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UNHAPPY IN AUSTRALIA


4Coetzees

Question

:ilikeit:

Lately I saw alot of posts about unhappiness with the move and the hubby and coping with the kids while hubby is working and house cleaning and etc etc etc.

Who wanted to return to SA after a few days or weeks or months and why?

Are there any that returned to SA and might go back to Australia?

Are there any of you that never want to return to Australia?

:)

Edited by Want to go now....
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Hi there .......

In the begining ............ both me and hubby wanted to go back because of FAMILY . :ph34r::ph34r: ........... they turned out to be the worst thing that happened to us .......... but now we have broken away from them and have found our feet in Australia .............

We love it and are very very happy and I would never return to SA.............

xx

s

:lol::lol::lol::unsure:

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We arrived in Melbourne 16 months ago and I've been back to SA when I sadly lost my dad in March this year.

In the time that I was in SA, Eugene died and the Malema saga were going on, it was frightning...I think I just forgot how bad it was in SA and I was so happy to be back.

This is our home now, my son turning 17 in September battled, but even he is getting there.

It took him more than a year,but he is finally making friends and we are making friends.

The only bad thing I can say about Melbourne is the weather, I was used to sunny Durban and it is taking me a while to get used to this, but I am coping.

We live a different life in OZ, as long as you dont convert, food is really affordable compared to SA, I was shocked to see what people in SA pay for food.

Good luck to the ones in the application process, it is a better life and a future for your kids.

The only thing I feel sorry for is the one's I had to leave behind,especially my mom

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We've had quite a roller coaster ride since arriving in Aus, with me missing my family very much. But I won't go back. Some days are harder than others, especially around birthdays, but we're much better off in Aus. Some days I still have to pinch myself because I can't believe we've finally made it to Aus! I agree with Riekie, we spend so much time researching and preparing ourselves for the move, but we completely ignore our emotions and how we will adjust. I take each day as it comes, but am thankful every night that I can sleep safely in my bed.

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We have been here 2 years & intend staying forever. The kids & wife absolutely love it here. So no way Hose unless they tell me to leave!

Cheers

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Been here for 5 & 1/2 years. Never been back and also don't have any intensions to go back. If the family don't want to come visit I don't see them. I fly my mom out every year for 2 months and she loves it here. No need for me to go back. Rather spend my money on holidays going to places I want to go to.

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Been here for 5 & 1/2 years. Never been back and also don't have any intensions to go back. If the family don't want to come visit I don't see them. I fly my mom out every year for 2 months and she loves it here. No need for me to go back. Rather spend my money on holidays going to places I want to go to.

:whome:

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Its great that the latest new arrivals (last 5 years) have managed to adapt and are happyand not thinking aboiut going back.

I think the fact that there are so many Saffers in Australia now has also made the transition that much easier for all new arrivals.

The younger you are also makes it that much easier to adapt.

I have been here for 11 years, I love Australia now, but I was totally miserable for the first 3-4 years. We as a family had many ups and downs and issues to deal with . I just wanted to go back to South Africa but forced myself to stay for the future of my kids . I felt like I was totally worthless here.

At the time most Saffers felt the same way. Jobs were really hard to come by some people were unemployed for 12 months before they found a job, any job. There was no support system, there were so few people who knew anyone . Unlike today, where almost everyone has a friend that has emmigrated to Oz.

Have said that, there are many people still today, that have battled to settle. The only advice I can give is that you must give yourself 1000 days.

If after 1000 days you are still unhappy and unsettled , then go back.

There are the few that go back, and I say good luck to them. Its a major decision to make, and not an easy one. Immigration is not for everyone.

It is the hardest thing that you will go through.

So good luck to all those that are here and those still to arrive. It is not abnormall do feel down and feel like you miss the familiarity of South Africa. When you are down, you judgement can sometimes be clouded , and you need to hold onto the rreason why you decided to immigrate in the first place.

