My husband finally called it quits to the** Austrailan Experiment**. After a year here(for him) and seven months for me, we’re heading back to the States for a breather. We have lived outside of the States for over 17 years of our 24 year marriage:eek:
Being and expat in two Middle East countries and a European one, this Aussie experience has not been a good one for either of us. I can’t put figure it out. Oh well…another adventure.
So what didn’t you like about Oz? I lived there ten years.
I don’t think it is OZ so much as this specific town in OZ…oh yeah and the taxes, now a carbon tax has been passed so we would be hit again.
And it is? 
Maybe they’re over the fact that every single thing of wildlife can, and wants to, kill them in horribly painful ways.
Not every single thing. Some of the sheep are harmless.
Bolding mine. whimper
I guess it makes sense, it’s such a gorgeous place if it wasn’t for the wildlife scaring some people away it would be horribly crowded.
I hear you guys are considering importing elephants now.
Where in the US are you moving back to OP?
Obviously, I know nothing about your actual situation, but I wonder if it’s kind of like the ‘uncanny valley’ – unlike the Middle East, Australia is not so drastically different that it’s clearly exotic, but it’s not exactly the same as the U.S., either, so when you do run into something different than what you expect, it’s annoying rather than interesting.
Or, of course, it could be that you just don’t like where you are, which can happen to anyone.
But liars, I swear! Each and every one of them!
I’ve been to visit Australia and New Zealand, and while I had nothing bad to say, I had nothing great to say either. The countries are absolutely beautiful for scenery. But once you’ve seen it, you’re like OK, now what.
It’s like when I traveled out west in the USA. It’s pretty but once you see one rock, so what?
Australia is really too far away from everything. Sydney to me is like any other big city. It’s reminds me of Chicago. While Melbourne is like a upscale Sydney, similar to San Francisco being upscale. Brisbane is like any big Florida city.
Adelaide is the only big city I found to have any real local feel.
That said, Australia and New Zealand are beautiful places to visit. But I don’t see any real advantage of living there. A city is a city and their Internet and TV is outrageously expensive.
Ugh. Sheep lie.
I am not saying that all of Oz is bad. My husband works 14 hours a day 6 days a week. Hardly see him. Let’s not go into the amount of taxes we pay the Oz govenment, but we knew that when we came.
IMO the town(Gladstone) isn’t used to an expat community.(ie people here for a few years on a project then move on) They are very insular. I tried to get involved by volunteering, no one I mean **no one **was interested. Again I’m not blaming the people, it’s just I’ve been the ‘new kid’ most of my life. So I know what to do to get involved. I feel more isolated here than whe we lived in the derert in Saudi Arabia!!
Speaking of deadly animals…one week saw two Eastern Brown snakes (one of the top ten deadly snakes in the world) then two more later all in different places I ‘used’ to walk.:eek::eek:
Moonlitherial;14752231
Where in the US are you moving back to OP]
Moving to Carson City NV into a house we have owned since 1996 and only lived in it 9 months total:)