British woman describes Australia as boring in long list about country

Homesick British woman describes Australia as ‘boring’ in a long list where she compares the pros and cons of life Down Under to England

• British Expat Deborah Sexton penned the list after returning from a trip to the UK
• The list has 19 pros and 11 cons for Australia  and 13 pros and 9 cons for the UK
• Deborah’s ‘bonkers’ post got more than 300 comments in less than 12 hours

A British woman who has been living in Australia has shared a pros and cons list of each country, with ‘boring’ used to describe her time Down Under.

Deborah Sexton made the move from East Yorkshire to New York after finishing university in 2002.

After watching the terrifying events of September 11 from her office window, Ms Sexton decided she needed to be closer to family and moved to Sydney where one of her sisters lived, and after six years moved to Melbourne.

On Tuesday, the British expat wrote a list of pros and cons of living in both countries and shared it to Ping Pong Poms – a Facebook group for ‘people thinking about moving back to the UK’.

Deborah Sexton posted a pros and cons list of living in Australia and the UK to a Facebook group for ‘people thinking about moving back to the UK’ on Tuesday (pictured)

‘Just came back from the UK and am feeling, so jet lagged and homesick,’ Ms Sexton wrote.

‘Was up at 1:30 this morning writing a pros and cons list as feel so flat after a lovely time in the UK summer.’

Ms Sexton split the page down the middle and wrote the pros for both countries first.

Pros for the UK included family, beautiful countryside, supermarkets, country cottages, school friends, universities, history, close to Europe, more fun things for kids, chocolate, Christmas atmosphere, pretty market towns and pubs. 

Meanwhile, more space, more opportunities for kids, low unemployment rate, higher pay, schools, second safest country to live in, restaurants, everything is on her doorstep, low population density, less public debt, strong economy, greater life expectancy, delicious tap water and outdoor pools topped Australia’s pros list.

Unsurprisingly, Australia’s pros list included sun all year round, beautiful beaches, low pollution and happy people.

Ms Sexton wrote 11 cons for Australia – two more than the UK – including that it’s boring, so far away, lack of history, rubbish supermarkets, bad chocolate, bushfires, expensive, slow internet, everything wants to kill you, shopping is not as fun/as good and crumpets are so bad. 

The UK’s con list was made up of tap water being horrid, motorways gridlocked, cold and miserable most of the year, driving standards, have to travel hours for a concert/airport, hospital wait times, outside London restaurants are no comparison to Oz and political unrest.  

She told Daily Mail Australia the items on the lists were thoughts and ‘nothing is wrong or right.’ 

‘I love Australia for the ‘no worries’ attitude,’ Ms Sexton said.

‘Australia is an amazing country with amazing opportunities, beautiful rainforests, oceans and beaches and fantastic wine.’

‘Unfortunately, what Australia does lack is prawn cocktail crisps, chocolate that tastes good and above all, proper crumpets!’ 

Ms Sexton’s parents regularly visit Australia and adores North Queensland for its ‘fishing, hot weather and laid back lifestyle’.  

She said the post had gone a ‘bit bonkers’ after receiving more than 300 comments in less than 12 hours. 

‘Love that chocolate and crumpets made the list lol,’ one user commented.

‘I have just gotten back from 9 months back home in the UK and could not explain to work mates how bad crumpets are here compared to home,’ another user wrote. 

‘Chocolate was definitely rubbish in Oz,’ another chimed.  

Other users said Ms Sexton would be benefit from reading over the list and ‘actually think about what matters’.

‘Like, I don’t think that “bad chocolate” or even “rubbish supermarkets” is really going to make a large impact on your life,’ one user wrote. 

Other Brits were also quick to share what they didn’t like about Australia.

The homesick British expat (left) wrote the list after returning home from a trip to the UK where she visited her mum Joan Ford (right)

‘People in the UK have sense of humour and are funny. The flies in Australia are horrendous and high UV is annoying in Oz,’ one wrote.

Another said: ‘UK TV is better and grocery shopping is much cheaper/more choice (especially crisps and chocolate lol).’

‘We moved back [to England] earlier this year and it was the best decision. Schools are brilliant, academia is better, more options for education and uni etc,’ one Brit wrote.

‘I’d say in England people focus on the rat race and material things far more. For me, people focus on living their best life in Australia. They are in nature more (because of the sun) and as such are healthier and happier versions of themselves,’ another said.    

One British woman said: ‘Generally friendlier people [in England] and open to making new friends.

‘Being able to enjoy outdoors all year round as long as rugged up in winter, the magical build up to Christmas and late night shopping in the dark (instead of a sweaty, blistering one where everything pretty much looks/feels the same as any other time of year).’

She also missed: ‘Sunday roasts down the pub (pretty non-existent here or awful), and the politeness and courtesy.’

Another angry Brit disagreed with Ms Sexton’s assessment that Australians were happier people. 

They wrote: ‘a) I’ve just come back from Scotland and haven’t laughed so much for 10 years and b) I work in healthcare here and have been abused for the last few years. Hence, moving home to my freezing homeland in January and can’t wait tbh.’

Another said: ‘Being close to Europe for holidays trumps Aus for me every time. So cheap and accessible,’ she wrote. ‘Yes the UK is pretty dire at the moment in terms of cost of living, but I can hop on a plane to Italy and be there within 2 hours for £45.’

The Melbourne resident has lived in Australia for 20 years with her husband Joe Sexton (back left) and their two children, ten-year-old daughter Elodie (front left) and eight-year-old son Jasper (front right)

Other British expats argued that being close to family and Europe should not necessarily be on the UK’s pro list.

‘Being closer to friends/family is good but being on the other side of the planet from any ‘dramas’ is also good,’ one user wrote.

‘Near Europe ….my house in Essex is 1,200 miles from war zone….well within nuking distance is Putin losses what few marbles he has left,’ another user commented.  

A third person wrote: ‘Brexit – hassle of not being able to waft through the European channel anymore.’   

Meanwhile other users told the mother-of-two to to lighten up and embrace Australian culture. 

‘Enjoy Australian architecture even the lovely homestead old Queenslanders. They are just beautiful. Plenty of great Victorian architecture around to. England is beautiful but congested. Think of all the positives in Oz,’ one user commented. 

Another user wrote Australia is rich in Aboriginal history: ‘Aboriginal people are known to have occupied mainland Australia for at least 65,000 years. It is widely accepted that this predates the human settlement of Europe and the America.’ 

Another user wished Ms Sexton ‘good luck’ in choosing between the two countries. 

‘I’ve decided to ping-pong back and forth a bit longer …to enjoy the best of both hemispheres …one day I must choose but not today,’ the user wrote.  

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