bye bye australia..

woolymammoth

..and Adelaide, my home away from home for the last 15 months, now leaving that home to go home and hope to return home in the coming months

farewell fellow escapees!

Mackman

Safe trip mate. Wish i was heading home

miss5

Are you missing home?

My friend is in Sydney and is so homesick.

CiaranC

Im out of here in two months myself, looking forward to it tbh. Australia is all a bit overrated.

miss5

I think it has become something people just do as a rite of passage.

I'm sure the two months will fly.

m@cc@

CiaranC wrote: »

Australia is all a bit overrated.

A bit unfair I reckon. But if you took out the weather factor, I don't think the lifestyle aspect would be vastly different and therefore I'm not sure it would be worth going across the other end of the world.

CiaranC

I think you are on to something there, "the weather factor" seems huge in peoples minds. Personally, I dont give a ****.

I loved living in Canada and it was fooking freezing

Mackman

Im just here because there's work here. if not for that id be back in Ireland. Weather doesnt matter to me

m@cc@

CiaranC wrote: »

I think you are on to something there, "the weather factor" seems huge in peoples minds. Personally, I dont give a ****.

I loved living in Canada and it was fooking freezing

Well, it just gives you more freedom to do what you want. I like being able to go outside the door and not worry about bringing a coat. On the flipside, I sweat like a pig in my workshirt for 4-5 months over summer.

The rain will be depressing when I get home.

CiaranC

m@cc@ wrote: »

Well, it just gives you more freedom to do what you want. I like being able to go outside the door and not worry about bringing a coat. On the flipside, I sweat like a pig in my workshirt for 4-5 months over summer.

The rain will be depressing when I get home.

Yeah, it means i can go the beach or mountainclimbing any time I want. Only thing is, I dont want to go the beach or go mountain climbing, ever.

I can see the attraction for outdoorsy types, really. And I can see the attraction for young lads on the rip and that, having a laugh. It just hasnt grabbed me the way other places Ive lived have.

P.S. Its pissing rain

universe777

CiaranC wrote: »

Australia is all a bit overrated.

+1 billion

Diddler82

CiaranC wrote: »

Im out of here in two months myself, looking forward to it tbh. Australia is all a bit overrated.

Only you could formulate your opinion of a place before you came over so that is your mistake for overrating it

I know exactly what I was getting myself in for and it is what it is in my opinion - somewhere a lot warmer (dont care either) with a lot of work and although it is not as good a nightlife as Dublin, there is a lot more options and a lot more people who are working and in the same mindset as me.

Sorry your experience has not been a good one

CiaranC

Diddler82 wrote: »

Only you could formulate your opinion of a place before you came over so that is your mistake for overrating it

Huh? Im talking about other peoples ratings of it...

People rating it highly is fairly understandable, seeing as a lot of people came here when they were young as a gap year, or after college etc., and had a ball because it was their one and only blowout before going back to Ireland and settling down to a life of 9-5.

femur61

Be very aware of the anger here (Eire) we have been ripped off by an inept government. I did travel and lived abroad and you will come home with a wider picture. I am a mother of 3 kids and would have hated them to have to leave our shores as I did but now I hate them having to pay back the terrible mess that has been created by a few.

unreggd

m@cc@ wrote: »

A bit unfair I reckon. But if you took out the weather factor, I don't think the lifestyle aspect would be vastly different and therefore I'm not sure it would be worth going across the other end of the world.

The weather was the main reason I wanted to leave :P

Stinicker

I am going to Australia in July on a bit of a fact finding mission as I am in my early twenties and am out of work three years next month. Ireland is dead to me now and every day I spend at home I resent it and myself even more. There is no future in Ireland and the bizzare thing is the majority of the plebs have no idea of how bad it is and how far worse things are going to become. I am not expecting much from Australia but no matter how bad things are there in Australia they are far ahead of what we face in Ireland now.

My father Emigrated and returned with the price of our family home from England and Ireland is dying as are its people, spirit and communities.

unreggd

Stinicker wrote: »

no matter how bad things are there in Australia they are far ahead of what we face in Ireland now

Don't be gettin ahead of yourself. By they, I'm guessin you mean Australians. Well, you're not an Aussie, you'll be goin over as one of thousands of backpackers, with the same (stupidly) limited visa.

Yes, there's more jobs, but theres wayyy more people applyin for them, most who dont need a visa

Not tryin to piss on your parade, just dont go over thinkin its a carefree place where everything will fall into your lap

Backpackin around Oz and livin/workin full time are very different experiences

What qualifications / exp do u have?

Sonnenblumen

CiaranC wrote: »

Im out of here in two months myself, looking forward to it tbh. Australia is all a bit overrated.

All the best and yeah would agree with your assessment, in fact I'd say the novelty factor wears off quicker than the head of a pint!

If it ain't too dull its more Hill Billy than America.

