UK expats reveal pros and cons of Australia

A group of British expats have compiled a list of the things they hate about Australia – but admit there are some perks of living Down Under. 

Members of the Facebook group ‘Ping Pong Brits’ shared their pros and cons after travelling some 17,000km to forge a new life in Australia. 

In many instances, the perceived cons outweighed the pros, with homesick Brits admitting they will always feel ‘foreign’ no matter how much time has passed. 

One expat joked that no matter how much research is done about living Down Under, the country ‘is not like they say in the brochures’. 

She complained of boring pubs, expensive international flights and ‘cold’ houses but praised Australia’s coffee, picturesque beaches and laidback lifestyle. 

A group of British expats have compiled a list of the things they hate about Australia – but admit there are some perks of living Down Under (pictured, beach-goers in Bondi)

Members of the Facebook group 'Ping Pong Brits' shared their pros and cons of the 'lucky country' after travelling some 17,000 kms to forge a new life (pictured, Sydneysiders)

Members of the Facebook group ‘Ping Pong Brits’ shared their pros and cons of the ‘lucky country’ after travelling some 17,000 kms to forge a new life (pictured, Sydneysiders)

Pros and cons of living in Australia 

PROS:

Laid back 

Affordable childcare

Better work life balance

Higher salary 

Bigger houses

Beaches  

Coffee 

Summer weather 

Free outdoor activities 

Great beaches

Good wages

Large houses

Good coffee

More space

Good for retirement

Wide open spaces and endless blue skies 

Showers that actually pump water at a decent rate 

CONS:

Distance to events

Expensive flights to anywhere

Lack of quality pubs

Christmas in the heat is weird

Driving is appalling: No roads manners (a little wave to say thank you is considered polite, rather than staring at you like you’re an alien)

Always referred to as a Pom

Cold houses as no double glazing and decent insulation

Rules, regulations and high levies (aka taxes)

Nanny country which stifles you

Flies

High UV

Extreme weather

Will say G’day but won’t wanna be friends

Will always feel foreign no matter how long you live in OZ

The woman said when travelling overseas ‘you’re flying over Australia for a long time’ and didn’t mince her words when she slammed her adopted home for its lack of ‘quality pubs’. 

Also on her cons list was that ‘Christmas in the heat is weird’. 

She described Australian homes as cold due to a lack of double glazing and proper insulation and bemoaned inferior retail stores, high taxes and ‘rules’. 

Some of the more positive things is the ‘laidback’ lifestyle, affordable childcare, better work-life balance, higher salaries, bigger houses and unsurprisingly the beaches. 

The woman also praised Australia’s world-renowned coffee, the balmy summer weather and being able to participate in ‘free outdoor activities’. 

Another expat shared his pros and cons of living Down Under, lauding Australia’s beaches, good coffee and retirement value. 

In many instances, the perceived cons about Australia outweighed the pros, with some homesick Brits admitting they will always feel 'foreign' (pictured, swimmers in Bondi)

In many instances, the perceived cons about Australia outweighed the pros, with some homesick Brits admitting they will always feel ‘foreign’ (pictured, swimmers in Bondi)

A British expat has complained of Australia's lack of 'quality pubs' (pictured, diners in Sydney)

A British expat has complained of Australia’s lack of ‘quality pubs’ (pictured, diners in Sydney)

Many homesick Brits said they missed enjoying a cold Christmas (pictured, tourists in London)

Many homesick Brits said they missed enjoying a cold Christmas (pictured, tourists in London)

Members of the Facebook group posted their pros and cons about living in Australia

Members of the Facebook group posted their pros and cons about living in Australia

However he said a major drawback was always being referred to as a ‘Pom’ – on top of the flies, high UV index and the ‘extreme weather’. 

The expat claimed that despite Aussies saying ‘G’day’ they ‘won’t wanna be friends’ and said living in a nanny state ‘stifles you’. 

Brits use the term nanny state to describe a country with a government that overly intervenes with its citizens personal choice or freedoms.

Other group members were quick to share their own pros and cons with one Brit admitting they had felt ‘grateful’ to return to Australia after a trip to the UK.  

‘I live on acreage in South East Queensland it’s heaven, get the four seasons here but our winter is the same temperatures as English Summer,’ they wrote. 

They said after 35 years in Australia they still missed having a cold Christmas but remained in touch with friends back in the UK who kept them in the loop. 

Australia's world-renowned coffee, the balmy summer weather and being able to participate in free outdoor activities has been praised by a British expat (pictured, Sydney's Opera House)

Australia’s world-renowned coffee, the balmy summer weather and being able to participate in free outdoor activities has been praised by a British expat (pictured, Sydney’s Opera House)

Other group members were quick to share their own pros and cons with one Brit admitting they had been 'grateful' to return to Australia after a trip home (pictured, swimmers at Bondi)

Other group members were quick to share their own pros and cons with one Brit admitting they had been ‘grateful’ to return to Australia after a trip home (pictured, swimmers at Bondi)

‘I waiver at times to ‘go home’ but lived here longer than ‘there’,’ they wrote. 

‘I miss the English sense of humour and directness but I’m happy enough. Went back four years ago to visit family and was glad to come back to my life in Oz.’

Another said they liked the ‘peace and quiet, wide open spaces and endless blue skies’ that could be enjoyed on their property located 60km from the closest city. 

The expat said they valued Australia’s diversity, the lower number of students in classrooms and how everybody was treated as equals. 

'I waiver at times to 'go home' but lived here longer than 'there',' one British expat explained (pictured, a woman poses in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge)

‘I waiver at times to ‘go home’ but lived here longer than ‘there’,’ one British expat explained (pictured, a woman poses in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge)

Another expat hey liked the 'peace and quiet, wide open spaces and endless blue skies' on their acre block located 60km from the closest city (pictured, Sydney's Bondi Beach)

Another expat hey liked the ‘peace and quiet, wide open spaces and endless blue skies’ on their acre block located 60km from the closest city (pictured, Sydney’s Bondi Beach)

‘I find money can go a long way when buying food, I only buy what I need, make as much as I can and grow a lot too,’ they explained. 

‘We’re lucky, we live on an acre block with sheep over the fence for neighbours, 14km to my nearest shop (tiny supermarket), 60km to bigger cities/towns and we keep chickens for eggs.’

The expat said could probably live the same lifestyle in the UK but now had three generations of their family living Down Under. 

‘You’ve just got to find your happy place in the world,’ the post continued. 

‘Family was a big pull when we first arrived in Oz, but both sets of parents are no longer alive. Now have our seven grown up kids and 16 grandkids and our Australian family is really well and truely established now.’

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