trucks washing it all into the gutters all afternoon - makes London look like the cleanest city in the world. I'm also not a big fan of the 'England in 1976' sort of attitudes a lot of Aussies seem to have, it feels like stepping back in time with some of the things people think it's ok to say and do over there.

Lots of little things like that meant Australia just felt small-time and cut off from the rest of the world when I was there, in direct contrast to London which, to me at least, feels like it's at the absolute centre of everything that's going on - professionally, economically, politically and especially culturally. Even the sport - Australia is so highly thought of in sporting terms but really, there's very little top-level sport actually played there - rugby and cricket, and one tennis tournament. They are famous for being good at sport but the reality is we're actually much better at the most popular sports in the world and the biggest stars of most of those sports want to play in England. You're never going to see world football's biggest stars playing in Australia, but you can see half of them in England, and the other half end up visiting via the Champion's League.

Lots of people hate London and the UK of course and that's fine, but I miss being away from London whenever I am, and I really don't think England is a bad place to live at all, despite our moans. I also like the fact that we can jump on a plane and be in another European capital in 2hrs, and experience completely different, ancient and modern cultures whenever we like. Australia's so cut off you've got to fly for hours just to get to the other side of the country, and Singapore's the nearest stopping off point.

I've got nothing against Australia at all and can see why lots of people would want to live there, especially if they want to have kids and their own lives slow down into a bit more of a domestic routine, it's great for that, I just don't see it as the paradise land lots of Brits seem to think it is, and as I mentioned I do get annoyed when people confuse life on holiday for normal life and judge somewhere because of it.

One note of difference is that I really liked Melbourne - probably because it felt a lot like Brighton, my second favourite UK city, and was the most "UK-like" city I found. It also helped that Melbourne uni has a large student population of unbelievably beautiful South Korean girls, which may have influenced my judgement somewhat.

Well that was the longest explanation ever, sorry about that.
 

Monkey Bastard Hands

Large Member
Jul 18, 2010
1,411
1,121
Good luck @Atarrier and have a blast. You'll find lots of Spurs fans in this part of the world; i'm in Singapore and there's a lot of support here. If you get here, ping me a message and we can shout abuse at the telly over a beer.
 

spurs9

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
11,845
34,023
For me, comparing Australia to the UK was like comparing the UK to America.

In the US, everything seems bigger, louder, more impressive. It was the opposite in Australia. The cities are much smaller than in England, the buildings are less impressive, there are so many less people than in London, there is so much less going on, and the world is so much less concerned with Australia.

There's nothing wrong with that, I just found that having grown up very near to, and spent my life in, London, Australia was just a bit small and cut-off from the world for my liking - at least to consider living there.

I remember two little things that summed it up for me when I was trying to explain to people what I meant:

1 - When staying in a hotel in Sydney, I watched the national news for a little while whilst my girlfriend was getting ready to go out. The lead story was some little thing, I can't remember exactly what, but the kind of thing you see on your regional news station in the UK. There was no big international story, no big national economic or political story, just this little thing that was really just a local event. It felt so small time. After that I made a point of trying to watch the national news to see if it had been a one-off, but it was like it every day.

2 - Also in Sydney, we were staying centrally at one point, and were getting a coach trip to the Blue Mountains outside the city. I remember a funny moment when we all got on the coach, it was 8:30am, and the tour guide came on over the mic and warned us that since it was the height of weekday rush hour in Australia's busiest city, and we were right in the middle of it, we should be prepared for some delays as it might take us "up to 20 minutes to get out of the city". There were a bunch of Brits on the coach and as one we all couldn't help but burst out laughing - my girlfriend and I both commuted into central London at the time and the idea of getting from the city centre to the country in 20 minutes sounded like an impossible dream! The tour guide looked properly confused that all these Brits found his warning so funny.

Incidentally, Sydney has also been grubby as fuck each time I've been there, especially on a Saturday and Sunday morning when there was streets full of rubbish and there were street cleaning trucks washing it all into the gutters all afternoon - makes London look like the cleanest city in the world. I'm also not a big fan of the 'England in 1976' sort of attitudes a lot of Aussies seem to have, it feels like stepping back in time with some of the things people think it's ok to say and do over there.

Lots of little things like that meant Australia just felt small-time and cut off from the rest of the world when I was there, in direct contrast to London which, to me at least, feels like it's at the absolute centre of everything that's going on - professionally, economically, politically and especially culturally. Even the sport - Australia is so highly thought of in sporting terms but really, there's very little top-level sport actually played there - rugby and cricket, and one tennis tournament. They are famous for being good at sport but the reality is we're actually much better at the most popular sports in the world and the biggest stars of most of those sports want to play in England. You're never going to see world football's biggest stars playing in Australia, but you can see half of them in England, and the other half end up visiting via the Champion's League.

