How a seemingly innocent post about a UK beach erupted
How a seemingly innocent post about a UK beach in summer erupted into a furious debate between Aussies and Brits: ‘Don’t judge us’
- An expat has sparked a debate online after going home for a ‘British summer’
- Stylist Abigail Caveill moved to Sydney four years ago after growing up in the UK
- In a post she returned to her hometown in England to enjoy a ‘summer’ day
- Her followers began to discuss whether UK or summer seasons were better
An expat has sparked a fierce debate online after going home for a ‘British summer’ to see her family and lay on the beach.
Stylist Abigail Caveill moved to Sydney, Australia, four years ago after growing up in the UK, claiming that she wanted better weather and new experiences abroad.
In a recent post she returned to her hometown in England to enjoy a typical ‘summer’ day, pointing out that the hotter months don’t compare to the weather Down Under.
‘You won’t catch me on the beach under 30 degrees,’ she said.
But her seemingly innocent post sparked a fierce debate from her followers with many claiming Aussies complain about their winter months incessantly and she wasn’t showing off the best of the beaches.
Stylist Abigail Caveill moved to Sydney, Australia, four years ago after growing up in the UK, claiming that she wanted better weather and new experiences abroad
You won’t catch me on the beach under 30 degrees #fyp #summer #uk #aus
‘There are a lot better beaches then this in the UK,’ one person commented.
‘It’s been so cold this year but yeah don’t just judge the entire UK by one town,’ said another.
A third added: ‘Go to a proper beach in Cornwall’.
Even fellow Australians piped up to talk about their island nation and its so-called glorious climes.
‘Damn nasty beach. After living in WA I don’t even rate Sydney beaches either now,’ one man said.
‘They call that a beach too? Our BAD beaches look 100 times better,’ said another.
Even fellow Australians piped up to talk about their island nation and its so-called glorious climes
Previously, a group of British expats 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)
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 are the ‘laidback’ lifestyle, affordable childcare, better work-life balance, higher salaries, bigger houses and unsurprisingly the beaches.
The woman 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, also 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)
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)
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)
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)
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 truly established now.’
Source: Read Full Article