Regards

Enrica

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I completely agree Enrica. We haven't been here long, and I still struggle some days, while other days are good. However, I am much more willing to perhaps move to a different Aussie city than go back to SA. Just because you're not settling in one place, doesn't mean there isn't a place in Aus where you will. So we're giving Perth a year (until our rental agreement ends) and then we will see how we feel and how things are going job wise.

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Michele R i found that only after 12 months we have really settled and it seems to get easier each day. Have you made a lot of friends here in Perth? I am not keen to move again as we have made such lovely friends in the last 18 months.

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I felt like I was totally worthless here.

At the time most Saffers felt the same way.

I felt the same way but must say I have now stopped looking in the mirror and thought it was me. Why? I researched the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship, performance management and competitiveness. I then looked where Australia fitted in the global picture and Western Australia on a national level. I would like to share my findings.

Three well researched reports which rate global innovation, performance management and global competitiveness were used.

I will then leave it up to reader to decide for himself.

1. International Innovation index study

The Economist Intelligence Unit developed an innovation index that ranked 82 countries based on their innovation capacity from 2002 to 2006, and forecast their performance through to 2011.

Available here: Report 1 The findings of this report is in line with the Bloomberg / Boston Consulting Group report.

The innovation index consists out of 2 primary components. The one component is using innovation enablers and the other component is innovation performance outputs. This provides an better insight in what factors are needed to improve innovation.

Briefly these Innovation enablers were: Research and development (R&D) as % of gross domestic product (GDP), Quality of local research infrastructure, Education of workforce, Policies towards free enterprise and competition, Technical skills of workforce, Quality of information technology (IT) and communications infrastructure, Broadband penetration, Political environment, Market opportunities, Policy towards foreign investment, Foreign trade and exchange controls, Taxes, Financing, The labour market, Infrastructure

The Innovation performance outputs were the sum of registered patents made over the time period.

The 4 most important findings of this reports states that:

* innovation is beneficial to both national economies and corporate performance,

* the impact is more visible at the microeconomic than the macroeconomic level;

* innovative companies tend to outperform their peers;

* technical skills of the workforce and IT/telecommunications infrastructure are critical to innovation;

Countries in the top 5 places are Japan, Switzerland, the United States, Sweden and Finland.

Australia was ranked 21st

2. Australia Management Practice and Performance benchmark study:

This report has been released in 2009 by the Federal Government on the Australian Management Practices & Productivity based on a Global Benchmarking Project. Available here Report 2

Measurements were done based on operations, people and performance management in relation to one another.

The main findings are:

* Business size is an important factor in management performance, with larger firms scoring better than smaller firms

* Ownership is also a factor and multinationals clearly outperform domestic firms in management performance

* Australian publicly listed companies are also more likely to adopt modern management practices than other types of company ownerships

* Family run businesses tend to exhibit inferior management performance

* The level of education and skills among both management and non-management personnel impacts management performance

* Organizational hierarchy is also positively correlated to the management scores, a finding possibly indicating limitations in flatter structures

The 5 best performing countries are US, Japan, Germany, Canada and Sweden.

Australia ranks sixth among the sixteen countries that have participated in this study. Australian management is on par with France, Great Britain along with Italy.

Significantly shown by the performance management graph is that the 2 largest comparative gaps were:

*Need to instill a talent mindset

*Addressing poor performance

Is there perhaps a possibility that these findings point to an imbedded Australian culture issue where we dislike competitiveness and high achievers? i.e Tall Poppy syndrome. Is innovation then the price we pay for it?

The graph that measures management performance across state level shows that Western Australia performed the worst of all states and well below the next worst performer.

3. World Economic Competitiveness Report

The last report I would like to refer too is the 2009-10 World Economic Competitiveness Report. This report indicates that improving management performance is a key opportunity for longer-term sustainable growth for a country. Get report here: Report 3

This report ranks Australia in terms of global competitiveness at 15th place.

In Summary

So there may be a clear consolidated message between all these reports for Australia (and WA). It shows a strong correlation between business management performance, competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship.