Lots of people hate London and the UK of course and that's fine, but I miss being away from London whenever I am, and I really don't think England is a bad place to live at all, despite our moans. I also like the fact that we can jump on a plane and be in another European capital in 2hrs, and experience completely different, ancient and modern cultures whenever we like. Australia's so cut off you've got to fly for hours just to get to the other side of the country, and Singapore's the nearest stopping off point.

I've got nothing against Australia at all and can see why lots of people would want to live there, especially if they want to have kids and their own lives slow down into a bit more of a domestic routine, it's great for that, I just don't see it as the paradise land lots of Brits seem to think it is, and as I mentioned I do get annoyed when people confuse life on holiday for normal life and judge somewhere because of it.

One note of difference is that I really liked Melbourne - probably because it felt a lot like Brighton, my second favourite UK city, and was the most "UK-like" city I found. It also helped that Melbourne uni has a large student population of unbelievably beautiful South Korean girls, which may have influenced my judgement somewhat.

Well that was the longest explanation ever, sorry about that.
You are right, from a "hustle and bustle" point of view, not many places beat London. Australia would be a move you should only make if you wanted a slower pace, but there are some amazing beaches, rivers wildlife etc and some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. I think if you are from London, you would struggle with the life style, unless you want the complete opposite to what you currently have.

I'm originally from Morecambe, so I have never had that city life to miss (I actually do miss Morecambe though). I also live in NZ not Australia.

Just to add to what you have previously said, I think most Brits would miss the pub culture (I know I do) and it is a pain having to get up at 2-3am to watch your team play live (especially when they play like our team is at the mo).
 

arunspurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
8,807
35,543
Welcome to Australia...

3 PM game starts at 12AM
5 PM starts at 2 AM
8 PM starts at 5 AM


Its been 6 years for me in this land - yet I haven't missed a game. Each year, Sunday nights are more disappointing than the previous week. Watching usual Sunday night game , will virtually ruin your week ahead. Monday mornings the worst of all, seething with anger & disappointment.

Yet, you will end up watching the same shit again the week after like the thousands here...
 

arunspurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
8,807
35,543
1 - When staying in a hotel in Sydney, I watched the national news for a little while whilst my girlfriend was getting ready to go out. The lead story was some little thing, I can't remember exactly what, but the kind of thing you see on your regional news station in the UK. There was no big international story, no big national economic or political story, just this little thing that was really just a local event. It felt so small time. After that I made a point of trying to watch the national news to see if it had been a one-off, but it was like it every day.

Agreed. There is indeed a huge disconnect. Some times, the kind of headlines that is flashed would not even make in any news category in some part of the world. I mean, there was a kind of robbery - right next door to my house where some drunk pushed a 85 year old lady and got her purse and ran away. The evening when I came back, there were news crews of all 4 major news networks interviewing people and this made it into the primetime headlines.
This also points to how low the crime rate is here, but some times these "news" just gets to my nerve. I just dont watch them unless, I know if there is something of importance is being reported.
 

captinbeefhart

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2005
1,180
180
I've been in Adelaide for over a year now, and haven't looked back! bought a house, a little yid on the way! and its easier to blank out the bad results with a 10.5 time difference! :)
 

HotspurFC1950

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2011
4,223
2,623
Same. It was cold as well (Melbourne in mid October) and when my Mrs arrived, it was hammering with rain. Brisbane and Melbourne suffered some of its worst rain in a decade or more a couple of months later.

I thought it must just be me taking the Northern weather with me, then I realised Australia's tourism marketing dept has carried out one of the greatest swindles in history in convincing all Brits that it's warm, sunny and dry all year round.

Still moving there though.


You see NZ is Godzone not Austrafalia.
 

HotspurFC1950

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2011
4,223
2,623
It's actually great fun catching up on the football in far away places.

When I first travelled there was no internet and that was even more fun. Details available.
 

Kendall

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2007
38,502
11,933
You guys must have been very unlucky with the weather. Melbourne does get pretty cold in winter and pretty wet & windy in Spring but also hot as a bastard in Summer (it's like a more intense Auckland). Also, it depends where in Australia you go, Brisbane for example still gets to around the early 20 degrees C in the winter.

You are probably right about people confusing being on holiday to what actual working life would be, but the lifestyle is very different (again it's very different depending in what part of Oz you are in too).

Where about's in OZ are you moving to Kendall?
Depends on work, we would go to any City. My Mrs is a student child nurse so it depends on what is about for both of us. If I stay with the Company I work for now, they would probably be insistent on Sydney but in an ideal world, we'd love to settle in Brisbane, which shades Melbourne due to our climate preference and QLD in general.
 
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