England!

slatepipe · Post by **slatepipe** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:58 pm

it isnt raining all day long, but it is january so the weather is a bit ...januaryish.
though i cycled to work this morning at 7am in a t shirt, so it cant be that terrible.
people seem to be positive or negative about london or england or north and south. i am of the positve slant, lived in london for pushing 20 years now and i love it more than ever.....pubs, food, music, parks, people, galleries, scenery.

accomodation is crazily expensive to buy at the moment though

popslut · Post by **popslut** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Don't ask me - I just moved away from the poxy, windswept, rainsoaked shit hole.

:O]

It's lovely to be living in a country where people don't ask you the value of your house before they ask you your name.

[Spain btw]

mike holiday · Post by **mike holiday** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:01 pm

well, I can't say about britain, but i can say about living thousands of miles away from family.. and growing older.. once you get older that family element is important!

sometimes i miss alaska.. but no regrets here on moving back down to the lower 48!

heavensdaw · Post by **heavensdaw** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:42 pm

forge wrote:well it's nearly 3 years since we came to the colonies and while on one hand we love it here - lifestyle, weather, great place for kids...etc

on the other hand we miss our families and it feels so far away

having a 6 year old here in Queensland is good - a great place for him, amazing parks and outdoor lifestyle, but for us grown ups having to live and work in the 'real world' we're starting to wonder whether we shouldn't head back for a bit.......

so..those of you still in the UK - tell me your thoughts - are you desperate to escape? or are you happy in Brown's Britain? Is it different now that Tony Bleugh has gone? New exciting future? or just more of the same old miserable, grey, over inflated shit?

Love to hear your thoughts, you zany Abletonians could well sway me one way or the other.

we'd probably go back to Essex or Docklands - somewhere south eastern and greater london or home counties anyway....

Ex-pats down under most welcome to chime in! (Nuperspective I'm looking in your direction! )

Hey mate I so totally relate to what you're saying..

I moved out from England nearly 7 years ago, to come and live in Spain ( Catalunia actully, but thats another story).

When we first arrived (with a six month baby), we had a HUGE culture shock.. Total strangers in a new world. A complete house\life to build, NOT a ton of wonga. And I couldn't put two words together in Spanish.. SHIT... It's a loooooooong story....
Basically though from my experience it's tough, and until you try there's no way to know what it will be like...

I have a few times considered 'going back', but nah... There's a lot of reasons not to, ie like you say... lifestyle, weather, great place for kids...etc. And I think that they are really BLOODY IMPORTANT..reasons that is

Also I'd have that 'been here and done it' thing ... I know all that pissed me off enough to make me want to get outta there in the first place,hasn't gone anywhere, ie No space, privacy, cost of living, violence in the streets, TV addicted BS society, And it's always fucking raining! DON'T get me started!!

There is also the the other side.. The reasons that you would go back.. And for that only come down to two things.. Family and friends.. That's one difference between Spain and Australia.. We\they can be door to door in 4 or 5 hours!
So maybe come over here and we could hook up

Shit man, where is a totally cool wicked place to live? And what model are you going to be a part of? .....These alone, are BIG choices.

I've been thinking about starting some kind of 'alternative' community model up in the mountains in Northern Spain. Something that has the potential to be an incredible experience, done in the right way, with the right people.. It's something that I hadn't contemplated until I had made the move out here.

However, where we live now we have our lives pretty much 'setup'. Friends, work, lifestyle ect...

So........ basically even after the last 6 or so years (and bloody hard ones at that) I just can't see myself going back... I'd be giving up too much. My Wife feels the same. And just thinking for my (now) 2 boys it would be a bit of a shock.. they have about 8 or 9 kids in their classes at the local school,and all the freedom and space they need.

But I could MOVE ON!!

Sorry for rambling on abit.. You gotta do what you FEEL bro.... you KNOW that

Hd

heavensdaw · Post by **heavensdaw** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:45 pm

Hey popslut, where about in Spain are you?

Hd

Martyn · Post by **Martyn** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:54 pm

If you moved back here I think you'd be regretting it really soon, all the reasons you moved away are still here only worse. Anyone who'd successfully moved to Oz would have to be insane to move back here, it's an overpopulated, underpaid, overcharged, big brothered up, paranoia inducing, cold, wet, grey, depressing pile of shite. and that's me being positive about it. Don't even get me started on the politics, or the apathetic populace..... shit man, don't do it.

On the other hand, we've got Ant and Dec, celebrity Big Brother, Radio one, the good old BBC that we have to pay for and the whole world gets to watch, 90% tax on fuel and then road tax etc..etc...remember????

