Moving to pommy land

I have always wanted to go to England and Europe, and my parents are all of English origin so I am able to obtain a historical visa (I am Australian), which will make it pretty easy for me to move to England for at least a few years.

So I am thinking about saving up the cash to move. Looking at jobs over there, it seems there are huge opportunities for C# programmers there, especially with knowledge of finance (which is just up my alley). I've seen hundreds of jobs offering more per day than I make per week in currency units, and thats before the exchange rate! Of course the cost of living is probably higher, but after talking to a few people who lived there recently it'll still be a lot of money.

I would love to take the weekend off and fly to Rome. Or go to Venice on a public holiday. So if I moved I would probably stay a few years to give me time to see lots of Europe.

I just wanted to get the opinions of some of the poms here (I can say that because my parents are English). How hard is finding work over there (I'll probably try to secure something before moving) and how high is the cost of living really? And is London that nice a place to live (compared to Sydney)?

What's with you aussies and your obsession with Europe and England? You should talk to -stealth- (you'll find him on entropysink if not on here anymore).

If you think London is a nice place to be then you're really wrong. Crime is really high there and although you can make a lot of money there it costs a lot to live. I live in a place called Suffolk, it's the best, it's in the East of England(East Anglia.) The crime down here is the lowest in England(i think,) and people pay a lot of money down here for programmers because not that many people know that much about computers, probably because it's a countryside kind of area. Also it holds one of BT's main work places, they pay a lot for programmers there. I also think up North has quite a lot of crime but i think you also get payed a lot for being a programmer up there as well. Do a bit of research upon where is the best place in England to live, all the different parts of England are completely different from each other.

London? nice? lol, not sure how many times i've heard those two words in the same sentence. The place is full of yobs, litter and crime. And like Ober said, what is it with you foreigners and Europe? lol

I must admit London is a dissapointing capital, something to be ashamed of. The underground stinks, I mean people hate it enough to make up songs like this . Nearly everwhere you go you'll get insulted, and it's very heavily polluted over, there, cars, and it's near the coal industries.

Ah i like London, but i grew up there so no doubt i'm biased.

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Originally Posted by algi

I live in a place called Suffolk, it's the best, it's in the East of England(East Anglia.)

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Cool. I was born & bred in Bury St. Ed's.

Oh, and stovellp - there's plenty of barman jobs in Kings Cross :)

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The main reason I'm interested in europe is the history. To me, standing in front of the real eiffel tower, or in the real collosseum, or going to the real tower of london would be an unreal experience. I was born and raise in a small country town, and the history of Australia (300 years at most) still amazes me. Visiting places that date back thousands of years would just be... it just wouldn't seem real.

Anyway the jobs in England I've seen are advertising at about 450 pounds per day. I earn just over that in Australian currency units a week (after tax... grr). Then theres the conversion rate of about 200-250%. No doubt the cost of living is higher than here, but it can't be 15 times higher!

Also, they say the European chicks go crazy over Australians :p

But Londons not a nice place to live huh? What other cities (maybe close to London) have high demand for .NET programmers with experience in financial systems?

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but it can't be 15 times higher!

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See if you can get a flight to connect in Zimbabwe.

I thought pommy land was Australia, since POM was Prisoners of her/his Majesty?

But then again I'm stupid.

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Originally Posted by http://www.answers.com/topic/alternative-words-for-british

The term Pommy for an British person is commonly used in Australian English and New Zealand English, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is uncertain. A number of fake etymologies have sprung up, mostly along the lines that POM is an acronym for "Prisoner of Mother England" or somesuch, referring to the fact that the earliest Australian settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation. None of these explanations bears up under scrutiny, and the use of acronyms is largely a late twentieth century phenomenon. A more likely etymology is that it is a contraction of "pomegranates", a former rhyming slang term for immigrants ("immigranate"). The use of the word 'Pom' may be considered mildly derogatory - some may use it to cause offence, but it is also used in other situations as a friendly derogatory term among people who know each other well, if one of them is English and the other Australian.

In South Africa the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', on account of the sunburnt skin).

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I take that back. The real reason is stupid.

>>...history of Australia (300 years at most)...Visiting places that date back thousands of years would just be... it just wouldn't seem real.<<

Strange. I thought you had aboriginal art/artefacts dating back 40 000 or so years. Outwith museums, I think the oldest structures in Europe are probably stone circles like Stonehenge (which you can't get close to) or the Ring of Brodgar (which is in Orkney, which is part of Scotland - unless you're an Orcadian ;) ); these are only 4000 or so years old.

I always thought 'pom' was used to refer exclusively to the english.

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Originally Posted by Ken Fitlike

Strange. I thought you had aboriginal art/artefacts dating back 40 000 or so years.

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Yeah, but, for me at least, they aren't terribly exciting (I have spent a lot of time looking at them though).

If you haven't already done so, check out TNT Magazine. It is produced by a mob called Australian ExPress, (get it - duh!). It is availabble free at a lot of London railway stations and ex-pat haunts. Kings Cross has a big population of Aussies, Kiwis and Boks.

Has loads of flat shares, and crashes. You'll get an idea of the costs you'll be facing.

London has it's fair share of crime and typical city troubles, but I always thought it was quite a good place to be. Mind, I liked Sydney as well.

A lot of the "great historical objects" are pretty disappointing when you get to see them for real. Your imagination builds them up, the reality is often a let down. The pyramids at Giza, Egypt are pretty impressive for their age, as are some of the Inca constructions in Peru, (a lot newer of course, but impressive workmanship).