I believe that great ideas get invented by individuals while great systems get developed and build by great teams. In the implementation of ideas, it is only the refinement of complex solutions that will make innovative ideas economical viable. Looking at innovation is complex and should be treated as such; when addressing problems we should steer away from addressing only the symptoms but rather look at the underlying complex causes of issues.

This does not mean that no innovation gets done in Australia, what it means is that in relation with other countries Australia (and WA) is a laggard for the reasons mentioned above. To see what innovation is happening in Australia (and WA) and what government funding was made available to assist - see here Grants 1

So for those innovators there are government grants available to assist you!!!! Grants 2

Hope it helps!

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Here since March last year, and love it.

Will be here for good !! :-)

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Here since March last year and LOVE it.

Not going back :-)

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We haven't been here long, and I still struggle some days, while other days are good. However, I am much more willing to perhaps move to a different Aussie city than go back to SA. Just because you're not settling in one place, doesn't mean there isn't a place in Aus where you will. So we're giving Perth a year (until our rental agreement ends) and then we will see how we feel and how things are going job wise.

I think perhaps one of the reasons we have settled in Australia so happily is that we live in a smaller city/town.

I hope things improve for you soon and there are more good days than bad.

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My hubby actually asked me last night if there were any statistics about how many Saffers return home from Oz as his current boss said to him they are streaming in by the shipload :blush:

We know he is talking crapiola but I was wondering if one could check such a statistic somewhere?

Well,,don't know about Australia but South Africans are definitely streaming in by the shipload to the US.

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There are still people arriving from RSA, but I dont think that the arrivals are in the same numbers as 2-3 years ago. Perhaps the changes in the visas has something to do with that.

Having said that the are Saffers everywhere in Perth at least!!!

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My hubby actually asked me last night if there were any statistics about how many Saffers return home from Oz as his current boss said to him they are streaming in by the shipload

We know he is talking crapiola but I was wondering if one could check such a statistic somewhere?

I've had a good read about this. According to the 2008/09 stats 1 out of 5 Saffers will return home. Now what is interesting. The likelihood is very high that the 1 person returning home had spent less than 1 year in Australia. The most interesting part is that 50% of the people returning home will leave SA again for either Australia or elsewhere. The history on this forum confirms many of this. Take a look at who many people left the UK, NZ, Canada and the US to return home and now live in Aus. I know of at least a handful that had returned to SA from Aus and now live in Aus again (mostly different locations than before).

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Very true, we attempted immigrating to NZ in 2007 but were very unhappy there and returned to SA the same year. We are now in Aus since Sept'09.... :ilikeit:

It's still tuff some days missing family, friends and the other things you loved but we will not make the same mistake twice. Only way I will return to SA (visiting/holiday does not count) would be against my free will e.g. PR issues, 457 cancelled ect.

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I have been in Oz for 4 years and i am still struggling to settle. Don't have family in oz, and don't make friends either. I am not a socialite and don't drink or smoke, so not big on drunken parties with people acting stupid. I have a training support group which i train with 3 x a week in the off season and play social mixed netball to keep my skills going. I work hard and play sport and that keeps me sane and going for now. Don't know if i will stay or go, but will take it a day at a time for now. Time will tell, but i still mis home every day and the family i left behind. I have a hubby thats an Ozzie no kids and not going to have any, not a fan unfortunately. Hubby has no understanding of what it takes to make such a big change. I don't get the Mr Bean style humour of most Ozzies and don't think i have really laughed out loud in the last 4 years. The things that go by the way side are the things that make you think hard about the reasons you do things. So i am weighing the pros and cons of my current situation and will then decide if this is for me or not. In the mean time i can just put my head down and carry on till i decide which side of the ditch i belong on. Everyone has to make that discovery for themselves, no one can make it for them.

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So i am weighing the pros and cons of my current situation and will then decide if this is for me or not.