Don't do it! you are in a far better place. I would swap with you in a heartbeat.

brightonalex · Post by **brightonalex** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:57 pm

heavensdaw wrote:Hey popslut, where about in Spain are you?

Hd

And how much is your house worth out of interest?

heavensdaw · Post by **heavensdaw** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:01 pm

brightonalex wrote:
heavensdaw wrote:Hey popslut, where about in Spain are you?

Hd
And how much is your house worth out of interest?

LOL.... Why d'you wanna buy it?

Hd

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:07 pm

Craig,
its so rainy at the moment that my garden goes squelch when I stand on any part of it.
There has been a break in the rain of about 2 hours in the last month, when I got a chance to put some silicon sealant on my sills to stop the rain coming through the walls. The wind is whipping the crisp packets up into an ugly shite spiral.

here is a photo of England taken from my window

In other news :
Rectal anti terror probes have just been passed as compulsory.
There are now 3 anti-terror cameras for every person
Thought crime and face crime are now punishable by two years of waterboard therapy

udp · Post by **udp** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:13 pm

Hey Forge, what sort of work are you looking for? Maybe I could entice you to move here to Michigan...I'm looking to train a manager for my ice cream store. And I could use some help for my recording company. I couldn't make you rich, but I'm never gonna be rich either. WARNING! The weather here SUCKS. And you'd be not much closer to your son's grandparents.

forge · Post by **forge** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:24 pm

@Angstrom

here we have been so desperate for rain we are performing rain dance ceremonies and sacrificing cute native marsupials to the gods of the monsoon

@heavensdaw - thanks for that - good post!

Martyn wrote:If you moved back here I think you'd be regretting it really soon, all the reasons you moved away are still here only worse. Anyone who'd successfully moved to Oz would have to be insane to move back here, it's an overpopulated, underpaid, overcharged, big brothered up, paranoia inducing, cold, wet, grey, depressing pile of shite. and that's me being positive about it. Don't even get me started on the politics, or the apathetic populace..... shit man, don't do it.

On the other hand, we've got Ant and Dec, celebrity Big Brother, Radio one, the good old BBC that we have to pay for and the whole world gets to watch, 90% tax on fuel and then road tax etc..etc...remember????

Don't do it! you are in a far better place. I would swap with you in a heartbeat.

he he thanks Martyn!

I remember you and your wise words last time round when I was doing the move!

I know, on paper it all sounds pretty cut and dry

but there are a lot of people I really miss, and I definitely felt like there were more opportunities and choice of work in London, and we were in commuting reach but still enough out of the way to not be too crowded and still get the odd pint of real ale in a 500 year old country pub

I definitely think it's possible I've not put myself in the right places to find the right work here so far - and this is why I'm now studying, but at 31 with a child I'm pretty sick of the breadline and quite ready to work again and not overly impressed by the jobs I see advertised or the pay

I havent made too many friends here (as you could probably tell by my depressingly unbalanced post count here) while I had some people in the UK who I really do miss a lot - and often you dont find this out until you move to the other side of the planet and cant afford to fly back for a visit

I dont know - i think all likelihood is we will stay - the boy is flourishing and no amount of grannies lavishing gifts and threats of Legoland can compete with the lifestyle here, but then it will get harder as he gets older if we dont get some proper income before to long

really the main thing is the people we miss

if we were in Spain like Heavensdaw and Popslut then it's pretty easy to get back, but here it's a major fucking expedition that costs 3 months rent

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:27 pm

Wiltshire is probably the most gorgeous place I've ever been to.

(I didn't speak to the locals much, mind)

forge · Post by **forge** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:27 pm

udp wrote:Hey Forge, what sort of work are you looking for? Maybe I could entice you to move here to Michigan...I'm looking to train a manager for my ice cream store. And I could use some help for my recording company. I couldn't make you rich, but I'm never gonna be rich either. WARNING! The weather here SUCKS. And you'd be not much closer to your son's grandparents.

thanks UDP!

Macrostructure · Post by **Macrostructure** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:39 pm

i quite like it here in the uk. lots of social choices and beautiful countryside. opportunities for outdoor sport. cultural breadth and depth. politics is a whore everywhere in the world. for me the fightback on that is being a good ethical example in your own locale.

brightonalex · Post by **brightonalex** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:43 pm

heavensdaw wrote:
brightonalex wrote:
heavensdaw wrote:Hey popslut, where about in Spain are you?

Hd
And how much is your house worth out of interest?

LOL.... Why d'you wanna buy it?

Hd

I want to buy Popslut's. And turn it into a retirement home for Conservative American Lily Allen fans.

England!

Re: England!