AngryHippie

Its what you make it, The Countryside is pretty red-necked, but most of the people are pretty okay. The cities are the usual bustle, the beaches are unrivaled. If you're expecting it to grab you and give you a great experience, you probably won't but if you want to meet cool people, enjoy the beach, and the outdoors, it'll be right up your street, Sure some people have bad experiences, and I feel for them, There are no guarantees, but give it a chance...

woolymammoth

jebus! I didn't realise there were so many replies. I'm feeling like i've come back to the broadband stone age here!

I left not for home-sickness, but 'cos my visa ran out. And I plan to return too.

CiaranC wrote:

Im out of here in two months myself, looking forward to it tbh. Australia is all a bit overrated.

Best of luck to ya man. Have to agree with you there. I love Australia, but there are things i hate about the place, no more than here in ireland. Too many people say it's the best evar, unrivalled and all that nonsense. The fact is, if Ireland got 1/4 of the sun australia gets, we would probably never leave home! Ireland has some fantastic beaches if people bothered to look.

femur61 wrote:

Be very aware of the anger here (Eire) we have been ripped off by an inept government.

What anger!?? Right now the irish are doing exactly what the irish do best. moan and grumble, and take it up the ass. And Cowen and the rest of those shaggers are betting on that.

To everyone else heading out on a whim, cavet emptor. The country has it's problems too. Unemployment may be low there, but that's relative and there's still a lot of people competing for the jobs. More people than ever are taking their own joblessness as an opportunity to travel to Oz et.al., so make sure and scope out the job market for yourself. That said, I never had to wait too long when i did look for work. It is a great country. Best of luck to anyone lucky enough to go for a while.

Funkstard

Heading home on Saturday, holiday visa is up. Bollocks. 2 months in Melbourne and 1 month up the east coast, absolutely living the dream.

Until I return Australia! (with my WHV..)

woolymammoth

Funkstard wrote: »

Until I return Australia! (with my WHV..)

you know that as an irish passport holder, you can apply for your WHV to any australian consulate outside of australia, not just in ireland! The nearest one is Auckland. Irish passport holders do not need a visa to enter New Zealand for a short holiday. Though New Zealand won't permit you entry without an onward ticket to another country for which you are allowed entry. New Zealand also has a WHV programme... you could go round in circles for years!

Funkstard

Oh I've learnt all about the rat runs..biting the bullet to go home and finish my degree first though!

Mr Benevolent

I left because I couldn't get a job (needed local work and didn't have any retail/building experience). I do miss Australia, my girlfriend is coming back in 5 weeks and is getting very homesick.

While I don't think Australia is overrated, I found the weather very unpleasant without air conditioning, excepting the spectacular thunderstorms.. The transport system is far better than Ireland's and the work ethic is far superior too. I didn't see any of the stereotypical behavior that you see in Ireland and the overall feeling was of a country far more organised and civilized than Ireland. Heresy I know, but there are better countries then Ireland. Canada is my next target.

Oh, and Australia is far from cheap, contrary to backpacker opinion.

woolymammoth

Confab wrote: »

Oh, and Australia is far from cheap, contrary to backpacker opinion.

It's definitely not cheap, but it is cheaper in most cases, even if only slightly. If you're backpacking with little cash or getting paid sh!tty wages, your money will quickly disappear!

You're right about the thunder storms, always loved sitting outside to watch those before a deluge came down after it They do generally have a much better work ethic, but there's still the same number of overpaid incompetent twats everywhere.

Come on Eileen

Lived/Worked in Sydney for 6 months, back home in Ireland now after 8 months of it...Loved every min of sydney, beaches being my fav, still rained there thou, it was still cold in there winter....home is home at the end of the day...glad to be back!

eringobragh

Confab wrote: »

I left because I couldn't get a job (needed local work and didn't have any retail/building experience). I do miss Australia, my girlfriend is coming back in 5 weeks and is getting very homesick.

While I don't think Australia is overrated, I found the weather very unpleasant without air conditioning, excepting the spectacular thunderstorms.. The transport system is far better than Ireland's and the work ethic is far superior too. I didn't see any of the stereotypical behavior that you see in Ireland and the overall feeling was of a country far more organised and civilized than Ireland. Heresy I know, but there are better countries then Ireland. Canada is my next target.

Oh, and Australia is far from cheap, contrary to backpacker opinion.

I'm glad you edited that part about the aussies having a better work ethic! I nearly fell off my chair!

Mr Benevolent

eringobragh wrote: »

I'm glad you edited that part about the aussies having a better work ethic! I nearly fell off my chair!

I did? Must've been in a parallel universe.

eringobragh

Confab wrote: »

I did? Must've been in a parallel universe.

My bad! My eyes must have been playing tricks on me..

LisaMe

eringobragh wrote: »

I'm glad you edited that part about the aussies having a better work ethic! I nearly fell off my chair!

I thought that Aussies had a better work ethic but then it's hard to make sweeping generalisations about EVERY employer in a huge country

m@cc@

LisaMe wrote: »

I thought that Aussies had a better work ethic

They don't.