Sounds like you have given it a fair go and you sound a bit lonely, I really hope you find your place in the world.

Good luck

Michael

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We left RSA in October 2006 and have been back 3 times. We were on an expatriate assignment and had all intentions to go back after the assignment. Never THOUGHT of emigrating. BUT living away from RSA in CHINA (and believe me Australia is HEAVEN comparing to the living conditions/weather etc. of China) we realised "Hey this IS what Freedom is and how people should be living) We realised that we were frogs in hot water in RSA.

Needless to say we applied for the Visa and started dreaming of getting the Visa.

Will I ever go back .... perhaps for a holiday .... but not in the near future. (The rosy coloured glasses came OFF with my last visit in July 2009.)

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We can't wait to get into AUS and out of South-Africa! I think it is getting worse by the day - after the World Cup the crime and murders, etc, seems to be worse than ever - in one week the municipal workers and the teachers were striking - today the Tswane City Council is on strike (not a legal one) - no busses, etc - I think besides the crime it is the incompetency of everything that is getting you down in RSA. I really do think that it cannot be worse than what we have at the moment - I will miss my family and friends - but I just want to go to bed in the evening and don't worry if the alarm goes off or the dog bark ánd worry over your 18 year olds who want to go - you sit and wait for them till you hear their car and make sure they are into the house. I know it is not all moonlight and roses and I don't know how I will cope with the housework and all of that but I am going to give it a try!

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I came to Oz 13 months ago on a 457,all by myself as a single person with only 2 suitcases with clothes in them. I love every minute of being here and will never go back to RSA.

I still read the "Beeld" regularly and I am thankful that I live in a country that is not governed by lunatics and where the law mean something to the majority of people.

I earn a little over 60K a year and although the general opinion seem to be that this is very low I feel like I have never earned so much money in my life! A dollar just seems to go so much further than my rand ever did! I have bought myself a brand new,out of the box Hyundai Getz,rent a 2 bedroom apartment less than a kilometer from the beach and have all the necessary furniture to be comfortable( I do need to buy a proper fridge still because I have a little bar fridge at the moment that is way too small.....and it will help if I stop buying dvd's and computer games!)

Friends-wise I have made a few but it is not yet as deep as the ones I've left behind in RSA. This however is because I am who I am : I very seldom click with people immediately and most of my friends have had to grow on me over the years. The same applies here in Oz :lol:

The worst emotion I have had over here is one of emotional exhaustion. I happened at around month 8......for about a week there I was just really tired of having to deal with the unfamiliar everyday and whished that I could just for a day be back with everything that is known to me. And I am sure this will happen from time to time until my mind made the shift from the unfamiliar becoming the new familiar.

But compared to RSA,this is Paradise and I am happy here. I am free to live!

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Been in Oz for just over 6 months. Life is different, but altogether its 1st world living compared to 3rd world Africa. I'll never move back - life is too good here!

Tex

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Ok, so the odd single person on the forum sometimes pipes up and says they are struggling to fit in. And that is is difficult to come over and fit in if you are not in a couple, or shy, or dont drink, dont smoke, dont play sports, etc, etc.

Well, we had a single girlfriend over for dinner last night. Its very difficult to get a free night in her diary for a quiet dinner at ours BECAUSE she has only been in Aus less than 2 years, dont drink, dont smoke, has diabetes, is vegetarian, had a kidney transplant 5 years ago, dumped by her boyfriend after they arrived in Australia BUT she is a member of the first two activity groups on my little list below. My single niece in Sydney bought a old surfboard on ebay for $200 and joined the Sydney Surf Group below and we have hardly heard a peep out of her, I can see on facebook that her social life has absolutely taken off since! I understand that these are also the reason we have not heard much from Cyberdeth since he landed in Sydney in Jan, so no news is good news. You also do not have to be single to join these groups either. There is absolutely something for everybody. Check them out.

http://www.meetup.com/

http://www.getalife.com.au

http://www.danwk.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sydney-S...up/181951863133

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